The Unofficial Start of Summer -- Let's Look at the Ocean

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. 

A Walk on the Beach

This week was school vacation week in Massachusetts. The third Monday of April is a state holiday called Patriots Day. It also is the day the Boston Marathon is run and so many roads are closed down for parts of the day. Since we did not have any of our normal activities, Steve took the week off of work and we took a mini-vacation the second half of the week to visit my parents at Cape Cod. We packed up all three of us and the two cats to drive two hours to my parents. It wasn't a bad trip except Fluffy does not like the car and meowed a good part of the way there and most of the way home--though she wasn't as bad as I expected. She may be getting more comfortable with the car. Hopefully.

Famous Seaweed Soup -- Book Review & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I will receive a small stipend for participating in The Children's Book Review & Purple Butterfly Press's Virtual Book Tour with this post. All opinions are my own.

Spring is popping up all around me and that means summer is around the corner. Today I get to share with you a fun book that is perfect for those summer beach trips and more! It is Famous Seaweed Soup by Antoinette Truglio Martin and illustrated by Penny Weber. And there is a giveaway including the grand prize of an entire classroom set of this fun book!!

Ocean & Beach Books Perfect for Summer!

Disclosure: We were sent these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are our own.

With the start of summer I am in the beach mood even if the temperatures here haven't been beach weather yet. At Crafty Weekends I shared a beach theme craft this week (have you shared your creations there yet?), and today I'm sharing some books about oceans, fish, sea glass and boats. Yup basically beach and boating themed!! So much fun. These books include picture books as well as nonfiction books. Let's start with the nonfiction books. We will start with a new one from National Geographic Kids. It is Captain Aquatica's Awesome Ocean by Jess Cramp with Grace Hill Smith and Joe Levit. 

Beach Art -- Crafty Sundays

 

Every summer we spend at least one week at Cape Cod. My parents live there and my family has a house that we rent out but we get a week at the house every year. We always try to have at least one beach day and sometimes walk on the beach in the evening. My favorite thing about walking the beach is picking up shells and rocks. I love finding the pieces of quahog shells which is what wampum is made from. We have a rock and shell collection. Some are found, some gifts and some bought. I took a combination of our collection from this year and past years and made some crafts. I started with one I was inspired by the Coastal Seashell Wreath over at Amy Latta Creations. I saw her creation last week on Facebook and fell in love with it. I headed over to Michaels and found the grapevine wreath and a wooden plaque for about $6 total. I also picked up some wooden framed shapes for my other project. They were 99 cents each. So I took our collection and created these fun pieces of beach art.

At the Sea -- New Picture Book with Flaps to Teach All About the Ocean

 

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

Spring is here. That means summer is almost here and that means the beach! With Earth Day last week, we need to talk about the ocean. Today I am sharing a beautiful, oversized picture book about a trip to the sea that even goes into the Earth Day topics! The book is At the Sea by Emma Giuliani. It has a reading age of 8 to 12.

Spring Picture Books

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

It has not felt like spring here lately. We had snow falling on Monday, but I keep trying to think it is coming. Today I am going to share three new picture books having to do with spring and animals. The first is Max and Marla Are Having a Picnic by Alexandra Boiger. I had the pleasure of reviewing the first Max and Marla book already. 

The Body on the Beach -- Book Review & Giveaway

 

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

One of my all-time favorite genres for books is a mystery. I love Mary Higgins Clark novels!! I couldn't wait to get my hands on them. I have explored many different mystery authors and really just love them all. Today I get to share a middle school mystery novel with you, and it is amazing!! The book is The Body on the Beach by Chris Wieland. It is recommended for ages 9 and up. 

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Sea Star -- Book Review & Giveaway with Sea Star Craft Roundup

 

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

Happy First Day of Summer!! To kick off this season I get to share a fun book about sea creatures. Every summer Hazel and I always studied something about the ocean/beach. We always have a beach trip since we get the Cape house for a week. Plus, there are always great crafts to do with the treasures you find on a beach. So, to go with today's book I am sharing a roundup of sea star themed crafts! The book today is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Sea Star by Kathleen Welton and illustrated by Chau Pham. 

Coastal Crafts -- Book Review

 Disclosure: Lark Crafts 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. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation. 

We have been having a heat wave here in Massachusetts this week. It ended today with some much needed rain. However it made me not want to give up the feeling of summer. Hazel is back in school now and I actually took a part-time job to fill my days a bit while she is there, but I still want summer back. How about you? Well I found a wonderful way to preserve some beach memories and they are from Coastal Crafts by Cynthia Shaffer.  

I fell in love with many of the crafts in this book. I love the candle on the cover, but could not find the right jar for it. I'm still looking. We do not need anymore pillows, so I skipped those for now as well. We did however enjoy making some stationary. Some of the book stationary are pictured on the back cover.

Fall is in the Air!!

So I know I promised a multicultural post, but Hazel has not been in the mood to craft and I haven't finished my craft yet enough to share with you, so hopefully tomorrow. Today I'm going to share a few fall things. Yes, I'm finally starting to get in the autumn mood.


We have been noticing the leaves have been starting to change in some trees. Which got us to talking about autumn and the tree fairies. So I wrote a little story about the change of seasons. You can get a pdf of it here:

Page 1                         Page 2

Autumn and Her Fairies

The cool breezes started to blow and Summer got worried. She always hated giving control of the weather to her older sister, Autumn. Summer watched as the squirrels and chipmunks scurried around to gather food and knew the time was getting near. Many of the summer flowers had already passed due to the heat she spread. The birds had already started to fly to the other hemisphere for warmer weather.  In the evenings she had trouble fighting the chill in the air and she saw buds on the mums. She was getting anxious. She had to stop the change of the season so she could stay awake and play more.

Summer loved playing with her friends. She loved going to the beach and watching the children play in the sand and in the waves. She loved seeing the beautiful flowers in the meadows and watching all the newborn animals grow. She often would play tag with the young animals and with the flower fairies. She loved the hot sunny days and the hot starry nights. It was so much fun to have the warmest season.

Summer always had a plan to stall Autumn.  This year she decided to have a beach party and invite all the fairies. If the fairies were distracted there would be no one to paint the leaves their new fall colors and surely Autumn would not be able to awaken.  If she could distract everyone with her party, then maybe no one would bother to wake her sister. She was sure this plan would work.

Summer sent out invitations to all of the fairies (well except the apple, mum and pumpkin fairies as she wanted them to stay asleep). Then she went to the beach to start planning, decorating and figuring out how to keep everyone there so they would not do their fall jobs.

The day of the party arrived, and everyone Summer invited arrived. There were lots of excitement. Many of the tree fairies had never been to the beach previously. They loved seeing the waves and smelling the salt air. Summer hoped they would all stay for at least a week. However the ocean breeze reminded them that Autumn would awaken soon and they needed to begin their painting project. The tree fairies are the ones that paint the fall leaves all the pretty colors, red, yellow, orange, etc. for Autumn. Autumn likes them to start with their painting before she awakens.  So at the end of the night the maple and oak and many of their siblings said their goodbyes and thank you to Summer and rushed off to get their paints and start changing the colors of the season.

Once again, Summer could not keep Autumn from waking up. Autumn woke on her own as she smelled apples in the air. Autumn often slept with her windows open and her room was beside an apple orchard. She looked out her windows and picked a nice big red apple and took a bite. It was so delicious and she was so excited to be in control again.

Autumn's first job is to put her little sister, Summer, to bed. Summer was trying to hide, but Autumn found her on the beach. She told her it was time for even the beach had to be prepared for their eldest sister, Winter. Play time was over and now it was time for preparation. All the animals, plants and living things must prepare for the harsher weather that was to come after Autumn had her time. She was proud to be one to help them prepare the most. She also loved all the reds, golds, browns and oranges around. The cool air and crunchy leaves always seemed to put smiles on the faces of those around her. Her tree fairies always did such a beautiful job painting the trees to new colors. She really felt sorry for her sisters, Spring and Summer. Spring got mostly green and Summer had the green and often it turned to brown. Nothing was as beautiful as her season.

After Summer was asleep, Autumn checked to make sure Winter was still sleeping soundly and then she went to check on the pumpkin fairies. She knew they had their big night at the end of October and wanted to make sure they were getting ready, especially Eve, known as The Pumpkin Fairy, who went and traded gifts for the candy the children gathered on that special night.

She also always checked on her apple fairies and turkey fairies. She knew Thanksgiving occurred and those both played such an important role. The cranberry fairies also would need to be visited at the bogs. She so loved that she was the one who got to see the harvest and the bounty of the other seasons. It was so fun to welcome in the cool and help everyone with their preparations.

So this fall, go look for Autumn and her fairies' work. When you begin to see them you know autumn is truly coming. Enjoy!

This morning Hazel wanted to make pancakes. Since we haven't cooked our pumpkins yet, we decided on applesauce pancakes and I cut up our last apple.

Then Hazel joined me for the measuring and mixing and a bit of the cooking.

Apple Pancakes

Makes: 15

Ingredients

	1 cup(s) whole wheat flour
	2 tsp baking powder
	1 tsp ground cinnamon
	1 tsp ground nutmeg
	1/2 cup(s) uncooked oatmeal
	1 large egg(s)
	1 1/4 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
	3/4 cup(s) unsweetened applesauce
	1 Tbsp olive oil
	1 small fresh apple(s), Diced
	4 tbsp Bob's Red Mill Organic Flaxseed Meal, Golden, 100% Whole Ground

Today she actually helped do some of the measuring! We measured out all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mixed them. Then measured the liquid ingredients in another bowl and mixed them.

Then we put the liquid ingredients and the diced apple into the dry ingredients and mixed. While Hazel was doing this I heated the pan with a bit of cooking spray on it. Then she helped me scoop the first batch into the pan.

She ate them with maple syrup and I spread them with applesauce. They were delicious!!

Canvas Factory Canvas Print Review & #Giveaway

Disclosure: Canvas Factory gave me a coupon code to receive this canvas for free and is offering one to a lucky reader!!

So last spring my parents surprised us with the news that they wanted to move out of the house my grandparents built on Cape Cod. The initial thought had been to sell the house, but once we all worked on getting them moved and the house somewhat emptied my father changed his mind. It was his parents that built the house. This is a house we spent most of our school vacations and at least a week or more of the summer at while growing up. It has always been a second home to us. My parents moved there when my grandmother was not doing well and couldn't take care of herself. After she died, they stayed there. They had already sold their home in Connecticut by that point. So this was a bit of a crazy time for all of us. In July we went from get the house on the market to fix up the house for renters. One of my sisters, bless her, has been doing the majority of the work. She was trained to paint houses and has a bit of an eye for design. She is also the pickiest out of the three of us. Well we decided to decorate the house with non-personal photos and pictures of beach life. My other sister (who use to work for a photographer) happened to take this amazing photograph on the beach that you can walk to from the house. I approached Canvas Factory for help with some of our decorating. 

Beach Trip and Beach Play Mat

Last week we visited my parents on Cape Cod. Now I headed up on Friday so my mother and I could drive to Connecticut for a family wedding. Steve brought Hazel up on Sunday when my mother and I were returning. He stayed for the day and Hazel and I stayed until Wednesday. I promised her we would go to the beach. On Monday Hazel and I took my mother to her rehab class (post heart surgery) and my sister and nephew came up. My sister was dropping my nephew off for his summer visit with my parents. They live in North Carolina and usually come north twice a year--for his July visit and Christmas. So with all the excitement of the crowd and everyone's ideas for what we should do each day, the beach did not happen until Wednesday morning. I knew we would only have a couple of hours there since we had an appointment at home at 3:15. And of course it was low tide that morning. Normally we go to the bay side beach near my parents house so Hazel can swim and play without much fear or waves. However at low tide you can walk for miles before being able to swim on the bay side. So we headed to the ocean side for her first time swimming with waves. She loved it!! Since I was holding her hand or her while we were in the water, I did not get any pictures of her in the water, but got some of her playing in the sand.

Now I have had an idea for quite awhile. I was inspired by crafts at the Jo-Ann Fabric's Cape Discovery Summer Craft Challenge. You may remember the jungle diorama I shared at the end of May. They had some beautifully crocheted sea shells and other sea things. They inspired me to make a beach play mat. With this in mind we have been gathering small sea life toys and shells, etc. My idea changed form several times and then I saw a large, stiff piece of sand colored felt at a craft store. I bought it and some blue felts. Then that night I pulled out my needle felting roving and decided to needle felt the water to the felt. My original plan was to glue actual sand onto the sand part of the play mat, but I never did and I think I like it this way (mess free) instead.

Now the felt was not wool, but it was easy to needle felt to it. I tried to use different shades of blue as well as make some texture for waves. Then I put the shells and animals on it and left it for Hazel. She loves it!!

I am happy with how it came out and am glad we have been collecting the various sea animals for it. I am thinking I may make her some peg dolls in bath suits next.

Lorena and the Magic Mocha Mirror -- #ReadYourWorld Review

 

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

It is January and that means #ReadYourWorld Day is coming!! This year I am one of the book reviewers once again. I believe I may have missed one year but have been reviewing books for almost every one of the fourteen years! Today we are sharing our first book for the 2026 day. It is Lorena and the Magic Mocha Mirror by Valerie Williams-Sanchez. It is recommended for ages 6 to 8 and the second edition is Dyslexia-friendly! Before we get to our review, we will share a bit about Read Your World.

Summertime Books

Don't forget to sign up for our US state postcard exchange!!

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copies 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.

Friday was Hazel's last school day!! So we have begun our summer vacation!! Today I am going to share some books with you that are prefect for summer!! So if you are looking for some summertime fun reading check these books out. The first book is And Then Comes Summer by Tom Brenner and illustrated by Jaime Kim. 

DIY Beach Tic Tac Toe -- a Crafty Weekends Craft & Link Party

Summer began last week. I am guessing people are getting ready to go to the beach and on vacations. Today I am sharing a simple craft that can be planned with purchased sea treasures or with found ones. The idea for this craft came from a tic-tac-toe game that I saw at our local Hallmark store. I didn't want to spend the money but loved the idea. The one at the store used sand dollars and starfish.

Shell Pictures

 Disclosure: I was sent these craft items to review free of charge from Oriental Trading. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I added links to the particular products for your convenience, but not for any compensation. 

Well, Hazel and I went to visit my parents this week and I got lazy on here. Sorry. I started writing a post last night, but never finished it. I'll safe it for next week. Of course visiting my parents always brings beach ideas since they live on Cape Cod. Although we did not go to the beach this trip, we did check out one of our favorite stores that always has fun shell artwork. We are inspired to do even more with these products that Oriental Trading sent us. 

Luke's Beach Day--Book Review

 

 Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to a wonderful book that will be available to purchase on June 1st. Luke's Beach Day by Giselle Shardlow is a wonderful story about a class visiting the ocean in Australia. You can check out Giselle's blog at http://www.kidsyogastories.com/. The story follows a group of three students as they explore the sea and with each thing they see and do there is a yoga stretch to try. This was Hazel's first exposure to yoga. She has done stretches in both dance and gymnastic classes, but never had to hold the poses or even get in some of the positions. 

Since we have an advanced copy, we have it on the computer. Hazel was so excited to read a book on the computer again. Then we would try all the positions. I pulled my camera out for the first few, but realized Hazel would need more help than I expected to get her body to hold the positions. Here she is doing the sun salute.

There are several different levels to this book. It is a wonderful introduction to yoga. There are also issues of litter on the beach, teasing friends, treating animals, ocean safety, and of course since it takes place in Australia, the differences between an Australian beach to one in your own country (assuming you do not live in Australia). One of the yoga moves was the kangaroo hop. Hazel enjoyed this one, but the only picture I got is horrible of her. (I know some day she will be angry with me for posting it, but here it is.)

So on June 1st, look for this wonderful book. It will be available in both English and Spanish. Also stay tuned for possible giveaways.

Thank you, Giselle, for letting us preview this amazing book.

Summer, Beach & Mermaids

So my mother-in-law asked me to print her a copy of the picture above in as an 8" by 10". I did, but it got me thinking about beach frames. So while at Michaels the other day I picked up two inexpensive frames on clearance. I knew I would cover them with shells and such so I didn't worry about their colors. I also bought some more shells and sea glass. Then I saw the Mermaid Contest over at Taming the Goblin.

Over the weekend, we made the frames. We decided to start by covering the frames with sand. We had some from last year's fairy garden. So our first step is to spread some glue on the frames. Hazel loved doing this!

Then we did our best to cover them with sand.

At this point we should have let the glue dry, but I had an anxious three-year-old helping me so we went ahead. She could not wait to start gluing on the shells, rocks and sea glass. (Sorry the picture came out a bit blurry.)

Then we let the glue dry for a few days (and it still wasn't completely dry--guess I globbed it on a bit much). By the way we used craft glue. I called my mother who just made one of those shell wreaths to see what she used and she used a hot glue gun, but didn't recommend it with Hazel helping. She thought craft glue would work fine and it did.

Mermaid Taking a Nap Framed

While it was drying I looked for pictures of mermaids. I found several at Graphics Fairy, but they were more vintage and not as kind looking as I hoped for. I did a search and came across Deviant Art. My favorite there is Mermaid Taking a Nap. Of the four I showed to Hazel, her favorite is one I found on Graphics Hunt. There are so many out there and I tried to look for friendly and not too sexy ones.

Hazel's Favorite Framed

Then I hung them in the family room to get some pictures. After that I put Hazel's favorite in her room and I changed the picture in my favorite to the beach picture. After all this is what I bought the frames for.

I do think we are going to use some of the wooden frames I bought ages ago to make some more shell frames for our mermaid pictures and for her beach picture as gifts.

So how do you like our mermaid inspired craft? I'm off to enter it in Taming the Goblin's Contest.




This is where I share...

Family Vacation Time During the Pandemic

 

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

It has been a tough year for everyone. Our world shut down during Hazel's new school's spring break last year. It was such a strange time. We didn't know what was coming. Here in Massachusetts at least things are far from normal. Businesses are opening up again but masks are mandatory in public. We have been lucky. Hazel's school has been open this school year. We have the choice to keep her remote whenever we want to but can send her in most of the time. The school goes remote after vacation weeks so it enforces self quarantines for people who have traveled. It truly amazes me when I look on Facebook and see friends all across the country traveling and going out socially. The idea of stepping on an airplane right now or eating in a restaurant scares me. Yet I know there are people who do it all the time and I'm friends and/or related to some of them. We have not left Massachusetts since our trip to Disney in February 2020. We are very lucky though that my family has a house on Cape Cod and we have gotten away there including this spring break. Hazel has been off the past two weeks for spring break and this past week we headed to Cape Cod to spend time as a family, get a change of scenery and see my parents. Since Steve is working from home he needed a change of scenery as well as some time off. Have you traveled during this pandemic?