Pirate & Penguin -- Picture Book Review & Giveaway with Free Printable Match Game and Penguin Craft Round-Up

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I will receive a small stipend for this review. I am working with Page Street Kids and The Children's Book Review to be part of this virtual book tour. All opinions are my own.

Do you know the difference between a penguin and a parrot? Do you know the similarities? Today's book is a fun book about an old pirate who thinks a penguin is a parrot. It is Pirate & Penguin by Mike Allegra and illustrated by Jenn Harney. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8. Be sure to scroll down for the craft round-up and giveaway!

Fairy Tales in Different Cultures--Cinderella Penguin or Antarctica

So a few days late, but this week our Cinderella story is not really a multicultural one, but it is called Penguin Cinderella or The Little Glass Flipper by Janet Perlman. It is really just the traditional Cinderella story written with penguins as its characters. I thought it would be a fun time to share some facts about Antarctica and the penguins we have seen at Sea World Orlando and New England Aquarium. I will also be using Penguins by Gail Gibbons (Virtual Book Club for Kids author of the month) as a source!

Antarctica is the southernmost continent and contains the South Pole. It is the coldest, driest and windiest continent in the world. It also has the highest elevation. It is considered a desert due to the minimal amount of precipitation. The temperature has reached −129 °F. There are no permanent human residents, but many people reside there throughout the year at research stations. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by a sheet of ice averaging 1 mile thick.

Source

Antarctica is home to many species of penguins as well as blue whales, orcas, colossal squids and fur seals. We will focus on the penguins due to the book being based on penguins. The Emperor Penguin is the only penguin that mates in the winter in Antarctica. The Adelie Penguin breeds farther south than any other penguin. The Rockhopper Penguin has distinctive feathers around the eyes. (Source)

Rockhopper Penguin at Sea World

There are seventeen different kinds of penguins. The smallest is the Little Blue Penguin (also called the Fairy Penguin) and the largest is the Emperor Penguin. All penguins have black or bluish-gray backs and white bellies. They all have the same basic body shape and characteristics.

Little Blue Penguins at New England Aquarium

The Adelie and Emperor Penguins never leave Antarctica. Others live in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, South America, and the Galapagos and other islands. 

King Penguins at Sea World

All penguins are birds, but they cannot fly. Over time their wings changed into flippers to aid in swimming and hunting for their food. They are excellent swimmers and divers. Larger penguins can swim faster than 25 miles an hour. Groups of penguins may stay in the water for weeks at a time. Their natural enemies are fur and leopard seals, sea lions, sharks and orcas (killer whales). 

Swimming Penguin at Sea World

Once a year many penguins come together and form colonies called rookeries. This is the time they mate and raise their young. At this time the penguins make loud noises, but most of the time they are quiet. The mating process is different for the different species. I think the most the commonly known mating process is the Emperor Penguin's. The Emperor (and King) Penguins only lay one egg. The female quickly passes it over to the male and he carries it at the top of his feet . The egg is kept warm by a flap on his belly called the brood pouch. During the incubation time the female swims out to sea to feed. The male Emperor Penguins gather together to stay warm. They rotate constantly to the inside and outside of the group so all are able to stay warm. During this time the males do not eat and can lose up to 45 percent of their body weight. It takes 65 days for the egg to hatch. The female returns around this time and she tucks the chick under her brood pouch. The male then goes out to sea to feed. The chick is grey and covered with soft down. The mother feeds the chick by regurgitating food for it. When the father returns, both parents take turns feeding and keeping the chick warm. When the chicks are large enough, they gather in groups called creches. They huddle together to stay warm. When the chicks are three to ten months old they begin to lose their gray down and grow their adult feathers. At this stage they are called fledglings. (Source: Penguins by Gail Gibbons)

Penguins at both Sea World and New England Aquarium

Before going into the book, I want to share our experience on the Antarctica ride at Sea World. Now the first day we went to Sea World, this new exhibit had a two hour wait. With a four-year-old and twin five-year-olds with us, we did not wait two hours. Hazel and I went back for a second day in the rain and the wait was only fifteen minutes. We did wait this time and it was worth the fifteen minutes. I am not sure I feel it would be worth a two hour wait. When you get in the first room you see a short film about a penguin hatching from the egg. You then follow this penguin chick through his life as he grows up a bit. The next room is where you decide which ride you want. There is a mild ride and a wilder ride. We went on the mild one. From what I could tell, the wilder one turned more and bumped around a bit more. The ride is suppose to give you the sense of what life is like in Antarctica. There is even a cold spot supposedly, but the only place we felt cold was when we were in the penguin exhibits.

Pictures from the ride including wet Hazel on it

During the ride you see more short films about the life of the penguin including a blizzard hitting. Then when the ride is over you are literally only a couple of feet away from live penguins. There are places to see them underwater and places to seem them above. Sometimes there was a glass wall between you and other times it was a plastic fencing that did not go all the way to the top. It was so neat. This to me was the best part of the whole ride.

Pictures from Sea World

Now onto our story. So in this story Cinderella is a penguin. She is a good penguin. In the book she has gold hair. Her stepmother and stepsisters are also penguins. The stepsisters get to wear beautiful clothes and sleep in luxurious beds. Cinderella is given rags and sleeps in the cold cellar on a shelf next to some tin plates. Cinderella does all the housework including picking up after her stepsisters.

Our Penguin Puppet Show

One day an invitation arrives to the Penguin Prince's Costume Ball. The stepsisters have new costumes made and spend much time looking at themselves in the mirror. Cinderella would like to go, but her stepfamily just laughs at her saying the prince would never want to meet someone like her. The day of the ball Cinderella helps the stepsisters get ready and then without a thank you or goodbye their carriage leaves and Cinderella is left alone. She begins to cry and the little blue fairy penguin comes and asks Cinderella why she is crying. She tells her to go get a pumpkin so she can go to the ball. (Ok, first spot that we know this story does not take place in Antarctica since pumpkins cannot grow there.) The fairy turns it into a beautiful coach. Then she finds six mice carrying a hunk of cheese (we only had three). She turns the mice into horses and the cheese into the coachman. Then she turns Cinderella's clothes into a beautiful gown and glass flippers. (We used our Sea World Animal Rescue Barbie doll flippers.) Cinderella goes to the ball with the warning that she must leave by midnight. She dances all night with the Prince Penguin and all of a sudden it is almost midnight. She runs off and leaves behind one of the glass flippers. The prince will only marry the penguin whose flipper fits in the glass flipper. Everyone tries it on, but the glass flipper is too small. Then Cinderella gets her turn and of course it fits. She marries the prince and they live happily ever after.

We made the penguin puppets and acted out the story with some props. The puppets are just construction paper and googly eyes glued to popsicle sticks. We did not dress them or give them hair, but kept them more natural or how we saw them at Sea World.

Children's Book Reviews

Disclosure: Penguin Kids and Penguin Random House gave me a copy of these books free of charge for this review in return for an honest 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.

Penguin Kids has some fun books recently or soon-to-be released that I want to share with you. The first is perfect for a preschooler and/or emerging reader. It teaches the concepts of in and out, over, under and around, and on and off in a very fun manner. The book is In! Over! and On! (the Farm) by Ethan Long. 

Dewey Bob -- 12 Days of Picture Books

Disclosure: Penguin Random House 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.

I am so excited to share this with you today. Penguin Random House is celebrating the season with a 12 Days of Picture Books Gvieaway!!And I get to be part of it. The sent me some of the amazing books they are giving away to review. Today's book is Dewey Bob by Judy Schachner. 

Jonathan London's Froggy Series Themed Birthday Party Ideas and Giveaway

Disclosure: Penguin Kids gave me a copy of these books free of charge for this review and are providing the book for the giveaway. 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.

Have you been following the fun challenge Penguin Kids gave this month? It all started because Froggy's Birthday Wish by Jonathan London and illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz was released on March 10th! We were lucky enough to receive a review copy as well as two other Froggy books, Froggy Builds a Tree House and Froggy Gets a Doggy. Have you discovered the Froggy series yet? They are so fun. We are going to provide some general Froggy birthday party ideas as well as ones from each book. For even more Froggy birthday party ideas check out my Froggy Birthday Party Pinterest Board!

Ladybug Girl Teaches Empowerment and Imagination: Book Review & Giveaway

Disclosure: Penguin Kids gave me a copy of these books free of charge for this review and are providing the book for the giveaway. 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.

Have you discovered Ladybug Girl by Jacky Davis and illustrated by David Soman? Last month we shared some ideas for a birthday party themed around the Ladybug Girl book series. After the fun we had last month with book themed party ideas, this month Penguin Kids sent us the original Ladybug Girl book and asked us to come up with some ideas to go with it. Of course they sent us more than just the book. 

The Day the Crayons Came Home -- Book Review & Giveaway Link -- 12 Days of Picture Books

Disclosure: Penguin Random House 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.

 Today I am going to share with you one of our favorite picture books, The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. Now I know I shared this book with you this summer when it first came out along with the first book, The Day the Crayons Quit. But today you can enter to win your own copy at Penguin Kids Facebook Page!! I just had to share the chance with you since we LOVE this book. We are giving this book and The Day the Crayons Quit to two of Hazel's younger friends for the holidays!! They would also make great teacher gifts for elementary teachers!! Plus if you can enter yesterday's 12 Days of Picture Books Sweepstakes for our other favorite book, The Book With No Pictures by B. J. Novak, through midnight tonight!! This book is an extremely funny read aloud book!! Hazel wanted it so badly that I bought it for her earlier this year!!

Little Tree -- Book Review -- Penguin Kids' 12 Days of Picture Books Giveaway

Disclosure: Penguin Random House 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.

 Today for Penguin Kids 12 Days of Picture Books prize is Little Tree by Loren Long. This book has so many lessons and discussion topics in it. I love it!!

This book is about growing up and learning to let go of what you know and what is safe. A little tree is happy as it is young and surrounded by other trees the same size. It is happy to have the animals playing in it and the turtledove singing in it. Then the seasons change. The leaves change and all the surrounding trees let their leaves go, but not Little Tree. Little Tree holds onto the safety of its leaves. In spring as the other trees are growing new leaves (and a bit in height) Little Tree has the same brown leaves. The animals keep telling it to drop its leaves, but it won't. Years go by and soon Little Tree cannot feel the sun since all the surrounding trees have grown tall. It is still holding onto its first leaves and is so afraid to let them go. But finally it does and Little Tree finally gets to grow up!

Source

Now I love reading this book to Hazel who is always so full of anxiety and nervousness. She is often afraid to be by herself. This book has opened the conversations about how sometimes we have to do the things we are afraid of and let it go. Sometimes we may have to go into a room by ourselves or try something new and it will be all right. The words to the story are simple and the illustrations are beautiful. This is a book we will be keeping on our bookshelves and reading often!!

Be sure to check out the 12 Days of Picture Books Giveaway!! Four copies of Little Tree are being given away!! Also be sure to check out the Penguin Young Readers Holiday Gift Guide for more great book suggestions!

Sharing Saturday 15-5

It has been a crazy week here. We were hit with Blizzard/Winter Storm Juno. Hazel was out of school for two days due to the storm, and Steve was at work for around 36 hours straight. Plus it was Multicultural Children's Book Day on Tuesday! Our internet is acting funky, so I have not been posting as much this week. Sorry! However we had an amazing turn-out at last week's party!! If you have not had a chance to check them out you should!! There are many, many ideas from winter, Valentine's Day, educational and more!! I chose a few favorites for you with the categories being Winter, Penguins, Valentine's Day and Miscellaneous. Please check them out and go back and check out the ones I didn't have room to feature!! A huge thank you to everyone who shared with us and to those who took the time to see what others shared!

Celebrating Roald Dahl's Birthday Month with Crafts for Some of His Books

Disclosure: Penguin Kids gave me a copy of these books free of charge for this review in return for an honest 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.

Roald Dahl was born on September 13, 1916. To honor him, Penguin Kids asked us to read a few of his books and come up with a craft or activity to go with each of them. Now I will admit that I sadly only really knew the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I know I read Charlie and the Glass Elevator when I was young and I have seen the movie version of Matilda, but that is about all of my knowledge of Roald Dahl's stories. I was given a list to choose three of his books from and I showed it to Steve. He didn't recognize any of them until I mentioned Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and he said Willy Wonka. Needless to say we included Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to our list. 

There is More to Princesses than Sparkle and Ball Gowns - National Princess Week Resources & Giveaway

Do you know that the last full week of April is National Princess Week? In 2012 Target, Julie Andrews and Disney started National Princess Week. Now Hazel and I are both girly-girls and we love the sparkle and glamour of Disney princess, however I want Hazel to know there is more to princesses than sparkle and ball gowns. I want her to have strong women role models and have worked hard to share stories throughout her life thus far with strong female role models. To help you teach your children about princesses that are not all sparkly and wearing ball gowns I have gathered together some of our favorite princess books and with donations from the publishers I am providing you a chance to win most of our resources!! Some of these books we have reviewed previously and others are new ones and we will be reviewing them this month. Another great resource is our Fairy Tales in Different Cultures Series. Many of these versions of traditional fairy tales do not have all the sparkle and glamour of the Disney versions.

I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour

Disclosure: Penguin Random House 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.

Today we continue the Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour. The Ordinary People Change the World Series is by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulous. There is a giveaway from Penguin Kids below for the whole series as well!! Today's book is I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. I had the pleasure of reviewing this book at its release in January. 

I Am Helen Keller -- Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour and Giveaway

Disclosure: Penguin Random House 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.

Today we are sharing I Am Helen Keller by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos. It is part of the Ordinary People Change the World Series. We have been having fun with the Blog Tour for this book series this month and have already shared the ones on Abraham Lincoln, Lucille Ball, and Martin Luther King, Jr. 

I Am Albert Einstein -- Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour & Giveaway -- Multicultural Mathematics

Disclosure: Penguin Random House 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.

Today we are sharing the final book in the Ordinary People Change the World Series. We saved I Am Albert Einstein for last. Hazel absolutely loves this series and we have had a lot of fun sharing all eight books. At the end of this post there is a chance to win the entire series from Penguin Kids! We have shared I Am Abraham Lincoln, I Am Lucille Ball, I Am Martin Luther King, Jr., I Am Helen Keller, I Am Rosa Parks, I Am Amelia Earhart, and I Am Jackie Robinson.Brad Meltzer and Christopher Eliopoulos do an amazing job of making these eight people interesting and fun to children and show that each of us can change the world. 

The Day the Crayons Came Home Book Review

Disclosure: Penguin Kids gave me a copy of these books & promotional items 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.
 

Poster

Have you read The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers? If you have you will be excited to know that the companion book, The Day the Crayons Came Home, is coming out next week!! If you have not been introduced to these amazingly funny books, let me tell you a bit about them.

I Am Abraham Lincoln -- Ordinary People Change the World Series Review

Disclosure: Penguin Random House 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.

February is always an exciting month. There is always so much going on. It is Black History Month and Valentine's Day and in our house a couple of birthdays. Plus Hazel always has a week off in February and this year and last my nephew is coming to visit for the week. Just a lot of exciting things going on. I was asked by Penguin Kids to participate in their Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour. I jumped at the chance since Hazel LOVES this series. Brad Meltzer and Christopher Eliopoulos do an amazing job in these books. They are biographies for kids about famous people who made a difference in the world. The books are part picture book and part graphic novel. And there is often a little joke or theme going on through the book. We are starting the tour with I Am Abraham Lincoln. Seeing how President's Day and Lincoln's birthday are coming up it seems like a good one to kick off the month!

I am Lucille Ball Book Review

Disclosure: Penguin Kids gave me a copy of these books & promotional items 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 get to share with you a book that brings back many childhood memories for me and Steve. We grew up watching the I Love Lucy Show. Did you? Penguin Kids sent us the book, I am Lucille Ball, by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos. It is the newest addition of the Ordinary People Change the World series. It was released July 14, 2015.

This Book Is Magic-- Review & Giveaway

Disclosure: Penguin Kids gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review and is running the giveaway. 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.

Do you have a child who always wants to touch the book while you read it? Or perhaps you want your non-reading child to have more of a role during story time. Or you are like me with a budding magician. If you have a child or desire that matches one of these do I have a book for you!! The book is This Book Is Magic by Ashley Evanson. It is being released today!!

Mitford at the Fashion Zoo -- 12 Days of Picture Books Review & Giveaway Link

Disclosure: Penguin Random House 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.

Today is the fifth day of Penguin Kids 12 Days of Picture Books Giveaway!! And today they are giving away five copies of Mitford at the Fashion Zoo by Donald Robertson and we get to review it for you here. 

Ladybug Girl Themed Birthday Party Ideas

Disclosure: Penguin Kids 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.

Have you discovered Ladybug Girl yet? Lulu loves to dress like a ladybug and she turns into Ladybug Girl--a brave girl who can do anything. She and her dog Bingo go on all sorts of adventures and learn many lessons along the way. Ladybug Girl is a series of books written by Jacky Davis and illustrated by David Soman. There are picture books, board books and easy readers as well as a few sticker/activity books and gift sets. We were sent the board book, Ladybug Girl Ready for Snow to review and for inspiration for a birthday party. (Penguin Kids challenged me and anyone else who wants to join to come up with some ideas for book-themed birthday parties and create Pinterest Boards for them.)

 Now I will admit I did receive an apology for being sent this one with all the snow Massachusetts got this year. Hazel however enjoyed the book. It is very simple and perfect for the younger set. I find it hard to believe a mother would let a child wear a tutu over her snowpants let alone wings and antennae, but it is a book, so we will go with it. The book is about Lulu and Bingo going to play in the snow.