"A mother always has to think twice - once for herself and once for her child." This simple truth hides an amazing world of imagination, fantasy, and inventiveness. Being a mother is an art: it involves far more than the routine tasks of washing, feeding, and tending your little ones. It means that you become an impromptu entertainer; a singer of songs, reciter of poetry; a spell-binding teller of fairy tales; a present-giving genius at birthday and Christmas; a counsellor in times of tiny crises; a tactful diplomat to soothe squabbles; and a wacky inventor of decorative ideas - whether they're for great cookie toppings or dress-up costumes for school. Mother and Child Companion invites you to share all the secrets, wisdom, ideas, and pleasures that mothers have stored up over centuries - ranging from the joys of getting messy with paint, playing finger games; giggling at silly jokes; chanting nursery rhymes; singing gentle lullabies; making toys and decorations, inventing fun snacks or just jumping for joy with the kids. You'll find endless ideas and inspiration in these pages, as well as wonderful extracts from literature that express every aspect of how it feels to be a mother.