Valarie Budayr's Blog, page 110
February 18, 2013
Family Book Festival : Renee Cormier & Dr. Seuss
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.
Today I am thrilled to introduce fellow mom and book reviewer Renee Cormier!
Renee Cormier from the Mother,Daughter & Son Book club and I share something in common, and it’s more than the love of books! Many of you may not know this but Jump into a Book started as a mother/daughter book club many many years ago. We would choose a book and read it aloud to our children, a few weeks later we’d meet for our “book adventures” where we’d bring the pages of our chosen book alive. From that, it’s grown into this blog, a series of books and a publishing company. We too eventually added a son to our mix which opened up a whole new world for us book-jumpers.
Because of this history I feel a kindred connection to Renee and was so happy that she chose to share one of her families favorite Dr. Seuss books.
Please welcome Renee Cormier from the Mother/Daughter & Son Book Club
Welcome Renee! Share with us your thoughts and reasons why you picked Dr Seuss for your book pick.
From the immortal Dr. Seuss springs a great truth:
From there to here,
from here to there,
funny things
are everywhere.
Best.Lines.Ever.
I must admit that thinking back to my own childhood and trying to remember my favorite books from when I was my own children’s current ages (6 and 9), only Dr. Seuss comes to mind for the simple reason that HIS BOOKS ARE AWESOME! Truth be told, my very, very, very favorite Dr. Seuss book is Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb for two reasons:
1. I loved the little rhyme: “Dum ditty, Dum ditty, Dum, dum, dum”; and
2. I loved looking at the picture of the “millions of monkeys”. In fact, I’m pretty sure I colored in many of the monkeys!
That being said, the very first Dr. Seuss book that I ever bought for my own children was One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. This is Seuss at his very silliest. The creativity in coming up with all of the unusual critters (e.g., Yink, Gack, Ish, Zeep, etc.) and them coming up with silly rhymes to reinforce the sounds and spelling of words (e.g., “wink, drink, pink”, “dish, wish, fish”, etc.) is sheer brilliance! Dr. Seuss was the master of combining fun with learning.
So, when Valarie asked me to pick a favorite book from my childhood and come up with an accompanying activity, that was easy peasy, because between myself and my kids, we have drawing skills, rhyming skills, and silly-making skills. We decided to create our own Seuss-inspired book.
Step 1: Choosing a Replacement for “Fish”
The first step was coming up with the front cover of our book. It took all of 5 seconds to agree that our focus would be on cats because we are a household of cat lovers. We wrote many ideas for words to describe our cats: black, brown, crazy (yes, we’re convinced one of them is a little “off”), sleepy, naughty, nice, fluffy, skinny, tall, small, etc. And then my daughter nailed it:
One cat
two cat
shy cat
sly cat
(Trust me…that describes them to a “t”)
Step 2: Choosing Our Critters of Interest
We decided that my son and daughter would each choose a made-up name for their make-believe critter. I instructed them to choose an ending that would have many rhyming words: “-at”, “-op”, “-ang”, “-ut”, and so on. They immediately each chose their critter. My daughter chose a “Yang” and his friend “Zang” and my son chose a “Doo-Blop” and his girlfriend, the “Dee-Blop”.
Step 3: Creating a list of rhyming words
Phew, luckily the kids chose critter names that were easy to rhyme. Here are the words they came up with that rhymed with their respective critter names:
Step 4: Creating Some Silly Rhymes
This was by far the most fun part and of course, the most challenging. From each list we chose 3 or 4 words that would be the easiest to make into a story. OK, truth be told, there was much erasing going on during this part but this is where the creative juices really got flowing. I wish I could say that there was a system, but the little poems just came out of no-where. Here’s what my two little poets came up with (maybe Mom helped her son just a wee bit).
The Yang
Once, the doorbell rang
then, I heard a clang
then, I saw a Yang
with him was a Zang.
It was a Yang Zang gang.
The Doo-Bop
I once climbed a hill to the top.
Under a tree was a Doo-Blop.
I took him back home to my Pop,
who said, “Let’s go to the Blog Shop,
to buy our Doo-Blop a Dee-Blop.”
Step 5: Drawing Out The Critters
My daughter has the most vivid imagination of all of us. She had already drawn the outlines of her Yang and Zang before my son and I finished our list of rhyming words! Confession: my son drew a blank for his critters so I, drawing inspiration from The Simpsons and Futurama in creating the Doo-Blop and Dee-Blop and my son coloured them in! We were howling with laughter over our drawings. Here are the final products:
What a great project for the budding author/illustrator in all of us!
Renee, along with her two kids, Danielle (9) and Dominic (6) review children’s books for the website Mother Daughter Book Reviews. Renee and her kids have lots of fun discussing what they love about the books that they read together. In a former life (BC: “Before Children”), Renee received her PhD in Psychology but she is currently taking a hiatus from the academic world to merge some of her passions: reading, the internet, and of course, the lights in her life: her kiddos! Aside from reading, she loves to bake, run for fun, garden, and create.
The post Family Book Festival : Renee Cormier & Dr. Seuss appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 17, 2013
Family Book Festival: An Interview with Author/Illustrator Chris Robertson
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.
Today I am so please to share my interview with Author and Illustrator Chris Robertson!
For the past year Chris Robertson books have been a main stay in our household. They’re clever, witty, and just plain o’l fun. Chris’s books appeal to young and old alike and we never tire of reading them.
When I went to look further into who Chris Robertson is via his bio on Amazon, I discovered that he was once on ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ and traded something really practical for something beyond cool. I just had to know more. Happily for us, Chris agreed to sit down for a little chat and let us look inside his world.
Please read on because you will learn things beyond your wild imagination, like where to hide your basketball from a donkey. 
Welcome Chris, it’s so great to have you here on Jump into a Book. We always start every interview off with our favorite question:
What’s your favorite letter of the Alphabet and why?
Chris: My favorite letter of the alphabet is most definitely ‘W’ because it is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a ‘double U’. How cool is that? Of course if I were to pick my next favorite, it would have to be a tie between ‘X’, ‘Y’, and ‘Z’. They are the perfect ending to the alphabet.
Do you have a favorite color?
Chris: Blueish-green. The color of my wife’s eyes.
When did you start writing stories and illustrating them?
Chris: Professionally, in 2004, my first children’s book, Little Miss Liberty, was published by Chronicle Books. Of course, I can remember writing stories and drawing pictures for them when I was a very young boy.
Do your children inspire your stories?
Chris: Yes, in fact I think that is where my strongest inspiration comes from. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my first book was published about the same time that my young boys first started reading picture books.
Do they start out as bed time stories by any chance?
Chris: My published stories typically don’t. Nighttime stories are usually along the lines of stories about family and friends and me when I was their age.
In your book “I’ll Trade a Peanut Butter Sandwich” your main character basically trades his peanut butter sandwich for a good many things. First, do you like peanut butter? And second, what would you trade it for?
Chris: I do like peanut butter. My wife thinks I love peanut butter, but I think she’s crazy. (Goodness, all this talk about peanut butter is making me hungry!) I might trade my peanut butter for a jar of jelly, but I’m not as creative as the kid in the book.
Speaking of trading, I’ve heard tell that you once traded a brand new washer and dryer for a donkey. When I told my children this story a whole bevy of questions followed. I thought I would pass those on. Though they started with “Did you get to take it home?” Clearly as the questions go on they feel you did take it home. I love the way children’s minds work and how they can get so involved so quickly.
Did you get to take the donkey home? Of course I got to take it home. I won it after all!
What did you name it? I named him Patches.
Where did you keep it? I kept him in my neighbor’s backyard when they weren’t home.
Did it eat a lot? It ate anything and everything. I used to have a basketball.
Did you ride it everywhere? Only places where it was legal to ride a donkey. This city doesn’t have very many donkey lanes.
Did you get to ride it to school? I had already finished school by the time I got Patches.
Could it play with you on the playground? I took him to the playground once and that’s when he discovered his love for basketballs.
Did it ever bite or kick anyone and if so did you get in trouble for it? Patches was more a of nibbler than a biter…..unless you were a basketball.
Do you still have it? Patches didn’t take to city life very well, so I sent him to go live on a farm where he could have all the freedom he wanted and all the basketballs he could find.
Ok enough of the donkey. Where did the idea for the high kicking bronco-buckin’ giraffe come from? My eldest daughter is very tall and all her friends call her the giraffe. The idea of a bronco-buckin’ giraffe has everyone in hysterical laughter each time it’s read.
Chris: The illustration came to mind before the text did and it seemed like the perfect way to describe the giraffe.
Tooth on the Loose is another favorite of ours. I truly believe that every family that has a child with a loose tooth needs to read this book. What inspired you to write a loose tooth into the wild wild west?
Chris: When my oldest son, Carter, was in Kindergarten, he came home one day with a pink paper tooth around his neck. On it were the words, “I Lost a Tooth Today.” The idea for the western theme immediately popped into my head and T.B. Wiggly was born.
What are some favorite books in the Robertson family?
Chris: We really like the classics like “Where the Wild Things Are”, “Harry the Dirty Dog”, and “The Giving Tree”. But more recently, I enjoy the works of Peter Reynolds (“The Dot”), Amy Krouse Rosenthal (“Little Pea”), and anything by Julia Dweck.
What’s next for you?
Chris: My latest book is a collaboration with Julia Dweck called Pandora’s Box. After that, I’ve got several books on the horizon. In the next few months, keep an eye out for My Yellow Umbrella, Harry and the Hot Lava, The Sweetest Halloween Story Ever Told, and Jack’s Climb, another book by Julia.
Side Note from Valarie: Recently, I woke up and discovered it was a perfect day in a perfect world. That perfection was in the way of Julia Dweck and Chris Robertson releasing “Pandora’s Box.” How perfect that one of my favorite authors and one of my favorite author/illustrators joined together to create one wonderful read! It’s simply Pandora perfect ! Oh and to top that, I also discovered that in the making of that book they both had become penguins. 
Who knew ?
To find out more about Chris:
http://chrisrobertsonbooks.com/
The post Family Book Festival: An Interview with Author/Illustrator Chris Robertson appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 16, 2013
::WEEKEND LINKS:: The Family Book Festival Book Picks & Activities
Family Book Festival Week in Review
A Monkey King, A Snow Girl, Forts, and a special day of Book Giving! Wow! What a busy week!
Our February Family Book Festival is in full swing and readers are loving reading about our fellow writers, bloggers and parents as they share their favorite childhood book with matching activity.
This is quick snippet of our Book Festival so far:
In honor of the Chinese New Year, mom and super blogger Beth Cheng shared her family’s favorite book The Monkey King and a simply delightful Chinese Paper Craft activity for kids as well. Read more HERE.
Eileen Straiton is the mastermind and creative director of Little Acorn Learning and also a voracious crafter and reader. Her book pick was The Little Snow Girl; a sweet book about a family longing for a child to love. Eileen created a truly imaginative and fun craft for this book.
Read more about it HERE.
And to say were excited for International Book Giving Day would be an understatement! Book Giving Day was February 14th, but our hopes is that our readers will read, learn, and remember this special day for next year. Book Giving Day is a chance for families to take outgrown and unused books and put them in the hands of kids who can use (nd will appreciate!) them.
Read more HERE.
Has your family ever read the book The Faraway Tree? Not only is this one of our top picks from our friend Donna Ashton, you and your family will get a kick out the fun Fort ideas as well! Read more about Donna and the Faraway Tree HERE.
Missed last week’s Family Book Festival guest? Here’s one of our Favorites: Zoe Toft from Playing By The Book shares her family’s favorite Barbapappa Book series and a delightful recipe for homemade play dough (to make your own Barbapappas of course!)
Read more about it HERE
Be sure to check back to Jump Into a book in the coming weeks for more great children’s book picks and companion crafts. The fun is only just beginning!
Need a “sweet treat” for a belated Valentines Day gift? Our The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory enhanced digital e-book is not only filled with fun activities like a recipes for Swudge and Fizzy Lifting Drinks, but it is available for download on your “i devices” for only $3.99 between now and February 28th, 2013. A sweet Valentines treat that whole family can enjoy! Download your copy of Charlie HERE.
The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
The post ::WEEKEND LINKS:: The Family Book Festival Book Picks & Activities appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 15, 2013
Family Book Festival: Donna Ashton and The Faraway Tree
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.
That being said, I hope your winter doldrums have been kept at bay with all delightful books and activity ideas. Today those doldrums get to go even further away with a visit from Donna Ashton and climb up the Faraway Tree. Donna is a special friend. We love creating, nature , and brainstorming on how to provide resources and activities for families. We’ve spent hours on the phone in great conversations and recently we’ve been working on a project together which we will announce very soon and share with everyone. It’s a very exciting time of creativity for us.
Donna is the mother of twin girls who she home schools using the Waldorf method. Her girls inspired her to dig deeper into the World of Waldorf and she created her business the Waldorf Connection wanting to help other families who have chosen the waldorf homeschooling life.
Donna chose for her family read Enid Blyton’s The Enchanted Wood/Magic Faraway Tree series. Enid Blyton has always inspired our imaginations here and I have no doubt her books will do the same for your family.
Tell us about Enid Blyton and why she’s a family favorite, Donna.
Enid Blyton is a wonderful British children’s write who wrote hundreds of books.We were introduced to the Faraway Tree several years ago and it quickly became our favorite read aloud.The story is about three siblings Joe, Beth & Frannie whose family moves to the country. Upon exploring their new surroundings they discover the “enchanted woods”. They see gnomes, pixies fairies and the Magic Faraway tree which becomes the focus of the children’s adventures.
“Joe took a blue cushion, sat on it at the top of the
slide and pushed off. Down he went on his cushion,
his hair streaming backwards. Round and round and
round went the slippery-slip inside the enormous
trunk of the old tree. It was quite dark and silent and
last a long time, for the Faraway Tree was tremendously
tall. Joe enjoyed every second.”
There is so many things that could be taken from this book including acting out the different lands that the children visit at the top of the tree. Places like Land of Ice, Roundabout Land, Rockingland,The Land of Sweets, Land of Toys invite silly discussions and favorite adventures.
This was one series I enjoyed reading aloud to my girls each night. (And when my husband read, he had to tell me everything so I wouldn’t miss a thing!)
The book series is filled with magical recipes of sweets and treats that the children experience. Wouldn’t you like to visit the Land of Sweets?
Beth makes toffee which becomes Moonface’s favorite.
Activity Ideas for The Faraway Tree:
Plan a sleep-over in a tree fort or under a large tree.
Serve some of the tasty treats from the book.
Don’t forget the lemonade!
If you live in an area where outside tree forts are out of the question this time of year, check out these fun indoor fort ideas from our friends at TinkerLabs!
Indoor Forts for Kids
How to Build a Simple Clip Fort
Donna Ashton is the creator and founder of The Waldorf Connection. Her goal is to provide guidance and coaching for parents and homeschooling families. Created a global community for like-minded moms to connect and get inspired. You can find Donna at her The Waldorf Connection website, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
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The post Family Book Festival: Donna Ashton and The Faraway Tree appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 13, 2013
Help Us Celebrate International Book Giving Day!
Book Giving Day
Were you aware that February 14th is International Book Giving Day ? It’s a day dedicated to getting new, used, and borrowed books in the hands of as many children as possible. At Jump Into a Book we are committed to spreading the word about this great event and also giving readers some ideas how they can participate.
Three simple ways to celebrate International Book Giving Day!
1. Give a Book to a Friend or Relative.
Celebrate International Book Giving Day by giving a child a new, used or borrowed book.
2. Leave a Book in a Waiting Room or Lobby.
Choose a waiting room where kids are stuck waiting and there are few to no good books available.
3. Donate a Book.
Wrap up a box of children’s books that your kids have outgrown.
Something to Do:
Create your own special Book Donation Basket
Once you’ve taken the time to round up some books for Book Giving Day, create your own “donation basket” with a simple basket from the discount store.
Add some charm to your book gifts with these delightful Valentines Day printables from our friend Marilyn Scott Waters. Tuck these sweet hearts in like a bookmark or print on label paper for a more permanent effect.
Here is the link to the Valentine’s done by Marilyn Scott Waters.
Here is a link to her complete Valentine page:
OTHER IDEAS:
*Have a child include books along with their Valentine’s day festivities at school by giving a book with their Valentines Cards.
*Donate your books to your local second hand store, library, children’s hospital, or shelter. Another place would be the Books for Africa project. Books for Africa is inviting people to donate directly to: https://www.booksforafrica.org/donate/to-project.html.
*If you are a blogger, write a post promoting it and add the Book Giving Day badge to your blog. Spread the word!
*If your child is not school-aged, make arrangements with your child care center or daycare to do some book giving
* Print off some of these adorable bookplates from Book Giving Day artists and spread the word that way.
* Hang a poster! Get your free-and-super-cute Book Giving Day poster HERE.
Need some more ideas and information? Check out some wonderful posts on Book Giving Day from some of our favorite bloggers:
Library Mice
What are your plans for Book Giving Day?
NOTE: Be sure and keep checking back for more Family Book Festival fun! Coming up this week is guest posts from Suz Lipman, Little Acorn Learning’s Eileen Straiton, and author Chris Robertson. If you really don’t want to miss the action, subscribe to our posts (right sidebar). There’s a ton more goodies, giveaways, and fun coming this month!
The post Help Us Celebrate International Book Giving Day! appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 12, 2013
Family Book Festival: Eileen Straiton and The Little Snowgirl
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.
What a lucky day it is when we get to welcome Eileen Straiton for a visit.
Eileen is the mastermind and creative director of Little Acorn Learning. Since coming into my life Eileen has filled my days with creative doings and wanderings. You see Eileen has served as my editor and invited me along with a few other creative friends to contribute to her after school guide series. For one full year I crafted to my little heart’s content around our monthly themes.
When we aren’t crafting, loving nature, and good food we are loving our children and sharing all of those endeavors with one another via our blogs and Facebook pages. You must know that Eileen has one of the most nurturing news letters I’ve ever seen. If you want to feel a little monthly mommy hug coming to your inbox, be sure and sign up for Eileen’s Little Acorn Learning newsletter. She also has incredible guides and menus for each and every occasion in your life.
I love snow and Eileen is sharing their family favorite The Little Snowgirl. Living in Connecticut this year has seen a huge amount of snow. It’s no wonder they picked this book to share.
Along with a look into the pages of this tale is just an incredible activity of creating your very own Snowgirl.
I wish you many happy reading moments in this lovely blog post by my friend Eileen Straiton.
The Little Snowgirl
One of our favorite books to read at Little Acorn Playgarden is this beautiful winter tale by Carolyn Croll, The Little Snowgirl. Croll holds a special place in her heart for her Russian heritage and her interpretation of the old Russian folk tale The Little Daughter of the Snow is a beautiful new twist on an old story.
The story centers around a very sweet couple who had just enough in life: a home, food, warm clothing and love. But the one thing they wanted more than anything else was a real child of their own.
Saddened by his wife’s pain of not having a child, the husband goes outdoors late one winter’s night and creates a beautiful Snowgirl out of fresh snow for his wife to wake up to in the morning. While his wife is very happy to see his creation, she saddens again knowing that it is still not a ‘real’ child.
All of a sudden something magical happens; the Snowgirl begins to laugh! Finally the sweet couple has a child of their very own to love and care for. They soon realize, however, that the Snowgirl cannot go indoors with her mother and father for she will melt. She must sleep outside on a bed of snow. The Snowgirl also cannot eat warm food her mother makes like cabbage soup and hot porridge. She can only eat crushed ice in a bowl. This made her new parents so sad.
On Christmas Eve, the Snowgirl decided to ask Babouschka for something very special. Dismayed by the thought of their daughter sleeping in the cold on such a special evening, the couple decides to carry her inside and put her near the fire to keep her warm like a real child.
On Christmas morning, the couple wakes up and cannot find the Snowgirl where they had left her. The couple is in tears believing they have melted their little child. But suddenly, they hear her laughter and when they turn around they see that Babouschka gave their sweet girl exactly what she wished for most – she was now a REAL child!
Something to Do: Bring Your Own Little Snowgirl to Life for Your Children!
Create a magical storytelling experience for your children by sharing the story of The Little Snowgirl and then leading the children to the freezer to find their very own little snowgirl waiting for them to come to life! This is a perfect opportunity for older children or siblings to help do something special for the little ones in your care.
Materials:
The Little Snowgirl Book
Beeswax Modeling Material
Bowl with Warm Water (optional)
Plastic Container with Tight Fitting Lid
Have older siblings or students in your class create this sweet little beeswax doll in advance for younger children.
We used Beeswax Modeling Material to make our little doll. Warming beeswax in your hands is a very beautiful way to work with the material but oftentimes we find it can be frustrating for many to create more complex designs without a little assistance from a bowl of warm water. Simply place the beeswax you plan to use in the warm water for a few minutes and it will soften up very easily in no time.
Create the body’s form using white modeling material. Work hard to smooth out any cracks or loose areas so later on it will not fall apart. Add hair to your doll’s head area as shown here.
We also added simple facial features and a little apron dress. A bowl of crushed ice was created as well just like the girl of snow in the story ate.
After you have finished your little doll, place her in a waterproof plastic container that you have a tight lid to. This can be a tupperware container or even an old plastic toy container like we used. Gently fill your container with water and secure your lid.
Your little snowgirl is ready to be frozen.
Place the container in a safe place in your freezer or if the temperature is very cold where you live, you can even place her outside. Allow water to freeze overnight.
The next day gather the younger children around and share with them this beautiful story. At the very end surprise them and ask if they would like to have a little snowgirl of their very own to bring to “life”! Lead them to the special place where your little doll has been waiting and let them discover her deep within the ice. Just like the little girl in the book, the snowgirl has been living in the cold and is now ready to be a real doll just for them.
Explain to the children that just like the mother and father loved their own little snowgirl enough to warm her by the fire, they must do the same (with an adult of course). Ice can be removed from the container and placed in a safe bowl near but far enough away from your family’s woodstove, fireplace or surrounded by warm blankets.
Slowly the little snowgirl will begin to warm up and turn into a real doll for them to love.
If the doll was created well with the beeswax it should stay together well (one version of ours did loose a foot so try to avoid a lot of small parts to your doll and keep her simple and smooth before freezing). Because the beeswax is in cold water it does not change shape and the slow warming process does not warm the beeswax enough to soften it either. Remember not to try to rush the process by running it under hot water or using a microwave, etc. or the beeswax may begin to soften so much that the doll will lose its form.
Enjoy!
**Keep checking back for more of our Family Book Festival! We have an exciting line-up of participants, books, and activities that we just can’t wait to share with you
Eileen Straiton is a work-at-home mother to four daughters. She writes and publishes Waldorf inspired ebooks and facilitates ecourses for parents, teachers and caregivers of children at Little Acorn Learning. She also has many ideas and activities on her blog at Eileen’s Place. Eileen rediscovered herself after becoming a mother and was drawn toward Waldorf Education and holistic living. Eileen applies her love of nature-based learning in her work as owner and lead teacher at Little Acorn Playgarden serving children ages 0-5 in Brookfield, Connecticut.
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February 10, 2013
Family Book Festival: Beth Cheng and The Monkey King
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.
Today we’re joined by Beth Cheng from iGameMom!
What books are favorites in your family?
We have a few books we like. Since it is close to Chinese New Year, a book related to China is popular in our house right now. When talking about China related books kids love, anything about Monkey King will jump to the top. Monkey King is a very well-known name in China, even a preschooler can tell you one or two stories about him.
Monkey King first appeared in the novel “Journey to the West”. It is a Chinese classic novel written in the 16th century by Wu Cheng-en. The book was based on a true story of a famous Chinese monk, Xuan Zang (602-664), who traveled on foot to India to seek the Buddhist holy book. Although Xuan Zang is a true figure in the history, everyone else in the book is not. “Journey to the West” is a mix of Chinese fables, fairy tales, legends, superstitions, popular beliefs, monster stories, and religions.
In the book, Monkey King accompanied Xuan Zang throughout the journey. He fought the devils to protect Xuan Zang and the group. He was extremely smart and capable. He could transform himself into seventy-two different images such as a tree, a bird, a beast, or a mosquito. He could jump on top of the clouds and travel 180,000 miles in a single somersault. Now you can see why kids all love him.
Something to Do
Since I review educational apps for kids, I happened to find these free book apps from a Chinese developer: Journey to the West #1 and #2 (http://igamemom.com/2013/01/29/free-apps-multilingual-books ). Both are picture books. The stories in these two books are about the early life of Monkey King – how he was born from a stone; became the king of the monkeys at Mount Hua Guo, where he chose to be his home; and how he took the treasure from Dragon Palace and used it as his weapon. To know more about these two books and the background of the stories, please visit iGameMom’s book review HERE.
What I liked about these two books: It is multilingual, you can read in English, or Chinese, or Japanese. You have the option to turn the narration on or off. Also you can turn it into sleep mode, when there are no pictures shown on the screen, only the narration – a good feature for kids to go to sleep with.
Please do note: these are book apps, not iBooks. The only difference between book app and iBook is where you go to download them. You download book apps from iTunes App Store, while you download iBooks from iBookstore. Both App Store and iBookstore are part of iTunes.
Both books are fun reads, especially for kids. After reading the book, we decided to do a Chinese craft. Paper cut is a traditional Chinese folk art with long history.
I found this YouTube video teaching how to do a Monkey paper cut. There’s a great tutorial HERE on YouTube .
)
I copied the pattern from the video and did it with my son. Now we have some fun decorations for the Chinese New Year!
iGameMom is a wonderful site that reviews and recommends educational applications (Apps) for kids. When Beth is not reviewing apps, she is being “mom” and either driving her son around, cheering for his games, or reading a book.
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February 8, 2013
Family Book Festival: Julia Dweck and Kingdom Keepers
We’re chasing away the doldrums of winter by jumping into the favorite books of our author, illustrator, blogger friends.
Today I’m happy to introduce you to fellow children’s book author Julia Dweck.
Julia Dweck and I have become fast friends this year in our ever creative book world. A prolific writer and passionate teacher, Julia inspires all of us with her fun look at life through her books and her commitment to her students through project based learning. She is one of the most generous authors I know and is constantly giving away her books on “free days” on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or on the iBookstore. If you watch the Jump into a Book Facebook Fan page I always announce when something is good is coming from Julia Dweck.
Today Julia is giving us a front row seat inside her classroom and is sharing a favorite read from her group of gifted 4th graders plus and up close look into the world of holography. I’m so thankful she’s taken the time to be with us today.
What is your favorite book you’d like to share with our Family Book Festival readers?
Julia: My gifted fourth grade students loved the book, Kingdom Keepers, by Ridley Pearson.
From Amazon:
In this fantastical thriller, five young teens tapped as models for theme park “guides” find themselves pitted against Disney villains and witches that threaten both the future of Walt Disney World and the stability of the world outside its walls. Using a cutting-edge technology called DHI—which stands for both Disney Host Interactive and Daylight Hologram Imaging—Finn Whitman, an Orlando teen, and four other kids are transformed into hologram projections that guide guests through the park.
Students’ talents and interests drove the culminating project. They were eager to learn more about the science and art of holography. It turned out that a world-renowned holgrapher, Frank DeFreitas, was living only a few miles away from our school. Mr. DeFreitas visited us with a dynamic presentation on holography, culminating in a laser arts workshop.
This is what Mr. DeFreitas had to say about our holographic project:
The laser arts program allowed students to explore the next frontier in communication technologies: light. As we move from electronics to photonics, light and its understanding will continue to play an ever-increasing role in our lives. With the laser arts class, students were able to explore light in ways never possible before. Using such items as holograms, diffraction gratings, lenses, mirrors, and even crystals, students recorded their own creative laser light patterns with digital cameras.
Students also used technology to record unique questions for our author, Ridley Pearson, and then interview him via skype inside the classroom. The project was a memorable one from beginning to end, incorporating: science, technology, creativity, problem solving, and higher-level thinking to the max!
To learn more about holography visit HoloKids, a website run by Mr. Frank DeFreitas. http://www.holoworld.com/holo/kids.html
Julia Dweck writes children’s stories for digital and traditional publication. Her stories span the spectrum of humor, fantasy, and edutainment in rhyme and in prose. A background in elementary education puts her in touch with what children want to read and what makes them giggle. Julia collaborate with some of the leading illustrators in the world of children’s books. She is also a designer of educational adjuncts for children’s literature, and has worked with such notable publishing houses as Penguin Young Readers.
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Julia-Dweck/e/B008E5HLFU
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/juliadweckbooks
Website: www.juleloves2write.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=57147892&trk=hb_tab_pro_top
Twitter: @juleloves2write
Here’s a look at some more of the holographic images that Julia’s 4th graders created.
The post Family Book Festival: Julia Dweck and Kingdom Keepers appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 6, 2013
Family Book Festival: Sonia Dalal and Abel’s Island
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.
Today we’re joined by Sonia Dalal from KiteReaders.
Sonia loves to read as much as I do. Sonia spends her days being a cheer-leader for the great line up of authors, illustrators, and books that KiteReaders produces and distributes.
What was your her favorite book as a child?
Abel’s Island!!
Choosing my favorite book to read as a child is like asking me to pick my favorite brand of dark chocolate. It is very hard. However, one particular book does come to mind that is very near and dear to my heart. Abel’s Island, written by the popular and much loved children’s author William Steig, is the story of a newly wed, high-class mouse named Abel who is forced to survive on an island after a terrible storm.
The story begins quite innocently with Abel and his wife, Amanda, who are having a lovely picnic in the woods. However, their world is quickly turned around when they find themselves in the middle of a hurricane. They try to wait out the storm in a small cave when, suddenly, a strong wind rips the scarf Amanda is wearing from her neck. Without thinking, Abel hurls himself into the storm in an attempt to retrieve it. He succeeds, but soon finds that he is no match for the roaring winds and rain. After what seems like hours, Abel finds himself on an island completely alone. No family. No friends. No Amanda.
Thus begins Abel’s yearlong survival on the island. With only a pocketknife, the clothes on his back, and Amanda’s scarf, Abel faces countless obstacles and learns how to survive in the wilderness.
Now, I won’t give away the details of the book (because that is the juicy part), nor will I give away the ending (because you have to read it!), but I will say that Abel’s journey on his little island enchanted me from the moment I received it in my first “book order” in first grade. I fell in love with Abel’s story, taking pleasure in the moments he overcame obstacles and sympathizing when he was overcome with defeat.
I learned an incredible lesson from his tale (no pun intended). I came to admire Abel’s courage and everlasting perseverance. Abel taught me to never give up, especially when it is hard. Cheesy (I swear I’m not making these puns on purpose), I know, but it is very true.
The most rewarding part of reading about Abel’s victories and losses on the island was witnessing the transformation he went through. From being a high-class city mouse who once had everything done for him, Abel now had to do everything for himself. I loved how Abel slowly came to marvel at his own work and appreciate the beauty of nature around him. It was as if he shed a kind of skin that he had become accustomed to wearing, revealing a mouse that he did not know was there.
My copy of Abel’s Island still sits on my bookshelf today. Though its cover is bent, frayed along the edges, and taped down its spine, it is one of my most cherished books in my collection. To think that I may not have met Abel and read his story is almost unbelievable, for I have grown up reading this book countless times over the years. And each time, I find myself connecting with Abel just a little bit more as he faces each challenge. Maybe it has something to do with growing up. Or maybe it is simply because I could not quite grasp the complexity of Abel’s obstacles as a six year old. Maybe it is both.
Whatever the reason, this book is meant to be read over and over again for years to come, for there is much to be learned from William’s Steig’s courageous, young mouse. I know I have.
Something to Do: Imagination Time
Activity: What would YOU Do?
Imagine that you are in Abel’s position. You are on an island with nothing but a pocketknife, your clothes, the stuff in your pockets, and a pink scarf. Where would you go for shelter? What kinds of things would you need to make yourself to help you survive? What would you do to keep yourself from getting bored? Make a list of all of these things and try to order them from things you would do first to last.
About the Author:
Sonia Dalal is a recent college graduate with an insatiable love for reading.Sporting glasses at a young age, she quickly became known as the bookworm of the family and, to this day, still carries a book everywhere she goes.
Sonia even gets to incorporate her passion of reading with her work as a Marketing Associate for KiteReaders, a children’s eBook publishing company. In her spare time, she loves to sing, cook, and dig into the next novel or book on her “to read” list.
The post Family Book Festival: Sonia Dalal and Abel’s Island appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
February 4, 2013
Family Book Festival: Zoe Toft and the Barbapapa Books
We’re chasing away the doldrums of winter by jumping into the favorite books of our author, illustrator, blogger friends.
Today I’m happy to introduce you to one of my first Kid Lit blogger friends Zoe Toft.
Zoe and I share a passion about bring books alive for our children. Living in the UK, Zoe blogs at Playing by the Book. As well as creating wonderful book adventures Zoe is also a champion for global literacy. Every year she puts out an incredible list of charitable book and literacy projects, letting us know where our support is most needed. Currently she serves as the National Executive, Federation of Children’s Book Groups in the UK.
Our Family Book Festival has been a great opportunity for me to get to know more about Zoe and some similar things we share in common like our love of Laura Ingalls Wilder as children and that both of our families are OPOL. Read more to find out what that means .
What was your favorite book(s) growing up?
I was not a voracious reader as a child. I did read, and one of my earliest book memories is saving up enough pocket money to buy each successive Laura Ingalls Wilder book. But if I’m totally honest, the books I remember giving me the greatest, delicious and illicit escape were trashy novels I read as a teenager when I needed a break from studying.
These books, by a disgraced former UK Member of Parliament, Jeffrey Archer, make me cringe with embarrassment now, but I tell this story for two reasons. For a start, just because your kid is not a bookworm now, it doesn’t meant they won’t become passionate about books later on in life.
And if your child is reading, even if the books she chooses cause you to despair, please let her continue to read what she chooses. Maybe it isn’t high literature, maybe it’s about topics that make you feel uneasy as a parent, but if your child has chosen it, it has meaning for your child. All reading, in my book, is good reading.
Does your family have a favorite book everyone likes to read together?
As an OPOL bilingual family (where One Parent speaks One Language, and the other speaks a second language nearly all the time), we don’t often share books as a family at the same time. What happens quite a lot is a book is read by one parent to the children in one language, and then the other parent reads it in translation. Books read in this way, that have become part of our family fabric include Ronia the Robber’s Daughter, and all the Pippi Longstocking books by Astrid Lindgren, Momo, and Krabat by Ottfried Preussler, Crusade in Jeans by Thea Beckman and Children on the Oregon Trail by A Rutgers van der Loeff.
Zoe’s Family Book Festival Choice:
A series of books that we all adore, that both parents read as children and that we now both read to our kids, are the Barbapapa books by Annette Tison and Talus Taylor. These are firm family favourites because they are such fun, and also because they express values that matter a great deal to us; the importance of being environmentally aware, and the need and joy which comes from being creative and working together as a community.
In the past we’ve made a Barbapapa dollshouse and set of dolls out of modelling clay (http://www.playingbythebook.net/2010/03/25/barbapapa/) but in some ways the activity that goes best with these wonderful books is making a set of Barbapapas out of playdough. Afterall, Barbabpapas can change their form into anything, and this is exactly what playdough is good for .
Here’s our recipe for homemade playdough, to create enough for an entire Barbabpapa family.
In a large bowl mix the following together:
4 cups flour,
2 cups salt,
4 tablespoons vegetable oil,
4 tablespoons cream of tartar
Now boil the kettle and pour 4 cups of the water into your mixture and stir to combine. Finally, knead the dough to a smooth consistency.
I suggest making one big uncoloured batch, and then dividing it into 9 balls. Each ball can then be dyed by kneading in food colouring to match the colours of the various Barbapapas. I recommend using gel (rather than liquid) food colouring so that the dough doesn’t become any stickier when you add the food colouring.
Here are our Barbapapas enjoying reading about themselves.
Enjoy your reading and play fun!
Zoe loves bringing books to life through play as documented at her bloghttp://www.playingbythebook.net/. She get particularly excited by edible books and books in translation. She runs regular story+craft activities at two local schools and sits on the board of UK charity which promotes reading for pleasure for children. Her two favourite books so far in 2013 are The Snow Merchant by Sam Gayton and Findus Moves Out by Sven Nordqvist. When she’s not doing something related to books she’s learning how to play the accordion.
http://www.playingbythebook.net/, @playbythebook
National Executive, Federation of Children’s Book Groupshttp://www.fcbg.org.uk/
Connect with Zoe on Twitter
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The post Family Book Festival: Zoe Toft and the Barbapapa Books appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
