Valarie Budayr's Blog, page 108

Annie and Helen: Helen Keller Booklist and Activities

I have greatly loved the story of Helen Keller all of my life. On several occasions I’ve had the chance to bring the story of Helen Keller to life for my children and our friends. Each time it is a deeply moving experience as we walk into the world of the blind and deaf.

Recently I had the pleasure of picking up Annie and Helen by Deborah Hopkinson with illustrations by Raul Colon at our indie bookstore Union Street Books.

The inspiring story of Annie Sullivan and her student Helen Keller has captured the hearts and imaginations of people for over a hundred years. This beautiful picture book, with excerpts of Annie’s own letters to her former teacher Mrs. Sophia C. Hopkins, shares the trials, joys, and inspirations of teaching Helen.

The telling of this story lends well to young readers as Annie opens Helen’s mind by making the world her classroom and we get to learn right along side her. Inside the pages of this well crafted story we discover Helen learning sign language, and learning to read and write in braille. It is because of Annie’s help that Helen Keller grew up to be the advocate for special needs people and a most accomplished woman of her time.

The illustrations are captivating as they use a combination of inked line-drawings and water colors. It gives a very welcoming old-time feel to the book. This is becoming a greatly loved book in this house !!!

Something To Do :
How do blind people eat at the table ?

One of the first things Annie had to teach Helen was how to sit at the table and eat her food properly. This had us asking the question “How do blind people eat ?”

Here is a wonderful from Perkins School of the blind which helps families teach table skills to their blind child.

After watching the videos we decided to give blind eating a try. In the videos they talk about specific containers, plates, and utensils. We don’t have any of these things accessible to us at the moment so we came up with the idea of taking our usual dinnerware and designating specific areas on the plate for specific foods. This will help us as we’re trying to eat blind.

We did this dinner-time in shifts so that each blindfolded person had a seeing mentor sitting by to answer questions.

For this exercise you will need:

A blindfold for each eating person.
A plate and eating utensils.

If we look at the plate as a clock, we placed the mashed potatoes at 12 o’clock, the chicken tenders at 6, and the corn at 9 o’clock.

Each person got a turn and then after each person had eaten their meal we left the table to write a bit about our experience. What was difficult ? Was it scary? What did you find easy ? What was your experience with ?

Please note that we were not doing this as a form of entertainment but as a way to walk a bit in someone else’s shoes. To try and see the world from their perspective. This exercise had the greatest positive impact on my children and family as a whole. 

Learning Sign-Language

Helen needed a way to communicate. Because she couldn’t hear, she never learned how words were formed or pronounced. She had no way of communicating and she needed a language. Deaf people use sign language to speak, but Helen Keller was both blind and deaf. Annie was inventive and figured out a way for Helen to use sign-language by signing in the palm of Helen’s hand.

Sign-language uses a special hand position for each letter.

Practice the sign language alphabet.
Now try spelling out words Let’s spell out some of Helen Keller’s first words.

Mug, Milk, Cake, Fire, Water, Ground, Baby, Teacher, Hat, Walk, Puppy, Puppies, and numbers 1-10.

Spell out words for your friends, child, parents and whoever will be willing to guess what you’re spelling.
Now with a special friend, let’s see how well you know your sign-language letters. Put on a blindfold, open the palm of your hand, and have a friend, sibling, or parent spell words for you in sign language. Can you understand each letter ? How many words did you get right ?

Learning Braille

Once Helen had a language to communicate with, it was time for Annie to teach Helen to read and write.

What is Braille ?
“We the blind are as indebted to Louis Braille as mankind is to Gutenberg . . . Without a dot system what a chaotic, inadequate affair our education would be!”—Helen Keller

Braille is a series of raised dots that can be read with the fingers by people who are blind or whose eyesight is not sufficient for reading printed material.

How Was Braille Invented?

Louis Braille was born in Coupvray, France, on January 4, 1809. He attended the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, France, as a student. While attending the Institute, Braille yearned for more books to read. He experimented with ways to make an alphabet that was easy to read with the fingertips. The writing system he invented, at age fifteen, evolved from the “Ecriture Nocturne” (night writing) code invented by Charles Barbier for sending military messages that could be read on the battlefield at night, without light. Learn more about the creation of the braille code by exploring the Louis Braille Online Museum.

Once Helen learned Braille she could read any book which had been typed in braille. Annie also brought Helen a braille typewriter so she could write in braille.

How is Braille Written?

Just like we use a paper and pencil/pen to write with a blind person can write braille using something called a slate and stylus. The slate is a template with evenly spaced depressions for the braille dots. The paper is placed in the slate and the dots are made by pushing the pointed end of the stylus into the paper over the dot depressions. This bulges the paper on the reverse side making the “dots”.

Braille is also produced by a machine known as a braillewriter. Unlike a typewriter which has more than fifty keys, the braillewriter has only six keys and a space bar. These keys are numbered to correspond with the six dots of a braille cell. Since most braille words and symbols contain more than one dot, the keys of the braille write can all be pushed down at the same time.

But what about the computer ?

Technological developments in the computer industry have provided and continue to expand additional avenues of literacy for braille users. Software programs and portable electronic braille notetakers allow users to save and edit their writing, have it displayed back to them either verbally or tactually, and produce a hard copy via a desktop computer-driven braille embosser.

The best way though to really know how the blind and deaf live is to visit a school, have a visit with a seeing or hearing impaired person or get in touch with an occupational therapist. All three of these things can open up the world of the blind and deaf to you.

Braille Bug is a site for kids with learning braille instruction, along with fin games, and great info about Helen Keller and Louis Braille

A Shared Experience

At the time of our first Helen Keller book jump my eldest daughter was 12 years old as were many of her friends at our Helen Keller book gathering. This book-jump had a great impact on them because there was a new student at school who was deaf and they wanted to communicate with her and had no way to do so. Our Helen Keller book jump led us to invite not only “Melanie, the deaf-girl” but also an occupational therapist who signed for Melanie at school. We learned how deaf people talk on the phone, how they use sign-language, but more importantly how they wish to do everything like everyone else. We all learned how to type on a braille-writer and how to read in braille but most importantly we learned that seeing and hearing impaired people are normal and have feelings, hopes, and fears just like we do. The only difference is they talk with their hands or read and write in braille.

From our Helen Keller book jump, nine girls in our mother/daughter book club started a sign-language club after school and learned sign language. They learned quickly and found a very dear friend in Melanie which continues to this day. Those girls are now 23 and 24 years old and are still great friends. Melanie graduated from college two years ago and got married last summer. At her wedding many childhood stories were shared in sign-language about the friends who entered her world and the great times they had together growing up.

Other Hellen Keller Reads:

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

This book is free online in any format you could ever want.

 

Who Was Helen Keller? by Gare Thompson and Nancy Harrison

Helen Keller (Scholastic Biography) by Margaret Davidson and Wendy Watson

History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of Helen Keller by Charles River Editors

Helen Keller (Young Yearling Book) by Stewart Graff and Polly Anne Graff

Helen Keller: The World in Her Heart by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome

Helen’s Big World: The Life of Helen Keller by Doreen Rappaport and Matt Tavares

Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller (Center for Cartoon Studies Presents) by Joseph Lambert

Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller

Have you read any of these books? Have you read them as a family? Share your thoughts and experiences with us!

**Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links.

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The Quilt-Makers Journey

The Quilt-Makers Journey by Jeff Brumbeau and Illustrated by Gail de Marcken is an exquisite both in the telling and in the illustrations. I greatly admire books which grab one at their heart center and inspire one to give their very best and this book certainly does just that.

 

If any of you are familiar with their first book, The Quilter’s Gift, The Quilt Maker’s Journey is the prequel. Sharing the tale of the generous quilt maker’s early life, Brumbeau and Marcken take us inside the isolated world of a walled village where all citizens live a life of privilege . No one inside the walls has ever seen poverty.

Though life is plentiful and abundant, the young girl isn’t happy.

One night she sneaks out of the village and finds the world beyond the walls. There she finds life filled with lack, poverty, and great need. She brought very little with her but despite people’s poverty, they are generous and kind. She finally makes her way back to the walled city and approaches the town elders about her discoveries.

Because she wants to give all of her wealth to the poor on the other side of the wall, she is banished by the town’s elders, never to return again.

She spends the rest of her life providing comfort for those who need it by making quilts in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Throughout the story there are stunningly painted illustrations. On each page a beautiful quilt image is portrayed.

This book completely captivated us and had us asking for more.

Something To Do:

This book just screams “let’s do some quilting!” Of course there is the traditional quilt sewing but before we get to that we thought we’d take a look into the world of quilts and quilting.

Teaching Quilt History to Kids:

I found this wonderful blog post written by Meg of SewMamaSew. Though written a few years back it still is very prevalent today.

Discovering Shapes

Explore the pages of The Quilt-makers Journey and look at the quilts on each page. What patterns do they make ?

Quilting is nothing more than discovering shapes. First off let’s discover squares. In quilting, squares are a major element. When we can see how a square is combined, broken down, and recombined, we can quickly seen how the various patterns and shapes come together to create a pattern.

Coloring Shapes

Take one of the blank square grids and see look at the square patterns below. With one color marker copy, choose one pattern. Copy this pattern onto your square grid.

Simple Patterning

Once children have a strong foundation in shapes, you can explore tiling and patterns using color tiles or pieces of colored paper, show children how to create a simple AB pattern, and invite them to make their own.

Planning a Grid

Give your child a sheet of 1″ grid paper. Ask them to plan out their own AB pattern using colors of their choice, then try patterns of three, four, or five colors.

Shapes to Count On

With a friend or sibling,look at the quilt patterns. Count how many squares are colored and how many squares are left blank.  Does everyone’s tallies add up the same ?

Paper Quilting

It’s time to make a paper quilt. Choose a quilt block pattern. Cut plain colored, and patterned paper ( I like to use scrapbooking paper) into squares, triangles, and rectangles. Arrange the shapes on a white piece of paper into the shape of your chosen quilt block pattern and glue them into place after you’ve arranged all of the pieces.

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The Quilted Story Booklist

The weather lately has given me the urge to snuggle under a quilt with a good book. Better yet, how about snuggling under a quilt reading a book about quilts!

Ironically, this month also marks National Quilting Month according to the National Quilting Association.

So with all this quilting info in mind, here’s some of our top picks for quilt-inspired reading:

 

The Quilt Maker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau

Selina and the Bear Paw Quilt By Barbara Smucker

The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco

The Log Cabin Quilt by Ellen Howard

The Quilt Block History of Pioneer Days by Mary Cobb

Quilting Then and Now by Karen B. Willing and Julie B. Dock

Bess’s Log Cabin Quilt by D. Ann Love

The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy

Sam Johnson and the Blue Ribbon Quilt by Lisa Campbell Ernst

The Boy and the Quilt by Shirley Kurtz

The Canada Geese Quilt by Natalie Kinsey-Wamock

Eight Hands Round by Ann Whitford Paul

Grandpa’s Quilt by Betsey Franco

The Josefina Story Quilt by Eleanor Coerr

The Promise Quilt by Candice Ransom

The Quilt by Ann Jonas

The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola

Freedom Quilts
Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter

The Secret to Freedom by Marcia K. Vaughan

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson

Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson

Do you have any quilt-inspired book picks to share?

 

**Some of the links above are affiliate links.

 

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Read Across the Continents (Africa): The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

 

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind; Here begins the inspirational tale about a boy who had hope.

A boy who believed that he could bring relief from drought and hunger to his people.

William Kamkwamba, born in Malawi, knew what it was like to see life slipping away. He was born into a loving village where he would go to school, work the fields with his father, and enjoy the company of his extended family and community. But William watched it all go away as the sun’s heat burned bright and the rains would not come.

 

Before the drought years arrived, William was always fascinated with electricity and how it worked. It was his dream to study science in Malawi’s top boarding school. As 2002 approached and the droughts left his families farm barren and destitute, William was forced to drop out of school because he couldn’t pay the $80 a year for the school tuition. His days were spent helping his family search for food, and as it was, many people were starving and dying.

In a book called Using Energy, William had read about windmills.  He dreamed about building a windmill that would bring electricity and water to his village. He knew this could be the solution to end the misery of his people. But instead of applauding this great idea, his neighbors made fun of him and even called him misala (crazy).

This didn’t deter William, however. He was determined to show all of them what a little focus and ingenuity could do.

Despite all of the roadblocks in his way, William didn’t let go of his dreams.

He had access to a library which held old textbooks and he would spend hours reading and reviewing old science books. Armed with this knowledge, he set about and formed a plan that would bring not only his family the luxury of electricity and running water, but the satisfaction of knowing he could help save his village. And a luxury it would be since only 2 percent of Malawians can afford to have water and electricity.

Even though his village continued to look at him as a bit “off his rocker,” William made a crude but  working windmill using scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves. This strange contraption, holding a circuit breakers and switches held together by nails and wire, actually powered 4 lights. Another small machine turned a water wheel which brought water to the farmers fields. Together, all the pieces worked in harmony and William achieved the result he had dreamed and hoped for for years.

Soon news of Williams “electric wind” spread beyond the borders of his home village and inspired people around the world.

I first read this story when it came out as a non-fiction adult book and it struck a cord with me. Soon I found myself telling my family about this incredible young man who saved his village using sheer inventiveness during breakfast one morning.

When the children’s book came out, I was so thrilled that I could now share this story with many young friends.

Illustrated in rich colors and beautiful collage technique by Elizabeth Zunon, The Boy Who Harvested the Wind will inspire all who read it that they too can make a difference.

To date, William Kamkwamba is a student at African Leadership Academy, a pan-African high school in Johannesburg, South Africa. A 2007 TED Global Fellow, Kamkwamba has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal and his inventions displayed at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. He’s often invited to tell his story, and in 2008, he delivered an address at the World Economic Forum on Africa.

This is an incredible first hand look into William’s dream and what inspired him.

Photos of William are taken from his website.

 

William’s website

 

Something To Do:

At the Budayr house, we decided we couldn’t let William have all this fun by himself!

After many readings from both books and several discussions later, the question that kept coming up most was;  can we make a windmill out of recycled items?

We opted out of the large life size windmill immediately and after reading this inspiring article about creating electricity from a plastic soda bottle windmill to create light in Kenyan homes, we decided to give the soda bottle windmill a go.

We explored many ideas and options, but finally we settled on a kit from Green Science called Windmill Generator. Everything is included in the kit except the screw-driver. We easily put it together and have had countless hours of fun with our LED light being lit by our windmill.

“Now I have something in common with the kids in Kenya!” shared my very enthusiastic son. This same lovely son is looking into the practicality of having our own windmill for our own use. Who knows? Someday soon we may soon have one more thing in common with William Kamkwamba.

In conclusion, if you want to be inspired, this is a book that just keeps on giving incredibly good feelings. It forces us to stop and think, count our blessings, and ask the question….

..what can I do to make a difference today??

 

Please take a moment to comment below and share your thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Don’t be shy! We’d love to hear from you!

 

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Read Around the Continents Booklist: Africa

We are a family of happy travelers, in fact we call ourselves “The Traveling Tribe.” It should be the name of our family memoir.

When we aren’t traveling physically, we are “armchair traveling.” It’s educational, fun, and a great way to learn new things about our world as a family. One way I’ve taught my children about the 7 continents is to use books from a specific continent and incorporate that into story time or family reading time. Folktales are especially good for this project.

This week our armchair traveling takes us to the continent of Africa.

Did you know that:

Africa is the second largest continent in the world ?




Africa is also called the Dark Continent because for a very long time not much was known about it. Africa’s terrain was very difficult to navigate and discover.

 Africa is the home of the Nile ,the longest river in the world.




It is also the home of the Sahara, the largest desert in the world.




The equator passes through the middle of  the African continent , this means it receives direct sunlight all year round. Africa’s hottest country, literally is Ethiopia.
Africa is very rich in minerals.Ninety five percent of the worlds’s diamonds and more than 50% of the world’s gold comes from Africa.




66% of  the world’s chocolate comes from Africa.




Africa is considered to be the place where the first humans lived and learned to use tools.

There are some very masterful storytellers about Africa. Did you know that Africa is also known as the storytelling continent ? Where possible I’ve organized this list by some great authors and storytellers.

Verna Aardema: Verna Norberg Aardema Vugteveen, best known by the name Verna Aardema, was an American author of children’s books. Born Verna Norberg in New Era, Michigan she graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. of Journalism in 1934. She worked as a grade school teacher from 1934 to 1973 and became a correspondent for the Muskegon Chronicle in 1951, which lasted until 1972, the year before she retired from teaching elementary school:

Bimwili and the Zimwi:This story from Zanzibar explains what happens when Bimwili returns to the seashore to find a shell that she has left there. She is captured by an evil Zimwi who imprisons her in his drum. Purpose of this tale is to warn children about the dangers of straying alone from the village.

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain: This Nandi story uses rhyme and repetition in a cumulative pattern to teach about life and animals on the savannah. When the rains are late, Ki-pat uses an eagle feather to end the drought on the plain.
Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa: From Angola to Zanzibar, this treasury is as varied and bountiful as Africa itself!  Master storyteller Verna Aardema retells 12 tales of justice and revenge, greed and generosity, sly trickery, and off-the-wall silliness with her trademark humor and flair.
Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears : This West African cumulative tale begins when Mosquito tells Iguana a tall tale. Iguana, rather than listen to Mosquito, puts sticks in his ears and that is when the problem begins

 

Mansa Musa: The Lion of Mali  by Khephra BurnsMufaro’s

Beautiful Daughter by John Steptoe

Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky by Elphinstone Dayrell

Bintou’s Braids by Sylviane Diouf

Bury my Bones but Keep my Words: African Tales for Re-telling by Tony Fairman

The Hunter and the Crocodile by Baba Wague Diakite

Stories by Ann Grifalconi

Darkness and the Butterfly
The Village of Round and Square Houses

The Girl who Spun Gold by Virginia Hamilton

Anansi and the Talking Melon by Eric A. Kimmel

Stories by Tololwa M. Mollel

Rhinos for Lunch and Elephants for Supper. A Masai Tale
The Orphan Boy
My Rows and Piles of Coins

The Spider Weaver: A Legend of Kinte Cloth by Margaret Musgrove

The Fortune-Tellers by Lloyd Alexander

A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story by Linda Sue Park

Sense Pass King : A Story from Cameroon

Off to the Sweet Shores of Africa and Other Talking Drum Rhymes by Uzo Unobagha

From our very own stacks we offer The Boy who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

One of my favorite books about the continent of Africa is Africa for Kids: Exploring a Vibrant Continent 19 activities  by Harvey Croze

We could not have a list about Africa without a couple of books about one of the most incredible people on the planet; Nelson Mandela.

Peaceful Protest: The Life of Nelson Mandela by Yona Zeldis McDonough

Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales by Nelson Mandela

 

 

What are your Africa Book picks?

**Some of the links above are affiliate links.

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Read Around The Continents: The African Library Project

We are off on a new adventure!

And this adventure I’d like to call Jump Into A Book’s Read Around The Continents series.

I wanted to share today a little bit about the African Library Project as part of our Read Around the Continents series. This week we will be looking at the continent of Africa and all of the rich stories, nature, wildlife, and people that goes along with it. Unfortunately, Africa is one of the poorest continents on the planet and with that comes illiteracy. Global literacy is one of the easiest ways to end poverty. Today let’s have a look at a woman named Chris Bradshaw and the incredible work she is doing to help illiteracy in Africa for old and young alike.

The African Library Project was founded in 2005 by Chris Bradshaw and her family from Portola Valley, California. During a family vacation of visiting remote villages in Lesotho (a small mountainous kingdom in Southern Africa), Chris decided to work towards ending the cycle of poverty and illiteracy. She realized that the simple act of establishing libraries with gently-used books would have a profound effect in increasing literacy, and she worked closely with local teachers and community leaders to begin the African Library Project.The African Library Project changes lives book by book by starting libraries in rural Africa.

The African Library Project coordinates book drives in the United States and partners with African schools and villages to create small libraries.

Recently the African Library Project delivered their one millionth book. Have a look at the short video below to see how your gently used books can go to build a library in Africa.

Did you know ?

Most African children grow up without books, while U.S. bookshelves and landfills overflow with books no longer read.
Africa has the highest percentage of illiteracy in the world.
Books are the key to increasing literacy, and literacy is the #1 tool out of poverty.
Many African teachers teach reading, writing, math and English without even a single book to use as a resource.
Many adult Africans lose their ability to read due to a lack of reading materials.
The UN has decreed 2003-2012 the United Nations Literacy Decade to underscore the importance of literacy and basic education as major tools in building a cohesive and peaceful society for the 21st century.

I’m happy to share that Jump into a Book and Audrey Press have chosen the African Library Project as one of their charity projects for 2013 and we are on our  way to building our first library in Africa. in 2013, each time a book is purchased from Audrey Press we will donate 30% of our profits to literacy charities throughout the world.

The African Library Project is an all-volunteer organization, so 100% of your donations support library development.  As a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, all U.S. donations to ALP are tax-deductible. You can donate by regular mail or online.

Reasons to give:

There are so many great causes. Why does the African Library Project deserve your contribution?

They support literacy and fight poverty by giving eager readers the tools for learning.
They empower local people to run African libraries for Africans.
They are green – we keep hundreds of thousands of used books out of U.S. landfills and give them to people who need them most.
They are all-volunteer in labor, so your dollars go to essential supplies and services, not salaries and overhead.
They make the world smaller by providing U.S. book donors with a chance to personally make a difference for an African community.

Lastly I need to leave you with one more beautiful video from this incredible organization. It is so easy to help!!! We take our gently loved books and give them to someone who doesn’t have any books at all. I’m greatly inspired by this project because children are the givers and the receivers plus 100 % of donations go to building libraries.  In the upcoming weeks and months I’ll be updating the JIAB library project here and how you can get involved.

Share a book, and you change a life.

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App-y Hour Book Apps for Kids- The Seuss Edition

Our friends over at Oceanhouse Media have gone SEUSS CRAZY!

 

 

In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday (March 2) this first week of March has been filled with some delightful Seuss book apps and activities.

Here’s a few of our favorites “Seuss-related” titles that have been showcased this last week:

Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Collection #1  by Dr. Seuss: 5 classic Dr. Seuss books all wrapped up in 1 app!

 

 

The Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Collection #1 contains five exciting Dr. Seuss titles for young readers. Enjoy The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, The FOOT Book, Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? and Fox In Socks all in one omBook!

CLICK HERE to get this app on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.

Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss

 

 

 ”I’ll just have to save him.

Because, after all,

A person’s a person

No matter how small.”

Horton the Elephant hears a small speck of dust talking to him. It turns out the speck of dust is actually a tiny planet, home to a city called Who-ville, inhabited by tiny inhabitants known as Whos. Their Mayor asks Horton to protect them from harm, which Horton happily agrees to do, proclaiming throughout the book that “even though you can’t see or hear them at all, a person’s a person, no matter how small.” In doing so he is ridiculed and forced into a cage by the other animals in the jungle for believing in something that they are unable to see or hear. How will Horton and the Whos escape this predicament?

CLICK HERE to get at the App Store, Nook, Amazon, HP webOS, and Google Play

This first week of March has also been a treasure-trove of fun “Seuss-related” activities for kids of all ages. Here’s our Top Seuss Picks:

30 Ways to Have Fun with The Lorax by Dr. Seuss Educators Spin On It:

Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas: Make DIY Dr. Seuss’ OOBLECK!

More “Seuss-inspired” treats and eats at Keitha’s Chaos! (Love McElligot’s Pool)

What Seuss fun did you find this week?

 

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What Would you Trade YOUR Peanut-Butter Sandwich for ?

During the Family Book Festival, author/illustrator Chris Robertson stopped by to chat about the great fun world of reading he’s created with his books. One of our favorite Chris Robertson books is I’ll Trade my Peanut-Butter Sandwich.

The main character in this book is very clever as he’ll trade his peanut-butter sandwich for just about anything. The prose kept my children engaged and the illustrations are so inventive and down right funny.

I’ll Trade my Peanut Butter Sandwich

It’s a quick read but don’t put it away after you’re finished because your kids will be asking for it again and again.

When a boy trades his peanut-butter sandwich, it begins a series of increasingly absurd and outrageous trades, until he finally discovers an appreciation for the simple things in life.-Amazon

Just for fun, ask your family what they would “trade their peanut butter sandwich” for.

 Something To Do :

 The History of Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches aka PB&J Sandwiches

In the early 1900′s and served in New York City’s finest tea rooms, peanut butter was considered a delicacy only for those who could afford it. It was often paired with such things as celery, watercress, cheese, or nasturtiums and served on toasted crackers. Eventually a recipe for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches was published in Good Housekeeping Magazine and from there the lunch box staple was born. By the 1920′s the price of peanut butter declined so much that it could easily be found in every household in America. During World War II peanut butter and jelly were on the U.S. Soldiers military meal ration list.

How to Make Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter Combinations

Of course we know that peanut butter can be eaten with jelly, but did you know there are a variety of other items that people eat with their peanut butter? My mother’s favorite sandwich was peanut butter and onions. It gave me chills just to watch her eat it.

Photo Source: http://www.burntmyfingers.com/

Other famous peanut butter combinations are:

Peanut butter and banana sandwiches
Peanut butter & fried pickles
Peanut butter & pears
Peanut butter & Apples
Peanut butter & Honey
Peanut butter, & chocolate

Then there is something called a Fluffernutter: You take peanut butter and marshmallow fluff and put it on bread.

Today must be your lucky day because today I leave you with The Ultimate PB& Marmalade Fluffernutter Sandwich 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons chunky peanut butter

3 slices white bread

1 1/2 tablespoon orange marmalade

1 1/2 tablespoon marshmallow creme

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Spread 1 Tbl. peanut butter on one slice of bread. Spread marmalade over top. Set aside. Spread 1 Tbl. peanut butter on another slice of bread, then place on top of marmalade, peanut butter side down.

Spread marshmallow creme on exposed side of bread. Sprinkle cheese on top of marshmallow creme. Spread remaining peanut butter on remaining slice of bread, then place on top of cheese, forming double-decker sandwich.

Enjoy!

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All Good Things Must Come to an End: A Look Back at The Family Book Festival

Our Family Book Festival is coming to a close.

AND what a delightful and informative month it has been! Fourteen authors, bloggers, and writers offered up their childhood or current family book favorites with companion activities for a month of reading and family fun.

Family Book Festival is a project to help chase away the doldrums of winter by jumping into the favorite books of our author, illustrator, blogger friends.

It’s our hope that, not only will we provide reading families with amazing new booklists and activities, but also give the parents a chance to experience a blissful walk down memory lane as they share favorite books from their childhood.

We want to say a HUGE “thank you” to everyone who participated in this wonderful festival and shared their thoughts, books, and activities with Jump Into a Book.

Here’s a recap in case you may have missed a few installments:

Roscoe Welply  and Curious George Gets a Medal (and an in-depth-rocket craft tutorial you won’t want to miss!)

Alexis York Lumbard and Amos & Boris (and a wonderful tutorial on creating concrete poems!)

Marilyn Scott Waters and Misty of Chincoteague (plus fun paper toy downloads)

Suz Lipman Curious George Rides a Bike (plus a great paper boat activity)

Kara Fleck and Strega Nona (and a fun twist on your average spaghetti dinner!)

Renee Cormier & Dr. Seuss (and a fun “silly Seuss” book creating activity!)

“Franticmommy” Rebecca Flansburg and Robinson Crusoe(and some ideas for Robinson Crusoe “boat buildin” using recycled material from around the house!)

Donna Ashton and The Faraway Tree (and some great resources and ideas for year-around kid-friendly forts!)

A fun and humorous interview with Author/Illustrator Chris Robertson ( and the story behind the donkey named Patches)

Sonia Dalal and Abel’s Island (and the chance to put your child’s imagination to work)

Eileen Straiton and The Little Snowgirl (and a truly creative activity involving ice and beeswax!)

Julia Dweck and The Kingdom Keepers (and a fascinating activity on holograms from holograph expert Frank DeFreitas!)\

Beth Cheng and The Monkey King ( and some great suggestions for Chinese New Year book apps for kids.)

Zoe Toft and the Barbapapa Books (and a great recipe to make homemade play dough!)

Such a fun month and we can’t wait until February of 2013 to do it all over again

 

 

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And the Winner is….

First, we want to thank everyone who entered our hugely successful Dr. Seuss 31 Book Giveaway!

The response was amazing and we are so grateful for everyone’s support.

And NOW..the moment you have been waiting for!

Stacey Coons is the winner of the Dr. Seuss 31 Book Giveaway!!!  Congrats Stacy!

The post And the Winner is…. appeared first on Jump Into A Book.