Valarie Budayr's Blog, page 109
March 1, 2013
March 1st is NEA’s Read Across America Day!
Happy Read Across America Day!!
What does that mean? Well here’s an excerpt from NEA’s website:
NEA’s Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss.
NEA’s Read Across America also provides NEA members, parents, caregivers, and children the resources and activities they need to keep reading on the calendar 365 days a year.
Motivating children to read is an important factor in student achievement and creating lifelong successful readers. Research has shown that children who are motivated and spend more time reading do better in school.
Dr Seuss’ Bio
A person’s a person, no matter how small,” Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, would say. “Children want the same things we want. To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained and delighted.”
Brilliant, playful, and always respectful of children, Dr. Seuss charmed his way into the consciousness of four generations of youngsters and parents. In the process, he helped millions of kids learn to read. Read more HERE.
Something to Do:
Take advantage of all the very “Seuss-y” downloadable from NEA!
Print your own Read Across America Day Poster HERE.
Share this awesome Read Across America Poem with friends, family, and students
Print off your very own Read Across America Certificate of Achievement HERE
RAA_2013_Achievement_Certificate
What do you have planned for RAA?
The post March 1st is NEA’s Read Across America Day! appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 28, 2013
Family Book Festival: Roscoe Welply and Curious George Gets a Medal (& Awesome Rocket Craft!)
But what a wonderful, delightful, book-filled month it has been! 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 was our hope that, not only we could 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.
AND, we’ve saved the Best for LAST!
Roscoe Welply is a graphic and book designer that has been an important part of the JIAB/Audrey Press family for the last few years. Roscoe’s amazing graphic talents has allowed books like The Fox Diaries: The Year the Foxes Came to our Garden and the recent The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory enhanced digital ebook to have a unique and enchanting look.
Many people are amazed when they find out The Ultimate Guide to Charlie was created by two people (graphic designer Roscoe Welply and myself) who live an ocean apart. We live in different parts of the world. I’m here in the States and Roscoe lives in France. This means we are in completely different time zones.
“How did you do it?” they ask.
“Thank goodness for modern technology!” is my common reply.
The bottom line is, we are thrilled that Roscoe agreed to be a part of our Family Book Festival and let me assure you, he “hit it out of the park” with this amazing (and in-depth) Curious George inspired craft tutorial. Roscoe has also offered up a downloadable PDF of all the instructions, patterns, directions, and photos to help your kids (with a little help from Curious George) rocket to the moon!
Thanks for joining us Roscoe! Share with us one of your family’s a favorite books.
Our boys really love Curious George. And of their favorite “George” books is Curious George Gets a Medal.
In this classic story, George tries to write a letter—but, when he spills ink everywhere, his cleanup efforts fill the room with soap bubbles. He also frees a pen full of pigs, rides a cow, hitches a ride on a pickup truck, crashes into a dinosaur, and finally, most importantly, soars into outer space, which results in the happiest day of his life—he gets a medal, of course!
Activity:
Roscoe pulled out all the stops and created this amazing Curious George Rocket Crafts Tutorial! Get ready for TAKE OFF! Vrrrooommmm!
For FREE instructions, patterns, directions, and pictures in an easy-to-follow pdf, Click the Link Below
Get Your Rocket Craft PDF HERE
Roscoe Welply is a Freelance graphic designer and book designer located in Bordeaux, France. Designer of 2 children’s books for Audrey Press including the recent http://ultimateguidetocharlie.com/about/. Roscoe is owner and founder of HoneyGroveDesigns.
The post Family Book Festival: Roscoe Welply and Curious George Gets a Medal (& Awesome Rocket Craft!) appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 27, 2013
Family Book Festival: Sara Merkel Wilson and The Hobbit: There and Back Again
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 was our hope that, throughout the course of this month-long event, that families and parents would not only find new and exciting books to read with their children, but also the chance to take a sweet walk memory lane with remembrances of their childhood favorites.
We are so excited to have Sara Merkel Wilson from Love in the Suburbs here with us today! Sara co-authors monthly theme guides with Eileen Straiton for Little Acorn Learning is part of the much respected Waldorf community.
Sara, share with us why The Hobbit:There and Back Again touches your heart.
I remember falling in love with The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien as a child. My father loved it and my mom and he both read it to me aloud. When the Rankin/Bass animated film came out in 1977, we saw it in the theater. Later we had a special book with pictures from the film. I remember poring over those pictures often.
My husband, Ian, also has a love for The Hobbit, and last spring vacation, when we were all sick for about ten days, Ian started reading it aloud to our sons and me. Our oldest was 9 at the time and our youngest, 5. I thought perhaps they wouldn’t take to it and I emotionally prepared myself for the possibility that they wouldn’t like it. Ian and I were delighted when both of our sons became captivated by the story.
Since that time, Ian has read all three books of The Lord of the Rings trilogy to them. Again, we thought all the slow, trudging parts of the trilogy would bog down the children and they’d lose interest, but it never happened. My older son, Lucas, became captivated by all things Elvish, and our little guy became obsessed with Dwarves!
When I asked them what book I should write about for the Family Book Festival here at Jump Into a Book, they quickly answered The Lord of the Rings. Since young and middle grade readers are more apt to be tackling The Hobbit, we easily settled on it instead, with no less enthusiasm.
(photo of illustration by Arthur Rankin, Jr., and Jules Bass)
We started with discussing our favorite parts of the book. Naturally, Lucas prefers the part with the Murkwood Elves, and the part where Bilbo Baggins meets Gollum, and the fantastic battle of five armies at the end. Asher is fascinated by dragons, and loves the part where Bilbo steals Smaug’s cup to show to the Dwarves of Thorin’s party. He also likes the battle with the spiders, in which a newly emboldened Bilbo rescues his friends with cunning, his sword Sting, and some help from the Ring.
We all chose our three favorite parts, and then looked for overlap. Ian kindly reread these favorite parts for us while we dreamed about an art project we could do together.
We considered several great options. It took some time and discussion to arrive at a single scene to depict for you here, which was a great exercise in family diplomacy. There were so many we were interested in! We finally settled on a diorama of the scene between Bilbo and Smaug, set within Smaug’s mountain. Bilbo is there to burgle for Thorin and the Dwarves some of the gold Smaug is hording, and he and Smaug have a great conversation.
photo of illustration by Arthur Rankin, Jr., and Jules Bass
Activity: Building The Hobbit diorama of Smaug’s Mountain
Materials
diorama base (wood, cardboard box, Styrofoam packing insert, etc.)
paper (brown grocery sack paper or black butcher paper, or both)
low-temperature glue gun with glue
gold foil, aluminum foil, or paper sprayed with gold spray paint
modeling material (air-drying clay, model magic, etc.)
craft paint (reds for the dragon; earth tones for Bilbo)
jewels and/or gold glitter
battery operated candles for lighting the scene
Tutorial
Start by deciding the scale for your scene. We opted to make Bilbo quite small and Smaug’s head quite large. We wanted to show the inside of the Smaug’s cavern and his enormous pile of treasure. But if you wish, you can craft the entirety of Smaug’s body.
Cover your base with crumpled paper; it will look like rocks if you use brown, gray, or black paper. Hot glue works well, but you could also use staples for this part.
Sculpt your dragon head or entire dragon. In our family, everyone got a turn to make Smaug’s fearsome head. We use model magic so that we could sculpt and resculpt until we were all satisfied with Smaug’s head shape.
Don’t forget to add teeth, scary eyes, and maybe even some spikes. Your dragon will look more realistic if you make both an upper jaw and a lower jaw.
If you wish, you can also sculpt some front claws. It’s wonderful if you can read this passage of The Hobbit aloud as you are sculpting together, or listen to an audiobook. (You can even find Tolkien himself reading aloud from The Hobbit on YouTube!) For our diorama, most of the dragon’s body is out of the scene, hidden by complete darkness in the giant cavern, so we only needed a head and claws.
We curled one claw around a bottle of paint, so that when it dried it would have a curled shape.
Now, sculpt a tiny Bilbo. A simple figure will work fine. I made Bilbo’s feet rather prominent, both to give him some stability and to suggest his Hobbit nature. You may wish to make a few bones to add to the pile of hoarded gold!
Allow these to air dry completely before you paint them; this might take a couple of days, depending on your medium and how large your pieces are. Painting may require several sessions, as you may have to let parts dry before adding more colors. Take this opportunity to read more from The Hobbit with your family!
Decide where in your diorama the dragon will be and then create a mound of treasure from your foil or gold-painted paper. If you want to add some bling, you can put some white glue on and then sprinkle some gold glitter, or glue on few fancy gems.
Place in your figures to make sure you’re happy with the design. You might try a couple of different arrangements. Which arrangement is the most dramatic? Next, add more paper to create the sides of the cavern.
Finally glue in your figures so they stand where you want them. You may wish to add in battery operated candles to give an eerie glow to your diorama.
Congratulations on completing a wonderful, book-inspired family art project! We hope you enjoyed making your diorama as much as we enjoyed making ours! Hmmm … should we do the spiders next, do you think?
Sara Wilson is a writer, work-at-home book editor, and mother of two young boys (6 and 10) living in Fair Oaks, California. She is the co-author of the Little Acorn Learning Festival E-Books with Eileen Foley Straiton (Midsummer; Autumn Equinox & Michaelmas; Advent & Saint Nicholas; Winter; and coming soon, Spring Equinox & Easter). She has published articles on a range of topics including family, health and exercise, community, education, and spirituality. On her blog, Love in the Suburbs (www.loveinthesuburbs.com), Sara shares her joys, learning, craft tutorials, photography, observations, challenges, and occasional frustrations with family life. Sara and her husband are educating their children in the Waldorf philosophy, with all its beauty, rhythm, and soulful qualities, but also have their feet firmly in the world. You can connect with Sara on Pinterest and Facebook
ONE LAST NOTE! Don’t forget to enter to win Jump Into a Books 31 Book Dr. Seuss Giveaway! Go HERE for details and sweepstakes information!
The post Family Book Festival: Sara Merkel Wilson and The Hobbit: There and Back Again appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 26, 2013
Family Book Festival: Alexis York Lumbard with Amos & Boris
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.
This week we are so excited to have author Alexis York Lumbard. North Carolina native and a busy mother of three, Alexis is the author of The Conference of the Birds, her first published children’s book, which was illustrated by the well-known author and illustrator Demi. We thought we’d mix it up a bit and have a little “Q & A” with Alexis. Enjoy!
JIAB: What was your favorite book growing up?
Alexis: Charlotte’s Web. Such a delightful book
JIAB: Does your family have a favorite book everyone likes to read together?
Alexis: YES! Amos & Boris by William Steig
JIAB: Share with us why you like Amos & Boris
Alexis: There is a shelf in our family library upon which only a select group of books may sit. Many gifted authors, including the late William Steig (November 14, 1907 – October 3, 2003), grace this shelf. Perhaps you know Steig by one of his more famous books like, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble or Shrek, which inspired the hilarious movie franchise. But have you heard of Amos & Borris?
There are many reasons why Amos & Boris sits upon our honorary family shelf. And even though it was difficult, I tried my best to narrow those reasons down to two.
1. It’s A Beautiful Story of True Friendship
Amos & Boris is a simple story of a mouse and his friendship with a whale. It seems an unlikely friendship, doesn’t it? Amos loves the ocean and wonders what lies far away on the other side of the water. So builds himself a boat and sets sail. Late one night while gazing at the stars, Amos rolls right off the ship and into the ocean. In one of the most philosophical and honest passages of picture book prose, Amos confronts mortality. But thankfully along comes Boris, a mountain of a whale, to Amos’ rescue. As the two make their way back to land, they develop a deep and abiding friendship. The kind of friendship that neither time nor distance (nor size) can change. Amos returns to land and Boris the sea, but fate will bring the two back together and this time, Amos becomes the unexpected helper. Amos & Borisis magical, memorable story about the deep bonds, which bind the best of friends.
2. A Language That Dazzles
I also admire the language and style of Amos & Boris. It is lyrical and evocative. Take for example the following passage:
“One night, in a phosphorescent sea, he marveled at the sight of some whales spouting luminous water: and later, lying on the deck of his boat gazing at the immense, starry sky, the tiny mouse Amos, a little speck of a living thing in the vast living universe, felt thoroughly akin to it all. Overwhelmed by the beauty and mystery of everything, he rolled over and over and right off the deck of his boat and into the sea.”
Today it is difficult to find editors willing to publish books written with high language. Books are weighed with lexicon scores; “is this language appropriate for the targeted age?” it is often asked. Obviously the answer to this question is no, for words like phosphorescent, luminous, and immense, are not commonly found in the vocabulary of a five year old. But shouldn’t good literature not only “entertain,” but so too elevate?
So as long as the fad of “snarky” and “edgy” books with irreverent characters persists on the market today, then I (and my family) will stay home and curl up with those old trusted friends who line a special part of our bookshelf. -Alexis York Lumbard
Activities:
Create a visual, also known as a concrete or a poem. Choose either Boris or Amos and fill your visual poem with qualities that represent one of these characters. For examples of visual poetry please see: http://tinyurl.com/a3psh5j
Here are some instructions to make one of your very own !!!
Instructions:
First, what is a concrete poem?
A concrete poem is one in which the words make a shape and the shape itself conveys the central idea of the poem. So if you are writing a poem about Amos, it is literally in the shape of a mouse. If you are writing a poem about Boris, it is shaped as a whale.
Don’t worry it is easier than it sounds. (And the shape needn’t be perfect!)
Now that you know what a concrete poem is, choose either Amos or Boris.
Get out two pieces of paper. The one is for the final copy so place that aside. With the other piece, write your poem. Do not worry about the shape yet; just write your poem. Concrete poems don’t have to rhyme. It doesn’t even need to be full sentences. If you want, you can just write a list of adjectives that describes the qualities found in the characters of Amos or Boris (whomever you have chosen).
Now that you have your poem written, draw with a pencil the shape you choose from step 3. Write you poem into the shape. You may have to play around with the shape so that your poem fits. Below is a concrete poem I once wrote about moon sighting during the holy month of Ramadan, a special holiday for Muslims.
Write to a friend or family member whom you haven’t spoken to or seen in a long time. Tell them about Amos & Boris and how it reminded you of your friendship. Consider telling them how wonderful it would be to go on an adventure together and where you would take them. Lastly, be sure to remind them how much they mean to you.
Bio: Alexis York Lumbard is a mother of three and children’s book author from Boston. Her debut picture book, The Conference of the Birds,written for children ages 6 and up, is an 800-year-old parable about a flock of birds journeying to meet their king. Award-winning illustrator Demi lavishly illustrates this book. Her next picture book, Angels, with illustrations by Flavia (Wisdom Tales Press December 2013) is a playful celebration of the idea that each child has their own special guardian. Alexis also has an upcoming book app, The Story of Muhammad.
DON’T FORGET! Our big giveaway has BEGUN! The 31 Dr. Seuss Book #Giveaway has begun at Jump Into A Book! Go HERE for details, information, and to enter to WIN! Good luck!
The post Family Book Festival: Alexis York Lumbard with Amos & Boris appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 25, 2013
Family Book Festival : Suz Lipman Curious George Rides a Bike
Our Family Book Festival just keeps getting better and better!
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 are so lucky to have a visit from Suz Lipman today!
Suz and I came to know each other via our blogs. Jump into a Book and Suz’s blog Slow Family Online. Suz and I both subscribe to the Slow Living Lifestyle. Life is to be savored ! We both chose to get off the merry-go-round of hyper activity and create a life of togetherness with our families as opposed to the carpool line. You can learn more about Slow Family Living on her blog and her incredibly great book filled to the brim with over 300 activities to do with your family “Fed Up with Frenzy”. It was one of my favorite reads for 2012. I’m still creating and reading from it in 2013 too.
I’d like to introduce you to my friend Suz Lipman and she’s sharing what was on her bookshelf as a child and a jump into her families favorite read Curious George Rides a Bike by Margaret and H.A. Rey.
What was your favorite book growing up?
I loved so very many childhood books, each of which I regard as great friends, and many of which I still have today, having carted them from house to house over the years. The ones that stick with me most include The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh, E.B. White’sCharlotte’s Web, Edward Lear’s The Complete Nonsense Book, and the following two books.
All-of-a-Kind Family
I fell permanently in love with books on a rainy day in second grade. Already a reader, I became enthralled with the “bigger-kid” paperbacks in the school library that spun on their own gold rack. Something about one book in particular jumped out at me. The book was Sydney Taylor’s All-of-a-Kind Family. On its cover was a drawing of five similar girls, of various heights, wearing matching pinafores and high-topped boots. I checked the book out and began devouring its tales of family and neighbors on New York’s Lower East Side, in the early 1900s, a group “rich in kindness, though poor in money”. I read about penny candy and Roman candles, pushcart peddlers and the power of imagination in tough times. I went on to read the book’s three equally enthralling sequels and, when my daughter was in second grade, I read All-of-a-Kind Family to her. I still have my original copy of this book, which I was given, and which has followed me across the country and back, perching on multiple bookshelves in multiple homes. This 60-plus-year-old book about a family that lived more than 100 years ago remains relevant and entertaining today. To this day, long past second grade, I’m rarely without a book to read and I’m still a sucker for the library’s or bookstore’s spinning gold rack.
Hailstones and Halibut Bones
As a child, I read this delightful and beautiful book of poems by Mary O’Neill over and over. Each two-page poem salutes a different color, and each is richly illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, in drawings that use only black, white and the featured color. The poems are very whimsical and incorporate vivid language, word play and flights of fancy as they explore each color. My favorite was ever-changing.
From “What is Pink?”
If you stand in an orchard
In the middle of Spring
And you don’t make a sound
You can hear pink sing,
A darling, whispery
Song of a thing.
From “What is Orange?” in honor of Jump into a Book
Orange is the fur
Of the fiery fox,
The brightest crayon
In the box.
Does your family have a favorite book everyone likes to read together?
My husband Michael and I read to our daughter Anna every night, until about the middle of her elementary school years, when she began to want to read by herself sometimes. That time was incredibly bonding and calming for our family. We usually let Anna choose the books. Inexplicably, at age 2, she routinely asked for a book that was actually a face-painting instruction manual. It was a challenge to make up stories to go with the faces, but we did! Later, we read a mixture of picture books and chapter books. We still talk fondly about many of our favorites, which often featured adventure, travel and mischief, in addition to fine writing and beautiful illustrations. These include Pantaloon, by Kathryn Jackson, featuring an indomitable baking poodle; The Sailor Dog, by Margaret Wise Brown, about a very adventurous dog named Scuppers (who was “born at sea in the teeth of a gale”); and many Curious George books, by Margaret and H.A. Rey, especially Curious George Rides a Bike. We also all loved One Morning in Maine, by Robert McCloskey, The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats, and Patricia Polacco’s The Keeping Quilt, all three of which are gentle books that explore sweet, slow childhood moments, as well as the passage of time.
Activity
How to Make a Paper Boat, inspired by Curious George Rides a Bike, by Margaret and H.A. Rey
My family first got the idea to make a paper boat from our beloved book, H.A. Rey’s Curious George Rides a Bike, in which sweet and loveable George secures a paper route, which leads him to make and sail a whole flotilla of folded-newspaper boats. Wondering if a newspaper boat could really float, we got out some old newspaper, folded it into boats using the directions in Curious George, and took our boats down to a local creek, where they indeed sailed along once released, on a gently flowing spring stream. You can make your own boat, using any kind of paper.
Read the whole tutorial here and make your own boat, or even flotilla!
http://www.slowfamilyonline.com/2013/02/how-to-make-a-paper-boat/
Susan Sachs Lipman (Suz) is the author of FED UP WITH FRENZY: Slow Parenting in a Fast-Moving World, which grew out of her award-winning blog, Slow Family Online. A near-lifelong book lover, she has written about Slow Parenting for the New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor. You can find Suz on Facebook and on Twitter.
The post Family Book Festival : Suz Lipman Curious George Rides a Bike appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 24, 2013
Family Book Festival: Marilyn Scott Waters and Misty of Chincoteague
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.
As our Family Book Festival winds down, I feel we saving some of our “best for last.” And one of those “bests” is dear friend Marilyn Scott Waters, also known as The Toymaker. Marilyn and I met at a creative conference, and believe-it-or-not, we met because of my moleskin! I was sitting alone when this lovely lady marched over to me and said , “Hi, I’m Marilyn. I love your moleskin!” The funny twist to this tale is the fact that I responded, “I know who you are! I’ve buying buying your toys for years!”
A true friendship was born
Marilyn, tell us about your childhood and what books were your favorites.
Here’s the dish on my favorite book as a kid. When I was a little girl I loved horses. I saved all my pocket money to buy Breyer models. I spent my summers at my grandmother’s house in Northern Mississippi riding horses, ponies and even mules, whenever I could. I shook my fist at Santa Claus for never bringing me a Shetland Pony like I asked (The nerve of that guy. After I asked so nicely and used my best handwriting!) Santa did bring me books about horses though and that was comforting. And I poured over them like they were the sacred scrolls from the promised land.
My favorite horse books were all written by one author… Marguerite Henry. I devoured Misty of Chincoteague and Brighty of the Grand Canyon. I cried over King of the Wind. I studied Album of Horses like it was the entrance exam for Harvard. But the one book that I read until it was falling apart was, All About Horses. I guess you could say I was “horse-crazy!”
Activity
Create your own Horse adventure! What better way to stimulate young minds than with some pretend play. Marilyn has some wonderful downloadable paper toys on The Toymaker. Here’s a few of her suggestions to create your own stable of pretty ponies:
The Rocking Horse
Animal Land!
“Animals are such agreeable friends–they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.
- George Eliot
ONE FINAL NOTE:
IT’S TIME! The 31 Dr. Seuss Book Giveaway has begun at Jump Into A Book! Go HERE for details, information, and to enter to WIN! Good luck!
The post Family Book Festival: Marilyn Scott Waters and Misty of Chincoteague appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
Family Book Festival: Marilyn Scotts Waters and Misty of Chincoteague
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.
As our Family Book Festival winds down, I feel we saving some of our “best for last.” And one of those “bests” is dear friend Marilyn Scott Waters, also known as The Toymaker. Marilyn and I met at a creative conference, and believe-it-or-not, we met because of my moleskin! I was sitting alone when this lovely lady marched over to me and said , “Hi, I’m Marilyn. I love your moleskin!” The funny twist to this tale is the fact that I responded, “I know who you are! I’ve buying buying your toys for years!”
A true friendship was born
Marilyn, tell us about your childhood and what books were your favorites.
Here’s the dish on my favorite book as a kid. When I was a little girl I loved horses. I saved all my pocket money to buy Breyer models. I spent my summers at my grandmother’s house in Northern Mississippi riding horses, ponies and even mules, whenever I could. I shook my fist at Santa Claus for never bringing me a Shetland Pony like I asked (The nerve of that guy. After I asked so nicely and used my best handwriting!) Santa did bring me books about horses though and that was comforting. And I poured over them like they were the sacred scrolls from the promised land.
My favorite horse books were all written by one author… Marguerite Henry. I devoured Misty of Chincoteague and Brighty of the Grand Canyon. I cried over King of the Wind. I studied Album of Horses like it was the entrance exam for Harvard. But the one book that I read until it was falling apart was, All About Horses. I guess you could say I was “horse-crazy!”
Activity
Create your own Horse adventure! What better way to stimulate young minds than with some pretend play. Marilyn has some wonderful downloadable paper toys on The Toymaker. Here’s a few of her suggestions to create your own stable of pretty ponies:
The Rocking Horse
Animal Land!
“Animals are such agreeable friends–they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.
- George Eliot
ONE FINAL NOTE:
IT’S TIME! The 31 Dr. Seuss Book Giveaway has begun at Jump Into A Book! Go HERE for details, information, and to enter to WIN! Good luck!
The post Family Book Festival: Marilyn Scotts Waters and Misty of Chincoteague appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 22, 2013
The 31 Book Dr. Seuss Giveaway
Back By Popular Demand! Our last Seuss Collection Giveaway was SUCH a huge success, we are ready to Do.It.Again.
In anticipation of Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2nd, we are excited to announce yet another Dr. Seuss Book Collection Giveaway !!!!
31 Dr. Seuss classics will be going to one very lucky home or school.
Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2,1904 – September 24,1991) was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children’s books written under the pen names of Dr. Seuss, and Theo LeSieg.
Publishing 46 children’s books with imaginative characters, rhyme, and frequent use of trisyllabic meter. His most celebrated, and some of our favorite books include Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who! and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Dr. Seuss’ birthday (March 2) has been declared National Read Across America Day, which was created by the National Education Association.
It is within our Jump into a Book tradition to place loved and cherished book collections into the hands of families around the world.
THE PRIZE-This Giveaway includes these Classic Dr. Seuss Titles:
Bartholomew and the Oobleck
Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?
Dr. Seuss’s ABC
Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book
Fox in Socks
Green Eggs and Ham
Happy Birthday to You
Hop on Pop
Horton Hatches the Egg
Horton Hears A Who
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Hunches in Bunches
I can Lick 30 Tigers Today and Other Stories
I can Read with My Eyes Shut
I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew
If I Ran the Circus
If I Ran the Zoo
McElligot’s Pool
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?
Oh Say Can You Say
Oh the Places You’ll Go One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
Scrambled Eggs Super
The Cat in the Hat
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
The Foot Book
The Lorax
The Sneetches and Other Stories
There’s a Wocket in My Pocket
Yertle the Turtle
The Rules:
We’ve given you lots of ways to win, but the mandatory step is to subscribe to Jump Into A Book. Don’t worry, we won’t spam you or fill your Inbox with junk. Our subscribers get the best news, tips, booklists, contests, and original activities for families of all ages. And hey, it’s not every day you can say “I’m a Book Jumper.”
To Enter this contest you MUST (Mandatory)
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Giveaway closes at the end of March 1st 2012 at 11:59 pm . The winner will chosen via Raffelcopter and will be announced on Dr. Seuss’s birthday March 2nd 2012. Winner has 48 hours to respond and claim prize or a new winner will be selected.
Disclaimers for the Giveaway:
*Must be 18 years or older to enter
*One entry per household.
*Staff and family members of Audrey Press or Jump Into a Book are not eligible.
*Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize
Winner must have mail service in their area
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By entering you give us permission to use your name and profile information to announce as a winner. If you want to know who won, the winner’s name will be announced on Twitter/Facebook as soon as possible.
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than YOU.” -Dr.Seuss. JumpIntoaBook.com #giveaway
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The post The 31 Book Dr. Seuss Giveaway appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 21, 2013
Family Book Festival: Kara Fleck and Strega Nona
Today we are paid a visit from the ever talented and lovely Kara Fleck. Kara and I share a love of books, knitting, crafting and a deep love of motherhood. I feel truly honored and blessed to share daily musings with Kara via our Facebook pages. Throughout the years we’ve come to peak into each other’s lives and interests. Kara makes a huge contribution to the world and wonder of parenting as editor of Simple Kids
Kara is sharing her family book read Strega Nona by Tomie DePaola. You must know that is one of our family’s favorites as well. Don’t forget the fun activity at the end where you too get to deliver something magical !!!!
Kara, what is it about Stregna Nona your family loves? Please share.
Our Family Favorite: Strega Nona by Tomie DePaola
I grew up in the country, corn fields and woods and a (mostly) lazy river surrounding the house built into the side of a hill where I lived with my parents and my two brothers and baby sister. The town closest to us was very small, with one blinking stop light, a post office, a corner grocery story, and a tiny library. The library was actually in the front living room of a home, with a small area reserved for children’s books. The school I attended was a rural school with another small library, shelves around the perimeter of the room and a handful of tables and chairs sprinkled throughout. It was perfectly nice and inviting and not at all intimidating for this shy young reader.
We had a home library and my parents and grandparents purchased books for me. This was before the days of internet bookstores and mega-chain franchises, and the weekly reader book club was one of my favorites. We also frequented the used bookstore, the place where I learned to love old books for their smell, the touch of the pages, and the feel of their bound covers, tome after tome in precarious stacks.In spite of the size of “my” libraries, as a child I found it easy to fill my backpack week after week with books – enough to fall in love with reading and to keep my imagination active.
While I was familiar with Laura Ingalls, Narnia, Caddie Woodlawn, and Garfield there are some stories considered children’s classics that I did not know about until I became a parent myself. This means that my children and I got to discover them together.
One of those stories, which has become a family favorite, is Tomie DePaola’s Strega Nona.
Strega Nona
Tomie DePaola wrote the story of Strega Nona, about Big Anthony, and the magic pasta pot. It is an original story he wrote and illustrated. I won’t spoil the ending for you, but the pasta pot is a key figure in the story for it is a magical pasta pot capable of making endless amounts of pasta.
Strega Nona is a story about listening, following rules, having respect for others … and it is also a story about magic, kindness, teaching, and sharing.
Strega Nona Pasta Night
Reading Strega Nona is a frequent occurrence at our house, and it is only natural that my family and I think of Strega Nona and her magic pasta pot when we have spaghetti dinners. Spaghetti is an easy meal to make and, depending on the type of sauce you use, can either be a quick meal to pull together or a slow, lingering afternoon of preparation as you get the sauce just right.
Either way, preparing a pasta dinner together is a nice excuse for families to spend time in the kitchen. And, if you know the magic words for your own pasta pot, you can be sure there will be exactly the right amount for every hungry belly at your table.
“Bubble, bubble, pasta pot,
Boil me some pasta, nice and hot,
I’m hungry and it’s time to sup,
Boil enough pasta to fill me up”
Sharing “Magic” Pasta
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have an endless pasta pot? While that may not be possible, it is possible to share our good fortune with others.
Why not make a donation to your local food pantry? Boxed pasta and jarred pasta sauce would be appreciated and your family can share with others in your community, performing your own type of magic.
Want to put a fun spin on pasta for your kids?
Spaghetti Hotdogs!
INGREDIENTS:
1 package of good quality spaghetti noodles like Barilla
2 Package of hot dogs or turkey hotdogs
Sauce of Choice
DIRECTIONS:
Break dry spaghetti noodles in half.
Cut hotdogs up into 2″ pieces (bite-sized)
Thread 5-6 pieces of uncooked spaghetti noodles through the hotdog chunks
Boil the two together in unsalted water until tender (approx 10 minutes)
Serve with whatever sauce your kids may like. YUM!
I think Strega Nona and Big Anthony would approve.
…
Kara Fleck is the editor of Simple Kids. She lives in Indiana with her husband Christopher and their four children. You can also find her at Rockin’ Granola, where things are “a little bit crunchy and a little bit rock’n'roll.” You can find Kara on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter
The post Family Book Festival: Kara Fleck and Strega Nona appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 19, 2013
Family Book Festival: Rebecca Flansburg and Robinson Crusoe
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.
This week we are talking to Audrey Press/Jump Into a Book’s “Head Elf” Rebecca Flansburg! Rebecca is the Editorial Assistant for Audrey Press and also works full-time as a Virtual Assistant. Her blog Franticmommy is a mix of info to help moms and parents succeed as work-at-home-professionals and hilarious tales of the trials and tribulations of parenthood.
What was your favorite book growing up?
I LOVED reading when I was a child. My favorite series hands-down was the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Mysteries. I still have many of them and I hope to pass them on to my kids (Jake -10 and Sara -7) soon. Our son Jake is definitely what you would classify as a “reluctant reader” but recently he brought home a book that had him intrigued from the get-go! Robinson Crusoe is a classic and an excellent book for middle reader boys. I hadn’t read the book in years (like MANY years) so it was a fun walk down memory lane to see how much he enjoyed this book.
This classic story of a shipwrecked mariner on a deserted island is perhaps the greatest adventure in all of English literature. Fleeing from pirates, Robinson Crusoe is swept ashore in a storm possessing only a knife, a box of tobacco, a pipe-and the will to survive.
ACTIVITY:
Have you ever wondered what you would do if you washed up on a deserted island? Well, make a boat of course! My 10 year-old had two buddies over to play when I issued the Make A Robinson Crusoe Boat Challenge to them. Think about it, glue, scissors, make-believe…what more could 3 ten-year-olds want! But to put a creative twist on it, like Robinson Crusoe, they could use what we had on hand.
SO, off to the craft bin they went. Fifteen minutes later they proudly trotted back out with two plastic apple containers from Costco (I knew those darn things were too cool to throw away!) a box lid (I don’t even want to know where THAT from) an assortment of dowels, glue, twine, and plastic containers, and set to work building some boats.
The result was an afternoon of fun and creativity. We never did find out if the boats were “seaworthy” since the boys were having a ball playing Robinson Crusoe (a Lego Ninja) and Cannibals (plastic toy pirates).
I love seeing young minds at play
“Children do live in fantasy and reality; they move back and forth very easily in a way we no longer remember how to do.” Maurice Sendak
Rebecca Flansburg is a blogger and virtual assistant from Minnesota who writes about parenthood topics or women in business on not only her own blog (Franticmommy.com) but also blogs like Mommy-Inc, Jump Into A Book, and Audrey Press. Rebecca is also a consistent contributor to Her Voice magazine and has a deep love and interest in social media. Rebecca is wife to hubby Paul, and she thinks her two kids Sara (7) and Jake (10) are the two most fascinating humans she has ever met. Her favorite tagline is “go forth and be FABULOUS.” You can find Rebecca on Twitter as @RebeccFlansburg or on Facebook as Franticmommy.
The post Family Book Festival: Rebecca Flansburg and Robinson Crusoe appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
