Crafty Moms Share

Middle Grades Summer Reading with Environmental Themes

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

Is school out where you live? Hazel finished last week. Of course it wasn't a big celebration with the state just starting to re-open. But we have started to think about summer. Although I don't see too many trips to the beach this year even when we are at Cape Cod. But reading about them is always fun. Today I am sharing two books about life near water--a lake and the ocean. Do you go to any body of water every summer? Are you going this year?

With our nation looking at racial relationships right now I wanted to take time to look at black lives. As I read the Facebook posts and articles and think about everything that is going on, I think about my life, my white privilege and how I have brought Hazel up. One of my biggest regrets happened years ago when I didn't say anything to a young black girl at a Macy's around Christmas time. She saw a black holiday Barbie and said something like pretty and then saw the white one and said something along the lines of prettier. I wanted to tell her no the white one is not prettier, but I got scared. What would the mother think of a white stranger talking to her young daughter? Would I scare the girl? My friend finished her transaction and we walked away. I was the only the adult who heard the young girl and by not saying anything I let that poor girl go on believing white was prettier than black which is so not true. This has weighed heavily on my mind for decades now. This has been stirred up again.

Disclosure: C&T Publishing sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own! I will receive a small stipend for purchases made through the links in this post. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

I've been missing my Crafty Weekends. Have you? Although I am not having the link party anymore I thought I would share some of the crafts I have been up to and review one of the craft books I have.

Now I will admit it is a bit strange for me to write a review right now. With so much going on in our country I feel like this is a little frivolous. But I know the world goes on and although my own emotions are all over the place and at times I have wanted to take a break from thinking about the racial issues I realize my black friends and all people of color do not get to take a break from thinking about their race and the racial issues. Tomorrow I will be starting our weekly posts about Black Lives Matter and sharing some black people everyone should know about. So today I am going to share with you a quilt book. The book is Dresden Quilt Blocks Reimagined by Candace Copp Grisham.

Hazel had her last day of school this week. To do something special I thought we would do a paint party. It was beautiful out this week. So we decided to try one of the Muse Paintbar's Muse-to-Go paintings. Hazel's favorite in the beginning was Dolphin Delight. It is offered as a free video so that is the one we decided to do. (You can find it under Kids and click the free video button.) We had nice big canvases in our craft supplies as well as the brushes and paints. We took our plastic patio table and covered it with an old tablecloth and put it on the grass in case we spilled. Then we got jars of water, our brushes for each of us, the five basic colors of acrylic paint (red, blue, yellow, black and white), two small paper plates for each of us and paper towels. We used plate stands for our "easels". We set my computer up on a chair next to the table to play the video. If you do not have the supplies in your craft storage they do sell sets of those as well.

The other day as I talked to Hazel about current events on our walk and was telling her my plans for Crafty Moms Share, she said, "Did you ever notice that when there is a black person in a book there is just one in a group of white friends?" Oh, yes, we still have the token black person in our society of books and television shows. She even commented how sometimes the group is made up of one person of different races like in The Start-Up Squad Series. I recently read an article about how white people need to do more than talk to our kids about racism. Where we live, who our neighbors are, books we read/provide our kids, who our friends are, the diversity of the school we send our kids to all play a part in how our kids grow up and understand race relations. Now I cannot change your neighborhood or their school but I hope I can change the books in your house and your library. I asked some fellow bloggers as well as authors that are part of the Multicultural Children's Book Day group for any books, activities, and reviews they had with black people as the main characters. Today I am going to share a round-up of books shared and some others I found (on Amazon). I will link reviews and activities whenever possible. It is important that all of our kids read books that have people like them but it is also important that our kids read books with people who do not look like them. This will build their understanding and help them to grow and learn about race and culture and hopefully not be racist when they grow up. I have the books separated into picture books, fairy tales, chapter books/novels, and non-fiction/biographies. There are some separation within some of these genres as well.

My heart is broken. I am angered. I am ashamed. I am horrified. And I am saddened. Part of me wants to stay in my naïve little Covid-19 bubble. After all our state is just starting to open up and really hasn't opened much besides hair salons and pet groomers, but the news is there. It is on our local news. It is in my Facebook feed. It is all around us. And it has been, but we have been ignoring it for too long. As a white person I experience privilege. I do not have to think about my race every day. I do not have to worry when I go out or worry when my husband goes for a jog in our neighborhood. I do not have to worry not because we aren't doing anything wrong but because of our skin color. We are white. We are blessed to be able to live in a beautiful neighborhood. We are blessed to live a beautiful house and have so many other blessings, but the biggest blessing we really don't think about because it shouldn't be a blessing.

For the last three Mondays we have been exploring Japan. We started with some picture books, then looked at crafts and artists and then origami. Today we are looking at fun facts about Japan and doing a resource and activity round-up. But first some facts about Japan itself. Japan is called Nihon or Nippon in Japanese. It means "land of the rising sun". It was once believed that Japan was the first country to see the sun each morning. The country is made up of 6,582 islands, but has four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Three tectonic plates meet near Japan and cause many earthquakes. Japan experiences 1,000 earthquakes in a year. Some of these cause tsunamis. There are also 200 volcanoes in Japan. Sixty of them are still active. Almost three quarters of the land is covered by mountains and forest which make the land hard to farm or use for industry or residential. The Japanese Alps run down the center of the island of Honshu. Mount Fuji is the highest mountain/volcano in Japan and is considered sacred by many Japanese people.

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

Can you believe it is already Memorial Day Weekend? This year is going to be very different for many of us. Are you heading to the beach? I know here in Massachusetts the beaches are opening however there are very strict rules when there. Many are also only for residents. Masks are required at some and no groups over 10. Social distancing is a must. I took a walk with my father this week on the beach. I was at Cape Cod helping my parents out for a few days. It wasn't really beach weather so it wasn't very crowded. I'm glad not to be there this weekend. Instead I am going to share a book about the ocean! It is Ocean! Waves for All by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by David Litchfield.

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

We are on our third week of exploring Japan for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. If you missed our first two weeks we did new picture books to learn about Japan and crafts from Japan. Today we are taking a look at the ancient art of Japanese origami. I thought I would start with some fun facts since I shared a bit about the history of origami a few years ago.

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

Calling all library lovers!! Do you have a library lover in your house? I do. That is the first place Hazel wants to go when the stay-at-home order is lifted. She is missing walking around the books and finding new ones to read. The series of books I am sharing with you today is perfect for our young library lovers. The series is by Zeno Alexander. They are full of fantasy as well as facts and history. The setting for this series is an amazing, magical library. The first book is The Library of Ever.

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

This month is Asian Pacific Heritage Month and to celebrate it we are looking at Japan all month long for Multicultural Mondays. Last week we started with two picture books including one on the creation myth in Japan. Today we are going to look at the crafts and craftsmen/women of Japan as well as a round-up of Japanese-inspired crafts and artists. To begin this post I am sharing a new book that is being released tomorrow (May 12, 2020). It is Craftland Japan by Uwe Röttgen and Katharina Zetti.

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

Last month we got to reveal the first chapter of the second book of The Startup Squad and last year we got review the first one! Today we will be sharing our review of the second book, Face the Music, by Brian Weisfeld and Nicole C. Kear.

It is hard to believe it is already Cinco de Mayo. This year of course is so different than other years since many of us are living with stay-at-home orders but I thought it would be fun to talk about Cinco de Mayo. But first do you know what Cinco de Mayo actually is? I think most people know or realize that the words Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for May 5th, but most do not know why it is a holiday. Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexico's Independence Day. Mexico's Independence Day is September 16th.

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

Wow, April was a bit of a strange month with the stay at home order. It is hard to believe it is May. Our weather is finally starting to warm back up. April was the coldest April on record here and until this weekend our warmest day in 2020 was in January! May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Multicultural Kid Blogs has stopped doing its monthly heritage month series but I still wanted to share about it. So this year as I looked at my resources (aka my review shelf) I noticed a definite theme of Japan. So I am going to try to post on Mondays sharing different resources on Japan and Japanese culture. And it makes the most sense to begin with well the beginning. So our first book today is Kojiki: The Birth of Japan by Kazumi Wilds.

Can you believe Mother's Day is only a week away? This year with remote learning going on the kids are not getting help from their teachers to make cards and gifts. That means it falls on the kids and the dads. Steve brought up the idea of shopping for Mother's Day cards with Hazel and whether it was safe. I reminded him that most of our stores here are closed and will be until after Mother's Day. I suggested they go to our local Walgreen's but when push came to shove Hazel did not want to go out. She has been home since this has started except for our walks when it is nice out, a trip to her school for her yearbook picture, a trip to a good friend's house who is also social distancing but we needed to exchange things with one another and trips to her grandmother's house with Steve. I went to Walgreen's and picked up a couple of cards for her grandmothers. She was afraid one of them would not like getting a homemade card. I found it hard to believe but figured it was worth getting cards for her to give them. She can make one for me. Then I got to thinking of the dads out there who haven't had to deal with this before. I got the idea of sharing some when I got an email from Crayola featuring a flamingo card. I figured we had to try it since Hazel LOVES flamingos.

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

Today I am going to clear off my picture book shelf and share with you eight books for younger kids! We will start with a book that is perfect for the new baby or mom. It is To the Moon and Back for You by Emilia Bechrakis Serhant and art by E.G. Keller. The suggested ages for this book is 4 to 8 but I am thinking that is for the child to read the book him or herself.

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

Happy Earth Day! We've all seen the news. As people are staying at home the Earth has begun to heal. The pollution is down in the big cities. The animals are becoming more relaxed and trying to take back their space. One of the things I find most interesting is so many people are planning gardens. Seeds and plant companies are having trouble keeping up with the orders. I checked out my normal seed catalog site and discovered many vegetables are sold out. And one of the times I was on they were not even taking orders that day so they could catch up with their orders. This never happens. So today I thought I would share two resources for gardening. One is about herb gardens (more for adults) and the other is about gardening with kids and how to help them connect with the natural world.

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

Middle school is hard for everyone. Often friendships change. There are new people to meet and new ideas or perhaps new and different schools. Add in the stress of your sister finding a new passion and new boyfriend and not having time for you plus your parents are getting divorced. Yup, life can be tough. What is an intelligent, germaphobic girl to do? Well runaway to the last place she remembers a happy family memory--the amusement park. That is the setting of today's book, Foreverland by Nicole C. Kear. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12 and is being released today!

I saw a meme on Facebook that says: "Think you're bored? When Sir Isaac Newton invented calculus it was during the plague. Do you have any idea how bored you have to be to invent calculus?" Now the truth is Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a German mathematician, published the same discoveries around the exact same time as Isaac Newton. Each mathematician claimed the other stole his ideas, but it is believed that both actually discovered the same thing separately around the same time. (For more about Isaac Newton click here and I share a little more about both men here.)

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

It is a strange time and hard to believe Earth Day is next week. With all the stay at home orders around the world we are hearing about amazing things happening to our Earth like the Venice canals being clear (although not necessarily because the water is cleaner see here) and the skies above cities being clearer including in New Delhi, India, people are seeing the rare blue skies. The air in Los Angeles, California is even said to be clear. (Source) As scary as Covid-19 is it seems the Earth is enjoying a break from the craziness our society has been causing. But we know this break will end and we can choose to go back to the craziness or do something to help our Earth and keep our planet going for generations to come. Today I am going to share three books about people, places and ways to do just that. The first two are picture books. We will start with Solar Stor y: How One Community Lives Alongside the World's Biggest Solar Plant by Allan Drummond.

One of my goals is to get back to doing some crafts and nonreview posts. With all the stay at home orders and trying to flatten the curve it seems like the perfect time to do these kind of posts. We are all staying at our home. Many times a day the three of us are on our separate technology (my laptop, Steve's desktop or work laptop and Hazel's iPad) or on separate phone calls. I have been working on bringing some organization to my craft room with the hope of being able to actually use it for our crafts rather than just for storage. I am also really getting rid of craft supplies that we know we won't use. Hazel has outgrown so many that we never got to. I also have been making face masks. I donated about 40 of them to local hospitals. Now I'm making them for family and friends. I keep adjusting my pattern. Let me know if you would like me to share with you what I am doing. I know there are so many tutorials out there I wasn't going to unless someone asks. I have combined several things I have seen and have worked out what I think works the best. I am also sewing buttons on 2-inch and 3-inch pieces of ribbons for the healthcare workers. Apparently some of them are having issues with the elastics bothering their ears since they have to wear them so long now. It is an easy thing to make and a great way to give back. Have you found ways to give back and support the people going to work to support us? I would love to hear them.

Hazel has one hour a day of lessons with her teacher and classmates using Google Classroom. Then she has her work to do and turn in. Her art teacher assigns a new project every week as well. The one due this week was to make two different watercolor resists. I thought it would be fun to do my own while she was doing hers and fun to share with you as an activity you can do with your kids. The teacher sent the kids videos of the two techniques and they had to make under the sea paintings using the techniques. To make all of them you need crayons and watercolors with a jar of water and various brushes as well as preferably watercolor paper (however printer paper will work). One of mine I also used salt.

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book and the various packs of origami paper in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Yesterday I shared various chapter books for different ages (7-young adult). I saved this book to be in its own post for several reasons. First it is a true story. Second part of the story reminds me of what we are facing today. I felt I wanted to do more with this book than just review it. It has paper cranes in the title and provides a tutorial at the end of the book to make your own paper cranes. I figured I had to pull out the piles of origami paper I have and start making some cranes. While I sat there making the cranes I realized this was something families could do together. I'll explain more at the end of the post. The book is The Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Sue DiCicco and Mashairo Sasaki (Sadako's brother). It is recommended for ages 7 to 12.

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

How are you surviving this self-isolation/quarantine? How are your kids surviving? One thing that Hazel and I have been enjoying is reading. I decided it is time to finally share the stack of chapter books (or at least most of them) that I have on my review shelf. I'm hoping you might find something for your kids to read while stuck at home! We will go somewhat by age. The first book is for the younger chapter book reader. The suggested ages are 7-10 but I would say this series is good for 6-8. We reviewed the other two books in the Fairy Mom and Me Series previously.

Disclosure: I was sent the first chapter to reveal to you and read. All opinions are my own.

So last year we got to share The Startup Squad by Brian Weisfeld and Nicole C. Kear. We loved this book about a group of four girls who were trying to start a lemonade business as a class project. They had to find ways to work together and put aside their differences to be successful. Well the sequel is due out on May 5th. It is Face the Music. We cannot wait to get our hands on it. However today we get to share with you the first chapter! (Yes, you can read it for yourself with that last link!)

The sequel picks up with the same four lovable girls. Each of these girls have distinct personalities and their friendships have grown. Didi, Resa and Amelia cannot wait to share the big news with Harriet and expect a big Harriet-ish reaction but when they do not get it, they want to know why. Harriet explains to them her brothers' band, the Skinks, broke up and says it is her fault. Then the chapter ends. Now the Skinks played a role in The Startup Squad, so the reader of the first book knows they are a good band. The first chapter leaves the reader wanting to know what happened and what will happen. I personally cannot wait to read the sequel. I hope you will check it out!

Savoring Memories with Photowall

Disclosure: I was sent this canvas for no charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

COVID-19 is scary. This week someone I knew died and his wife doesn't know because she is in the hospital fighting the disease as well. There is so much information and misinformation floating around and it can be hard to know what to believe and what not to. I keep turning to my faith to reassure me. But I also keep my family close. I also have been trying to focus on happier times. Hazel had a week off in February from school and the only thing she wanted for Christmas and her birthday was a family trip to Disney World. We went and had a wonderful family vacation. We spent two days going to the parks--Magic Kingdom and Epcot and two days by the pool and shopping. We stay at a wonderful time share down there that has a full kitchen and laundry facilities right in the unit. It is in Kissimmee so it is away from the park craze. Within a couple weeks of our return we were changing Hazel's school and going into social distancing. Plus I had to buy a new car in the mix. Talk about crazy!! Well now I want to hold on to our happy memories of our family trip and I was offered a product from Photowall. After talking it over with Steve and Hazel we decided to let Hazel pick a photo to make into a canvas. I liked the idea of a wall mural but didn't think Steve would go for it and Hazel thought it would be too much. We decided to upload our own photo for a canvas. After going back and forth between photos she decided on this one of her with Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). We uploaded it and chose a Photowall Canvas.

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in return for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. The links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

I am continuing with my craft books reviews. Today we are focusing on sewing. I have three books that include home decor, clothes, and doll clothes. I know I have plans to do some more sewing now that I am stuck at home. We will start with home decor.

Did you know March is National Craft Month? With all of us safe at home for weeks at a time we need some things to occupy our time. Today I am sharing three craft books that focus on embroidery! I am planning on sharing more craft books over the next week or so! Stay tuned!!

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

How are you surviving this crazy new social distancing? School buildings here are closed until at least May 4 and now lessons are on-line for all students. It is a strange time. I have several friends who are nurses at hospitals and both have told me about the lack of face masks. Although I believe the supplies are slowly coming I decided to do my part and make some face masks. Now we all know that homemade face masks will not stop COVID-19 like the N-95 face masks that the hospitals desperately need, but they will help protect some and certainly can be used in other parts of the hospitals. I pulled out the fabric scraps from past quilts and ones my mother gave me. I did some research. I found this article and its links to be very helpful. I combined a few tutorials and had one of my nurse friends try them on so I knew which was best. I used two layers of good quality quilting cotton fabrics and a layer of either a good t-shirt or flannel.

The world is a scary place and has gotten a whole lot scarier the last few weeks. I believe we are truly afraid of the unknown. We do not know who will get the Coronavirus, who will die from it and what will happen during this time. There are predictions but it is scary. Now we are dealing with this stress and fear and our kids are home with us because it isn't safe to have them at school. And then there is the whole stores wiped out of toilet paper (and other things) going on. Craziness!

Disclosure: We were sent this book for free in exchange for a review. All opinions are our own.

Pippa Park Raises her Game by Erin Yun is a wonderful book for teen and tween readers. It talks about feeling left out, expectations, and cultural differences. Pippa lives with her sister and her brother in law, who own a laundromat and live in a small apartment. Pippa longs to go to the local private school, but can't afford it. But suddenly, she gets a mysterious scholarship offer. her dreams are coming true! She's on a great basket ball team, she's friends with all the popular girls, and most of all, no one knows her background. But who nominated her for a scholarship? Her quiet crush? The mysterious stranger in the woods? Even more puzzling, who is sending her hurtful, anonymous, messages? Worst of all, how long can she pretend she's someone she's not?

This year for Black History Month we are going to talk politics. Now I will admit I hate talking politics. Mostly I hate it because I think all of the people we have elected (and have choices to elect) are selfish and power hungry and don't do a good job. Personally I feel they should be paying the citizens every day that they don't actually decide anything for the better of the country (which would be every day). However I am going to put my hatred aside today and talk about some of the history of the United States President elections. We all know back in 2008, Barrack Obama made history as the first black United States President. Did you know he was not the first black man to run for President?

Disclosure: I was sent these papers in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

This year after taking down Christmas I really had a strong desire to decorate for Valentine's Day. I didn't want to use our regular decorations that we have from years past. I wanted to come up with my own new ones. I helped at Christmas time at Hazel's school with a Christmas station where the kids colored and made 3-D ornaments. I decided to make my own for Valentine's Day. I came up with six different hearts to color using My Memories.

Let's face it the news is pretty scary. There is the Coronavirus which is making its way into the United States and everywhere I look I hear another person who has the flu (including Hazel and me). This is also the time the stomach bug usually makes its rounds. Last February Hazel's school had to close for a day to get cleaned because the stomach bug was so rampant. Are there things we can do to protect our families and ourselves from these very contagious illnesses? Well yes and no. The first line of defense is hand washing. Hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Teach your child(ren) to wash hands and sing "Happy Birthday to You" to themselves. They shouldn't stop washing until they finish the song.

It is hard to believe it is time for Multicultural Children's Book Day 2020!! I am so happy to be a co-host again this year. This is one of my favorite times to be a blogger.

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

Are you getting excited for Friday? It is hard to believe Multicultural Children's Book Day 2020 is almost here. Today I get to share another amazing book with you for it. But before we talk about the book by Jerry Craft I need to also mention that Jerry Craft is the artist who designed this year's poster! You can see it to the right as well as after my review and before the information about Multicultural Children's Book Day. Thank you, Jerry, for creating such a beautiful poster!

Disclosure: I was sent a set of these cards in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

For today's multicultural review I am sharing a neat set of cards to teach kids about different cultures of the world. It is Global Kids: 50+ Games, Crafts, Recipes & More from Around the World by Homa Sabet Tavangar and Sophie Fatus.

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

It is hard to believe Multicultural Children's Book Day is at the end of the week! I am so excited to see all the different reviews. How about you? Today we get to share another amazing book with you for it. This one is actually being released next week. The book is Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters and illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini.

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

Today I am going to share a fun craft book for kids aged 7 to 12. It involves finger knitting. Finger knitting is a fun activity for kids. We learned about it back when we attended classes at the Waldorf School. All they need is some yarn. Today I am sharing Finger Knitting for Kids: Super Cute & Easy Things to Make by Eriko Teranishi.

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

Do you like science fiction and fantasy? I never really consider myself a lover of either genre but I think I am fooling myself because the fantasy books I have reviewed here I love and here is another great one! It is Intrepids by Diana Huang.

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing sent me copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Chinese New Year or lunar new year starts on Saturday. Did you know there are other countries that celebrate the lunar new year besides China? Other Asian countries celebrate it like Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and others. Since I have shared so much about the Chinese New Year in the past I thought I would share books that share the culture of China and Korea this year. For both countries I have books that share about the lunar new year as well as other books to learn about the culture and way of life.

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

It is January and that means Multicultural Children's Book Day is coming. This year it is scheduled for January 31, 2020, and I will be cohosting it so be sure to tune in then to see all the amazing books shared. Today I get to share three books from Capstone Editions. This collection of books share a look into the lives of three black Americans that you may or may not have heard of but are perfect books for the upcoming Black History Month. They are all recommended for grades 3 to 5. We will start with Ona Judge Outwits the Washingtons: An Enslaved Woman Fights for Freedom by Gwendolyn Hooks and illustrated by Simone Agoussoye.

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

Now this group of books seems like a bit of a mish-mash. It has a large variety but each is published by National Geographic Kids. This group covers history, current events, science and more. We will start with the one that also could be seen as part of my Real Life Princess Series, The Book of Queens by Stephanie Warren Drimmer.

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

January is upon us. Wow, time has been flying. Now that the holidays are over we turn back and look at our lives. Did you make resolutions? I always find January to be bitter sweet. I enjoy the holidays and seeing everyone and they are over. We take our Christmas decorations down and the house seems empty. However as someone who loves diversity there are always more things to look forward to. Multicultural Children's Book Day is January 31st and I am co-hosting again this year. Stay tune for my official posts starting this week. The lunar new year is also approaching. I will be participating in Multicultural Kid Blogs annual blog series on January 20th to share books about China and Korea and their lunar new year celebrations. And of course Martin Luther King Day is this month. So much great stuff. Then February hits with Black History Month. Lots to look forward to. Today I thought I would share four multicultural books with you to start off our January.

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in return for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. Some of the links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Have you ever woken up feeling a bit off? That is how I feel this morning. I knew I wanted to write a review but I didn't sleep well and feel like I might be fighting the cold that is going around. When I looked at my review shelves I didn't turn to the books I was planning on reviewing but looked at books that inspire self care. I added a few that would involve being oneself and health and I created this grouping to share with you today. Most of the books are for tweens through adults but one book which we will start with is for ages 3 to 6. It is It's Okay to Be a Unicorn! by Jason Tharp. This book is not available for sale until February.

As part of the Multicultural Kids Blog's annual Christmas in Different Lands Series, we are taking a look at Christmas in Hawaii. I figured since we are participating in our Hawaii Challenge we might as well find out what Christmas is like on the islands.

Disclosure: Leisure Arts sent me a copy of this book in return for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. The links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Today I am going to share with you the amazing Mini Maker Kits from Leisure Arts, Inc.. I was sent three to try out and have been having so much fun with them. There are a huge variety of them but the kits have what you need to make the project and they are smallish projects so they are pretty easy to complete in a reasonable amount of time. Therefore these kits are great for making your own holiday gifts as well as for gifting to those on your list who love making crafts. They truly have something for everyone from embroidery, knitting, macramé, paint pouring, felt crafts and more. And the best part is they come with everything you need to make the craft!

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

November is flying by!! It is hard to believe the month ends this week. I wanted to share two amazing resource books with you before Native American Heritage Month ends. These books are perfect additions to any Native American study. One just came out in October and the other has been around for several years. The two books are very different from one another but both contain so much information and interesting facts. Let's start with the older book. It is Tipi: Home of the Nomadic Buffalo Hunters by Paul Goble.

Awhile ago I was checking out what new Christmas products Oriental Trading has as well as doing some research for birthday party themes. I came across this Advent calendar and it inspired today's craft. I used one of those small white boards but make sure it is magnetic. I bought one at Staples because there were not any magnetic ones in stock at the time at Five Below. The Dollar Tree didn't have any magnetic ones that I could find. This one came with a white magnet so I knew it was magnetic. I also used washi tape, permanent markers, ribbon, a small magnet, and miniature ornaments (that I bought ages ago). I

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

Being a mom is a tough job. It is also the most rewarding job. But let there be no doubt, it is a job. I love being a mom but I know we all have had those moments where you wonder if you are doing a good job and question your decisions. Today's book is for every mom and dealing with those moments as well as the wonderful ones. It is They Call Me Mom:52 Encouraging Devotions for Every MOMent by Michelle Medlock Adams and Bethany Jett.

Google Analytics

Total Pageviews