Valarie Budayr's Blog, page 101

Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip Hoose

Nature completely captivates me and my little family.

We’re out in nature all the time plus we live a mile away from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. When we’re not in nature often times we’re reading about nature. With that in mind, today’s book is a “must read!”

As I watched this book win the YALSA award and The Robert F. Sibert Award, I knew I wanted to get my hands on this book. The wait has been long but finally our library had a copy available and I must say that it is one of the most captivating books I’ve read in a long-time.

Meet a bird known as a rufa red knot, named B-95 aka Moonbird. Scientists call him Moonbird because in his lifetime this robin sized shore bird has flown the distance to the moon and halfway back again.

Each February he joins a flock that lifts off from Tierra del Fuego at the Tip of South America, headed for breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic, nine thousand miles away. Late in the summer Moonbird begins the return journey to Tierra del Fuego.

Is what makes this story so remarkable is author Phillip Hoose, a nature conservationist as well as a multi-award winning author, follows B-95 for the course of an entire year.  But what also makes this story amazing is that B-95 was originally tagged on February 20th 1995 by Canadian researcher Dr. Baker in Tierra del Fuego.  Moonbirds black band read B-95 hence his name.

What is the likelihood that researchers would find B-95 again ? Pretty slim I think. Out of thousands of bird B-95 was captured again on November 17th 2001. In 2003 B-95 was found yet again. Clearly he was a survivor and an extraordinary pilot who could navigate his way back year after year.

In 2003 there was something else that was being noted by scientists, half of the adult rufa birds had died between 2000 and 2002 but here was B95, 11 years old and still completing the annual marathon migration. What scientists were looking at was a Superbird.

By the time researchers saw B95 again six years later on November 8th 2007 they simply could not believe it and knew they truly held a super athlete in their hands.

“To watch the light of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years….is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.” Rachel Carson

Confronting B-95 and all rufa red knot shore birds is the distraction of their stopping places known as stepping-stones. With a worldwide team of scientist and conservationists, Phillip Hoose follows  B-95 through all of the stepping stone stops during the annual migration. 

From the book :

“Shorebird stepping-stones are being littered with trash, crowded with much bigger creatures, machines, raced over, dug up, polluted, poisoned, and otherwise degraded so that the bird’s needs cannot be met. ”

The sad truth is that nearly half of the worlds shore bird species are declining, making shorebirds the most endangered migratory birds of all. 

Phillip Hoose has created a legacy journey using inspiring prose, stunning images, and asking poignant questions about extinction through the life of one little rufa red knot, named Moonbird.

As of May 16th 2013, B-95 was spotted again on Delaware Bay. You can read more about it here.

 

Very Recently on August 5th,2013 B-95 was spotted in Canada on the Mingan archipelago in Quebec. B-95 has made it through another breeding season at 21 years of age.

 photo by Cristophe Buidin

 Today’s photos are from the gallery at the Moonbird Fund.

A Little Bit More About Phillip House:

The widely acclaimed author of books, essays, stories, songs, and articles, including the National Book Award winning book, Claudette Colvin: Twice Towawrd Justice and his new book Moonbird. 

A graduate of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Hoose has been a staff member of The Nature Conservancy since 1977, dedicated to preserving the plants, animals and natural communities of the Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.

A songwriter and performing musician, Phillip Hoose is a founding member of the Children’s Music Network and a member of the band . He lives in Portland, Maine.

He has a plethora of information on his book Moonbird. Drop by and have a look and listen to what’s been happening with him and this now famous bird.

Something To Do:

We were so greatly inspired by this book. It has given us an awareness of the ruff red knot, a bird we didn’t even know existed before reading Moonbird.

What other birds may live around us that we don’t even know about ?

Birdwalking

Our days of late have been spent trying to identify the bird species in our area. For our bird walk we take along the Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, a pair of binoculars, and a blank page notebook to write down our observations. We have taken several bird walks finding many birds. We’ve also begun to identify their birdsong. 

We use an app called Bird Jam. There are so many apps our there both for bird identification and birdsong, but I really want to note something important about the way we’ve gone about this. We listen to the different bird songs from the app. We play a game called, “Name that Birdsong.” One person is the director picking the birdsong and everyone else tries and guesses which bird it belongs to. When we’re on a bird walk or “in the field” we are carrying our field guide and just watching and listening. We never take devices into nature. Currently there is much discussion about the effects bird call apps is having out in nature on the birds and the confusion it’s causing. When in nature we go au natural. 

Bird Tagging

Interested in the rufa red knot and other migratory birds? The Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences has a program where school children, university students, and adults can learn banding techniques bringing a better understanding of each bird species local ecosystem. It also involves people in the conservation and protection of these birds and their habitats. This program has been going for over 40 years bringing over 25,000 young people to Manomet for the Fall & Spring migrations to see the birds up close to learn about their habitats. Manomet is in the North Eastern United States. For more information you can find them here.

Discover what happened to the Rufa Red Knot Population

Follow the rufa red knot through its migration path of 2008. Each student creates an education tool to bring public awareness to the plight of this shorebird. B-95 is featured in this program with parts of the website being animated.  You can find them here.

One is never too old nor too young to make a difference. I hope you enjoy discovering more about the birds around you and especially the Rufa Red Knot. This is just a spectacular book which inspires all of us to be conservators of our precious planet.

Speaking of nature, it’s not too late to still sign up for the At Home Summer Nature Camp eCurriculum! Summer may be coming to a close but there still time to enjoy the outdoors and nature play in your own backyard!

 

The At Home Summer Nature Camp is a creative, affordable alternative to pricey summer camp, this 8-week eCurriculum is packed with ideas and inspiration to keep your kids engaged and happy all summer long. In one easy-to-follow PDF, you receive eight kid-approved themes, each including ideas and tutorials for: outdoor activities, indoor projects, arts & crafts, recipes, field trips, books & media, and more. Every weekly theme is packed with summer nature fun your family can have right in your own backyard.

Jump Into a Book is very proud and excited to be one of the many “Camp Counselors” and bringing fun, enjoyment, and family activity to your upcoming summer.

If you haven’t grabbed your e-Curriculum yet I highly recommend hopping on board and “jumping” into the fun Click the link below for details and ordering information. Welcome to Nature Summer Camp!

**some of these links are affiliate links

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Best of Summer 2013 Kid Lit Giveaway Hop and Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

It’s time!

The Best of Summer 2013 Kid Lit Giveaway Hop hosted by Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews has BEGUN!

 

This fun-filled Hop takes place from August 26 to September 6, 2013 and is your chance to take advantage in some amazing giveaways and book-related prizes!

Please take a moment for visit both Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews and tell them “Thanks!” for organizing this great event!

NOW…on to the giveaway details!

Jump Into a Book is excited to share the chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card! This is perfect timing with many families sending their kids off to school soon. We’ve made this giveaway easey-peasey too. Using Rafflecopter, follow our new Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board and comment below that you did (include you Pinterest link so we can follow you back!). That’s it! Be sure and visit the other blogs in the linky below for a chance at more great prizes

Disclaimers for the Giveaway:

*Must be 18 years or older to enter
*One entry per household.
*Staff and family members of Audrey Press are not eligible.
*Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize
No purchase necessary to win.
Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received.
Winner chosen using Rafflecopter. All decisions are final.
Entries that do not follow the stated rules and/or are received after the closing date and time are not considered.
Void where prohibited.
Taxes on the prize are the responsibility of the winner.
Potential Winners will be notified by e-mail. Potential winners will be given 48 hours from the time Sponsor or host sends an e-mail notice to respond and claim a prize. If Sponsor or host is unable to contact a potential winner or if a potential winner does not respond within 48 hours, prize will be forfeited and another potential winner will be selected at random.
Prizes are nontransferable and must be accepted as awarded.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or any other entity unless otherwise specified.

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Weekend Links: Recapping the End of Summer

Welcome back to weekend links! This is my chance to share fun and informative links and kid-friendly fun that I have encounter in my weekly interweb travels. As summer begins to draw to a close and many of us either have kids back in school or are preparing for the upcoming first day, here’s some ideas of getting “out there” into nature and squeezing out the last drops of summer:

The National Park Service is celebrating its birthday by offering free admission to any national park on Sunday, August 25, 2013.

Free admission covers entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. The perfect excuse to enjoy free entrance to nearly 400 parks across the country on Sunday. Find a participating park in your state and check for additional discounts from participating park vendors and neighboring businesses.

25 Glow in the Dark Kids Activities From Coffee Cups and Crayons

 Zina at Let’s Lasso The Moon has some great summer ideas for FUN.

 I absolutely LOVE Anna from The Imagination Tree’s idea about a Fairytale Storytelling Basket

 

Check out this great curated collection of back-to-school books from BookBoard!

BookBoard is a book subscription service designed to provide and “unlock” 100′s of books for kids with the goal in mind to keep them interested and keep them reading. You can read more about BookBoard HERE.

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Children of the Tipi: Corn Husk Dolls

We’ve spent another pleasant moment in a great resource called “Children of the Tipi:Life in the Buffalo Days” by Michael Oren Fitzgerald.  This book is a treasure of what it was like for children to grow up in the world of pre-reservation days. Taking archived photos, this book gives us a first hand look into the buffalo days of the Plains Indians

Last time we made bow & arrows, this time we had much fun making corn husk dolls. 

Aren’t these adorable?

Mothers and daughters during the summer months would dry corn husks to make dolls, baskets, and other creative things.

 

“My mother and aunt gathered an abundant supply of corn. I was left to watch the corn dry. I played around it with dolls make of ears of corn. I braided the soft fine corn silk for hair. The dolls had blankets from scraps I found in my mother’s workbag. ” Zitkala-Sa, Lakota

 

Something To Do : Corn Husk Dolls

  

Materials Needed:

string
scissors
a bucket of water
bags of cornhusks- most easily purchased (dried, cleaned and in uniform sizes), at a local craft store
cornhusk doll diagram page (print out)

Directions:

****Before beginning, soak cornhusks in a bucket of water until they are soft and pliable.****

Take four cornhusks and arrange them in as shown.



Using a small piece of string, tie the straight ends together tightly.



Trim and round the edges with scissors.



Turn upside down and pull long ends of husks down over the trimmed edges.



Tie with string to form the “head.”



Take another husk, flatten it, and roll into a tight cylinder.



Tie each end with string. This forms the doll’s arms.



Fit the arms inside of the long husks, just below the “neck.”



Tie with string, as shown, to form a “waist.”



Drape a husk around the arms and upper body in a criss-cross pattern to form “shoulders.”



Take four or five husks, straight edges together, and arrange around waist. 

These form a “skirt” for the doll.



Tie with string.



If desired, follow the diagram to form legs for the doll. Tie legs with small strips of husks as indicated. Finish off the doll by tying small strips of husk around the neck and waist to hide the string. Small scraps of cloth may be used to dress the doll.

The above diagram is from Teachers First Site.

 

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An Inside Look at Bookboard: A Book Subscription Service for Kids

Want to motivate your kids to keep reading ? Would you like to know how they’re doing with their reading progress ? Would you like to your children to have access to some of the best books written all in one place ? 

I’d like to introduce you to Bookboard.

Bookboard’s goal is to create motivated readers, and we do this by re-imagining story time for today’s digital age. As kids read, they’re rewarded by unlocking new books to add to their collections. This will encourage your kids will keep coming back to unlock the next story again and again. 

As your kids’ interests and reading level changes, Bookboard suggests other stories based on what your kids have been reading, right when they’re most interested. The service is designed to grow with your kids, with new books added all the time.

Key Features

 Ever-‐growing library without the hassles of downloads an payments.
Kids are empowered to choose from a huge selection of books and start reading. No need for ongoing purchases appeals to parents or for lengthy downloads.

Incentives

To keep kids reading. As kids read, they’re rewarded by unlocking new books to add to their ever growing library collections.And they’ll keep coming back to discover the next story.
As the reader’s interests and reading and reading levels change, Bookboard also changes with them.
The Thoughtful Librarian is delivered instantly to your home via your tablet. Bookboard suggests additional books based on what your child is currently reading right when they’re the most interested. The center and core of the book board service is the selection of books which is curated by a real librarian and personalized for your child.
Bookboard emphasizes the importance of co-reading together as adults and children, and within family groups. Understanding that story time is an interactive experience, Bookboard encourages parents and children to choose books together and the ease of unlocking new books.
A Special Feature of Bookboard is for parents to suggest categories of books to their children and gain insight into their child’s reading progress via the reading progress reports. These reports share the amount of time spent reading, how many pages, title of the books, and more.

 

No purchasing, downloading or managing books – kids get the power to drive the experience of choosing what to read, and start reading instantly.

Bookboard is a book subscription service which has over 400 titles and adding all the time to keep your children interested, motivated, and reading often.

We’ve recently been using book board. As a parent I like the feedback I get from the progress reports on how often my child is reading, for how long, and how much. Each child is given 25 books to start with. The more they read the more books are unlocked and I have to share with you that this in itself has my kids reading.  Bookboard has a wide variety of reading material including both fiction and non-fiction. As my child’s reading level improves the books he’s offered also goes up in reading level. It’s friction free reading. 

It’s really important to know that Bookboard is a service and not an app. What’s the difference ? Instead of “buying” each book you’d like to read and then downloading it, Bookboard is a service which streams the books, keeps tract of what you’re reading, and gives children a wide variety of topics and reading material to choose from.  Also it’s important to note that Bookboard uses no enhancements in their books, wanting kids to use their own imaginations.

Every subscription includes:

Unlimited reading & 400+ unlockable books
Audio books that read to your children
Offline storage to read books anywhere
Goals & achievements to encourage reading
Report of your child’s reading progress
Up to 4 child reader accounts
Parent’s portal



Two plans to choose from:


6-Month Plan

$4.99 / month

$29.94 billed every 6 months

Monthly Plan

$8.99 / month

I’m very honored to be an ambassador for Bookboard and so thrilled to be able to bring this incredible service to you and your reading family !!! 

Would you like to have a look at Bookboard for yourself ? Go ahead, here’s a free trial.

 

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Weekend Links: A Recap of an Exciting Week

 

It’s time for Weekend Links! This is my opportunity to share the fun, interesting, and amazing links that I have come across in my weekly internet travels. But this week, instead of sharing links and activities, I want to share exciting NEWS!

40% Off Little Passports During August 13-20!!

Little Passports takes your children on a journey around the world, all from your own living room! If you haven’t heard of Little Passports, take a minute to learn about their wonderful packages that are delivered to your front door each month and teach your children (and sometimes us parents!) about different places around the world. It is a perfect addition to your homeschooling curriculum or for any parent looking to put a little fun in learning! The best part of Little Passports is all the little goodies that come with your packages each month, like a mini suitcase, passport, stickers and more! The kids love it and so will you when they start spouting out neat facts about countries around the world! Check out Little Passports today and get 40% off your first month with the code: OFF40.

The Sparkle Podcast is on iTunes! You’ll find that the Sparkle Stories Podcast icon will now appear in your Podcast menu in your iTunes Library, and the first FIVE EPISODES are there and will download!

One of the first offering is a story from the Sparkle Sleepytime Series called

“Teeny the Toadlet’s First Day of School”!

Teeny is a little toadlet who is about to go to school for the very first time.  When he realizes that going to Toad School includes leaving some of his friends from the pond, and making new friends on land, he grows nervous.  His mother reassures him that toads are lucky because they can make new friends at Toad School while keeping their old friends from the pond.

Saturday Book Club Linky Party is coming!!

If you are a blogger who enjoys sharing and creating book-related activities, games, recipes, and crafts , I would LOVE to have you link up with us the second Saturday of every month for our Saturday Book Club Linky Party. Saturday Book Club Linky Party will take place on the 2nd Saturday of every month and is designed to showcase children book reviews and activities.

My hope is to provide a great resource for parents and readers, and provide a place for amazing bloggers, writers, and publishers to gain more traffic while inspiring others.

The very first SBC will be this coming September 14, 2013 it’s a  great to link up your blog post or article about a book or reading related review, crafts, and activity that is related to the monthly theme I have chosen. September’s theme, thanks to the fact that International Talk Like a Pirate Day is 9/19, is Pirate themed books and activities for kids! So put on your thinking cap, tap into your inner pirate, and create a craft/activity/recipe around your favorite pirate-themed children’s book! More details HERE.

We support Multicultural Kids Books! You may remember a while back when JIAB did a great blog post about Diversity in Kids Books. I had such positive response to this post it prompted me to dig a little deeper. The result was Jump Into a Book teaming up with Mia from Pragmatic Mom to bring our readers a new Multicultural Books for Kids #Pinterest Board!

We have much more exciting things planned around celebrating Multicultural Books for Kids, but we can’t let the cat-out-of-the-bag quite yet. Follow our new Pinterest Board, subscribe to Jump Into A Book to stay tuned for more details.

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Junonia

 

Each February, when the weather is bleakest in the North and summer is yet months away, Alice Rice and her family pack up the car and head to the Florida coast. Their final destination is a little beach cottage called Scallop which to Alice is “an enchanted house from a fairy tale—- the interior of a tree or an enormous worn out shoe or a giant nutshell.”

While on the south Florida shot they join other families who vacation there as well each year. All except this year.

As Alice hits her first double-digit birthday (she’s turning ten) some of her best and favorite friends and family are missing. One set of playmates are getting too old to miss homework and can’t make it. One older woman is trapped in a New York City blizzard, and Aunt Kate has brought along her boyfriend and his daughter Mallory. Will she be able to turn this birthday around ? Will she find a junonia shell she has long been searching for ?

Kevin Henkes had us wanting to find a junonia shell !! He has done a brilliant job authoring this very sweet coming of age story. Through this simple and loving story we come to know the inner workings of a ten-year old. He creates with impeccable sensory detail the tug of war between familiarity y and uncertainty, coziness and independence, being self-centered and all caring.

 “Because she was looking down and focusing her attention so precisely, Alice lost track of time and of herself. She wouldn’t be able to put it into words, except to say she felt removed from the world. Or just at its edge. At the edge of the wild and beautiful world. She felt small, too. But part of something large. She was happy.” 

― Kevin Henkes, Junonia

 Something To Do:

Scaphella junonia:

Common names the junonia, or Juno’s volute, is a species of large sea-snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Volutidae, the volutes. This species lives in water from 29 m to 126 m depth in the tropical Western Atlantic.

A junonia shell is a very prized item for shell seekers. It’s not easy to find and some people like Alice Rice spend years looking for one. 

“It’s not visions of sugar plums that dance in the heads of Sanibel shell collectors, it’s visions of Scaphella junonia, commonly known as “THE Junonia.” There’s not a day that I roam the shell littered shores of Sanibel that I don’t lust for the discovery of this pride of the Island. The shape and color pattern are deeply etched in my memory bank. At the vaguest hint of this icon all senses go into overdrive and my shell scooping net flies into the water, trapping any moving object in sight.

It was ten years before this shelling dream became reality.”  Kathleen Hoover Shell Seeker

The Seashell Sun

We are always collecting things. We are a family of great collectors. Throughout the years we’ve had this ever-growing collection of seashells. They are always bundled up very gently and brought home to be placed in one of our jars, bowls, or glass boxes.

Shells are such a wonderful memory of going to the beach: Walking in the surf, sand between our toes, seaweed round our angles, looking closely for a little house without an inhabitant, wind through our hair, seagulls cawing and diving, all the while looking for our treasures of sea shells in the sand.

 When our beach days are but a memory, we refer to those golden times together as Seashell Sun Days. 

 Why not take some of our collected shells and make a seashell sun to remind us of those happy carefree days?

What you’ll need:

A small wreath of any material
Glue
Small shells
Medium shells
Large piece of paper to work on as a mat

 Take your wreath and spread a small glue strip along the edge. Place your small shells on the glue.

Continue by placing another small glue strip along the edge. Continue doing this until you have a row of small shells all around the edge of the wreath.

Working in sections, place a generous amount of glue in the remainder of the wreath. Place your larger shells and fill in the gaps with smaller shells.

Work your way around the wreath until it is all filled in.

Be sure to let your Seashell Sun dry completely before picking it up. The shells will fall off it otherwise.

When you’re finished, glue a ribbon to the back to hang it up or just lay it on an end table to use as decoration. Either way you will have a beautiful piece of art to remind you of your wonderful beach days. 

 

This craft originally appeared in the Little Acorn Learning July  Enrichment Guide.

 

FINAL NOTE:

Summer may be coming to a close but there still time to enjoy the outdoors and nature play in your own backyard!

 

The At Home Summer Nature Camp is a creative, affordable alternative to pricey summer camp, this 8-week eCurriculum is packed with ideas and inspiration to keep your kids engaged and happy all summer long. In one easy-to-follow PDF, you receive eight kid-approved themes, each including ideas and tutorials for: outdoor activities, indoor projects, arts & crafts, recipes, field trips, books & media, and more. Every weekly theme is packed with summer nature fun your family can have right in your own backyard.

Jump Into a Book is very proud and excited to be one of the many “Camp Counselors” and bringing fun, enjoyment, and family activity to your upcoming summer.

If you have grabbed your e-Curriculum yet I highly recommend hopping on board and “jumping” into the fun Click the link below for details and ordering information. Welcome to Nature Summer Camp!

Click here to visit A Natural Nester.

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Blucy $100 Book Blast Giveaway !!!

About the Book

Title: Blucy

Author: Julia Dweck

Illustrator: Erika LeBarre

Year published: 2013

Publisher: Xist Publishing

Number of pages: 21

Recommended age: 3+

Summary (Amazon): Once in a blue moon, a special pet comes along. When Mandy adopts the best cat at the shelter, she doesn’t realize it has a big secret and an even bigger personality. Features full screen images and pop-up text.

Blucy Facebook Page * Blucy Pinterest Page * Goodreads

 

Purchase & Special Offer

Xist Publishing is pleased to offer you a special Buy One Get One FREE (BOGO) offer when you purchase Blucy by Julia Dweck. The Deal? If you purchase Blucy (e-book) through Amazon, you will receive a FREE electronic copy of Julia Dweck’s newest book, Mary Had a Sleepy Sheep (released September 5, 2013). All you have to do is forward your purchase confirmation email to sales@xistpublishing.com and Xist Publishing will send you a complimentary copy of Mary Had a Sleepy Sheep. Don’t wait to take advantage of this great deal!

Amazon

 

Julia Dweck scores another winner Blucy! This book is beautifully illustrated, features solid rhyming verse, has a most unusual main character in Blucy the cat, and will surely be loved and appreciated by all cat-lovers! I would recommend this wonderful picture book to children who love cats and for their grown-ups who will recognize their own cat’s behavior in this funny story. .” ~ Mother Daughter Book Reviews

Over this past year I’ve had the chance to get to know Julia Dweck and review several of her books. She is a delightful person and very wonderful children’s book author. Her newest release Blucy does not disappoint (you can read my review and bookjump HERE) and I am excited to be a part of her $100 Book Blast Giveaway!

About the Author: Julia Dweck

Julia Dweck‘s background in elementary education affords her the opportunity to be in touch with what children want to read and what makes them giggle. She’s collaborated with leading artists in the world of children’s literature to produce over 20 Amazon eBooks. Her titles have garnered placement on Amazon’s bestsellers in children’s color picture books multiple times with two #1 bestsellers: PIE-RITS and Zombie-Kids. These titles have been chosen by Amazon Editors for the prestigious “Kindle Daily Deal.” Many of Julia’s titles have earned placement on Amazon’s top ranked lists based on customer review. In her spare time, Julia is a designer of educational adjuncts for children’s literature, and has worked with such notable publishing houses as Penguin Young Readers. She presented at the 2011 National Center for Family Literacy for her creative use of technology in the classroom.

For more information about Julia Dweck and her books, please visit her website, Jule Loves 2 Write.

Twitter * Facebook

 

* Where’s Blucy? *

Before we get to the $100 Book Blast Giveaway, we have a special treat for you. If you head on over to Julia Dweck’s Facebook Fan Page, you will find the “Where’s Blucy?” contest. Julia Dweck fans are invited to post suggestions of “blue” places Blucy could be hiding, (e.g., near Elvis’ blue suede shoes). The most creative answer will win a print of the Blucy cover by the artist, Erika LeBarre. Head on over to Julia Dweck’s Facebook Fan Page to enter and…

Pssssttt… if you enter the contest before August 20th, 2013, you gain 5 entries in the $100 Book Blast Giveaway below!

 

* $100 Book Blast Giveaway *

Prize: $100 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice)

Contest runs: August 13 to September 15, 11:59 pm, 2013

Open: Internationally

How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

Terms and Conditions: A randomly drawn winner will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. If you have any additional questions, feel free to send us an email!

* This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Julia Dweck and by Xist Publishing. *

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Weekend Links: Learning Learning and Learning

It’s time for Weekend Links! This is my chance to do a round-up of all the wonderful links and activities that I have discovered during my weekly Internet travels.

 This week I have found an abundance of learning related posts, apps, and activities. Whether it’s learning about skills or learning about cultures, there was been some delightful information shared this week. Here are a few of my favorites:

Reading is fun & your kids will think so, too! Here’s some great apps for kids from Your Modern Family. 

 
I love making fun things from nature that inspire young minds. The Boy and Me has a great activity on raft building using ingredients of nature.

 
Best Educational Apps for Kids – Upper Elementary and Middle School Science Apps from iGame Mom.

Life Lessons Learned Through the Art of Sewing from Playful Learning 

What great learning links have your found this week?

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Coming Soon! The Saturday Book Club Linky Party

I love Linky’s

It’s a great way to find a multitude of wonderful reading or reading-inspired activities all in one place. Kinda of like a one-stop-shop  for reading fun from a wide variety of bloggers and sites.

That being said, I’ve decided to introduce Jump Into a Book’s very own monthly Linky Party called…

The Saturday Book Club!

Saturday Book Club Linky Party will take place on the 2nd Saturday of every month and is designed to showcase children book reviews and activities. My hope is to provide a great resource for parents and readers, and provide a place for amazing bloggers, writers, and publishers to gain more traffic while inspiring others.

The very first SBC will be this coming September 14, 2013 and I’d love it if YOU would participate! SBC will be your chance to link up your blog post or article about a book or reading related review, crafts, and activity that is related to the monthly theme I have chosen.

September’s theme, thanks to the fact that International Talk Like a Pirate Day is 9/19, is Pirate themed books and activities for kids!

Linky Guidelines

After linking up, participants will be asked to take a moment to visit and comment on at least one post within the Linky List. I would also appreciate it if you grabbed my Saturday Book Club button and shared it on your site or social media platforms as well. By linking up on this Linky you’re giving permission for me to share your post to my Saturday Book Club Pinterest Board (it will be created by the time the Linky is live) and on social media channels. Don’t forget to subscribe to Jump Into a Book so you can stay in the loop on upcoming Linky’s giveaways, reviews and activities!

NOTE: As with any other Linky in the world, I ask that you link only if your craft or activity is children’s book related (reading, or book related activities). Do not link if you are selling something! Also, please be sure and link to the actual blog post, not your homepage. Since this is a Linky Party and I’m striving to build community, I ask that you visit at least 1-2 other links on the Linky List. Do not link the same topics twice. Share the word, please grab my button and place it somewhere on your blog or link back in some way

Interested?

 Please feel free to sign up below for Saturday Book Club reminders and updates, or just mark your calendars for September 14 and be sure and stop back to share your book/reading-related blog posts and activities.

 

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The post Coming Soon! The Saturday Book Club Linky Party appeared first on Jump Into A Book.