Do you have a reader who loves fantasy and science fiction? Today I get to share two new books with you that fall in these genres. One is a middle grades novel and the other is a young adult graphic novel. Both novels are multicultural with diverse characters. We will start with Area-51 Interns: Alien Summer by James S. Murray and Carsen Smith. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12.
Spring is in the air!! Up in New England the weather is slowly getting warmer--or at least more consistent. We have been having a roller coaster of temperatures this year. As spring starts up people start thinking about about gardening and fresh fruits and vegetables. Today I am sharing three picture books that focus on just that--gardening, fruits, vegetables and cooking with fresh garden harvests. All three books have an age range of 4 to 9. And all three books are being released today!! The first is I Love Strawberries! by Shannon Anderson and illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett.
We are in the middle of winter here in Massachusetts. The trees are bare, but I am dreaming of spring and warmer weather. Today's book is perfect for this dream. It is The Leaf and the Tree by Bruce Nemovitz and illustrated by Ani Ghosh.
Have you ever heard of Queen Goharshad? She was queen of Khorashan back in the 1400s. Khorashan was in present day Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. She is remembered for the buildings she built including the Goharshad Mosque (in present day Iran) and for supporting the arts. Today I get to share with you a wonderful picture book based on this amazing woman and her accomplishments. The book is called Brave with Beauty: A Story of Afghanistan by Maxine Rose Schur with art by Patricia Grush, Robin Dewitt, and Golsa Yaghoobi. It is recommended for ages 7 to 9.
I took last week off. My family made the decision to put my father into a memory care facility. His care has gotten to be too much for my mother and his Alzheimer's is getting worse. I needed time to help my mother move my dad and also time to grieve this next step. Although I'm still grieving I am trying to move on with life. So today I am sharing a new picture book that comes out this week. It is a bedtime story and is about the Hindu culture. It is perfect for Hindu kids as well as others who want to learn about other cultures. It will be available on August 31, 2021. The book is Goodnight Ganesha by Nadia Salomon and illustrated by Poonam Mistry. It is recommended for ages 3 to 7. To go with the book I will be sharing fun facts about the Hindu god, Ganesha, so it can be a learning experience for those not familiar with the Hindu religion.
How much do you know about the history of our Earth? Did you know part of the United States use to be a savanna and have animals like rhinoceros and elephants roaming around? I know I certainly didn't. Today I get to share a middle grades book (ages 8-12) that takes us through the science of discovering the history of our land. The book is Rhinos in Nebraska: The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds by Alison Pearce Stevens.
Wow, what a turn in the women's gymnastics the other day. I have to say I am happy that Simone Biles felt confident enough to walk away from the competition. She is a role model for our children. She knew she wasn't feeling right and stepped away. That takes courage and confidence. And it highlights the need to focus on mental health. The pressure she must have been feeling with all the press and such before and during the Olympics must have been awful, so knowing when to step away is huge in my mind.
With the Olympics in Tokyo, we are continuing a focus on Japan. And a look at Japan is not complete without some origami. Today I am sharing two books--one for beginners and another for more advanced as well as four packs/books of origami paper. We will start first by looking at the packs of paper I used throughout this post. They are Origami Rainbow Paper Pack Book, Origami Paper 200 Sheets Mother Earth Photos 6" (15 cm), Origami Paper 500 Sheets Cherry Blossoms 6" (15 cm), and Origami Paper 200 Sheets Nature Photos 8 1/4" (21 cm).
Are you aware of a full moon? Does your mood change? Do you have trouble sleeping? Do you think everyone else has gone crazy? Or do you just enjoy seeing it? Today I get to share a beautiful new picture book recommended for ages 3 to 6. The book is Full Moon by Camilla Pintonanto.
Do you have a good sense of direction or are you one of those people who always gets lost? I tend to have a pretty good sense of direction. When I do get lost I can usually call my husband and he will pull out a map and find where I am and how to get where I want to be or use my GPS. Steve loves maps. When we were first married he would drive me crazy. I would print out directions when we were going somewhere but instead of reading me the directions he would try to tell me the directions from the map. Unfortunately he is not as quick as needed in the map reading when I'm driving. Because of Steve's love of maps, Hazel became interested in maps at a young age. Of course there are places that are not mapped out like the forest. What happens when you get lost there? Today's book is a book to give the reader skills to not get lost or at least know how to find one's way and what tools one might need when exploring. The book is How to Go Anywhere (and Not Get Lost) by Hans Aschim and illustrated by Andres Lozano.
It is hard to believe it is June. Summer is basically here. For many this school year was a mess. I know many parents are worried about how much their kids learned with all the remote learning the past two years. Every summer kids lose some of what they have learned. This summer it will be more important to keep our kids reading and learning. I am going to be sharing books that will give you extra resources to keep the kids learning all summer long in fun ways starting today. Today I am sharing part of Dover Publication's My First Science Book Series and at the end there will be a giveaway!!
Earth Day is Thursday. I have been sharing books each week to use as resources for it and today the books I share work for Earth Day but two of them work with a twist. All three books are picture books recommended for preschool and early elementary (ages 3-8). We will start with the book that is perfect for Earth Day. It is Once Upon Another Time by Charles Ghigna and Matt Forrest Esenwine and illustrated by Andrés F. Landazábal.
Did you know the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970? Earth Day is 51 years old this year. It was started to make people aware of the devastation to Earth that pollution, technology and more were causing. One great worry was the deforestation and extinction of wildlife. (Source) With that concern I am sharing today's picture book as an Earth Day resource. The book shares a tale that is set in Somali and shares a bit about the endangered cheetahs. The book is Spirit of the Cheetah: A Somali Tale by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed and illustrated by Julia Cairns.
Earth Day is this week. How are you celebrating? I have been sharing books that are great to use with kids for a few weeks now. Today I am going to share a craft book that is perfect for Earth Day. This book is all about making things with rips and stains usable again. The book is Mending with Love: Creative Repairs for Your Favorite Things by Noriko Misumi.
It is hard to believe Earth Day is next week! I feel like April is flying by and as a former teacher once April hits--well April vacation (next week)--I feel like the school year is basically over. Hazel's new school has a different vacation schedule so she had two weeks off in March, but I know the public schools are off next week so the feeling is still there. Today I am going to share an other set of books that are great for Earth Day. These books range for ages 4-7 and 7-12, so basically books perfect for elementary grades. We will start with Sunrise Summer by Matthew Swanson and illustrated by Robbi Behr.
Today I am going to share one of the craft books I am saying is Earth Day related. Now paper crafts in general aren't usually Earth Day crafts unless they are recycled crafts. However today's crafts are making paper wildflowers. My hope is when people see how beautiful the paper wildflowers are they will plant more wildflowers or at least let them grow when they pop up. Many of these wildflowers will attract pollinators to your yard. Plus if they are natural for your area they will help all the wildlife. So now I share A Beginner's Guide to Paper Wildflowers by Emiko Yamamoto.
Earth Day is in two weeks! There are so many ways you can celebrate with kids. One of my favorite though is sharing books. The range of books can be about the reason for Earth Day, Earth, wildlife, recycling, reusing, etc. This year I have gathered some great ones including some craft books which I will share on Crafty Sundays in the next couple of weeks. I was trying to decide how to share the various books I have gathered and decided to go with publishers. Today's books are both from National Geographic Kids. We will start with one of the most interesting books ever, Beneath the Waves: Celebrating the Ocean Through Pictures, Poems and Stories by Stephanie Warren Drimmer.
April is a month full of things I care about. We just had Easter weekend. April 2nd is World Autism Day. Earth Day is fast approaching, and it is National Poetry Month. I shared the first book last week that is a great one to share on Earth Day and will be sharing more this month. Today I want to focus on a new poetry book. It is You Don't Have to Be Everything edited by Diana Whitney. It was released March 30th.
It is hard to believe it is the end of March. This month went by so quickly for me and usually it drags but I guess that is because Hazel's new school has two weeks off in March instead of the February and April breaks. With the end of March I start to think about the events of April. Today I am going to share a fun new picture book that as I read it made me think of Earth Day and I'll share why later. The book is Grace and Box by Kim Howard and illustrated by Megan Lötter.
