PLATYPUS POST, Number 9, Mother's Day 2004 edition

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

DIA'S DIARY: Celebrating Motherers' Day
MOMS EVERYWHERE: Meet some of our favorite mammal moms!
WHERE TO FIND US: New places to purchase Platypus Media books
SAVINGS BLOSSOM AT PLATYPUS MEDIA!!
FUN AT HOME OR SCHOOL: Mammal Fun!
CALLING ALL LIBRARIANS: Receive our special library offers
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: Reviews of Platypus Media books are springing up all over!
PLATYPUS MEDIA: In the news, online … and on the road

DIA'S DIARY: Celebrating Motherers' Day

The world is full of mothers. As a noun, a mother is a person who, after fertilization, causes another person to begin life. Humans have mothers. Horses have mothers. Lizards have mothers. Trees have mothers. Being a mother-as a noun-requires little more than the biological ability to reproduce.

Being a motherer-as a verb-is a different matter entirely. A motherer is someone-perhaps the biological mother, perhaps not-who assumes the responsibility for the upbringing of certain youth. Non-mammals, including plants, reptiles, and amphibians, all have mothers … but don't experience being mothered. A baby sea turtle hatches alone on a beach and fends for itself from the moment of its birth. The same holds true for an oak sapling, a tadpole, a snake.

For mammals, the story couldn't be more different. Mammals have an infancy, a childhood, and a youth that is defined as a time when the baby is being cared for, fed by, and taught survival skills by a mother. A mammal baby - be it a naked mole rat, a grizzly bear, a fruit bat or a human - is no more capable of survival without a motherer than a sapling is without water. Indeed, in the world of mammals, a baby does not exist alone, but only as part of a mother/baby pair.

Mammologists have shown that when a female baby mammal is mothered by a mother who is cold and indifferent, the baby may grow up with sufficient survival skills, but without sufficient mothering skills. Upon reaching reproductive age, these new mothers do not know how to nurture o4 mold a helpless child into a functional adult.

For the vast majority of mammals, if the biological mother does not nurture her baby, no one will. If a mother shrew or koala or anteater ignores her young, they will simply die. But a few species of mammals - the lion, the Golden Lion Tamarin, the elephant, and the human - will find someone to assume the mothering roles if the biological mother is unable or unwilling.

The fact that someone other than the biological mother may do the mothering sets us apart from the vast majority of mammals. It might be a grandmother or an aunt, a neighbor or a friend, step-parent or a girlfriend. These are the humans who model behaviors, establish values, participate in activities, idle away the hours, and otherwise assume the responsibility for the care, safety, and social education of the young.

Mother's Day is a wonderful day in which we honor those women who have given birth. These women have created life. But the day is actually misnamed. What we really need to celebrate is Motherer's Day, using the verb form of the word, to celebrate the act of mothering. We need to celebrate those women who are motherers, the ones who have put in the hours, taken action, voiced concern, shown compassion, directed behavior, and made a commitment to a child. A motherer is someone who has done nothing more than opened her heart to a child - and nothing less.

This Mother's Day, don't just buy flowers for your mother, buy them for all the humans who have been your motherers. And enclose a note of thanks.

MOMS EVERYWHERE: Meet some of our favorite mammal moms!

• The female duck-billed platypus breastfeeds without benefit of a breast or a nipple. The mammary glands rest underneath the mother's chest. The youngster pushes against the chest wall with his soft, pliable bill, then licks the oozing milk off his mother's skin and hair.
• Female and young lions live together in a pride. In one pride, all the lionesses take care of all the cubs. Unlike almost all other mammals, any lioness will wet-nurse any cub. A napping lioness who has been hunting all night doesn't pay much attention to who is suckling on her. And because they are all so closely related, a lioness helps the family no matter whose baby she nurses.
• Orangutans breastfeed, ride on their mother's body and sleep in her nest for seven years-among the longest nursing period of any mammal. The young stay with their mothers at least until a new baby arrives; males begin to wander off then, but females may stay around for a while observing how babies are cared for. They are accomplished acrobats, often nursing upside down-hanging by a hand and a foot from a branch.

If you love animal stories, you'll love If My Mom Were A Platypus: Animal Babies and their Mother, ISBN: 1-930775-02-4. For more information, visit www.PlatypusMedia.com or call 1-877-PLATYPS (toll-free).

OUR FAMILY KEEPS GROWING: New Places To Find Platypus Media Books

Children's Museum of Boston
Boston's best place for kids and the adults in their lives!
300 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210, 617-426-8855
http://www.bostonkids.org

Museum of Science Boston
Encouraging curiosity, questioning and exploration!
Science Park, Boston, MA 02114 617-723-2500
http://www.mos.org

Harvard Museum of Natural History
26 Oxford St, Cambridge MA 01238, 617-495-3045
http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu

Milky Way
Located in the busy shopping district of Charlotte, NC, Milky Way is a "one-stop shop for the new and nursing mom." The Milky Way carries nursing supplies, pumps, nursing apparel, furniture, clothing, bedding -- and Platypus Media titles. A great place to shop for a mom who love convenience and quality.

• Milky Way
• 1419 East Blvd, Suite J, Charlotte, NC 28203
• 704-374-9200

SAVINGS BLOSSOM AT PLATYPUS MEDIA!!

FUN AT HOME OR SCHOOL: Mammal Fun!

Whales, seals, otters and manatees are all sea mammals. While they spend most of their lives under water, they need to breathe air to survive. They dive in and out of the water coming to the ocean surface regularly to breathe. They may take in a deep breath when they come up; but before they dive, they breathe out or exhale air. Reducing the air in their lungs enables them to dive deeper.

• Find this out for yourself. Fill up a sink or small tub with water. Inflate two balloons (6-9" ones work best) with air inflating one completely and filling the other less than halfway. Try to sink the balloons to the bottom of the water. Which balloon goes deeper?

A female Pacific Gray Whale spends most of each year NOT eating. And she's not just sitting around idly during this time. Over the course of 270 days, she will be gestate a calf, deliver a 2000 pound calf, migrate over 10,000 miles, and produce 6 tons of breastmilk - all without eating a bite of food! How does she do this? By using just her vast stored blubber for fuel. This blubber provides her with calories for energy and nutrients and warmth to survive in chilly artic waters.

• Find this out for yourself. Take a container of vegetable shortening or cooking fat. Prepare a bowl of ice water. Put one index finger in the margarine so that it is covered with fat (like blubber). Now, put both index fingers in the ice water for 30-60 seconds. Which one stays warmer?

There are lots more fun activities in our Platypus Media Activity Guides. Download - at no charge -- complete Guides for each title at www.PlatypusMedia.com.

CALLING ALL LIBRARIANS: Receive our special library offers

Platypus Media published its first books in 2001. Today we have a dozen books in print and more on the way. We couldn't have done it without the support and encouragement of librarians.

Librarians like Susan Dubin, from Off-the-Shelf Library Services, in Northridge, CA, have given us direction, alerted us to opportunities, and have been a real source of encouragement. Here's what Susan said recently:

"Platypus Media books celebrate families, and they embrace diversity. Library patrons will find them wonderful for family reading time. Teachers will appreciate the simple stories and the activity guides that will teach their students about their families, their communities and their world. Parents and children learning English together will relate to the bright photographs and the simple vocabulary. Young children especially will enjoy the fresh look at the world around them. They are a natural choice for library storytimes, parents and children reading together, and classroom use."

Thanks Susan!

We love librarians and often have special offers to encourage librarians to add Platypus Media titles to their collections. We are about to mail our Spring Library Special letter.

If you are a librarian and don't know if you are on our librarian list, please zap us an email at Info@PlatypusMedia.com and ask to be included

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: Reviews of Platypus Media books are springing up all over!

School Library Journal, April 2004
Look What I see! Where Can I Be? Visiting China

An infant narrator explains what she sees during a week's travel in China. On alternate spreads, small color photos depict the identifiable objects that are mentioned, which become part of a larger, family scene when the page is turned. Astute observers will also notice the baby doll hiding in each large picture…the book's interactive style may engage youngsters and offer a simple introduction to another culture.
Reviewed by Be Astengo, Alachua County Library, Gainesville, FL

Mothering Magazine, April 2004
Look What I See! Where Can I Be? At the Synagogue

Bright photos and a clean design draw the very young reader into such rituals as Simchat Torah, Havdalah, and Shabbat.

Midwest Book Review, April 2004
I Was Born To Be A Sister

Written by a sixth-grade girl, and featuring an audio CD of the story and original songs for brothers and sisters to sing, I Was Born To Be A Sister is a charming and informative picture book about learning to adapt to and cherish the presence of a new sibling in the family household. Covering the ups and downs of getting along, teaching new things, and the wonder of reliving things through younger eyes, I Was Born To Be A Sister is very highly recommended reading --especially for children ages 3 to 7 whose families are anticipating the arrival of another child.
Reviewed by James Cox

Lane Education Service District - Eugene, Oregon, April 2004
Zack in the Middle

Zack is seven years old and is a middle child. He has an older sister, and a baby sister. Sometimes he gets to do things with his big sister, but not always. He gets to play with his younger sister, but misses out on some of her fun. This book will be a good read aloud to discuss families and the benefits and disadvantages of being a middle child. Children with older sisters will relate to the story and those with younger sisters will have examples of their own to share.
Reviewed by Darby Tracy, Howard Elementary School

Washington Parent, 2004
I Was Born to Be a Brother

Washington fifth grader Zaydek Michels-Gualtieri celebrates being a brother with two sisters in I Was Born To Be A Brother. The first person narrator knows it is his job to teach his little sister all the important life skills, such as how to eat ice cream with a straw and how to make the right noises for certain toys. In a voice both playful and honest, the narrator admits to getting mad sometimes at the troublesome tyke. He outlines his plan to build a catapult to send her to the planet Xeron. But at the end he relents, saying that his sister makes him the "best brother in the whole wide world." A charming book about the sibling bond, with Daniel Liegey's illustrations conveying some of its pleasures and pitfalls.
Reviewed by Mary Quattlebaum

Lane Education Service District - Eugene, Oregon, 2003
If My Mom Were a Platypus: Animal Babies and Their Mothers

Anyone at all interested in animals will adore this book. It explores 14 different animals and talks about how they are born, how they grow, what they know, and what they eat. Every four pages is dedicated to a different animal and includes a colorful picture illustration as well as pencil-like drawings that show you the baby animals and moms from golden lion tamarin monkey to the human, the table of contents makes a note for the animals that are endangered and the glossary and index are a handy reference for this easily likeable book. "Good All Around Title"
Reviewed by Laura Zemlicka Flora, Coburg Elementary School Eugene School District

PLATYPUS MEDIA: In the news and online

The Washington City Paper in THE DISTRICT LINE column, published a profile of Platypus Media founder Dia L. Michels. "Milking an Issue: Despite taboos and aging kids, breast-feeding activist keeps going," written by Chris Shott, appeared in the January 23-29, 2004. To read the full article, click on http://www.platypusmedia.com/main_about.html.

Dia was recently quoted in two articles on breastfeeding that appeared in the Valley Advocate. Feeding Frenzy: How big business and politics conspire against breastfeeding mothers can be read at: http://www.valleyadvocate.com/gbase/News/content.html?oid=oid:62011. The Guilt Factor can be read at: http://www.valleyadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:62013

Dia was also featured on The Mom Radio Network, an online talk show hosted by Marika Szoke at http://www.wsradio.com/momradionetwork. Dia and Marika talked about mixing up a career with raising a family and ways to combine the two. They even talked about the name of the company. Do you know why the platypus wins top billing in the company name and logo??? Because with mammary glands spread all over its furry body, the platypus has developed the most sensible and comfortable approach to nursing of any mammal Dia has ever seen!

And … Platypus Media on the road

May 7-8, La Leche League of Virginia-West Virginia Area Conference, Arlington, VA
Breastfeeding: Our Gift to the Future, Sheraton National Hotel, Arlington, VA For more information: http://www.lllusa.org/VA/page4.html

May 17, Tuscarora Elementary School, Martinsburg, West Virginia
Author day of talking and having fun with students during three separate presentations. For more information email kgess@access.k12.wv.us

May 20, Capitol Hill Mother's Playgroup, Sherwood Recreation Center, Washington DC
Join in on this informal discussion about on motherhood, careers and life. For more information, email levco@ix.netcom.com

June 3, Summer Quest Opening Kickoff Event, Southeast Library, Washington, DC
Help get summer reading off to a good start. Summer Quest Reading Program featuring Look What I See! Where Can I Be? With My Animal Friends. Hands-on activities will follow book reading. Learn how to make an edible butterfly, play a camouflage game, try your "hand" doing animal measurement, and learn how mammals breathe. For more information, call 202-698-3374 or visit http://www.mybookmarks.com/public/fmwill

July 15-18, International Lactation Consultant Association conference, Scottsdale, AZ
Dia will present "Controversies in Breastfeeding: Giving advice, examining our own biases"
For more information, www.ilca.org or call (919) 861-5577.

August 6, Prince William Public Library, Prince William, VA
Summer Quest Reading Program featuring Look What I See! Where Can I Be? With My Animal Friends. Hands-on activities will follow book reading. Learn how to make an edible butterfly, play a camouflage game, try your "hand" doing animal measurement, and learn how mammals breathe. For more information: 703-792-4879, jdrabkin@pwcgov.org.

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About Platypus Media

At Platypus Media, our mission is to produce high quality books with a broad appeal to families from different backgrounds that share a commitment to attachment parenting or simply believe in the importance of family closeness. Our goal is to create books and products that parents love, children enjoy, teachers appreciate, and parenting professionals value in their work.

Contact us at:
Platypus Media
627 A Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Toll-free 1-877-PLATYPS (1-877-752-8977)
202-546-1674 / Fax: 202-546-2356
Info@PlatypusMedia.com
http://www.PlatypusMedia.com