Books for Younger Kids -- Back-to-School

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.

As we continue our back to school week I thought we would look at some books for our younger kids. The first book is perfect for toddlers and beginning readers. It is a fun board book. It is City Block by Christopher Franceschelli and art by Peskimo. 

Books with Science Experiments #STEM

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

Are you looking for some fun science experiments to try at home? These books are great for teaching some science or for those kids that just love to explore and mess around a bit with science. We will start with a fun book that is perfect for dog lovers and owners. It is Dog Science Unleashed by Jodi Wheeler-Toppen and photographs by Matthew Rakola. 

Books for National Pet Month

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

Did you know May is National Pet Month in the United States? (It was April in the United Kingdom.) We love our pets--our two cats and fish. Hazel's love for animals and our pets has gotten her to start a minsitry of collecting items and money for the shelter we got both of our cats--Northeast Animal Shelter. She calls her ministry Pawprints on Hazel's Heart. In celebration of National Pet Month I am going to share three pet realted books with you. These picture books range in the ages that they will work. Going in order of age, we will start with the two books that are for Preschool through third grade. The fist is It's a Puppy's Life by Seth Casteel. Let's just say this book is full of cuteness!!

Mrs. R. Snugglesworth Attorney-at-Law Review and Giveaway

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Amy Flanagan for this Virtual Book Tour and will receive a small stipend for my participation. All opinions are my own.

Today I get to share a creative and fun beginning reader illustrated chapter book with you that kids are going to love. It is also perfect for back to school since its main character, Mrs. R. Snugglesworth goes to dog law school in it. The book is Mrs. R. Snugglesworth, Attorney-at-Law by Amy Flanagan and illustrated by Jon Davis. 

Virtual Book Club for Kids--Duck on a Bike

This month's author for the Virtual Book Club for Kids is David Shannon. Now I must admit, I was not too thrilled by this since we did not find too many of his books we liked, but we have found a few. His writing does not match our favorite type of stories and I personally see it more geared toward young boys. That being said we did find a favorite, Duck on a Bike. It has a duck in it, so Hazel loved it. She also loved that the duck rides a bike. I may have to get her a basket for her bike so Ducky can go for a ride as well.

For those who are not familiar with the Virtual Book Club for Kids, I have joined a wonderful group of bloggers to present books by a picked author for the month. We present a book (or books) by this author with an activity, craft, etc. to go along with it. Then we have a blog hop so others can join us. I have to admit I have discovered some amazing children's authors from doing this.  Here are the amazing bloggers who host this great book club.

Toddler Approved - Rainy Day Mum - Adventures in Reading with Kids - 3 Dinosaurs - Royal Baloo - The Educators' Spin On It - Inspiration Laboratories - Pleasantest Thing - Edventures with Kids - Two Big Two Little - Playing With Words 365 - Kitchen Counter Chronicles - Outlaw Mom - Mommy and Me Book Club - Crafty Moms Share - No Twiddle Twaddle - The Good Long Road - Ready. Set. Read 2 Me - Reading Confetti - Mama Smiles - Juggling with Kids- Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas - Creekside Learning - Creative Family Fun - The Usual Mayhem - Teach Preschool - PlayDrMom - CraftoArt - Here Come the Girls - Being a Conscious Parent - Smiling like Sunshine - Crayon Freckles - Train Up a Child - Smile Play Learn - Enchanted Homeschooling Mom - Coffee Cups and Crayons - Having Fun at Chelle's House- Love, Play, Learn - Juggling With Kids - Motherhood on a Dime - Growing Book By Book
- This Reading Mama - Fantastic Fun and Learning

  Now onto our book. This book is about a farm where a little boy leaves his bicycle out and the duck decides to go for a ride on it. The duck rides past all the other animals and says hi. All the other animals have different thoughts about seeing the duck on the bike--from he's crazy to I wish I could go on a bike. Then a large group of children come to the farm and leave their bikes outside and head inside. All the animals then give bike riding a try.

Now I must admit, Hazel and I have a cold and I was in hurry when we did this craft, but we were inspired by a craft Hazel made at our public library which was a plate with a slit and a duck on a popsicle stick that swam around the duck pond (the plate) by moving the popsicle stick in the slit. We cut a curve and put the duck on a bike and used stickers for the animals though we couldn't find any cat, dog and mouse stickers quickly so we drew them. Then after making one together, Hazel wanted to make her own. I had to run to church for work, so I cut the slit and helped draw the bike, and then she was on her own. We found one dog sticker after she drew one, so hers has two dogs. Not that you can tell the drawings are cat and dog.

Overall it was an easy fun craft to go with this fun book. She loved moving the duck around the "farm". We put the animals in the order that the duck passed them in the book.

In the next couple weeks we will share two more books by David Shannon. Now it is your turn. Have you done an activity with a David Shannon book? It is your turn to share here.

Fun Facts about S'mores and Recipe Round-Up

Did you know today is National S'more Day? It is a day meant to get us out in our backyard making these fun treats!! Last year at our family reunion my cousin was in charge of s'more supplies for the family camp dinner night. She went crazy with all sorts of candy bars for the chocolate. My favorite was the Ghiradelli caramel squares. Hazel really liked the Reese's peanut butter cups. What variation is your favorite? Today I am sharing some fun facts about s'mores and their ingredients as well as a recipe round-up. 

The Snowman and the Snowdog DVD Review & Giveaway

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

Today I have the pleasure of reviewing The Snowman and the Snowdog DVD. Thank you to NCircle Entertainment for giving me a copy to review. Now we have not read the book, The Snowman and the Snowdog, however we have read and love The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. The Snowman and the Snowdog is a sequel to The Snowman. Both books are wordless and so is the movie. We have watched The Snowman movie on YouTube. Both movies make the book come alive. They literally seem to be the pictures of the book moving. Raymond Briggs worked with the producers to make sure the movies were what he wanted from his books and you can tell. If you do not know the books, they are lovely stories of the magic of childhood and snow.

Snow Globe

Now Hazel has been asking for weeks about when it will snow again. For several weeks we had a white sheet down on the floor of our family room so she could pretend it had snowed. Needless to say she was very excited to watch this movie and we really enjoyed. She was also excited about the crafts we made to go with it. I found the crafts and printables at The Snowman Craft Activities.

The movie shows a young boy and his mother moving into a house with their dog. The dog dies around Halloween. Around Christmas time he discovers a loose floorboard in his room and discovers a box with the making for a snowman and a picture of the boy and snowman from the first story. It happens to be snowing, so he goes out side and makes a duplicate of the snowman. He runs inside to get a new tangerine since the old one is shriveled and sees his dog's leash. He makes a snowdog next to the snowman with socks for ears and spots and using the shriveled tangerine for his nose. Similar to the first story, the snowman comes to life at night and so does the snowdog. The boy discovers this and goes on a magical adventure with them flying in the sky. They find an airplane to fly around in as well and then go sledding with other snowmen. Then they come to a Christmas tree with Santa packing his sleigh. The boy helps Santa and he tells him his Christmas wish. Santa gives the boy a small gift. The sun is about to rise, so the boy and his snowfriends must get home. I am going to leave the end a surprise for you since it is such a happy ending.

The DVD does have a bonus feature. We looked at it briefly, but it was not going to hold Hazel's attention. It was about Raymond Briggs. 

The Snowman and the Snowdog Mobile

For crafts we made a snow globe. We decided to make a dry one with fake snow and glitter instead of the liquid. We also made a mobile using the printable at The Snowman website. We also made the garland. I printed out extra of the snowdogs from the snow globe and used them in the garland so it would not be just the snowman.  I hung the mobile from the garland and hung it in Hazel's room. She can pretend it snows every day in there now.

Garland

We also made some paper snowflakes using the patterns found at The Snowman website. We hung them from the garland as well.

Finally we made some marshmallow snowmen. Again the idea came from The Snowman website. After making the first one, Hazel decided to get creative. I pulled out toothpicks since we were having trouble keeping them together. We also used some mini chocolate chips on some. I had trouble getting black frosting at first and bought the chips in case I didn't find any.

Now it is your turn to try to win a copy of this loving DVD. You can follow the Rafflecopter for what to do and follow my Giveaway Rules. Or if you cannot wait, you can purchase it at Barnes and Noble or Amazon. (Note these are not affiliate links, but are here for your convenience.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fairy Tales in Different Cultures--a Moroccan Snow White

While we have been in Africa for awhile with our Snow White stories I thought I would share one from Morocco too. Again this is a story that I have not shared with Hazel as it would definitely scare her.The story is called "The Jealous Mother" and I found it translated in English in Moroccan Folktales by Jilali El Koudia. 
 

Source: Google

Now for a bit about Morocco. Morocco is a country in Northern Africa. It joins Spain and France as the only countries to have coasts on the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The official name is the Kingdom of Morocco. The Arabic name translates into The Western Kingdom or The West. It is often called these as well. The capital is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a history of independence unlike the other countries we have been sharing lately.

Source: Google

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco has much power including the power to dissolve the parliament. His decision also overrides the parliament if there is a contradiction. 

Morocco has the coastlines and many mountains as well as the Sahara Desert. Needless to say the climate varies greatly. Morocco is also the only African country not in the African Union. (Source)

Now my experience with Morocco is very limited. I met a Moroccan man who claimed to instantly fall in love with me and want to marry me. He invited me to come meet his family in Morocco. I did not go. However several people warned me that if I did there were very strict things I needed to know about traveling as a single woman there. This made me look up some information on women's rights in Morocco. In 2004 the parliament tried to improve women's rights. What they passed included a man not being able to take another wife without his wife signing off on it. In 2006 a royal decision granted women to be able to pass their Moroccan citizenship to their children (previously it could only be passed by the father). In 2009, women were granted the right to divorce without their husband's consent. (Source) Needless to say it sounds like they still have some work to do there.

Now onto our story. Similar to the version from Algeria, the Morocco version has a beautiful mother who talks to the moon. The moon tells her that the child in her womb is more beautiful and of course the mother gets jealous. The mother has the trusted midwife bury the baby as soon as it is born and to replace it with a puppy dog. The mother paid the midwife a great deal of gold to do this. The midwife produced a puppy, but she took the girl away and secluded her inside her own house and took care of her. 

The husband of the beautiful woman was ashamed when he saw God had given them a puppy dog and threw the dog away. The midwife raised the baby as her own and named her Lalla Khallalt El Khoudra. She grew to be very beautiful and people would compare any woman's beauty to that of Lalla. Her birth mother heard of her and asked the midwife to send her over to help her untangle her ball of yarn. 

When the birth mother saw the girl she was overcome with jealousy. She gave the girl the ball of yarn and told her to walk until it was untangled. The girl ended up in the land of ghouls. Her mother cut the yarn when she guessed Lalla had walked that far. Lalla could not find her way home and night had fallen. When she saw all the strange creatures in the land she guessed she had entered the land the midwife had told her about and she was afraid she would be eaten alive. She hid herself in a thatch roof. The house that she chose to hide in was one of seven ghoul brothers. They had a slave to cook for them. Every morning the ghouls went out to hunt and the slave remained to prepare their food. The slave heard something on the roof and saw the beautiful woman. Lalla begged her for food and drink. She gave her some but advised her to stay hidden from the owners. Lalla repeated this every day. She would join the slave and help her prepare the food and then hide herself again. The brothers noticed a difference in the food. They wanted to figure out what was happening, so they had the youngest brother stay behind hidden to see what the slave was up to. 

The youngest brother stayed hidden, but saw the slave and Lalla cooking together. Then he jumped out. Lalla was scared, but the brother was kind and gentle and when he looked in his eyes he fell in love with her. The next day the brothers held a wedding ceremony for them. With the presence of Lalla all the brothers were happy. Lalla took over the care of the brothers. The slave became neglected, but she made Lalla promise her that they would always share everything equally.

One day Lalla tried to wake the slave to share a bean with her. Since the slave pretended to be asleep, Lalla put the half bean away, but it was lost when she tried to find it for the slave later. The slave was very angry and took revenge later by putting the fire out. Lalla had to go to a neighbor to ask for fire. She went to the ghoul next door, but he insisted on cutting her for the fire. She allowed him to do it and she dripped blood home. The next day he followed the blood to her and forced her to allow him to suck her blood from her finger or he would eat her. He did this every day.

The brothers began to notice the changes in their food and in Lalla. They did not understand why she did not seem happy when they showered her with gold, silver and jewels. The youngest brother stayed home to find out what was happening. He saw the neighbor come and drink her blood. He waited for his brothers and they decided they would all stay home the next day. They captured the neighbor, and set to kill him and then turned on Lalla for allowing him to visit. She wept and told them the whole story and they threw the slave into the pit with the neighbor and set them on fire. 

Awhile later a salesman who is referred to in the story as a Jew came selling his wares. Lalla came out and chose some and then gave him a large bag of silver and gold. She asked if he every knew a certain tribe and he said he did and she sent a message to her mother through him.

A few months later, he was with that tribe and her birth mother was purchasing things from him. She paid with a few balls of wool. He made a comment about how she did not pay like Lalla and the mother asked for more details since she was her mother. He told her how she was like a queen to the ghouls. The mother ran to  find a gift to send to Lalla and she wrapped a ring in a cloth and asked the salesman to give it to her next time he saw her.

In two months the salesman returned to the land of ghouls and saw Lalla. She bought some of his wares and he gave her the gift her mother sent telling her she suggested she put the ring under her tongue. She said she would and after the salesman left, she did. She became in a deathlike state and the ghouls came home that evening and found her frozen in the spot. They were so sad. They built her an attoush (a sofa like thing) and put it on a camel. The camel was told to go everywhere and stop for no one unless she heard her code name which was Naala or a shoe. The camel rode everywhere and eventually wandered into a kingdom of a rich and famous sultan. His guards told him about the camel with gold and silver on it and he wanted to catch it. The camel outsmarted the guards, but an old woman promised to get it and then lost her shoe and the camel stopped when she heard the woman yell about her shoe. 

When the sultan saw Lalla, he fell in love with her. He had his physicians examine her. When they found the ring under her tongue, they removed it and she slowly came back to life. The sultan married her. She however never forgot her seven ghoul brothers. When the camel had healed after all the walking, Lalla made plans to return. She waited until her husband would be gone for the day and she left, but the guards saw her and the sultan told them to follow her. The camel however once again outsmarted them. Lalla returned to her griefstruck brothers and they were all happy again.

Now part of what I like about this story is that the heroine does not stay with the sultan and goes back to where she was happiest.

Bark Ship Bonnie -- Picture Book Review & Craft Round-Up

 

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

How are you spending your summer? Do you go boating? Today I am sharing a new picture book that introduces ship language and slang. Plus I am sharing a boat/ship craft round-up. The book is Bark Ship Bonnie by Stephanie Staib and illustrated by Fiona Lee. It is recommended for ages 5 to 7. And don't worry if you are not knowledgeable about ship language--there is a glossary!!

True Colors -- The colors of the world

 

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

One of the best things of a coloring book is that you can use whatever color you want for any part of the picture. You can make the sky yellow or purple. You can make a tree pink. Your creativity can go wherever you want it to go. Today I'm going to share a book about an illustrator who went a bit crazy. The book is True Colors by Gonçalo Viana. It is recommended for ages 4 to 9.

Books for Younger Readers

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

Today I am giving you a round-up of books for your younger readers. These books range in ages from 4 to 12 although one is suggested for 0 months and above. One book is about fears and seems perfect for this week with Halloween. Hazel has had high fears in the month of October especially when she was younger. She still does not like to see the Halloween decorations in the stores or on people's yards. Do you know any child like this? If you do this first book is perfect for him or her. It is Frankie's Scared of EVERYTHING by tattoo artist, Mathew Franklin. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Cute, Fun & Informative Animal Picture Books

 

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

Who doesn't love a cute animal book? Little kids usually love animals and today I am sharing a round-up of new picture books focused on animals. And with the state of the world right now I think we all need some cuteness and fun to distract us. The books feature cute puppies, baby animals and dinosaurs and all three books are from National Geographic Kids, so they are full of photos and more. We will start with So Cute! Puppies by Crispin Boyer. It is recommended for ages 3 to 5.

Jingle Bells, Christmas Miracles & More! -- Book Reviews

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copies of these book 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.

Christmas is fast approaching us. Are you ready this year? If you are looking for some last minute holiday spirit gifts check out these books. There is something for everyone!! Did you know in Iceland books are exchanged on Christmas Eve and they spend the rest of the evening reading? I saw it on Facebook and the picture is credited to Arizona Penny Dreadfuls. The books I share today with you would be perfect for children's gifts as well as some adult gifts. The first book is Jingle Bells: A Magical Cut-Paper Edition by James Lord Pierpont and illustrated by Niroot Puttapipat. 

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?

Fun Facts about Chinese New Year!

The lunar new year (better known as the Chinese New Year) begins next week, February 5, 2019. This year will be the Year of the Earth Pig. (Stay tuned for some facts about pigs, the year of the pig and a pig craft round-up coming soon.) I thought it would be fun to look at some fun facts about this holiday. In China and many cultures this holiday is the big holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas is in America. It amazes me how I learn something new about this holiday every year as I prepare post. So read below to learn a bit about the holiday and some fun facts about it.

Fairy Tales in Different Cultures: Maria Cinderella a Chilean Cinderella Tale

Have you entered my current giveaway yet?

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we have been sharing fairy tales from Hispanic countries. A couple of weeks ago we shared a Snow White tale from Chile. Today we are sharing Maria Cinderella. This is a Cinderella tale from Chile. I found it translated in English in Folktales of Chile edited by Yolando Pino-Saavedra and translated by Rockwell Gray.

Taruca--National Animal of Chile
Source: Chris Fryer [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Puma
Source: By Ltshears - Trisha M Shears (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Two weeks ago we gave you an overview of Chile.  Today we will share briefly a bit about the wildlife in Chile. A reminder that Chile's climate ranges from desert to alpine tundra. The north is known as the driest area in the world. Chile's geographical isolation (Andes Mountains to the west, desert to the north, ocean to the east and south) there are only a few of South American animals that have migrated there. (Source) There are pumas or cougars, llama-like guanaco, fox-like chilla, minks and a small deer called pudu. There are also rheas, opossums and of course, flamingos. The national bird of Chile is the Andean Condor. There are many species of birds in Chile as well. They also have many marine life like elephant seals, sea lions, Magellanic penguins, sea otters, blue, sperm and humpback whales and dolphins. (Source)

Andean Condor--National Bird of Chile
Source: By Keven Law from Los Angeles, USA (A real Condor moment...)
 [CC-BY-SA-2.0 or CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Magellanic Penguins in Chile
Source: By Liam Quinn from Canada [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

 
This story begins like many of the Cinderella stories. There is a widower who lives with his only daughter. Her name is Maria. Like some of the other Cinderella tales, the fire goes out and the father sends Maria to the neighbor's house for some coals. While at the neighbor's house (who happens to be a widow) the neighbor insists on Maria resting and serving her honey soup. After such treatment, Maria begins to wake early and put the fire out, so she can go back to the neighbor's for some fire and honey soup. One day the neighbor suggests to Maria she should tell her father to marry the neighbor so she wouldn't bother her all the time for fire. The father is skeptical, but Maria talks him into it, but he does warn her she will regret it.

The stepmother then has a baby with Maria's father. He names the new baby girl, Maria, in honor of  his first daughter. As the stepsister grows up she becomes meaner. She tells her father to send the first Maria to the field as a shepherdess. He does this. One of the cows died while giving birth to a calf under Maria's care. Maria begins to mother the calf and raise it as her pet. The stepsister gets annoyed and tells her mother that they should make Maria do more work like spinning. The stepmother takes the wool to Maria and tells her to spin it or she will pay with her head.

Maria begins to cry, but the calf tells her not to and offers to spin the wool. They arrange the spindle over the calf's horns and the calf is able to spin the wool for Maria. The stepmother continues to give Maria wool to spin and the calf continues to spin it for her. The stepsister begins to get suspicious and goes to spy on Maria and the calf. She gets angry to see the calf doing all the work and tells her mother they must kill the calf.

The stepsister pretends to be sick and won't get better without eating the meat of Maria's calf. The father kills the calf. The stepmother takes the intestines and cuts them into even slices. She tells Maria to take them to the stream to wash them and not to lose one bit of them. She has measured and counted them. A eagle takes off with a piece of it and now Maria is sure she is done for and cries even harder than she was with grief over the loss of her calf. She tries to follow the eagle and comes to a cottage where a woman is coming out. The woman asks Maria why she is crying. Maria tells her about the eagle who is now in the treetop near the house. The woman tells Maria to care for her children and to do some cleaning while she goes to mass and she will help her when she returns. Maria does as asked and more. The woman is very happy when she returns and gives Maria some intestine that she has plus a magic wand that will grant her anything she wants, but she is to show it to no one. Then she gives her instructions for the way home to look up and down at certain animal sounds. When Maria arrives home there is a gold star on her forehead. Maria does not know it and her stepmother tells her she is a dirty disgrace and covers her head in dirty rags.

The stepsister is jealous of the beautiful gold star and schemes to get one of her own. So she and her mother put together a plan to have the stepsister do the same things. The stepmother pretends to be sick and will not get better without eating the stepsister's calf. The father kills it. The stepmother takes the intestines and has her daughter go wash them with the same instructions. An eagle takes a piece again and she follows the eagle to the cottage. The woman is walking out and they have a similar conversation though the instructions are very different to do while she is at mass. She tells the stepsister to beat her children and to gather all the junk around the house to be burned in the oven. The woman comes home and asks if it is all done. Then she gives the stepsister a piece of intestine and the opposite instructions about going home. The stepsister ends up with a big hunk of burro dung on her head. The mother is upset when she gets home with it and wraps her daughter's head in beautiful silks.

The stepmother always went to church with her daughter on Sunday. Maria wondered why she could never go. She used her magic wand to have a fine coach, horse and coachman as well as a new dress to wear to mass. Maria knelt down near her stepmother and sister and the stepsister thought she recognized her, but her mother told her she was being silly. Maria left right at the end of mass and waved the wand to have everything back to normal before the stepmother and stepsister returned home. The next Sunday was the same except that Maria caught the eye of prince as she was leaving the church.

The following week the prince ordered his servants to stand guard and to stop Maria before she left. One of guards caught her foot, but all he got was her golden slipper and Maria rode off home. The guards combed the town looking for a noblewoman that the slipper fit, but could not find anyone. The prince set out to the country to find her. The stepmother dressed her daughter in her finery and told Maria to hide in the corner since she was in no condition to receive a prince. She told her to get inside the oven while the visitors were there.

The stepsister happened to have the same size foot as Maria, so the slipper went on easily. The prince was ready to marry her when a dog began to bark a rhyme about the burro dung on her head and the gold star was the one he wanted. One of the servants caught what the dog said and mentioned it to the prince. The stepmother tried to chase the dog away and explain it was just a nuisance, but the prince insisted on searching the house and finally found Maria in the oven. Maria told the prince the slipper was hers and that her stepsister and she have identical feet, but asked if her stepsister could produce the companion slipper. Maria went to wash up and used her wand again to be dressed the same as last Sunday and brought the companion slipper to the prince. He now knew she was his wife. The servants pulled the other Maria from the prince's saddle and beat her a bit.

The prince asked Maria to climb into his saddle and she refused since burro dung had sat there. The prince took Maria and her father on other horses for a beautiful wedding. 

This story reminds me of the Spanish American Cinderella tale called, Little Gold Star. I am sure they have the same source at some point. One of the things I have noticed about the Hispanic fairy tales is the importance of the church, God and Holy Family. One of the three seem to play an important part in each one.

Hey, Diddle, Diddle...And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon

Hey, diddle diddle

The cat and the fiddle

The cow jumped over the moon

The little dog laughed to see such sport

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

Hazel has fallen in love with Hey, Diddle, Diddle and many versions of the story in different books we have read. In particular she loves the dish and the spoon. In one of the stories (more about the cow than anything) she likes to point out where the dish and spoon are in every picture. So I got to thinking about how easy it would be to make a dish and spoon with her.

Mine

Supplies needed are a paper plate (I used a small one), a plastic spoon, three pipe cleaners, small googly eyes (optional) and larger ones (also optional), glue and/or tape, and crayons, markers, paints, stickers, etc. to decorate.

The Spoon:
Cut one pipe cleaner into two pieces: 4 inches and 8 inches roughly. Use the 4-inch piece to be the arms on the spoon by wrapping it around the spoon a few times. Then use the 8-inch one to be the legs. Wrap it around the bottom of the handle and bend it to look like legs and feet. Glue the small googly eyes on the top of the spoon (or draw eyes) and draw a mouth. Decorate as child wishes.

Hazel's creation

The Dish:
Glue one pipe cleaner across the back of the plate to be the arms. Bend the last pipe cleaner in half and twist the top to be legs and then glue to the bottom of the back of the plate. You may want to tape both of these to secure until the glue dries. On front glue on googly eyes (or draw them) and draw a mouth. Then decorate the plates. I used a cow sticker and drew on a moon for the cow jumping over the moon. Unfortunately I didn't plan so I didn't have dog and cat stickers.

Finally I attached the hands of the dish and spoon since they are running away together.

Books to use besides any Mother Goose book:

• And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Janet Stevens
  
• Moonstruck: The True Story of The Cow Who Jumped Over the Moon by Gennifer Choldenko
• Hey Diddle Diddle by Kin Eagle (I picked this one up at a used bookstore for only $1.29)
• The Adventures of The Dish and The Spoon by Mini Grey

Please note I provide the link to Amazon only so you can see the book and whether it is available new. In no way am I supporting that you buy it there. Also, I listed these in the order of my favorites among them.

Now, we are off to the library for Move and Groove. Enjoy your day and stay safe this weekend especially those of us on the East Coast.

A lovely visit

Yesterday Hazel and I went to visit a good friend who I don't see or speak to enough any more. I use to live in her in-law apartment when I was single. I have to say I miss the country and living on a lake. Plus a few of the great discount stores that are there.

From: Something lubely everyday

Before we left, I had shown Hazel the pictures from Sharing Saturday from Something lubely everyday: Stick Reindeer. I asked her if she would like to look for sticks to make one while we were in the woods by the lake. And of course, she answered positively. She told me to pack her buckets so we could collect our treasures, which of course I forgot.

Luckily after Hazel met Diane and Jack, the dog, we went to my absolute favorite discount store, 135 Discount, and they had metal buckets to collect treasures for a couple of dollars. (Plus all their jewelry is $4.99 or $1 for pins and earrings and we are talking costume jewelry that you could get at Macy's.) They have a mixture of everything from party supplies, clothes, Tiffany style lamps, toys, house goods, etc. and it is always cheap. We checked out another store which is new and temporary and then went to my favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch. After lunch we went home to go walk by the lake. We put on plenty of layers since it is always colder by the water and took Jack out for the walk. We walked quite a bit collecting sticks, pine cones, a feather, birch bark, etc. Some ended up on Hazel's nature table.

Hazel's Nature Table

Another shot of the other side

We walked to where a neighbor had made a small beach. The lake and land around it is part of a closed state park, so it is a small beach, but he added some rock seats. Hazel had a blast throwing rocks into the water. Then we headed back and Diane offered to cut some greens for me so I could get the smell of Christmas in my house since we have an artificial tree--I really miss my real tree of my childhood, but Steve doesn't like them.

While we clipped various greens, Hazel chased Jack. She had such a great time running around and being free. Plus Jack is the most friendly dog and it was instant love for them.

Then it was time for us to head home. When we got home, we looked at our treasures and picked the sticks to make into reindeer. And with the glue gun we made them.

Finally something I made for Hazel's stocking. I saw this idea at Helping Little Hands. I wanted to get her a Curious George ornament but all of the stores that carry Hallmark ornaments are sold out around here, so I made her a book ornament. And while I was at it, I made an Elmo and Caillou ones too. Since they are her favorites I figured it would be a nice way to remember what she was into this year. On the first page of each one I wrote her name and the year. In the Curious George book, I also found some pictures from the story and included a couple pages.

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