Valarie Budayr's Blog, page 91

Oh, The Places We Shall Read {Creating a Special Reading Place}

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It would not be an understatement to say that we are a family who loves books. For many generations it has been that way. My great-grandfather boasted of reading the complete Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 different editions throughout his life. My mother used the grocery money she saved by using coupons to buy leather bound editions of her favorite books. All 4 of my grandparents gave only books for gifts and do I need to mention our constant use of the public library?

When I had my own children, I just loved the daily connection we shared through our books. Stacked on shelves, and piled high on end tables, we were and are an active reading family. At around the age of 5 or 6, both our girls just took to letters, reading, and writing. We couldn’t keep them in enough books and writing paper. I noticed that though our son loved books, he wasn’t curious about them. He wasn’t intrigued by how momma and his family knew how to read those letters on the page. He wasn’t asking questions about letter sounds or asking what do these letters spell?

Slowly, at about 6 ½ years old , with our prompting, he started to read three-letter words but when asked to read them in a sentence or in his early reader, he would say, ”No thanks, that’s OK, it’s your turn to read”.

To say I wasn’t worried would be an understatement. I had everything tested and the conclusion was that he could see, hear, and think perfectly well. “He would evolve in his own time.” The tester said. “Not to worry.”

I took these words to heart but I couldn’t help feeling as though I had failed my sweet boy somehow. Later that day I called my dad. If there was ever someone who could solve a problem creatively, it would be my father.

“Well,” he said. “This isn’t an unusual problem. We’ve seen it quite a few times in our own family. Is what you need is a reading place.”

“A reading place?” I said.

“Yeah, there’s always one in every generation in our family who has a hard time reading. The only solution I can see is to build a reading place. A reading place calls the story forward and places it into the hands of the story reader. Afterwards you place it in the Book of Books as a testament to the time shared with a story. It works every time.”

“Ok dad, but first I want to know who was the one in your generation who couldn’t read?

“Me,” he said.

“And who is the one in my generation?”

“That would be the one I’m speaking with.” He said with much light-hearted sarcasm.

In utter disbelief I replied, “Me? As in me who has 4 books going at the same time?”

“Yes, that you! All of us are the youngest in our families. Why read, when one is completely surrounded by character and voice evoked storytellers? It’s time our little guy called up his own stories.”

Thinking back I remembered the barrel tunnel where I would sit and read out loud for hours. Next was the shelf my father put at the back of my closet. I always thought it was for my shoes. I read all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books on that shelf with my flashlight in hand. Another favorite place was to make a huge fabric nest made out of fabric scraps in my mother’s studio.

So I had to ask, “Dad, where was your reading place?”

“There was an old fishing boat pulled up in the yard and laid on its side. There, I would sit and read. If the weather turned bad I had a canvas flap that I would pull down so I wouldn’t have to leave. In the winter I sat under the stairs.”

So with that we were off to build a few reading places of our very own.

How to build a reading place:

To call a story forward is a special thing indeed. In your story place you will want a sense of coziness and a place to curl up with a book or two.

Materials

A standing foundation such as a table, end table, chairs, bunk beds, closet spaces, unused boats or bathtubs, a tree house or other pre-built fort.
Blankets and/or sheets
Pillows big and small
Cardboard boxes if building a box structure. Home Depot has big refrigerator boxes for free.
Long sticks if you are building a stick fort.
Flashlights
Connecting materials such as: duct tape, clamps, clips, and string.

There aren’t any rules on how to build your reading place. It can be permanent or moveable or a little of both. The important thing is that the readers of the family feel it is their place to go and delve into the pages of a book.

Once the reading place is built it is now time for the Reading Place Ceremony. For earlier or new readers, it’s always best to have at least one reader with them. As they become better readers, more and more time will be spent on their own.

The Reading Place Ceremony:

A reading place ceremony happens in three stages.

1. Calling the Story Forward

It’s time to call the story forward. Make sure that you’ve placed a stack of books in your reading place. If not, grab them now and bring them with you. Take your shortest book and read it aloud. If you are a new reader, read what you can even if it’s only small words or even identifying letters. After you’ve finished, your reading place is now open.

2. Read to a Partner, Read Aloud Family Style, or D.E.A.R. Time

For our second stage there are a few possibilities.

~ Read to a partner: Now that your reading place is officially open, it’s time to read with your trusted partner. First the young reader starts by reading a line and then the partner reads the next line. Continue like this until the book is finished. If there are a few people and you can share different copies, read the book in harmony, like a choir.

~ Read A-loud Family Style: Read the book you’ve chosen aloud in paragraphs. Each family member is going to get a turn as you pass the book around the circle.

~ D.E.A.R. Time: Which stands for Drop Everything and Read. As your young reader becomes more confident with reading, it’s good to let them read to themselves silently or out loud. Once I saw that my son was gaining confidence, I would give him 15 minutes of alone time after our read a-loud session.

3. The Book of Books

~ The third and final stage is celebrate the progress you’ve made and the time you’ve spent together. The Book of Books is a journal where you list the titles and authors of the books you have just read. Each person in the family is represented by a stamp. Those who took part in that reading session will put their stamp under the book title. It’s a great way to remember the books you’ve read and shared. There are more ideas about the Book of Books over at Jump Into A Book.

There are unlimited possibilities of creating reading places and how they function in your family. For us this is just what we needed to get our young reader reading. Almost weekly there is a new reading place going up somewhere in my house or yard. I hope wherever or however you choose to create your reading place that you will have many happy moments ahead. Happy Reading.

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Article previously published at Rhythm of The Home.

 

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Little Passports Teacher Appreciation Crafting Ideas

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Little Passports Teacher Appreciation Crafting Ideas

It’s time to appreciate those amazing teachers who take care of our children at school every day! Little Passports is sharing some fun crafting ideas that will get your kids excited to share their love for each and every teacher. If you are wildly impressed by your child’s instructor, why not give a subscription to Little Passports for their classroom! You could even get a group of other moms at school to pitch in on the subscription to make it very reasonable. A classroom subscription is the perfect way to give your favorite teacher a new way to share fun facts about the USA and the rest of our world with students. If you need some more creative inspiration, click on the links below!

Little Passports Pinterest Board

Teacher Appreciation Crafting Guide Your Affiliate Banners: Grab one for your post!

 

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Weekend Links: A Winning End to an Eventful Week

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May is just beginning and I am wrapping up the tail-end of a very busy April.  Included in that are two wonderful giveaways! Thank you to everyone who read the blog posts and entered to win. Here are our winners:

The Earth Day Ginormous 1o Book Giveaway went to : Reshama Deshmukh from the delightful blog Stacking Books!

We had TWO lucky winners for The Very Fairy Princess: Graduation Girl giveaway!  Congrats to Donna Taylor and Christine M who both won a copy of A Very Fairy Princess: Graduation Girl. Enjoy your books!

This week marked a huge initiative called #WeNeedDiverseBooks. This public showing of support for the importance of diversity in children’s literature was the brainchild of Author Ellen Oh. Ellen is organizing three events to show that families and young readers really do want diversity in children’s books! One such way to show support is to take a photo holding a sign that says “We need diverse books because ___________________________.” Fill in the blank with an important, poignant, funny, and/or personal reason why this campaign is important to you. Post this picture along with the hashtag #WeNeedDiverseBooks on all of your available social media channels. To learn more about this unique campaign and the other two planned events, visit their Tumblr blog to learn how you can participate.

Here’s a great example that I love from Spout’s Bookshelf.

This event came right on the heels of our first planning meeting for Jump Into a Book’s and Pragmatic Mom’s Multicultural Children’s Book Day for 2015. I am excited and pleased to share that planning is underway and the date for our next MCCBD is January 27th, 2015 {Tuesday}. We have some new ideas in the works and will be more committed than ever to not only shine the spotlight on all the wonderful multicultural children’s books out there, but better ways to get these books into the hands of schools, libraries and reading families. Stay tuned for more details!

More Multicultural Book Finds

A wonderful list of culturally diverse books for children from the New York Public Library.

#Multicultural Books for Children: 40+ Book Lists @PragmaticMom

If you are looking for more multicultural and diverse books titles don’t forget that our huge linky from the original Multicultural Children’s Book Day {January 27th, 2014} is still live and full of 151 book titles to check out!

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Discovering the World of Louisa May Alcott and Little Women

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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.

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Shakespeare’s Storybook {Guest Post by Hannah Rials}

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Did you know this last April marked Shakespeare’s 450th birthday?

Every year on April 23, Stratford-upon-Avon and the world celebrate the birth of the most famous English playwright in history — and this year’s festivities will be bigger than usual, as 2014 marks what would have been the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare.

So we thought it would be fitting to review this wonderful Shakespeare-inspired book. Enjoy


Shakespeare’s Storybook is a compilation of Shakespeare’s timeless tales retold with a bit of a twist: The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Hamlet, King Lear, and The Winter’s Tale. Patrick Ryan artfully condenses and simplifies Shakespeare’s complicated, lovable stories for young children to adore just as they will later in life. Some names are slightly changed and some bits of the story might be altered, but the stories are still as lovely as ever. With this storybook, you will be able to share your favorite tales of this timeless playwright with your children, who will soon adore them as much as you do. I mean who doesn’t love a fateful romance and a demon blowing up? The illustrations are beautiful, along with the history that precedes each story.

This will be your child’s go-to bedtime story, sure to send them to sleep with dreams of “Romeus” and “Tibbot.”

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Something To Do

1. This website tells the history of Shakespeare and provides tons of coloring pages and activities for your child:

2. Perform the stories just like The King’s Men did in Elizabethan times. Using the wonderful book Great Characters from Shakespeare Paper Dolls from Tom Tierney, parents can make a curtain with sheets and assign your child’s favorite character for them to play. Get your kid’s friends involved and have them perform it for parents!


3. Making paper puppets of your favorite characters! MasterPuppetThreatre has some great options.



4. After each story, write down what you learned from the characters and their story. Make it a family affair!



Born in the hills of Louisiana and raised in the mountains of Tennessee, Hannah Rials is a seventeen year old aspiring author and editor. She’s been writing short stories since she was a little girl, but for the past several years, she has been writing, editing, and reediting a novel of her own that she hopes to publish in the near future.

 

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The post Shakespeare’s Storybook {Guest Post by Hannah Rials} appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Shakespeare Storybook {Guest Post by Hannah Rials}

Send to KindleGuest Post by Hannah Rials



Did you know this last April marked Shakespeare’s 450th birthday?

Every year on April 23, Stratford-upon-Avon and the world celebrate the birth of the most famous English playwright in history — and this year’s festivities will be bigger than usual, as 2014 marks what would have been the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare.

So we thought it would be fitting to review this wonderful Shakespeare-inspired book. Enjoy


Shakespeare’s Storybook is a compilation of Shakespeare’s timeless tales retold with a bit of a twist: The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Hamlet, King Lear, and The Winter’s Tale. Patrick Ryan artfully condenses and simplifies Shakespeare’s complicated, lovable stories for young children to adore just as they will later in life. Some names are slightly changed and some bits of the story might be altered, but the stories are still as lovely as ever. With this storybook, you will be able to share your favorite tales of this timeless playwright with your children, who will soon adore them as much as you do. I mean who doesn’t love a fateful romance and a demon blowing up? The illustrations are beautiful, along with the history that precedes each story.

This will be your child’s go-to bedtime story, sure to send them to sleep with dreams of “Romeus” and “Tibbot.”

::::::::

Something To Do

1. This website tells the history of Shakespeare and provides tons of coloring pages and activities for your child:

2. Perform the stories just like The King’s Men did in Elizabethan times. Using the wonderful book Great Characters from Shakespeare Paper Dolls from Tom Tierney, parents can make a curtain with sheets and assign your child’s favorite character for them to play. Get your kid’s friends involved and have them perform it for parents!


3. Making paper puppets of your favorite characters! MasterPuppetThreatre has some great options.



4. After each story, write down what you learned from the characters and their story. Make it a family affair!



Born in the hills of Louisiana and raised in the mountains of Tennessee, Hannah Rials is a seventeen year old aspiring author and editor. She’s been writing short stories since she was a little girl, but for the past several years, she has been writing, editing, and reediting a novel of her own that she hopes to publish in the near future.

 

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The post Shakespeare Storybook {Guest Post by Hannah Rials} appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

The Very Fairy Princess: Graduation Girl! by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton {Giveaway and Review}

Send to KindleAll of us here at Jump into a Book are so excited to welcome Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton on the blog today.
They are sharing their very newest and latest release,  The Very Fairy Princess: Graduation Girl! by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton

This book comes just in time for a very special graduation happening right here on Jump into a Book of one our very own fairy princesses. Our very own contributor/intern Hannah will be graduating high school in two weeks. We’re so excited for her as she gets ready to embrace news experiences on the road ahead.

This book is a fun family read which covers the topics of fear of change, endings and new beginnings, and the courage to see them all through with the love and support of family, teachers, and friends. It is beautifully written, and charmingly illustrated. As with the rest of the series, this is book you will read again and again. Geraldine is a character one becomes attached to immediately. One of our little readers at home even said they wished Geraldine lived next door so they could be best friends. Well if she can’t live next door, why not on our bookshelf.  I know you’ll greatly enjoy this book. Read on because we’re giving a couple of copies away plus there’s a lot of fun things to do to bring this engaging book alive.
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ABOUT THE BOOK



While her friends and family may not believe in fairies, Geraldine knows, deep down, that she is a VERY fairy princess.

GERALDINE is a fairy princess. She may not look like your average fairy princess because of her skinned knees and sneakers, but she is. She does things that fairy princesses do, like rescuing frogs and building little house for her fellow fairies. She wears things that fairy Princesses wear, like a royal crown and fairy wings. And she eats things that Fairy princesses eat, like fairy pancakes with extra fairy dust on top (yum!). But most importantly, Gerry is a fairy princess because she feels a special sparkly feeling deep inside and spreads her sparkle wherever she goes and with whoever she meets, including her friends, parents, brother, and even her dog. And when it comes to being a fairy princess, inner sparkle is the most important sparkle of all!


In this new tale, the end of the school year is here, and Very Fairy Princess Gerry is getting ready to graduate! She always loves a celebration, but can’t help but feel a little sad as she empties her cubby, takes down her art projects, and says goodbye to her class pet, Houdini the hamster. She’s also a little nervous about leaving Miss Pym… what if her new teacher doesn’t let Gerry wear her wings and crown? Change can be hard, even for a fairy princess!



Thankfully, she realizes that new things can bring their own sparkle!  A perfectly delightful addition to your child’s bookshelf.




This is the sixth adventure in the adorable, sparkly, sweet Very Fairy Princess series from celebrated children’s book author Julie Andrews (best known for The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and The Princess Diaries) and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Julie Andrews is one of the most recognized figures in the world of entertainment, best known for her performances in The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and The Princess Diaries. Julie has been a celebrated children’s book author for over thirty years, and her works include Mandy, The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, and the Little Bo series. Her memoir, Home, was #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Emma Walton Hamilton is a bestselling children’s book author, editor, arts educator, and theater professional, and author of Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment. Together with her mother, Julie Andrews, she has coauthored many books for young readers, including the New York Times bestselling Very Fairy Princess series, the Dumpy the Dump Truck series, Simeon’s Gift, The Great American Mousical, and the New York Times bestselling Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies, a book for families to treasure and share.

OFFICIAL LINKS

Visit The Very Fairy Princess  website
Visit the authors’ sites:  Julie Andrews  &  Emma Walton Hamilton
Follow Little, Brown Kids on  Twitter  and  Facebook




Something To Do

Looking for some “princess-inspired” activities? I found some adorable ones on Pinterest and I shared them in my Weekend Links post.

 

GIVEAWAY!

Celebrate Graduation with the fairy princess Geraldine!
Two (2) winners each receive a copy of The Very Fairy Princess: Graduation Girl! Giveaway begins April 28th and ends May 3rd at 12:00 a.m.



Prizing & samples  courtesy of Little, Brown
Giveaway open to US addresses only
Two lucky winners will win one copy of Graduation Girl each.
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 May 4th, 2014

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Weekend Links: Giveaways Coming and Giveaways Ending!

Send to KindleAnother week has come and gone and many of us are still recovering from the sugar buzz of Easter! As April winds down and May looms, there is much to talk about and share at Jump Into a Book.

My Big, Ginormous Earth Day 10 Book Giveaway is almost over!  Tuesday the 29th is your last chance to enter to win all of these wonderful kid-friendly, Earth Day-inspired books. Go here to enter via Rafflecopter.


I also found some delightful Earth Day crafts and activities thanks to this Earth Day linky at The Nurture Store:
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And with one Giveaway ending, we have another just beginning!
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Jump Into a Book is excited and honored to preview the new book  The Very Fairy Princess: Graduation Girl! by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton.




 

This book is a fun family read which covers the topics of fear of change, endings and new beginnings, and the courage to see them all through with the love and support of family, teachers, and friends. It is beautifully written, and charmingly illustrated. As with the rest of the series, this is book you will read again and again. Geraldine is a character one becomes attached to immediately. One of our little readers at home even said they wished Geraldine lived next door so they could be best friends. Well if she can’t live next door, why not on our bookshelf.  I know you’ll greatly enjoy this book. Read on because we’re giving a couple of copies away plus there’s a lot of fun things to do to bring this engaging book alive.

Two luck winner will win a copy of The Very Fairy Princess-Graduation Girl starting on Monday. More details and the contest information can be found here {link not live until Monday 4/28/14}

In The Meantime, how about some Very Fairy Princess inspired activities?
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Pin the Gem on the Crown from Betty Crocker Princess Party Ideas


Fruit Wands:



Lace Crowns: The Girl Inspired


Just for Fun-Top Ten Ways to Let Out Your Inner Sparkle!

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The post Weekend Links: Giveaways Coming and Giveaways Ending! appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Earth Day Booklist and Ginormous 10 Book Giveaway!

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Wherever you are on this beautiful planet it’s time to celebrate the diversity and nature which lives here. There has been much talk of late as to global warming, nature deficit disorder, and many other topics which suggest that we are becoming completely disconnected from our life source “The Planet.” Not only are we celebrating Earth Day this week, we are giving one lucky winner the chance to win all 10 books with our Earth Day 10 Book Giveaway!  Here are my top picks for wonderful Earth Books for kids :

What Does it Mean to Be Green? This colorful, insightful story, demystifies for children what it means to be green by helping them to view everyday tasks through an environmentally-friendly lens. The book empowers children to do whatever they can to protect the earth’s precious resources.

Whole World

Connect with the whole wide, wonderful world with this green book that rejoices in the marvels of our environment. The catchy rhyme in this new take on a traditional spiritual begs to be sung aloud. Includes lots of facts about the Earth’s eco systems and tips on how to be eco-conscious.

Olivia’s Birds: Saving the Gulf {by Olivia Bouler}

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One 11 year-old girl can make a difference-as budding ornithologist and artist Olivia Bouler has proven, single-handedly raising over $175,000 for the Gulf Coast oil spill recovery. Devastated by the disaster and eager to do her part, Olivia wrote a letter to Audubon, “11 years old and willing to help” offering her own bird paintings to raise contributions for Gulf recovery efforts. The idea took flight, and Olivia proceeded to send out over 500 paintings, many of which are captured in this lavish picture book that recaps her valiant campaign to save birds affected by the spill. Olivia has been a guest at JIAB and I have also had the pleasure of meeting this delightful young lady in person.

The Magic School Bus and the Climate Change

Like it or not, global warming is a hot topic, and it will affect the younger generation the most. So why not turn to the teacher kids like the most, Ms. Frizzle! Only the Friz can boil all the hoopla down to the scientific facts in a fun and informative way.

The World is Waiting for You {by Barbara Kerley}

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question kids get asked over and over. But very few connections are made for kids between the present and the future. This book shows kids a pathway from their current interests and talents to a future career or interest. And in so doing, it also encourages adventure, exploration, and discovery, three core principles of National Geographic’s mission. It’s a celebration of possibility–so simple and so profound.

Care for Our World {by Karen S. Robbins}

Get ready to meet some truly wonderful wild animals from every continent on Earth. As children turn the pages of this book, theyll encounter dozens of playful creatures in their natural habitats and will learn about the importance of caring for all the plants, animals, and people that call planet Earth their home. A timely reminder of the responsibility every generation shares: to nurture and respect life in all its many forms

 

10 Things I can do to Help my World { by Melanie Walsh}

Even young children are eager to help the environment — and here is a bright, inviting novelty book that offers simple ways to make a difference.

Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature By Nicola Davies

This stunning book takes us through the 4 seasons and beacons us out into the natural world. From listening to the pond in Spring to seeing bird tracks in the snow, this exquisite column of nature poems captures the sights and sounds of a child’s experiences from building dens to planting acorns, watching the birds above and tasting a crisp apple. Children soon appreciate that whatever is outside their window they are free to venture and explore. Be sure and take a peek at a past book review JIAB did of this book and profile of author Nicola Davies.

I Love Dirt:52 Activities to Help You and Your Kids Discover the Wonders of Nature {by Jennifer Ward}

Protect our earth by learning to cherish it. I Love Dirt! presents 52 open-ended activities to help you engage your child in the outdoors. No matter what your location—from a small patch of green in the city to the wide-open meadows of the country—each activity is meant to promote exploration, stimulate imagination, and heighten a child’s sense of wonder.

COMMON GROUND:The Water, Earth, and Air We Share {by Molly Bang}

A simple story of our planet’s natural resources with jewel-like paintings by Caldecott Honor author Molly Bang. Through the example of a shared village green and the growing needs of the townspeople who share it, Molly Bang presents the challenge of handling our planet’s natural resources. Full color picture book.

Giveaway guidelines and Official Rules:

Giveaway runs from April 22 to April 29th, 2014

One winner will win one copy of all ten titles.
Residents of USA and Canada 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 April 29, 2014
How to enter: Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. The winners will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 12 hours after the giveaway ends. The winners will then have 48 hours to respond. If a winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is hosted and managed by Valarie from Jump Into A Book. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to the JIAB Project Manager Becky(at)AudreyPress(dot)com.

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By entering the sweepstakes, you agree to JumpIntoABook/Audrey Press’ Official Giveaway and Promotion Rules (link).

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The post Earth Day Booklist and Ginormous 10 Book Giveaway! appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Appy Hour Book Apps for Kids: Happy Easter, Little Critter

Send to KindleHappy Easter, Little Critter by Mercer Mayer

Happy Easter from all of us at Jump Into a Book!

It’s Easter and Little Critter is ready to celebrate! Join Little Critter and his family as they enjoy traditional Easter activities. Plus, go on your very own Easter egg hunt to find 100 eggs hidden throughout this charming story. Can you find all 100? Mercer Mayer’s Little Critter stories, which address all the major issues of growing up, are perennial favorites of parents and children.

OceanHouse Media has this wonderful and festive ebook for kids available for only .99. Perfect for a quiet read in the car on the way to Grandma’s house :)  New features only available in this interactive omBook include professional narration, background audio and enlarged artwork for each scene.

To promote reading in young children, individual words are highlighted as the story is read and words zoom up when pictures are touched. By combining the original text and artwork of author Mercer Mayer with features that entertain and promote reading, this omBook appeals to readers of all ages.

Recommended Ages: 2 – 5

Something To Do

We love these free Little Critter coloring pages!

Looking for more Little Critters Activities? To enjoy more Little Critter stories, go here.

 

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The post Appy Hour Book Apps for Kids: Happy Easter, Little Critter appeared first on Jump Into A Book.