Books about Winter Climate Animals

 

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

Winter begins in a few days. Of course, in New England we feel like it has been winter for a while. However, I often think of winter books in January. Today I am sharing two new books--a board book and a nonfiction book about animals in the winter. The board book is Whose Prints? by Kari Allen and illustrated by Kim Smith. It is suggested for preschool and up. 

New Christmas Themed Children's Books

 

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

This week I am focusing on the holidays. I will be sharing holiday gift ideas as well as some holiday themed products. Today I am sharing three new Christmas themed books for children. One is a board book, one is a pop-up book, and the other is a picture book. The board book is Snow, Snow, Snow! a Christmastime Song by Sandra Boynton. It is recommended for babies to age 5. The pop-up book is In the Holly Jolly North Pole by Joel Stern and illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff. It is recommended for ages 3 to 5. The picture book is Elves Are the Worst by Alex Willan. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Eagle Drums -- New Middle Grade Native American Novel

 

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

November is Native American Heritage Month. This year I have not done as much as I normally do for November. We shared a Native American picture book about protecting our water earlier this month. Today I am sharing a middle grades novel that is also written by a Native American. It shares a bit of folklore and myth about the origin of the Messenger's Feast. It is called Eagle Drums by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson. The suggested reading age is 8 to 12. 

Chipper Sends Sunshine -- Book Review & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am working with Purple Butterfly Press and The Children's Book Review to be part of this Virtual Book Tour and will receive a small stipend for sharing this book with you. All opinions are my own.

As the end of the school year approaches, families start thinking about summer camp. Did you go away to summer camp or do your kids? The fun adventures in the woods away from home meeting new people, summer camp offers so much. Today I get to share with you a fun book about a group of animals who go to summer camp and make new friends and want to find a way to stay in touch with the new friends. The book is called Chipper Sends Sunshine by Kimber Fox Morgan and illustrated by Kim Sponaugle. 

The Atlas of Migrating Plants and Animals --#STEM Review

 

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

Do you know an animal and/or plant lover? Are you a teacher? Today I get to share with you a new book that is absolutely beautiful!! This is a must have when teaching about animals and plants and especially ones that migrate or perhaps just teaching about migrating. It is The Atlas of Migrating Plants and Animals by Megan Lee and illustrated by Matt Sewell. It is recommended for ages 5 to 10. 

Learning about Sea Turtles

 

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

Yesterday we talked about a book full of fun facts about the ocean. Today let's focus on one of the creatures in the ocean waters--sea turtles. I am going to share a book recommended for ages 4 to 8 as well as some fun facts from the book and a turtle craft round-up! The book is from National Geographic Kids and is Go Wild! Sea Turtles by Jill Esbaum. 

Native American Resource Books

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. 

Reindeer Fun Facts and Craft Round-Up

Can you believe Christmas is only a week away? To get you in the mood and perhaps to entertain your kids, I am sharing some fun facts about reindeer and a craft and activity round-up.

Sharing Saturday 17-7

It is time for Sharing Saturday!! This is a link party to share all of your child-oriented crafts, crafts made for kids, activities and lessons as well as your parenting and/or teaching posts.

On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!! And for all of your cultural posts come share them at the monthly Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop.

Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party! It was a smaller party than usually, but had some great ideas. Our features are just a sampling of them so if you haven't checked them all out, you should! This week we have two groups of features: Educational Lessons and Book & Craft Features.

Summer Animal Fun -- Summertime Fun Reviews

Disclosure: I was sent these products free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As always I am providing links to the book for your convenience.

 Summertime brings thoughts of many things--beach, heat, sunshine and animals. For me there are always new and fun things to see in nature and I like to share that with Hazel. What animals do you think about in the summer? We have so many different birds, bugs and frogs that come into our lives, so today's products are going to share those things with you. This year the town cleaned out some of the creek in our back yard and we discovered frogs around. So we will begin with Fabulous Frogs by Martin Jenkins and illustrated by Tim Hopgood. 

Books to Explore Our World -- Maps Poster Book and Panorama Pops Boston Book Reviews

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of these books free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

We love books that help us learn about places and cultures. In case you cannot tell I am a bit obsessed with teaching Hazel and learning myself about other cultures and places. However we are not big travelers, so books are our answer. Candlewick Press sent me two great books for our family. The first to share is Maps Poster Book by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski. 

Sharing Saturday 16-4

What an amazing party last week!! Thank you to everyone who shared with us!! Our features are just a sampling of the wonderful things shared, so if you haven't checked out the rest you should!! The features for this week include Snow Features, Valentine's Day & Family Features, Educational Features, and few art and interesting ideas. I have also host a craft link party (the crafts just have to be family appropriate and not necessarily kid related) and it is a place to share crafts, reviews of patterns, craft books, etc. and patterns. I hope you will come check it out Sunday.  This month's Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop is continuing for all your posts that are culture (multicultural) related!

Shi-shi-etko -- Book Review and Native Residential Schools

Disclosure: Groundwood Books gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Imagine being a young girl and being forced to go away from your home and family to go to a boarding school. You have never left your neighborhood, but if you do not go your parents will be arrested. At the school they will not let you keep your name, religion or language. They will try to take away everything about your culture in your life. This is how life was for many Native Americans from around 1876 until the 1990's. Shi-shi-etko by Nicola I. Campbell and illustrated by Kim LaFave tells such a story about a young Native American girl named Shi-shi-etko. 

Learning about the Inuit with Books: Alego and Arctic Adventures -- Book Reviews

Disclosure: Groundwood Books gave me copies of these books free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Today I am going to share with you two beautiful books that teach about the Inuit culture. This winter we have had a very warm December, however today the chill was back in the air and snow and sleet are in the forecast for overnight into the morning, so it seems the right time to share about the Arctic.  The first is a book of tales from the lives of Inuit artists. After each story is information about the artist and a picture of his or her work.

The Snowman and The Snowman and the Snow Dog & Naya's Arctic Adventures: Meet Naya -- DVD Reviews and Giveaway!!

Disclosure: NCircle Entertainment gave me a copy of the DVDs free of charge and is supplying the ones for the giveaway free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As always I am providing links to the DVD on NCircle Entertainment's site for your convenience. You can also find their DVDs at local retailers!

Today I am sharing with you two fun DVDs that are perfect for winter and Christmas. Both are really wordless!! The first is a combination of two favorite ones one of which we have reviewed in the past The Snowman and The Snowman and the Snowdog. They are based on the books of the same titles by Raymond Briggs. Now both stories are available on one DVD!! 

Christmas DVDs Review and Giveaway

Disclosure: NCircle Entertainment gave me a copy of the DVDs free of charge and is supplying the ones for the giveaway free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As always I am providing links to the DVD on NCircle Entertainment's site for your convenience. You can also find their DVDs at local retailers!

To help get us in the Christmas spirit, NCircle Entertainment sent us four Christmas DVDs to review and are supplying another set of four to one of my wonderful readers!! Hazel was really excited to see a few of her favorite shows represented. She insisted we start with the newly released Octonauts: The Very Vegimal Christmas.

Jellyfish Crafts, Exploration and Book

Recently Hazel asked to explore under the sea creatures. I think this fascination comes from watching The Octonuats on Disney Junior. I am really excited to be reviewing an Octonaut DVD and book in the next few weeks and giving away a copy of the DVD. To build up to our reviews, I thought I would do some under-the-sea creatures first. Today's creature is the jellyfish.

Photo taken on visit to New England Aquarium

We started our exploration with the book: Nature's Children: Jellyfish by James Kinchen. Jellyfish have been in the waters for millions of years before the dinosaurs. They live in seas and oceans all over the world including the Arctic waters. They have no brains and no eyes and its body is made almost entirely of water. The various types of jellyfish vary in size with the smallest being about half an inch across and the largest being six feet across. The tentacles on the large ones can be 117 feet long. Their movement comes from their body opening and closing like an umbrella. They can shift their body into different shapes to get into tight spots. The book suggests using a water balloon to see what their body is like. We did this.

Jellyfish also can sting. The stingers come from the tentacles. A sting from a sea wasp can kill a human in less than fifteen minutes. Jellyfish use their stings to capture prey and to defend themselves against enemies. The book describes each sting like a hollow harpoon that uncoils itself fifty times the original length. Poison flows down to the harpoon. Adult jellyfish are called medusas after the Greek myth.

Photo from visit to New England Aquarium

The life cycle of a jellyfish is very interesting. A female jellyfish can produce thousands of eggs. Each fertilized egg becomes a larva. The larva has no mouth and looks nothing like the adult jellyfish. The larva drifts until it grabs hold of a rock or seaweed. It rest there and changes into a polyp. Now it can hunt and eat. It has tentacles and is building up its food reserves to see it through its final metamorphism. Each polyp breaks off like a stack of dishes and becomes many medusas. 

Photo from New England Aquarium Visit

After reading this book and doing our water balloon experiment, we made some jellyfish crafts. There are many out there, but we decided to try ones with clear plastic cups with sheer ribbons and large white cupcake liners with glitter ribbons. We started with the cupcake liners. I cut lengths of the ribbons and then we taped them at the half way point to the inside bottom of the liners.

We were happy with how they came out. I liked that you could see how they would open and close to move in the water.

For the cup ones I cut long lengths of ribbon and then gave Hazel the tape. She decided to tape them singly to the inside sides of the cup. I taped the middle of mine together and taped that to the inside bottom of the cup. They both came out nicely.

Afterwards I hung them from our kitchen light. The ribbons are a bit long, but I like them. I put the long ones to the middle of the table so they wouldn't get into anyone's food.

For more on ocean life crafts and lessons check out:

• Beach Trip and Beach Play Mat
• Wild and Free: Dolphins, Whales and Manatees
• Cinderella Penguin or Antarctica
• Pinterest Beach Board

Dreaming of Hawaii -- Luka's Quilt

With snowflakes flying again today and the arctic cold coming back, it is time to dream of Hawaii again. Last week I posted our first Dreaming of Hawaii and introduced pu'ili. Today I am going to share another wonderful book and look at Hawaiian quilts.

Around the World in 12 Dishes-- Canada

This month we are exploring Canada with the Around the World in 12 Dishes group. Hazel and I have been having so much fun with it. If was warmer weather, I might even consider taking her to Canada, however I cannot imagine going anywhere colder and snowier than what we already have. I am so done with winter, but alas, we are expecting snow again tomorrow. Anyway, a bit about Canada. Canada borders three oceans: Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic, and its southern border with the United States is the worlds longest land border between two countries. Canada is the second largest country in area. Canada was settled by both France and Great Britain. After the French and Indian War, France ceded its colonies to Britain in 1763. As a result of both countries settling, Canada is officially a bilingual country. Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. The Queen's representative carries out most of the federal royal duties in Canada.

Winter Solstice

On Saturday winter begins where we live although with the weather this week, I think winter is already here. We have had two snowstorms since Saturday. Hazel has made her first snowman of the season! However the snow was a bit icy to make snow angels at least in the first storm. The second one she has not gotten to play as much since she got sick (after playing in the first snowstorm). We have been talking about the shorter days. Of course Hazel is trying to figure out what that means--are there less hours in the day?

Picture of Our Back Yard This Afternoon

To get ready for the first official day  of winter, I thought we would read some winter books and try a few crafts. After reading some winter books, Hazel decided we needed to make some paper snowflakes. This is one of her favorite things to do.

Then we read some more books. We went to the library and found a huge selection of winter books and here are some we got as well as some of our favorites from our own collection.

Although I keep explaining about there being less sunlight on the winter solstice, I am not sure Hazel gets the concept yet. I hoped some of these books would help her. The first two books in this collection are about multiple seasons. The third, Winter is the Warmest Season by Lauren Stringer may sound confusing, however the story is told by a boy who explains how his world becomes warm (for example, hot chocolate instead of cold milk, pajamas with feet) because of the cold temperature outside.

We also had to look at some books about snow. After all that is the best and the worst part of winter.  Red Sled by Rita Judge and The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats are two of our favorite snowy/winter books.

Three of these books have activities and/or crafts in them. The top two are just about crafts and activities. It's Winter by Linda Glaser has some winter activities and explorations to do at the end of the story. It goes through what the animals are doing while it is cold outside. In the Seasonal Crafts series, Winter by Gillian Chapman has crafts for many holidays and events. The craft we decided to do was make construction paper finger puppets to go with stories that the Inuit women tell on winter nights to pass the time.

Now the Inuit people live in the Arctic. As we can imagine their winter days are long and dark.  To pass time they shared stories. Many were about the animals they lived with and ate: the caribou, the walrus and seals. Then of course there are stories about the sun, moon and the Aurora Borealis. The Inuit traditionally lived in igloos in the winter.

Source: By Ansgar Walk (photo taken by Ansgar Walk) [CC-BY-SA-2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

 How would you like to live in here for the winter?

Addition on the Winter Solstice: We read the best book for the winter solstice tonight. It is The Winter Solstice by Ellen Jackson. It goes through history on how the winter solstice was celebrated as well as giving an experiment to try to understand the seasons. I highly recommend checking this one out!!






 





Looking for more winter ideas check out:
Winter Solstice
Let It Snow! Winter Wonderland Tea Party
A Wonderful Winter Book: Red Sled
My Winter Pinterest Board