Sherrill S. Cannon is back with a book with a twist, Peter and the Whimper-Whineys Coloring Book! She’s turned her original picture book into a fun coloring book, which is delightful.
Sherrill very kindly gifted my children a copy of Peter and the Whimper Whineys Coloring Book that we are reviewing with our own opinions. My children have always loved Sherrill’s books; one of our first book reviews was one of hers, and she has a special place on our bookshelf and in our hearts.
What an excellent idea to adapt Peter and the Whimper Whineys into a colouring book, and it’s perfect for children after the past year’s trials. Certainly, I’m sure there have been few that haven’t felt like whining over the past dozen+ months.
How We’ve Used This Colouring Book
Reading the Story
Of course, this is the first thing that must be done with any story book! How many parents think this sounds familiar?
"My sister has more soup than I in her bowl, She took too much jelly to put on her roll; She's got more than I do, it's really not fair," Whined Peter while sliding back down in his chair.
Peter was swiftly sent to bed by his mother, to think about his behaviour. While there he wished he was out in the woods, so off he hopped. He met up with the Whimper Whineys; a group of small elves who behaved rudely, cried so much they created ponds for the ducks, and everything their tears touched turned sour-including their milk. Peter couldn’t put up with their behaviour long and soon made his way back home, only to find out with relief, it was all a dream….and he vowed he was going to be….HAPPY!
The original story is told in full. The only difference is that the children can now colour the images themselves! The designs by Kalpart were perfect for this transformation!
It’s a lovely story that can be read with children, both on those days that they are being whiney themselves, as well as on those days that they are not, when you can use positive reinforcement to ‘catch them being good.’
In the image below you can see Peter whining at the breakfast table, and the ‘pond of tears’ we found during one of our walks.
Colouring
Of course, the children enjoyed colouring! That’s the best thing about a colouring book, isn’t it? In this image, Peter is grumping about being sent to bed to think about his attitude.
Having Fun
We recently had some additional fun with Peter and the Whimper Whineys Coloring Book when we took it with us when we were out for a walk for some fresh air and exercise. As we wandered around the woods, the children looked for locations that were similar to those depicted in the book.
The winding path amongst the trees:
A pond where they imagined themselves crying salty tears and turning everything sour:
Speaking of sour…did you know you can turn sour milk into plastic? It’s true! My children tried this experiment a couple of years ago but it didn’t make it to our blog, but you can find out how with How Wee Learn.
Ideas of how to be positive and not be a Whimper Whiney
- Be thankful for what you do have
- Help others when you can
- Do something kind for someone
- Start a positivity jar
- Make a card and send it to someone (friend, family, teacher, hospital, neighbour, care home)
- Shovel snow, weed a garden, rake leaves, or sweep a sidewalk
- Plan a picnic (you can have one right on your living room floor)
If you’re interested in purchasing Peter and the Whimper Whineys Coloring Book, it’s available through:
- Amazon
- Great bookstores near you
If you like what you see, you can find out more about Sherrill on her webpage, follow her on Facebook or Twitter
Some of Sherrill’s other books:
