Year of the Rooster-- Reviews & More to Celebrate the Chinese New Year -- MKB Chinese New Year Blog Hop

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

The lunar new year which is celebrated in China as well as many other countries
 is January 28th this year. We will be saying goodbye to the monkey and enter the Year of the Rooster in the Chinese Horoscope. We have had a fun year of the monkey and are looking forward to the year of the rooster.  To teach Hazel more about the Chinese culture we have enjoyed two books written for the year of the rooster. Both are bilingual books. The first is called The Year of the Rooster by Oliver Chin and illustrated by Juan Calle.

Paper Cutting for Celebrations -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing 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. 

This Thursday is the Multicultural Kid Blogs' Chinese New Year Blog Hop. In preparation I have been gathering some great resources and I thought I would share the craft one with you tonight. It is Paper Cutting for Celebrations: 100+ Chinese Designs for Festive Holidays and Special Occasions by Zhao Ziping. 

Christmas Church Services Around the World -- Christmas in Different Lands

In many parts of the world church services or masses are an important part of Christmas. Many countries have traditional times for the service. Does yours? Growing up we always went to what was called the midnight candlelight service. It started at 11:00 p.m. and ended around midnight. The service always ended with singing Silent Night and having each person light a candle from the flame of the Christ candle in the Advent wreath. Now we usually go to the earlier Christmas Eve service so Hazel can stay awake. 

Novena

 For many the celebration of Christmas takes place in the church. In some countries the church services begins on December 16th. In Venezuela there is an early morning church service called Misa de Aguinaldo held every day from December 16 to December 24. Often there are bells and firecrackers to wake the parishioners for the early services. In the capital city, Caracas, it is tradition to roller skate to these services. As a result the streets are often closed to cars until 8 a.m. On December 24 the mass is at midnight and is called Misa de Gallo. (Source) Chile also celebrates with a Novena. There are church services throughout December in Chile, but on the 16th special prayers begin the day as well as visits to local churches. (Source) The Philippines also have early morning or pre-dawn masses for the nine days prior to Christmas. (Source) In Puerto Rico it is called Misa de Aguinaldos and is held from December 15 to December 24th. The mass is held at dawn (around 6 a.m.) and the services are usually sung with traditional Puerto Rican instruments accompaniment. On the 24th the mass is at midnight and is called the Misa de Gallo. (Source)

The Golden Slipper--Vietnamese Cinderella

This year I am going to do my Multicultural Mondays a bit different by exploring some fairy tales that are in different cultures. We are first going to focus on Cinderella. I did an introduction to Cinderella with the most common version of the story by Charles Perrault. Today we are going to look at the Vietnamese version of the story called The Golden Slipper or The Brocade Slipper.

More Thanksgiving Books & Crafts

Today I am going to share an easy Thanksgiving craft and several great Thanksgiving books we have been enjoying. We will start with the books. 

Lunar New Year

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing sent me copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Chinese New Year or lunar new year starts on Saturday. Did you know there are other countries that celebrate the lunar new year besides China? Other Asian countries celebrate it like Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and others. Since I have shared so much about the Chinese New Year in the past I thought I would share books that share the culture of China and Korea this year. For both countries I have books that share about the lunar new year as well as other books to learn about the culture and way of life. 

A Day in France--Around the World in 12 Dishes

This month we are "traveling" to France with some dishes, crafts and stories. Won't you join us?

Coloring Pages Available at DLTK

Wednesdays are our day to catch up with life and relax since it is the day between Hazel's two school days. This Wednesday we didn't have plans, so we decided to explore France a bit. I had gotten some books out of the library about French cooking. We decided to look at the Fiesta one.

This is a fun series which focuses on celebrations in countries. Each book introduces the country with a map and things about the different parts. There is always something about the religion as well and then it gets into holidays and festivals. The first recipe we found was for Croque Monsieur (or what I call a grilled ham and cheese sandwich). Hazel asked for a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch and I asked if she wanted ham as well on it. She of course did since she has my love of ham. 

Then we saw a recipe for a French Apple Tart. Now apple pie is Steven's favorite dessert, so we decided we had to try it. Before going to the store to get the ingredients I looked for some French themed crafts and found some great ones over at DLTK's Kids including a recipe for a food her family had while in France, so we decided to try it for dinner as well. We went out to run errands and stopped at AAA for a tour book on France and some maps. They gave us a tour book for Europe since they did not have one on just France and some maps. We haven't had time to look at them yet, so look for our follow-up post on our "trip" to France. We also stopped at the library for some French stories. Again, look for details in our follow-up post. Today it is about the food!

We made the French Apple Tart first. My little baker loved helping with cutting the butter and controlling the mixer. She also tried to peel the apples, but had a bit of difficulty. The recipe for the tart came from the Fiesta! France book. It was very simple and delicious! 

Next we made the tartiflette.The recipe came from DLTK Kids. I used of course fat free sour cream and reduced fat cream cheese and fat free mozzarella. The only cheese of the three choices listed our store had was Gruyere. I wish I had shredded it. It did not melt well, but the meal was still delicious!!

We also discovered at DLTK Kids that the rooster is the national animal of France and the iris is the national flower. We also got all the coloring pages from that link.

The France coloring placemat right here and the passport right here. Also check out these great French adventures and add your own here.

Raven's Gift: A Feathered Flight of Faith -- #ReadYourWorld Review

 

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

Today is the BIG DAY!! It is Read Your World Day! To celebrate we get to share our last Read Your World review for 2026! The book is Raven's Gift: A Feathered Flight of Faith by Claire Annette Noland and illustrated by Desiree Cordon. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8 and is a Christmas book. But before I tell you about this fun book, let's tell you about Read Your World Day!

Animals Are Great -- Book Review & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital 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 Expound Publicity to bring you this post.

Do you have little ones wiggling, hopping, slithering around this summer? I have a great book for you all about animals and it is a companion book to a song! I feel like there are a lot of new books about animals these days. I have reviewed several for various age groups recently. Today I get to add one more to the list and this one feels like it should be sung! The book is Animals Are Great by Latifa Kimberly Reeves, Mark Larson, and Lisa Hart.

Newly Released Children's Books Featuring Animals

 

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

August seems to be the month of children's books with animal themes. We have been sharing books about all sorts of animals: zebras, coyotes, hippopotamus, snails, dogs, and more! Today we are sharing two new books about various animals that were released this week. One is a board book and one is a lift, look and find picture book. We will start with the board book which is Hoot Hoot by Georgette. It is recommended for ages 0 to 3.

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.

Happy Family Times #4

We are having beautiful weather this week so on Saturday afternoon when Daddy returned from hanging with the guys, we decided to go get some ice cream. We have a local place, Richardson's Ice Cream,  that makes homemade ice cream and sells their own milk. They have cows and other animals as well. We headed there. It takes 15-20 minutes to get there and tired Hazel fell asleep in the car, but we woke her when we got there.

Hazel wanted an ice cream cone, so she got one. I think this is the first time I have seen her eat an ice cream cone. I'm not sure if my mother-in-law has given them to her or not though. She made a bit of a mess around her face, hands and shirt, but had fun. She didn't want it all so Daddy ate the rest of it. After eating the ice cream we headed over to see the cows and animals.

They have a fenced in section right behind the ice cream stand/market where they have the older calves. It was a bit crowded there so we headed over to see the baby ones first.

The babies have their own little houses and have a section where they stay for the first eight weeks (I think that is what the sign said). Then a small part of their area has the chickens and turkeys. The rooster was roaming free around the cows and outside the hen house.

Daddy finished his and Hazel's ice cream and joined us while we were looking at the birds.

The crowd that was at the older calves came over so we switched spots with them and checked out the older ones. They also had some goats (looks likes kids to me) there.

Then we headed over to the cow barn. The first part is reserved for the very pregnant cows who will give birth in the next few weeks.

Then there are the rest of the adult cows. Most of them seemed to be sleeping.

Then we headed back to see the babies and chickens.

And the male turkey was out strutting himself to impress the female.

We looked for a quarter so Hazel could feed the animals, but we didn't have any. Oh, well. Next time. It was a fun family time and we always love their ice cream!

Now it is your turn to share how your family has spent some quality time lately.

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Fairy Tales in Different Cultures: The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella

Since May is Asian-Pacific American Month, I thought I would feature some of the Asian fairy tales I have done and then I realized that almost all the Cinderella tales I haven't done yet are from Asia, so we are back to having Fairy Tales in Different Cultures. (I should add that we are behind in our cooking for Around the World in 12 Dishes, but that will be coming as soon as I get Hazel to cook with me.) We have already shared Cinderella tales from China, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and India and a Snow White tale from Armenia. We have also shared Islamic versions of both Cinderella and Snow White. Our tale today is The Golden Sandal by Rebecca Hickox. It is a Middle Eastern Cinderella tale. So first a bit about the Middle East. 

The Middle East is Western Asia. It is also called the Near East. The people of the Middle East come from long established ethnic groups including Arabs, Turks, Persians, Balochs, Pashtuns, Lurs, Mandeans, Tats, Jews, Kurds, Somalis, Assyrians, Egyptian Copts, Armenians, Azeris, Maltese, Circassians, Greeks, Turcomans, Shabaks, Yazidis, Mandeans, Georgians, Roma, Gagauz, Mhallami and Samaritans. Several major religions have their origins in the Middle East including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The majority of the area is dry and hot with a few rivers to provide irrigation for crops. The countries that border the Persian Gulf generally have vast reserves of crude oil. (Source)

In The Golden Sandal, a fisherman is left with his small daughter, Maha, after his wife drowns. A neighbor who is a widow with a small daughter of her own comes to take care of Maha every day. Maha begs his father to marry the widow. He tells her he will never remarry since a stepmother can be jealous of a stepdaughter. Maha continues to beg and eventually her father marries the widow. At first everyone is very happy, but the widow gets jealous of how much the fisherman loves his daughter and of her grace and beauty whereas her own daughter is clumsy and pale in comparison. The stepmother begins having Maha do all the work and feeds her only a few dried dates while the fisherman is away during the day. 

One day Maha is to bring fish back from her father's boat. On her way home, the red fish begins to talk to her and asks her to spare his life. Maha releases it in the river and the fish tells her Allah will reward her and to ask him at any time for whatever she needs. That night the father asks what happened to the red fish and the stepmother is furious that Maha did not bring all the fish back. Maha runs to the river crying and calls for the fish. The fish gives her a coin to give her stepmother and tells her to say she sold the fish. The stepmother is happy with the coin, but still not happy with Maha. 

Over the years both girls grow into young women. Maha works all day and the stepsister becomes lazy and mean to Maha. Maha goes to the fish whenever she feels overwhelmed and the fish does something to help her. One day, a merchant's daughter is to be married. It is the custom for all the unmarried girls to go to the women's celebration before the wedding where the bride has her arms and feet painted with red henna. The mothers of the unmarried men are present and see the girls who are available for marriage.  The stepmother scrubs her daughter and dresses her in the finest clothes they own and leaves Maha home to carry heavy water jugs and sweep the floor. When they leave she goes crying to the fish. The fish provides her a beautiful gown, pearl comb and golden sandals. Maha quickly cleans herself and dresses. When she enters the women assume she must be from an important family dressed as she is and the bride has her sit next to her. Her stepmother and stepsister joke about how she looks a bit like Maha but they could never imagine her in such fine clothes. Maha has such a good time she forgets to keep a close eye on her stepmother and leave before she does. She rushes out after her stepmother and loses one of her sandals in the river. She makes it home and is able to change before her stepmother and stepsister return. 

The next day the bride's brother, Tariq, stops by the river to let his horse get a drink, but the horse refuses to drink. Tariq finds the golden sandal and thinks it is so beautiful. He imagines the woman who wore it and takes it home to his mother. He tells her he wants to marry the girl who lost the sandal. The mother takes the sandal house to house starting with the wealthy families to have the unmarried girls try it on. Eventually she arrives at Maha's home. The stepmother sees her coming and locks Maha in the bread oven with a large rock in front of it. The sandal does not fit the stepsister. A rooster flies to the top of the bread oven and begins crowing with all his might and tells Tariq's mother that the one she is looking for is in the oven. She has her servant open the oven and Maha crawls out. Of course the sandal fits her. Tariq's mother gives the stepmother a purse of gold and tells her that Maha is betrothed to Tariq and they will be married in two days time. The bitter stepmother goes to the perfumer and asks him to make an oil that smells so foul  as rotting fish and that will make hair fall out. She combs this oil into Maha's hair the night before the wedding. The next day the procession comes for Maha and when she arrives and Tariq lifts her veil, the room fills with the scent of roses and her hair is even more beautiful than before. Tariq and Maha live in happiness.

When Tariq's brother sees how happy Tariq is, he tells his mother he wants to marry Maha's sister. The mother goes to the stepmother and gives her a purse of gold and tells her to prepare for the wedding. Since the oil worked so positively for Maha, she uses in her own daughter's hair. When the groom is able to lift the veil he finds a woman with a smell that almost chokes him and all her hair is replaced with red blisters. She is returned to her mother in shame. Tariq and Maha have seven children and live happily.

Like so many of the Asian Cinderella tales, a fish plays an important role in the story. Since the fish is a red fish, I used a red paper plate and made a simple red fish. I did it rather quickly and would have used googly eyes, but I didn't take the time to find them. Hazel wants to make one so our next one will have googly eyes.


For more Cinderella tales check out:

• Islamic-- Fawzia Gilani's Cinderella: An Islamic Tale
• Slavic--Little Sister and the Month Brothers
• African--Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
• Russian--Vasilissa the Beautiful
• Antartica--Cinderella Penguin 
• Spanish American--Little Gold Star
• Caribbean--Cendrillon
• Greek--The Orphan
• Jewish--Raisel's Riddle and The Way Meat Loves Salt
• Irish--Fair Brown and Trembling and The Irish Cinderlad
• Cinderella Pinterest Board
  

The Berenstain Bears' Easter Blessings -- A First Look Review

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review free of charge from Worthy Ideals. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

What is Easter about for your kids? Is it about the candy, the egg hunt and the Easter basket? Or do they get the amazing blessing Easter really is for us? Do we really get that? 

Sharing Saturday 17-3

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

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

Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party! It was another great party and there were some amazing ideas shared. Our features are just a sampling of them so if you haven't checked them all out, you should! This week we have two groups of features: Winter and Other Features.