Bread Is Love -- New Picture Book Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own.

When I was in middle and high school, I loved baking bread. I made it almost every week. I tried to share this love with Hazel when she was growing up. When we did the parent child class at a Waldorf School, we were making bread there or at least kneading and shaping bread every class. Today we get to share a beautiful new book about a mom who shares her love of baking bread with her kids each week. The book is Bread Is Love by Pooja Makhijani and illustrated by Lavanya Naidu. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8. 

The Princess and the Grain of Rice -- Fairy Tales in Different Cultures Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It has been a while since I have had a Fairy Tale in Different Cultures post and this one is a great story!! Today I get to share a Korean version of the Princess and the Pea. Tina Cho looked for stories about princesses who were like herself and her daughter. They didn't seem to be in the stories nor the movies. She decided to change that by writing her own. She picked her favorite fairy tale and changed it by adding some Korean culture and history. The book is The Princess and the Grain of Rice by Tina Cho and illustrated by Honee Jang. The book is recommended for ages 4 to 8, but I would say older kids may enjoy it as well especially if doing a unit on fairy tales or other cultures.

Paper Book for Nature Lovers -- Joyful Sunday Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What brings you joy? I know crafting brings me joy as does nature. Today I get to share a beautiful new paper book about nature and I'm sharing a haiku with crafts from it! The book is Paper Book for Nature Lovers by the Editors of Flow Magazine. I've reviewed one of these paper books from Flow Magazine previously too. 

Books About Love for Ages 10+ -- Valentine's Day Reads

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in order to provide you with honest reviews. All opinions are my own. 

In January we did two roundups of picture books for Valentine's Day. Young children are not the only ones who celebrate or need to read about love and relationships! Today we are sharing a roundup of novels for ages 10+. They include middle grade novels and young adult novels. These books I have either read completely or at least started but wanted to get them shared before Valentine's Day. We will be sharing them from youngest to oldest readers. The first book is Mountain Upside Down by Sara Ryan. It is recommended for older middle grade readers--ages 10 to 13. 

The Lion's Run -- Review of New Historical Fiction Middle Grade Novel

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Do you have a middle grade reader who loves historical fiction? World War II? Or perhaps horses? Today we are sharing a historical fiction middle grade novel set during World War II in occupied France. The main characters are two brave kids from very different backgrounds who work together to do what is right. The book is The Lion's Run by Sara Pennypacker. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12.

Venus! Fierce and Fabulous

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Are you doing a solar system or space unit and want to add some fun? Stacy McAnulty has an amazing series of picture books that are humorous and full of information. Today we get to share the newest one: Venus! Fierce and Fabulous written by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by Stevie Lewis. It is the ninth book in Our Universe series. We have reviewed several of the books in the series and can say these books are amazing resources for studying space but also just fun books to read for story time! The series is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Books for Growing Up/Parenting -- Cleaning & Tantrums

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Growing up and parenting can both be hard. There are times where neither child nor parent are at their best. There can be tantrums, screaming, yelling and fighting cleaning up. We have all been there. Today we are sharing a board book and a picture book that deals with the issues of cleaning up and tantrums. The board book is The Clean-Up Monster by Eleni Tassopoulos Wehner and illustrated by Danamarie Hosler. It is recommended for ages 2 to 4.

Children's Books Sharing Different Cultures and Languages

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in order to provide honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

I love sharing books that teach us about different cultures and languages. Today I have four books to share with you and two of them are being released this week! The first book is about a Korean word that means so much and doesn't have an English equivalent. The book is Jeong Is Jeong by Jessica Yoon and illustrated by Michelle Lee. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8. 

Joyful Sunday -- Finding My Joy During a Time of Grief

 

Joy and grief do not usually go together. The idea of joy however is for joy to be there no matter the circumstances. I have been trying to find my joy this year, and it has been a bit difficult the last week or so. At school, MLK week is tough. We have parent/teacher/student conferences for two and a half days. These are 15-minute online conferences with the entire group of teachers the student has. We work from 8 to 5 with a few breaks. This year was very different for me. On Thursday morning my sister texted me asking me to call her when I had a break. I did. She let me know the hospice nurse was pretty sure our father was transitioning. Now a few years ago an ER doctor told us this and we all ran to his side and got Covid from him. So, the first struggle was, do we go or do we wait. I decided I needed to go after talking to Steve. We gave Hazel the choice of going with us. So, we picked her up at boarding school and drove to Connecticut to say our final goodbyes. Now I missed an afternoon of conferences as a result. I promised Hazel we would not spend the night in Connecticut. She didn't think she could handle it. The next morning, I started conferences again. Steve asked me if I was going to and my answer was, "What else am I going to do? Sit and cry all day?" I made it through all the morning conferences and started my afternoon ones. As my first afternoon conference came to an end, I received the news that he had passed. That was the end of conferences for me.