Valarie Budayr's Blog, page 71

Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: The Wildwood Chronicles 3-Book Giveaway

Today dear reading friends I present to you an invitation to venture into the world of The Wildwood. Are you brave enough? Are you adventuresome enough? Are you ready to leap into a world that could be in your very own neighborhood? Today we are offering The Wildwood Chronicles 3-Book Giveaway for you to find out.

Back in the year 2000,  husband and wife team Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis started thinking of project they could collaborate on. They started working on a story which they ultimately had to put aside for a time because life started happening. For Colin that meant starting a band called The Decemberist which is hugely famous. He started touring the world. For Carson it meant illustrating other author’s books and doing art and graphic design for Colin’s band, albums and such. The story they had started together had to be laid aside until another time.

Lucky for us, a few years ago the time came to revisit the story that would become Wildwood and it’s sequels.

A little more about Colin Meloy (from the Wildwood website)

Colin Meloy once wrote Ray Bradbury a letter, informing him that he “considered himself an author too.” He was ten. Since then, Colin has gone on to be the singer and songwriter for the band the Decemberists, where he channels all of his weird ideas into weird songs. With the Wildwood Chronicles, he is now channeling those ideas into novels.

A little more about Carson Ellis

As a kid, Carson Ellis loved exploring the woods, drawing, and nursing wounded animals back to health. As an adult, little has changed—except she is now the acclaimed illustrator of several books for children, including Lemony Snicket’s The Composer Is Dead, Dillweed’s Revenge by Florence Parry Heide, and The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. www.carsonellis.com

Colin and Carson live with their son, Hank, in Portland, Oregon, quite near the Impassable Wilderness.

Wildwood

For fans of The Chronicles of Narnia comes the first book in the Wildwood Chronicles, the New York Times bestselling fantasy adventure series by Colin Meloy, lead singer of the Decemberists, and Carson Ellis, acclaimed illustrator of The Mysterious Benedict Society.

In Wildwood, Prue and her friend Curtis uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval—a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what begins as a rescue mission becomes something much greater as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness. A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.

Wildwood captivates readers with the wonder and thrill of a secret world within the landscape of a modern city. It feels at once firmly steeped in the classics of children’s literature and completely fresh at the same time. The story is told from multiple points of view, and the book features more than eighty illustrations, including six full-color plates, making this an absolutely gorgeous object.

Under Wildwood

Under Wildwood is the second book in the New York Times bestselling adventure series the Wildwood Chronicles from Colin Meloy, lead singer of the Decemberists, and Carson Ellis, the acclaimed illustrator of The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Ever since Prue McKeel returned home from the Impassable Wilderness after rescuing her brother from the malevolent Dowager Governess, life has been pretty dull. School holds no interest for her, and her new science teacher keeps getting on her case about her dismal test scores and daydreaming in class. Her mind is constantly returning to the verdant groves and sky-tall trees of Wildwood, where her friend Curtis still remains as a bandit-in-training.

But all is not well in that world. Dark assassins with mysterious motives conspire to settle the scores of an unknown client. A titan of industry employs inmates from his orphanage to work his machine shop, all the while obsessing over the exploitation of the Impassable Wilderness. And, in what will be their greatest challenge yet, Prue and Curtis are thrown together again to save themselves and the lives of their friends, and to bring unity to a divided country. But in order to do that, they must go under Wildwood.

In Under Wildwood, Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis reveal new dimensions of the epic fantasy-adventure series begun with the critically acclaimed, bestselling Wildwood.

Wildwood Imperium

In Wildwood Imperium, a young girl’s midnight séance awakens a long-slumbering malevolent spirit…. a band of runaway orphans allies with an underground collective of saboteurs and plans a daring rescue of their friends, imprisoned in the belly of an industrial wasteland…. Two old friends draw closer to their goal of bringing together a pair of exiled toy makers in order to reanimate a mechanical boy prince…. As the fate of Wildwood hangs in the balance.

The Wildwood Chronicles is a mesmerizing and epic tale, at once firmly steeped in the classics of children’s literature and completely fresh at the same time. In this book, Colin Meloy continues to expand and enrich the magical world and cast of characters he created in Wildwood, while Carson Ellis once again brings that world to life with her gorgeous artwork, including six full-color plates.

**Some of these links are affiliate links.

Ready to WIN this delightful series?

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

ONE winner will receive one copy of Wildwood, Under Wildwood and Wildwood Imperium. Giveaway begins July 9th, 2015

Prizing & samples  courtesy of Audrey Press
Giveaway open to US addresses only
ONE lucky winner will win one copy of each of the above books.
Residents of USA only please.
Must be 18 years or older to enter
One entry per household.
Staff and family members of Audrey Press are not eligible.
Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize
Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter on July 19th, 2015

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: The Wildwood Chronicles 3-Book Giveaway appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

The Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: The Wildwood

Welcome to our 6th week of the Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series. I can’t believe we’ve been reading and adventuring together for 6 whole weeks!!

If you are just tuning in you can find some great book review and activities here and here.

Today both intern Hannah and I have things to say about this week’s book Wildwood by Colin Meloy.

We started this as a read-aloud book, BUT I was quickly ditched to reading it all alone and silently. Why you ask? It’s not because the book isn’t good, it’s because it is so darn good that it had my children relating way too much to what was happening. You see I’m from Portland, Oregon and my sister lives in North Portland (North Wood) which if you look at the map below is just near the Wildwood. Yes friends, the Wildwood does exist and could very possibly be true. Maybe this book is just being disguised as fiction but is actually based on a true story. It could be. It was my non-commitment to the question, “Are you sure this is fiction?” (shrug)

That little shrug cleared the room and left me with hours of great reading. Hopefully they’ll come back to it one day…….

My advice is don’t leave this book or it’s sequels. Brilliant and clever writing in a world we completely relate to.

Have a look.

It was an ordinary day. Prue and her baby brother Mac are just out for a ride in the park, enjoying the wonderful Portand day. Then the most un-thought of event happens. A swarm of crows sweeps down on the playground, grabs Mac in their claws, and flies him away into the infamous forest that Portlanders know as the Impassable Wood.

Horror-stricken, Prue returns home and is able to convince her parents that their baby is fast asleep and ready for bed. While her parents sleep, Prue prepares herself to travel into the Impassable Wilderness to rescue her brother. She must. This is her fault after all.

So, prepared with a backpack of snacks, her bike, and a red wagon attached to the back, she ventures to the edge of the Impassable Wilderness. There she runs into a classmate, Curtis, a boy that she hasn’t been friends with in awhile. And when he discovers her plan, he insists on accompanying her, despite her objections.

No one ever goes into the Impassable Wilderness, and in just a few moments, they know why. Riding along the Long Road, they come into the path of coyotes. But not just any coyotes—coyote soldiers…talking coyote soldiers. And when they smell the scent of human, Prue and Curtis have to run. Except the coyote soldiers are faster. Curtis is taken to their mistress, the Dowager Governess, and now Prue must fend for herself.

She is sent all over the Impassable Wood, better known as the Wildwood to its inhabitants. She meets Robert, the postman of Southwood, travels through the Avian Principality into Southwood where she believes she will be helped. But Outsiders have never been able to breach the boundary, and Prue is considered a danger to the community.

Under the advisement of Owl Rex, the crowned prince of the Avian Principality, she realizes that her only hope is to travel to Northwood and ask for the help of the mystics. Except the Wildwood is no cakewalk. The wilderness throws tons of hurdles in Prue’s way, and she must fight through all these impediments to rescue her brother, be reunited with Curtis, and stop the evil that is plotting to taking over the Wildwood.

Thoughts From Hannah…..

Narnia is one of my favorite books, and in my eye,  Wildwood is revamped, yet different Narnia. Colin Meloy has spun a fabulously detailed story of a completely different world that is dangerous, exciting, and endearing. The characters are complex, and the world is beautiful. Wildwood teaches about family loyalty, bravery, finding your place in the world, and loving nature. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

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Somethings To Do

Wildwood is set in Portland Oregon. That’s why my family refers to this great series of books as “Oregon Reads”, more specifically “Portland Reads.” Being born and raised in Portland Oregon, our Something To Do section today could quickly get out of control. I’m trying my best to reign myself in. I could write a plethora of suggestions just for books alone, and then food, mixed with lots of adventure. But alas, I only have this little blog post. So here it goes……

Make Gorp

You can’t be from Portland and not share the ever-loving trail snack GORP !!!! I don’t even know how many pounds/kilos of this stuff I’ve eaten in my life or made for that matter.

Step this way for a taste of the most divine trail mix EVER!

Portland Summer Activities

Ok summer isn’t summer without these three things. Well actually, I have a lot more on my list but this is the BEST start.

1. Portland Rose Festival in June

2. Topdown Rooftop Cinema in July

3. Bridge Pedal in August

Travel Portland With Kids

For all of those things I just can’t leave off the list, I leave for you to discover on your own. I hope you find your way to Portland, Oregon one day. But first, start with the book The Wildwood!!!!

**Some of these links are affiliate links. Opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.

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Looking for a unique way to keep your kids busy this summer…and engaged with nature? The At-Home Summer Nature Camp eCurriculum is available for sale!

The post The Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: The Wildwood appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Weekend Links: Celebrating Our Wonderful Earth with Booklists (and a Giveaway!)

Welcome to Weekend Links! This is my chance to share the best-of-the-best thanks to my online travels of the course of the week. This week has been filled with wonderful booklists and activities surrounding loving and celebrating our Earth and all that inhabit it. Here are some of my top picks this week.

This week we’ve been celebrating the planet we live on, Earth. Earlier this week I created a very Love the Earth  booklist which honors amazing people preserving and restoring areas on our planet as well as others reusing items to accomplish great feats. The great thing about this list is that I am giving it away!

Enter to win the Giveaway HERE and don’t delay! It ends July 13th

Seems to me it’s SharK Week on Animal Planet so I though this booklist from Brain Power Boy was very fitting

Sharks!  They can be so fascinating and just a bit scary as well. We found some great non-fiction shark books for your boys.

{just for fun}

Mia at PragmaticMom had a wonderful book review of a book that lets young readers readers explore the ocean floor. Explore Ocean Forests with Non Fiction eBook

Since we are looking way down low into the ocean floor, let’s look way up high at the sky. Here’s a great past JIAB post that will help get your family interested in stargazing! Stargazing & Astronomy Booklist for the whole family.

I loved encouraging kids and families to GET OUTSIDE! That’s why I adore this Backpack Nature Books and FieldGuides Booklist from KCEdventures! “Outdoor guides for kids to take on their next hike — what a fun way to encourage reading this summer!”

Speaking of “getting outside”…did you know that my book A Year in the Secret Garden is filled with all sorts of outdoors activities inspired by the classic children’s book The Secret Garden?

Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale for a limited time! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” More details HERE! http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX

The post Weekend Links: Celebrating Our Wonderful Earth with Booklists (and a Giveaway!) appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

The BookJumper Summer Reading Series: Mama Miti

Welcome to WEEK 5 of my Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Book-jumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

If you’re just tuning in, there are some great summer reading booklists here and here.

Wangari Maathai is one of my favorite people. The first time I discovered her was through this beautiful picture book called Mama Miti. Since then I’ve had the occasion to read about her several times, follow her Nobel Peace Prize award, and watch her green movement progress. Earlier this year I wrote a review of another book entitled Wangari Maathai by Franck Prevost for Women’s History month. To her people she is known as Mother of the Trees. However you come to know Wangari Maathai, I’m quite certain that you will be inspired by her story and determination to save her country.

 

Donna Jo Napoli tells the inspiring story of Wangari Maathai, the woman who planted trees.

 

On the highlands of Africa,

Near the forests and plains and a hue salt lick,

Wangari was born. The face of

Mount Kenya smiled down on her.

People told stories of how in the old days

Sometimes the sun shone too bright too long,

And droughts came. Creatures suffered.

Plants wilted. People fought.

So men held ceremonies under the mugumo

The spreading sacred fig tree

And the skies blessed them with shimmering rains

 to slake their thirst and water their farms.

Village elders placed staffs from the

Thigi tree between angry men,

And enemies became friends

Wangari listened to these stories. That’s how she came to love and respect trees. Excerpt from the book Mama Miti.

She was the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace prize. In her own garden she planted trees to be able to have fruits, shade, and to refresh her spirit.  She was also a very wise and educated, being the first woman with a doctorate in Africa.  Other women would come to her with their problems.  Each time she would tell them how strong they were and then give them a tree seedling which would be the answer to their problem.

Seed by seed, woman by woman the Kenyan countryside was filled with trees. Kenya had been changed one tree at a time.

 

Donna Jo Napoli is a brillant storyteller who invites us to admire Wangari Maathai but also to follow her example and take action as “Keepers of the Earth.”

Honoring the women who saved their country by planting trees, Kadir Nelson’s stunning and colorful artwork brings the story to life with his multi-textured collages.

Something To Do:

It’s very simple …..let’s plant some trees. Each person on this planet needs 15 trees per year to have enough oxygen to live. A few years ago we planted a fruit orchard. By doing so we now are getting lovely fruits to eat from spring through fall. This year we will add to the orchard but we will also take part in planting in our greenbelt area here.

A group that absolutely supports planting trees is the Arbor Day Foundation. If you don’t have room to plant the trees yourself, have a fund-raiser and let people like this restore forests. Let me know what you are planting. I would love to see them.

**Some of these links are affiliate links. The opinions expressed are purely my own.

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Looking for more ways to not only get your youngsters reading, but get them OUTSIDE as well? Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale for a limited time! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” More details HERE! http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX

The post The BookJumper Summer Reading Series: Mama Miti appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

A Love the Earth Booklist: Preserve,Restore, Reuse {Giveaway}

Welcome to the next installment of my Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Book-jumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week we’ve been celebrating the planet we live on, Earth. On Earth Day I created a very fun booklist which honors amazing people preserving and restoring areas on our planet as well as others reusing items to accomplish great feats.

Every library should have these inspiring stories from Wangari Mathai who planted an entire forest saving her country, to William Kamkwamba who created a windmill to end a drought in his town, to Isatou Ceesay who started with just one plastic bag. On this list you’ll also find entertaining chapter books with a environmentalist theme to them as well. Each person can contribute something.

One of the more amazing things about this booklist is that we’re giving it away. Have a look below and get inspired.

A Love the Earth Booklist

Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees by Franck Prevot, Illustrated by Aurelia Fronty

Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her efforts to lead women in a nonviolent struggle to bring peace and democracy to Africa through its reforestation. Her organization planted over thirty million trees in thirty years. This beautiful picture book tells the story of an amazing woman and an inspiring idea.

A book for young readers. It involves new kids, bullies, alligators, eco-warriors, pancakes, and pint-sized owls. A hilarious Floridian adventure!

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia

Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred.

The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them. Something had to change.

Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person’s actions really can make a difference in our world.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba’s tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season’s crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution. There, he came up with the idea that would change his family’s life forever: he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William’s windmill brought electricity to his home and helped his family pump the water they needed to farm the land.

Retold for a younger audience, this exciting memoir shows how, even in a desperate situation, one boy’s brilliant idea can light up the world. Complete with photographs, illustrations, and an epilogue that will bring readers up to date on William’s story, this is the perfect edition to read and share with the whole family.

SeedFolks by Paul Fleishman

A vacant lot looks like no place for a garden. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise.

Heroes of the Environment by Harriet Rohmer

This inspiring book presents the true stories of 12 people from across North America who have done great things for the environment. Heroes include a teenage girl who figured out how to remove an industrial pollutant from the Ohio River, a Mexican superstar wrestler who works to protect turtles and whales, and a teenage boy from Rhode Island who helped his community and his state develop effective e-waste recycling programs. Plenty of photographs and illustrations bring each compelling story vividly to life.

John Muir: My Life with Nature by Joseph Comell

Written mostly in the words of Muir, it brims with his spirit and adventures. The text was selected and retold by naturalist Joseph Cornell, author of Sharing Nature with Children, who is well known for his inspiring nature games. The result is a book with an aliveness, a presence of goodness, adventure, enthusiasm, and sensitive love of each animal and plant that will give young adults an experience of a true champion of nature. It is a book that expands your sense of hope, adventure, and awareness. Adults will be just as fond of this book as young readers. Cornell includes numerous explore more activities that help the reader to understand and appreciate the many wonderful qualities of Muir.

Wild Wings by Gill Lewis

This “vividly imagined and well-written novel” (Booklist, starred review) tells a gripping story about a boy from Scotland and a girl from West Africa who join together to save a migrating Osprey—and end up saving each other.

When Callum spots crazy Iona McNair on his family’s sprawling property, she’s catching a fish with her bare hands. She won’t share the fish, but does share something else: a secret. She’s discovered a rare endangered bird, an Osprey, and it’s clear to both her and Callum that if anyone finds out about the bird, it, and its species, is likely doomed. Poachers, egg thieves, and wild weather are just some of the threats, so Iona and Callum vow to keep track of the bird and check her migratory progress using the code a preservationist tagged on her ankle, no matter what.

But when one of them can no longer keep the promise, it’s up to the other to do it for them both. No matter what. Set against the dramatic landscapes of Scotland and West Africa, this is a story of unlikely friendships, the wonders of the wild—and the everyday leaps of faith that set our souls to flight.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

ONE winner will receive one copy of each of the books above. Giveaway begins July 1,2015

Prizing & samples  courtesy of Authors of the above books
Giveaway open to US addresses only
ONE lucky winner will win one copy of each of the above books.
Residents of USA only please.
Must be 18 years or older to enter
One entry per household.
Staff and family members of Audrey Press are not eligible.
Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize
Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter on July 13th, 2015

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post A Love the Earth Booklist: Preserve,Restore, Reuse {Giveaway} appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: One Plastic Bag by Elizabeth Zunon

Today we begin our 5th week of our Book-jumper Summer Reading Series and today, we delve into the world of plastic bags.

Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred.

The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them. Something had to change.

Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person’s actions really can make a difference in our world.

“People thought I was to young and that women couldn’t be leaders. I took these things as challenges; they gave me more power. I didn’t call out the problems-I called out solutions.” Isatou Ceesay

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul is a beautifully written story that captives the reader and inspires one to initiate positive change.

As a young girl Isatou noticed a plastic bag. Many years later, all grown up with a child of her own, she walked on the road she had walked as a young girl and noticed a huge heap of plastic bags. She started to notice these heaps of plastic everywhere.

 

One day a heap was burning and she couldn’t even breathe from the stink and smoke. One day her goat was very sick as were many of the goats in the village. The problem? The goats were eating the plastic bags. Now Isatou as she walked decided to pick up one bag. Then two. Then ten. Then a hundred. But what to do with these bags? Her and her friends washed them.

One evening Isatou was watching her sister crochet and asked her if she could teach her. After a bit of learning, Isatou decided to take her clean plastic bags, cut them into strips and started crocheting them into money purses. She then convinced her friends and family to do the same thing. She took her purses to market and was laughed at but then one kind girl bought one and put her money in it. Soon everyone wanted a money purse made of plastic bags.

The illustrations are multi-layered collages using papers and fabrics of Africa by illustrator Elizabeth Zunon.  Elizabeth is a very inventive and talented artist who added many layers to this beautiful story.

About Author Miranda Paul

“Miranda is a teacher and children’s writer. She first traveled to Gambia in 2003 and heard about Isatou’s amazing project. Twelve years and five trips later, she’s excited to have brought this story to the world. “I got rejected many times before I found someone willing to take on the book,” she says. “Through interviewing the women of Njau I learned the importance of determination and confidence when working on something worthwhile.” Miranda currently spends her days writing new books, traveling, and speaking at schools.”  www.mirandapaul.com

About Illustrator Elizabeth Zunon

“Elizabeth’s childhood in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), West Africa, featured an everyday life filled with tropical colors and patterns. Now living in Albany, NY, she is happy to help bring inspiring stories from Africa like Isatou’s to the world. Every story is an opportunity to let those bright tropical colors burst onto the page as paint, paper, fabric, and in this case, plastic bags! Using plastic bags in her artwork gave Elizabeth the opportunity to play, experiment, and think about other reusable materials she might make art with in the future. You can learn more about her at www.Lizzunon.com ”

Somethings To Do

Let’s Learn about Gambia

Gambia is a country on the West Coast of Africa. It’s the smallest country on the African continent. Let’s take an adventure a learn a few new things about this incredible country. Have a look here for a list of Fun Facts about Gambia.

A Look at Plastic

We have a global problem with plastic. Here are some interesting facts and some things that you can do.

160,000 plastic bags are used globally every second!
5 trillion plastic bags are produced yearly. Side by side, they can encircle the world 7 times.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is a floating landfill of garbage in the Pacific twice the size of Texas, is mostly composed of plastic.
Plastic will only start degrading after 700 years and will only fully degrade in 1000 years. This means that all the plastic that has ever been produced has not degraded yet.
Plastic bags remain toxic even after it breaks down. It doesn’t biodegrade, it photo-degrades. It means that after it degrades, it breaks down into smaller and smaller toxic bits of itself – and bleeds and contaminates the environment.

What can you do ?

Pack your school lunch in a reusable lunch bag.
Recycle plastic items such as water and juice bottles.
Take a cloth or canvas bag to the grocery store and keep reusing that each time you shop.
Choose not to buy plastic. Buy those things which come in glass, paper or tin containers. Also buying in bulk is good.
Does your city recycle. If so, make sure you’re in on it. Start a recycling program in your family.
What other ideas can you come up with to recycle, reuse, or not produce more plastic ?

Want to make your very own plastic bag coin purse ?

You’re in luck. You even get to learn from the hero of our story Isatou Ceesay herself.

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: One Plastic Bag by Elizabeth Zunon appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Weekend Links: Revisiting, Reviewing and READING!

Welcome to Weekend Links! Every aSunday I share my “finds” and reading-related goodies that I have encountered in my weekly online travels.

If I had a theme to this summer so far, it would be “travel.” by the time the end of July rolls around, I will have logged 22,000 miles in 60 days. What would it look like if traveling were free? You’d never see me again unless I could travel to ya! #travelingtribe #Scotland #midwest states #Italy #Beirut #California

But this also allows me lots of time to read, bookjump and find awesome new book-related activities for my readers! This week, as part of my Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series, this week I am celebrating children’s book author Michaela MacColl with A Michaela MacColl 5 Book Giveaway so BE SURE and enter to win!

As always I have found wonderfully amazing booklists and multicultural children’s books along the way. Here are some of my top picks:

Mia at Pragmaticmom offered up 18 Wonderful Picture Books about the Arab Nation

June is National Audiobook Month- Audio Book Picks for Young Readers  and Author Max Oliver had some suggestions (and a JIAB mention!)

Activities for Kid Detectives  via @learningtable

Best Books for Boys: High Interest List Books at BrainPower Boy

50 Latino Children’s Books You Should Know at Mamiverse

Star Spangled BookList: Reading for the 4th of July (just in time for Independence Day!)

I’ve also had a ball this week reviewing some of my past posts from years ago. Book activies and jumps that are still fun and relevant after all these years.

Book Activities around the classic tale Heidi:

Heidi-Swiss Foods
Heidi Games
Heidi Crafts
From the Garrett, Songs & Resources

What great books finds did YOU discover this week?

 

Do your young readers love nature and all of nature’s critters? Experience the magical story of a family of foxes that took up residence right in the front yard of the author and publisher, Valarie Budayr. The Fox Diaries: The Year the Foxes Came to our Garden offers an enthusiastically educational opportunity to observe this fox family grow and learn together.

From digging and hunting to playing and resting, this diary shares a rare glimpse into the private lives of Momma Rennie and her babies. Come watch as they navigate this wildly dangerous but still wonderful world. Great to share with your children or students, The Fox Diaries speaks to the importance of growing and learning both individually and as a family unit. It is a perfect book for story time or family sharing. Not only can you read about the daily rituals of this marvelous fox family, there is an information-packed resource section at the end of the book that includes lots of facts and even a few “fox movies” that you can enjoy with your family. Grab your copy of this beautiful and inspiring book HERE.

The post Weekend Links: Revisiting, Reviewing and READING! appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Discovering Louisa May Alcott at Orchard House in Concord MA

This week we’ve been celebrating author Michaela MacColl, her books and her recent release The Revelation of Louisa May based on authoress Louisa May Alcott. I have so many incredible memories of her book Little Women. When I finally arrived at Louisa Alcott’s home Orchard House with my own brood in tow, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

The first time I met Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy I was ten years old. Every Thursday I had a date with Marmee, I mean mom, as she stood there ironing. To make her arduous task go by faster, I read Little Women to her. Orchard House seemed the perfect setting to iron in and besides it was a family we felt we related to. Though 100 and some years had passed since Jo wrote plays for her sisters, our 1970’s/80’s household seemed to hold the same passions and desires. All we really needed was Laurie living next door and a mean old aunt who wanted us to read to her. Hey wasn’t I already reading to somebody? There you have it — I was one step closer to being Jo March.

(Here is where my mother would want me to point out that she wasn’t ironing her husband and children’s clothes. She was a wedding dress designer; she always steamed and pressed the wedding and bridesmaids’ dresses on Thursdays so they could be packed and delivered on Fridays.)

That summer of Little Women was packed gently away in the recesses of my mind until many years later when I was, yet again, utterly lost on the Boston highways and by-ways. After what seemed like endless driving, I found myself in the little town of Concord Massachusetts. Passing before us were colorful clapboard colonial houses boasting quaint little gardens. As the country road kept turning and winding, I couldn’t help muttering every two minutes to my son, “We are so lost. If it wasn’t so nice to look at I’d be worried.” Just after one of those mutterings and country road turns I saw a sign for “Orchard House.” Surely that couldn’t be my Orchard House, could it? I made a hasty right-hand turn into the parking lot, and sitting before me was the Orchard House of my imagination — just as I had left it.

“Let’s get out of the car,” I said to my son, gazing at the house.

“Mom, do you know where we are?”

“I think so.” I started walking up towards the house.

“Mom, where are we going? Do you know these people?”

“Yes,” Came my quick reply. “We’re visiting some old friends.”

“Mom, who lives here? I thought we were lost.”

“The Marches live here. My friend Jo March and her sisters live here.”

By this time we had come to the kitchen door.

I knocked and without waiting for a reply I entered. There to greet us was a very kind woman who, I might add, looked an awful lot like Marmee.

“Are you here for the tour?” she asked.

“Tour?” I questioned.

“Yes, you’re at Louisa May Alcott’s house, author of Little Women.”

From there we got a private tour into the world of Louisa May Alcott and an up-close visit into the life and times of this cherished author. During our visit to Orchard House seeds were planted, and I just had to discover what ideas were to unfold. We decided to stay in Concord, or stay “lost,” as my son likes to put it.

Over the next three days, we met her, her family, and neighbors, all contributors to American education, thought and literature.

Louisa May Alcott was the second daughter of Bronson and Abigail May Alcott. Born on the same day as her father, on November 29th, 1832. Louisa was raised along with her sisters Anna, Elizabeth, and May in a very unique family.

Louisa’s father Bronson Alcott, a transcendentalist and educator, believed that the key to social reform and spiritual growth was at home and in family life. He woke his family everyday at 5 am to run outdoors. They would finish with a cold morning bath before starting their daily studies and chores. He was a philosopher who loved public speaking and often would stand outside his house to discuss his ideas with passersby. Next door neighbor Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was a very solitary and private man, had a path built above his house in the forest which led around the Alcott home and came out on the other side so he could avoid meetings with Bronson Alcott.

Concord looked at the Alcott’s as an eccentric family. The Alcott family made many life choices which contributed to them standing out from the rest of their community.

Louisa and her sisters were home-schooled, taught by their father until 1848. He instilled in them the values of self-reliance, duty, charity, self-expression and sacrifice. Noticing how bright and curious Louisa was, Ralph Waldo Emerson, another neighbor, invited her to visit his library any time she wished. What followed was Mr. Emerson becoming her literature and philosophy teacher. They would spend hours together discussing literature, thought, poetry, rhetoric and the like. Another of Louisa’s teachers was naturalist and essayist Henry David Thoreau. Louisa and her sisters accompanied him often on his long nature walks. Along with the art of nature observation he taught them biology.

Though Louisa’s father was a very educated man, he brought in little income. Louisa, her mother, and her sisters had to hire themselves out to clean houses, take in laundry, and work as tutors in schools. Louisa had been writing poems and stories under a couple of pseudonyms. She started using her own name when she was hired to write children’s stories. At the age of 15 she decided that her family would no longer live in poverty. The first book she wrote was Flower Fables, which she wrote for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s daughter Ellen Hawthorne. She wrote Little Women in ten weeks and the sequel Little Men in another ten week session. Both books were written at Orchard House and while we were visiting there we saw the small desk by the window that Bronson Alcott made her. All of her children’s books have been continually published since the late 1800’s and translated into 50 languages.

Louisa was a very strong-willed woman. During the Civil War she worked as a nurse in Washington D.C. There she contracted typhoid fever and the mercury used to cure her ended up poisoning her. She suffered from chronic illness for the rest of her life.

Her family was staunchly abolitionist and housed slaves moving towards freedom. John Brown’s widow and children stayed with the Alcott’s for several weeks after the death of Mr. Brown.

Like many educated women of her time, Louisa was an advocate for women’s suffrage. She was the first woman registered to vote some 40 years before women had the right to vote in the United States. Louisa walked into a school board election and pounded on the table saying “I have the right to vote and you won’t stop me.” The election chair gave her a ballot and registered her to vote. Whether her vote counted or not, no one knows, but people actively speak about Louisa as the first woman to vote in the United States.

As in her book Little Women, Louisa’s sister Beth died from smallpox, which she contracted taking care of a poor immigrant family. Later her sister Amy moved to Europe to study painting at the Beaux Arts in Paris. Amy married a Swiss man and later died after giving birth to her daughter who they named after her sister Louisa (Lulu). Upon the insistence of her sister, Louisa took care of Lulu at Orchard House until she was ten years old and then sent her back to Switzerland. The eldest of the Alcott sisters, Anne, loved to act just like the older sister Meg in Little Women. As I was walking up Walden Street in Concord I noticed a little theater which I learned was founded by Anne Alcott. To this day plays are performed there seasonally and a production of Little Women is an annual event.

Louisa never married and wrote until the day she died at 55 years old. Just as she was born on the same day as her father, she died just two days after his death.

We paid a visit to the Sleepy Hollow cemetery. This lovely place was created by Ralph Waldo Emerson as a place of beauty for the citizens of Concord to come and reflect on nature, literature, music, poetry, and their loved ones. As they were in life, all of the above-mentioned people are neighbors in death as well. As we approached Louisa’s grave in her family plot we took part in the tradition of leaving a pen at the authoress’s grave, as well as a stone on Henry David Thoreau’s grave just nearby. Walking a few feet we also paid homage to Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Since returning from Concord we’ve started our own family journal practice. In the Alcott household, journals were meant to be shared. The Alcott family would write about the daily happenings in their lives, what books they were reading and the thoughts they inspired, political opinions, women’s suffrage, plays they were working on or had seen, walks and observations, poems they had written and poems to be shared. Anything at all that held their attention would be written in their journals. Each evening after dinner they sat around the table and read from their journals.

In our family we’ve taken to collecting not just snippets from our daily lives but to writing down poems we’ve discovered during the week. We also include riddles, jokes, favorite recipes, and this week’s favorite music. The family journal sits on the old radio by the kitchen table where everyone puts something daily into it. On Sunday dinner we read from our weekly family journal. It’s been fun to watch what catches the eye of my growing family and how we are creating this weekly testament about the lives we share together.

By getting lost on our way back to Boston, we ended up in another era of American thought, literature, and history. Unbeknownst to me, I had no idea that by discovering Louisa May Alcott an entire world of famous American transcendentalist would plant the seeds of inspiration. Over those few days we walked the path of Henry David Thoreau, saw the birth of our nation at Minute Man National Park, and embraced the world of 19th century America.

For further information about Orchard House, Louisa May Alcott, her books, and the time period she lived in , please look here.

P.S….Don’t forget to enter my Michaela MacColl Booklist Giveaway!

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Michaela MacColl Week: A Michaela MacColl Booklist Giveaway!

Welcome to the next installment of my Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Book-jumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week is “Michaela MacColl week! You can read the book review and bookjump I did earlier this week on her wonderful book, The Revelation of Louisa May.

Everyone here loves history and love reading about it even more. We’re huge Michaela MacColl fans here as she quickly immerses us into different time periods, places, and adventures of real life people. Today we are celebrating Michaela MacColl by giving away the entire booklist below!!! You’re sure to have hours of great reading ahead.

A Little More About Michaela MacColl

Michaela attended Vassar College and Yale University. She earned degrees in multi-disciplinary history. Unfortunately, it took her 20 years before she realized she was learning how to write historical fiction. Her favorite stories are the ones she finds about the childhood experiences of famous people. What happened that helped them to be great? Michaela has two daughters so she’s hoping to identify those moments firsthand. Her books include Prisoners in the Palace (2010) about a teenaged Victoria, on the verge of becoming Queen and Promise the Night (2011) about Beryl Markham’s childhood in Africa. Her literary mysteries include Nobody’s Secret (featuring Emily Dickinson) and Always Emily (with the Bronte sisters). She and her family live in Connecticut.

Giveaway Time! Here’s what one Lucky Reader will WIN!

Prisoners in the Palace

London, 1838. Sixteen-year-old Liza’s dreams of her society debut are dashed when her parents are killed in an accident. Penniless, she accepts the position of lady’s maid to young Princess Victoria and steps unwittingly into the gossipy intrigue of the servants’ world below-stairs and the rampant trickery above. Is it possible that her changing circumstances may offer Liza the chance to determine her own fate, find true love, and secure the throne for her future queen?

Promise the Night

Immediately compelling and action-packed, this carefully researched work of historical fiction introduces young readers to the childhood of the famous yet elusive Beryl Markham, the first person to fly solo from England to North America. As in her debut novel, Prisoners in the Palace, MacColl propels readers into a multilayered story with an unforgettable heroine and evocative language that brings the backdrop of colonial British East Africa to life. A fascinating read for anyone with a thirst for adventure.

Nobody’s Secret

When fifteen-year-old Emily Dickinson meets a mysterious, handsome young man who doesn’t seem to know who she or her family is and playfully refuses to divulge his name, she’s intrigued. She enjoys her secret flirtation with “Mr. Nobody”—until he turns up dead in her family’s pond. She’s stricken with guilt and is determined to discover who this enigmatic stranger was before he’s buried in an anonymous grave, an investigation that takes her deep into town secrets, blossoming romance, and deadly danger. A celebration of Emily Dickinson’s intellect and spunk, this exquisitely written and meticulously researched page-turner will excite fans of mystery, romance, and poetry alike.

Always Emily

Emily and Charlotte Brontë are as opposite as two sisters can be, but they have one thing in common: a love of writing. Can they use their imaginations to determine the connection between the mysterious death of a neighbor and the appearance of a handsome stranger? And will Emily find love along the way? “Equal parts gothic melodrama and Nancy Drew derring-do” (Kirkus Reviews)

The Revelation of Louisa May

Louisa May Alcott can’t believe it—her mother is leaving for the summer to earn money for the family and Louisa is to be in charge of the household. How will she find the time to write her stories, much less have any adventures of her own? But before long, Louisa finds herself juggling her temperamental father, a mysterious murder, a fugitive seeking refuge along the Underground Railroad, and blossoming love. Intertwining fact, fiction, and quotes from Little Women, Michaela MacColl has crafted another spunky heroine whose story will keep readers turning pages until the very end.

**some if these links are affiliate links

Giveaway Guidelines

ONE winner will receive one copy of each of these books, Prisoners in the Palace, Promise the Night, Nobody’s Secret, Always Emily, The Revelation of Louisa May

. Giveaway begins  June 24th, 2015

Prizing & samples  courtesy of Audrey Press


Giveaway open to US addresses only
ONE lucky winner will win one copy of each of the above books.
Residents of USA only please.
Must be 18 years or older to enter
One entry per household.
Staff and family members of Audrey Press are not eligible.
Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize
Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter on July 1st, 2015

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Michaela MacColl Week: A Michaela MacColl Booklist Giveaway! appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Michaela MacColl Week:: The Revelation of Louisa May

Welcome to the next installment of my Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Book-jumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week I’d like to focus on the wonderful author, Michaela MacColl. Michaela attended Vassar College and Yale University. She earned degrees in multi-disciplinary history. Unfortunately, it took her 20 years to realize that was her passion and begin writing historical fiction. Her favorite stories are the ones she finds about the childhood experiences of famous people. What happened that helped them to be great? Michaela has two daughters so she’s hoping to identify those moments firsthand. She and her family live in Connecticut, but she will travel at the drop of hat to do local research.

We’ve all heard of the beloved author Louisa May Alcott, but how many of you can say you really know her? I’ll bet more than you think, especially if you’ve entertained yourselves with the tales of the March Sisters in Little Women. But there was more to Louisa’s life than her three sisters and her sharp pen.

Hard times have befallen the Alcott family. Money is scarce since her transcendentalist father refuses to work for anyone but himself because of his morals. Because her husband will not sacrifice her morals, Marmee Alcott must leave her family in Concord so that she may support them with her own work, leaving Louisa in charge of the household, her younger sister, and her father. Oh, yes, and her family’s role in the Underground Railroad.

Just before Marmee leaves to start work, a runaway slave appears on the Alcott’s property in need of help and a place to hide until his family can reach him. Louisa is the find him, and she now feels a loyalty to him. But George Freedman does not just bring his family running after him. A literate slave, George has a high bounty on his head, and a certain dangerous slave catcher has come running after him, bringing trouble for everyone in Louisa’s circle of friends.

Mr. Finch, the slave catcher soon discovers everyone’s secrets including, Mr. Pryor, the Railroad Conductor, Henry David Thoreau, Mrs. Emerson, and even the Alcotts. So many people want him gone, so how can Louisa narrow the list of suspects when Mr. Finch turns up dead on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s property a few feet away from her injured father.

With the help of friends, family, and her own, sharp intellect, Louisa May must discover the truth behind Mr. Finch’s death to prove everyone else’s innocence. But in Concord, Massachusetts, everyone has secrets. How to tell the truth from the lies?

This is the second book of Michaela MacColl’s that I have had the pleasure of reading. This crafty novel is suspenseful, endearing, and altogether witty. I loved learning about the famous American author. Her family’s involvement in the Underground railroad was a surprise to me, but one that I find extremely interesting! This novel is filled with factual information about Louisa May Alcott’s life, with only a few fictional liberties taken by Ms. MacColl. If you are a fan of Little Women, you will love getting a look into the real March family!

Facts about Louisa May Alcott:

~Louisa had three sisters, all who had paralleling characters in her famous novel Little Women. Jo’s fiery character was based off herself.

~Even though her family was destitute growing up, Louisa became very wealthy as an adult, wealthy enough to send her youngest sister to Paris to study art.

~Louisa preferred to write more adult themes, rather than for children. The success of the novel based on her life and her family continued to surprise her all throughout her life.

~Like many women of this time and before, Louisa originally published her work under a man’s pseudonym. A compilation of stories from her time as a nurse during the Civil War was her first work published under her name.

~Louisa never married, but she raised her youngest sister’s daughter when she died a few weeks after the birth.

*All of these fascinating facts and more about Ms. Alcott’s life can be found in the Author’s Note.

Later this week I’ll be sharing with you our visit to Orchard House and the Alcott’s. While visiting Concord we soon learned how close all of these famous American authors and thinkers lived to each other. Nathaniel Hawthorne lived right next door to the Alcott’s. Louisa’s father Bronson Alcott use to stand out in front of the house near the street, catching anyone passing by into lengthy intense discussions. Nathaniel Hawthorne was a very shy and solitary man. He had a pathway put in above their houses on the ridge so he could avoid Branson Alcott and his intense conversations.

Something To Do

Investigate and learn about the Underground Railroad.

Underground Railroad in Concord MA.

Create a family Post Office-Here are some great ideas from the Pinterest Boards of one of my favorite bloggers; Growing Book by Book!

Louisa and her sisters had little personal mailboxes that they would leave notes for each other in. In little women, their neighbor Laurie would leave messages for them in a mailbox which was a very novel idea at the time. Why not have a little post office fun in your family. Here are some great ideas.

Read the book Little Women which is a fictionalized version of the Alcott family.

Do your young readers love nature and all of nature’s critters? Experience the magical story of a family of foxes that took up residence right in the front yard of the author and publisher, Valarie Budayr. The Fox Diaries: The Year the Foxes Came to our Garden offers an enthusiastically educational opportunity to observe this fox family grow and learn together.

From digging and hunting to playing and resting, this diary shares a rare glimpse into the private lives of Momma Rennie and her babies. Come watch as they navigate this wildly dangerous but still wonderful world. Great to share with your children or students, The Fox Diaries speaks to the importance of growing and learning both individually and as a family unit. It is a perfect book for story time or family sharing. Not only can you read about the daily rituals of this marvelous fox family, there is an information-packed resource section at the end of the book that includes lots of facts and even a few “fox movies” that you can enjoy with your family. Grab your copy of this beautiful and inspiring book HERE.

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