A Cloud in a Jar -- Book Review & Giveaway with Whale Craft Round-Up

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with Page Street Kids and The Children's Book Review to bring you this post and giveaway.

Ready for a modern rhyming classic tale? Today I am joining in The Children's Book Review's Virtual Book Tour of A Cloud in a Jar by Aaron Lewis Krol and illustrated by Carlos Velez Aguilera. This fun book is sure to become a classic loved by young children and their adults. It is recommended for ages 4+.There is also a giveaway to win your own copy and to go with the story a round-up of whale crafts!

Whales in the City -- Picture Book Review with Whale Craft Roundup

 

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

Earth Day is next month. I believe we all need to focus on our planet every day, however so many celebrate Earth Day. I always like to share books that help promote taking care of the planet and our natural resources and other life on our planet. Today I get to share a book that shares the story of whales in the water near New York City. The book is Whales in the City by Nancy F. Castaldo and illustrated by Chuck Groenink. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8. 

Virtual Book Club for Kids--The Snail and the Whale

This month the Virtual Book Club for Kids Author is Julia Donaldson. Last week I shared Hazel's favorite Julia Donaldson book, Room on the Broom. This week I thought I would share my favorite, The Snail and the Whale. 

Before we get to the book, however, just a reminder you have until Monday to enter to win two great Julia Donaldson books--The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child--both have been made into movies as well. There are many wonderful activities to go with these books in the blog hop below!

This rhyming story tells about a snail who wants to see the world. A whale offers him a ride on his tail. They tour the world and see wonderful sights, and then the whale gets beached. The little snail thinks quickly and goes to get help by writing a message on a chalkboard in a classroom. The people in the town save the whale and the snail and whale continue their trip. When they return back to the snail's rock, they tell the other snails about the amazing sights and they all hop on the whale's tail.

This book is an amazing tale filled with so many wonderful messages on friendship, helping one another, helping nature, not making fun of others for their dreams and more. I absolutely love reading it. It also gave us a chance to learn more about whales and snails. We found some great information on whales at The Ocean Adventure. The snail information we read was from Snail World and Wikipedia (on Sea Snails).

For crafts, I needle felted a whale and a snail for Hazel to reenact the story. Then I found a great whale pincushion pattern in Stash Happy Felt by Amanda Carestia. I changed the pattern a bit and made a snail pin instead of fish ones.

Then our final craft was to make snails from shells and clay. These are very easy. You shape the clay to look the body of the snail and stick them into the shell.

Now it is your turn to share an activity to go with a Julia Donaldson book!

Multicultural Books for Different Ages

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

It has been awhile since I did a Multicultural Monday review, but here it is. Today I am going to share with you book for different ages from all over the world and with diverse characters. Hazel loves learning about other countries and cultures. Today I am sharing books that tell tales from other cultures, share about other countries and a multicultural young adult book set in Boston. We will start with All About Thailand by Elaine Russell and illustrated by Patcharee Meesukhon and Vinit Yeesman. 

Fairy Tales in Different Cultures--Fair, Brown & Trembling

Well with St. Patrick's Day approaching we have been thinking Irish lately. So I thought this week we would share one of the Irish Cinderellas. We will explore the second one next Sunday since the Virtual Book Club for Kids will be on Monday (and Sunday is St. Patrick's Day). This week we will be looking at Fair, Brown and Trembling by Jude Daly. This version seems a bit softer than the versions I have read on-line at Sacred Texts and Authorma. But before we explore the story, let us learn a bit about Ireland.

New Books About the Importance of Family

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Family is important. Each family is unique. Each family has its own traditions. And each has its own problems. Family can be blood relatives or ones we pick. Families can be human families or animal families. Today we are sharing a roundup of new picture books about families. These books are for the range of 4- to 8-year-olds. Each has powerful messages and each is very different. We will begin with Fierce Aunties! by Laurel Goodluck and illustrated by Steph Littlebird. 

Children's Museum, Friends & Zoo

We had a very busy week last week. On Monday we met my friend in the town we grew up in for lunch and then the three of us went to the Children's Museum there. Now the friend we met and I have known each other since we were around six months old. Yes, we are lifetime friends. We both now live in different states and our hometown is about halfway between us. Her youngest is my goddaughter who is looking at colleges for next year. Well, we took Hazel by the houses we grew up in and went to the New Children's Museum. Of course anyone from around the area of West Hartford, knows the museum by the giant whale in front of it. See above. After we went through the museum we went into the whale. Remember the picture I asked where Hazel was? She was inside the whale.

The Ocotonauts: Deep Sea Mission DVD Review and Giveaway

Disclosure: NCircle Entertainment gave me a copy of the DVD free of charge and is supplying the one for the giveaway free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.

Today I get to review a wonderful Octonauts DVD. The Octonauts is among one of Hazel's favorite shows. She recently told me she wants to be a scientist who studies animals when she grows up. (Of course her idea of what she wants to be changes all the time at this age.) She loves any show that helps her learn about animals. The Octonauts is one of them. It amazes me the information she retains from the show. Every once in awhile she will come out with one of the animal facts. I love it!

The DVD we are reviewing today is The Octonauts: Deep Sea Mission. Its official release date is September 2nd, however there was an early release on August 5th through Walmart and Sam's Club. If you follow the link you will be taken there. Of course you can pre-order the DVD and find all the other Octonauts DVDs and other great DVDs at NCircle Entertainment's website.

Now as I mentioned Octonauts are one of Hazel's favorites. She loves learning about the animals and the six episodes on this DVD are wonderful. They explore the Midnight Zone and the creatures that live in the deepest part of the water. I love the fact that Hazel knows about the Midnight Zone and knows some animals. I'll admit every once in awhile I google one of the creatures just to make sure they are actual creatures and not just made up, because I have not heard of them. (I recently googled spookfish from one of the episodes on this DVD. The images on Google are great, but none that I can legally use here, so you will have to Google it yourself.)

Disney Junior has some of the creatures from Octonauts available as color sheets and creature information cards. They have not kept up with all of their seasons though. Above is the one of the spookfish. Hazel had fun coloring it. 

Another part of watching all the Octonauts episodes and DVDs that I love is that Hazel wants to explore more sea creatures. Our public library recently had a program with The Whale Mobile. This is a group of people who come to a location with a life size model of a real humpback whale that has been seen off the coast of Massachusetts and you can go inside the model and see the size of things like the heart, lungs, stomach and ribs. It is so neat. They teach a bit about whales. It was really interesting. To give you an idea of the whale here is a picture of Hazel next to its head.

 

I love this DVD and all the Octonauts DVDs for the lessons they teach Hazel and how they get her so curious about the sea. Yes, our dinner conversations are sometimes about which is the largest creature in the sea. And yes, Steve and I are learning from watching them with her. And we actually enjoy the shows unlike some children's shows. 

Now I get to offer you a chance to win this amazing DVD. Follow the Rafflecopter and enter to win! Winners must live in the USA or Canada and be 18 and over and follow the rest of my Giveaway Rules. Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more on The Octonauts check out:

•  The Octonauts: Calling All Sharks! DVD   
• Octonauts: To the Gup-X DVD Review 
• Octonauts & The Sea of Shade Book Review 
• My Octonauts Pinterest Board

Octonauts: To the Gup-X DVD Review and Giveaway

Disclosure: NCircle Entertainment gave me a copy of the DVD free of charge and is supplying the one for the giveaway free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.

Having gone from allowing Hazel to watch very small amounts of television to watching much more after switching schools, I tend to really pay attention to what she is watching. One of her favorite shows is The Octonauts on Disney Junior. What I like about the show is it teaches something about underwater creatures and to protect the underwater life. I believe this show is where she got the idea of exploring underwater creatures. If you have missed them, we have posted two of our underwater explorations thus far: jellyfish and sharks. The show is based on books written by Meomi and we will be reviewing one of them during this giveaway as well!

Coloring Page Source

Since I know Hazel loves the show and I like her watching it, I jumped at the chance to review and giveaway a copy of the newest Octonauts DVD from NCircle Enterntainment. Octonauts: To the Gup-X is being released on March 18th. You can pre-order it from NCircle or Amazon. The suggested retail price is $12.99.

Octonauts: To the Gup-X contains six episodes including "Great White Shark", "Coconut Crabs," "Bowhead Whales," "Whale Shark," "Monster Map," and "Flying Fish." It also has a bonus feature of a close up of the Gup-X. Overall the episodes are child-friendly ways to explore the underwater world and learn about sea life you may never have heard of. For our underwater creature explorations I turned to the library for some books on the creatures and included the creatures in these episodes. I found some of the creatures.

We read these books to learn even more about the creatures. "Monster Map" has an octopus in it for the creature. The first time we watched it, Hazel was scared of the "Great White Shark" but I found after learning more about them, she was not as afraid. I think the more exciting thing is when she saw the cover of Deborah Muzzola's Whale Shark book, she told me it was about whale sharks. She is learning what the creatures look like.

To go with the video we made an Octonaut hat. I was going to make one out of fabric for her, but I wanted her to have a part in making it. I had seen a tutorial to make a sailor's hat out of a coffee filter and cardboard at Cut Out and Keep. Since our coffee filters are missing right now, we used a paper bowl. Hazel used her water color paints and painted the bowl. Then we made a rim with cardboard and construction paper. The hardest part was attaching the rim to the bowl. I glued it and then put some tape on it as well as clothespins until the glue dried. I enlarged one of the pictures over at Disney Junior for the Octonaut symbol on the hat.

I also made Hazel some peg dolls of a few of the characters. She cannot wait for me to make the rest of them, but for now she has Kwazii, Peso and Captain Barnacles. They are three of her favorites.

She has also asked me to make a full outfit for her. She decided it should be Captain Barnacles since he has the most clothes and she wants the tool on his belt. Looks like I have some sewing to do.

Needless to say we loved the DVD. Hazel has watched it several times which is a lot for her with any DVD since she usually wants to watch the shows on television and not a specific DVD. If you are looking for a DVD that will appeal to either boy or girl and will also educate them a bit, this is a great one! Now I get to offer you a copy to win for you own thanks to NCircle Entertainment. Just follow my Giveaway Rules and do what the Rafflecopter says.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Books to Celebrate World Animal Day!

 

Disclosure: I was sent copy of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Did you know today (October 4th) is World Animal Day? It is celebrate annually on October 4th which is also the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals. I know our church always has a blessing of the pets day around October 4th to honor St. Francis. The idea behind World Animal Day is to work for increasing the status of animals and helping keep them from becoming endangered and/or extinct. (Source and more information on World Animal Day.) Hazel is a big animal lover and especially loved learning about animals when she was younger. She was a huge Wild Kratts fan. Over the years we have shared many animal themed crafts, books and activities. Today we are going to share two more animal-themed books in celebration of World Animal Day. The first is a book I wish was around when Hazel was younger. It is Howl Like a Wolf! by Kathleen Yale and illustrated by Kaley McKean. 

Picture Books with Animals Sharing Friendship, Community & More

 

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

There were many books released this week. Today we are sharing four of them about animals, community, friendship and more. They are all picture books, and each has a lesson in it. We will start with one about a hummingbird's annual migration. It is Hummingbird's Big Trip by G. Brian Karas. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Wild and Free: Dolphins, Whales and Manatees

Have you ever just loved a CD and have the music inspire you to be creative? This happens to me and Hazel all the time. The CD is from Daria and it is called I Have a Dream. Daria had been kind enough to send me this wonderful CD last year so I could review it here, and we followed her instructions to make a quilted rainstick. Now this CD lives in my car for the most part, and it is what Hazel and I tend to listen to while driving. Even when Hazel is not in the car I tend to listen to it. We both know the words to almost every song on it. As I have been listening to Hazel sing along I have had all sorts of creative ideas flowing through my head. Today I am going to share one of them with you. I am thinking we will do something with almost every song on the CD, so stay tuned for more music inspired songs.

 The song I am sharing today is Wild and Free. With Daria's permission I am sharing her YouTube video of this song with you.

Now I will admit this song is the first since we just got back from Florida. Every time we heard this song, Hazel would ask me what a manatee is, so we did some research and came home with many library books plus I realized SeaWorld Orlando has manatees (as well as dolphins and whales), so I knew this was the perfect time to talk about this song and the animals in it. Now the manatees are endangered and need the help of humans as we are their only enemy--if you can call us that. They do not have natural predators due to their size. They have been hunted as well as hurt by boats and nets and of course their food supply is dwindling due to development. For more information on how you can help, check out Save The Manatees website.

The dolphins they play in the ocean...

Blue Horizons Show at Sea World Orlando

The whales (beluga and killer/orca), they swim in the ocean...

Beluga Whales on top in Wild Arctic Exhibit and Orca Whales in One Ocean Show

The manatees play by the bayside...

Manatees outside Turtle Trek Exhibit

While at SeaWorld, I bought Hazel small plastic versions of each of the animals. We also bought a Sea World Rescue Barbie that came with dolphins as well. Plus we pulled out the whales I made when we read The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson for the Virtual Book Club for Kids.

Then I set up the entire zoo for Hazel, but more about that later.

We also made an ocean interactive box. We took a shoe box and lined it with sky blue paper and then cut a strip of dark blue paper to be the ocean and glued to the front. We cut a slit on the bottom of the box. Then I printed out pictures I found on line of each animal and we cut them out and glued them to popsicle sticks. 

Then we acted out  the song while we listened to it. (I think we probably should have lined the bottom of the box with the dark blue as well.) I had all sorts of other craft ideas, but they did not happen. I am also working on sewing some felt creatures for her. I have started the manatee. I'll share it when we finish. I have found patterns on line for a dolphin and killer whale as well. I think I may try to make my own beluga pattern. 

Some final pictures to show you. Above is a picture of Hazel at SeaWorld looking for beluga whales. Below is the zoo I set up for her. As she was looking at it, she was mentioning that we had an Australia section with kangaroos and a wombat and an African section with the lions, giraffes, zebras and elephants. I mentioned the panda bear being from China and she started asking where the other animals were from. I guess I'm bringing her up to notice the animals of the world at least.

Finally here is a collage of the books we have collected on manatees, dolphins and whales. We have not read them all and many of the manatee books are more picture story/fiction ones, but I always find those fun to include. Manatee on Location is non-fiction though. Also you can purchase Daria's CD at her store for $10 with free shipping!

Hazel's Science Center

Last week I chaperoned Hazel's class field trip to Seacoast Science Center in New Hampshire. It was a fun place for the kids to learn even more about the ocean and really end their ocean unit. They ended it the next day with watching Finding Nemo. Hazel liked the science center better. The time at the science center began with a demonstration/class for the kids. First an employee presented about tide pools and the animals found at different levels of the tide pool and then they divided the kids into two groups to have some hands-on experience with the animals.

Beach Inspired Rock/Nature Art

Have you entered my current giveaway yet?

A few weeks ago when we were at Cape Cod visiting my parents, Hazel and I saw some really neat nature artwork in a store. We thought we could have a go at making them. When we went to the ocean, we collected rocks. I tried to collect small rocks, but Hazel really liked the big ones.

Hazel's Creations

I was trying to figure out a cheap background for these and came across a discontinued sample of a home dec fabric at Jo-Ann Fabrics on sale for $1. I bought it and we made homemade canvases with popsicle sticks. Then we began to arrange them. Hazel wanted to use all the big rocks on our little homemade canvases, but of course it did not work. We actually went and bought some larger canvases so she could have fun with the bigger rocks and I made most of the smaller ones. While buying the canvases, we noticed the river rocks and glass gems were on sale for $1, so we bought some and used them as well.

Our Animals: Whale, Turtle and Crab and Turtle

The original designs we had seen at the store included a turtle, a shell wreath and a map of Cape Cod. We copied these and made some of our own designs. I have a cousin getting married on Cape Cod this fall and thought they might like to have one of the maps. I put a red rock where they are getting married on  the map for them and used a store bought canvas. I am thinking we may give one of the other maps to my parents and of course keep one for ourselves.

We used a low temp glue gun to attach the rocks to the fabric or canvas and use the glue gun to make the canvases. Then afterward I glued some more popsicle sticks to them to be a frame. I also added some blue glitter glue to make the whale more recognizable. 

I also used some small shells I had bought ages ago to make the wreath and put a small star fish in the middle. Overall we had fun and it was an easy way to make something with the rocks we collected (and bought) to keep our beach memories alive.

Shark Fun Facts & Craft Round-Up with an Emphasis on Great Whites

 

As I mentioned in my last post I am visiting Cape Cod. Our house is on a marsh, and I shared a bit about saltwater marshes earlier this week. The other big thing in the news on Cape Cod is great white sharks. In fact, on this trip, we visited the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy's Shark Center in Chatham. I learned quite a bit about great white sharks and sharks in general there, but I also got a few books out of the library and did some searches for fun facts for you. There are more than 500 species of sharks and over 100 of them are endangered! Yet sharks have survived all five of the Earth's major extinctions. July 14th is Shark Awareness Day so this post will have you all set for it!

Animal Books for the Youngest Kids

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

We are having one of the coldest winters in many years here in New England at least. It makes me want to think about spring and with spring comes cute animals! I am sharing two board books and one small picture book that are animal themed and for our younger kids. All are recommended for baby to three-years-old. The first book is the picture book. It is from the World of Eric Carle. It is Baby Bear's Time to Grow with Brown Bear and Friends by Eric Carle and OddDot and illustrated by Eric Carle. 

Sharing Saturday #33

Special announcement: I was quoted in an article at Ballooning Nest Eggs. Please go check it out!! I'm so excited!

I have spent the last two days in bed, but crawled out to check out last week's shared posts, and WOW is all I have to say. If you have not checked them out in awhile, definitely go visit some. There are so many great ideas!!

We had a tie for most clicked:

From April's Homemaking: Jonah and the Whale 

and From Happy Whimsical Hearts: Making Bells

Now a few of my favorites:

I always love to see new creative ways to color and paint! Check these out:

1) From Tutus and Tea Parties (with Megan from Posies to Petals Guest Posting): No Sew Busy Book

2) From Learn with Play @ Home: Painting with Seasoning & Spices

3) From Life with Moore Babies: Painting with Watercolors & Salt

Then with it being summer and the Olympics ending, these caught my eye:

1) From Taming the Goblin: Cardboard Crane (Oooh, Hazel would love one of these!)

2) From PlayDrMom: Mario Power Lemonade Stand (Such creativity and fun!)

3) From Brenna Phillips: The Three Little Pigs' Houses (Another one Hazel would love!)

4) From Learning To Be a Mom: Toddler Rhythmic Gymnastics-- Hoop (So fun and cute!)

5) From We Made That: DIY Sprinkler (So clever and looks refreshing!)

6) From JDaniel4's Mom: Olympic Values- Friendship (What great lessons tied to the Olympics!)

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog.

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