A couple of weeks ago, my son’s 1st grade class teacher mentioned an idea she had about a lesson plan she was working on. Her inspiration came from a Michael Jackson song: “Man In The Mirror” and how we could make a change in other people’s lives and how there is so much poverty around the world. Just after this conversation, I was contacted about a book called Maddi’s Fridge and felt it would be the perfect book to share with her class.
The story, Maddi’s Fridge, takes youngsters into the friendship of Sophie and Maddi, who are neighbors, classmates and regularly play in the same park after school. One particular day, they became hungry while playing and ran to Maddi’s house for a bite to eat. Sophie discovered that Maddi’s fridge only had a small container of milk. Maddi tells Sophie that they also have bread to eat, but asks Maddi to keep her secret.
Determined not to share the secret, Sophie decides to take food to school for Maddi, but fish, eggs and milk, while great nutrition for kids, and are tough to keep in a backpack. Eventually Sophie decides she cannot help Maddi all by herself and tells her mom. Together they work to help Maddi and her family by loading all kinds of groceries into their car and made a delivery to Maddi’s apartment. While the moms talked, the girls realized how important their friendship was, even if Sophie didn’t keep the secret she promised she would.
I truly enjoyed sharing this book with my daughter because it became a teaching lesson for her. We talked about how there are so many people in the world, maybe even neighbors or classmates who don’t have basic things like food, clothes, a roof over their heads. That how important it is to be grateful for what we do have, and to pay it forward – donate and help others who are struggling with food, clothing, toys, etc. That it’s the right thing to do.
Maddi’s Fridge is currently available at local retailers and Amazon.com for $13.39 – $18.00. This wonderful book with beautiful engaging pictures makes a great gift for a child age 4-8 or Kinder-3rd grade, or even teachers at your school. The best part is that 10% of the proceeds of the book go to fight childhood hunger.
To find out more about Maddi’s Fridge, visit their social media sites: Website, Facebook or Twitter
Disclaimer: We received a sample copy of the book, which will in turn, be donated to our 1st Grade Classroom in order to do an honest review. No other compensation was received.
