Animal Books -- Stories, Activities & More!

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

Hazel has always loved animal books and stories. I know a friend who says her five-year-old boy could care less about truck books, but a book with animals he loves. Do you have an animal lover in your life? Today we are sharing some fun books that include stories, activities and more. Several even take you on a trip around the world. Ready to join us?

Busy Weekend Slow Down

Well this was going to be our busy weekend this season besides of course Christmas weekend. Yesterday morning started with a breakfast with Santa Claus at my church. I was helping organize and run it, so I went early and Steve brought Hazel later. Hazel is afraid of Santa so she didn't want to go near him, but she loved the crafts and shopping part of it. She got tired and Steve brought her home early though she did not nap for him. Yesterday late afternoon we took Hazel to her grandmother's so Steve and I could go to her school for The Shepherd's Play. We, of course, had no idea what The Shepherd's Play was and hadn't heard of it before, but we knew it was a nativity play put on by the teachers and parents of the school. It is a play that is traditionally performed at Waldorf Schools. They have two showings at Cape Ann Waldorf School. It is a heartwarming and humorous version of the Christmas story. The second showing they also perform The Paradise Play. We will save that for another year to see. Next year we will bring Hazel to The Shepherd's Play.

We went to pick up Hazel and she had been telling her grandmother that her mouth hurt. Hmmm....interesting. We took the scenic way home to see some Christmas lights and pick up some take out for dinner for me and Steve. Since Hazel had not napped she was tired and we knew she would fall asleep in the car. I noticed while Steve was getting dinner that her nose was a bit runny, but nothing to worry about. After all she is really tired. We got her to bed and ate dinner. This morning our plan was church for Hazel and I while Steve went to the gym and then a Christmas party in the afternoon. Unfortunately this morning it was very obvious that Hazel was not feeling well. Her nose is very runny and she complained about her mouth to both of us (which I realized was probably her throat) and she feels warm. So we put a stop to our plans for the day. I still went to church and Steve is going to the gym now that Hazel is napping and I'm home. However Hazel is staying home and hopefully getting better.

But I wanted to share a few crafts with you. Hazel has been working on these pine cone Christmas trees for awhile. I got the idea from a book, but have since seen it on line as well. I spray painted them green and a bit gold and then we put them in pots. She has been decorating by gluing things on and with glitter glue. We were suppose to paint the pots as well, but I'm liking them plain so they don't take away from the trees. These are the first ones I have declared to be done. She still has a few more to finish. I have to keep turning them for her so she gets all sides.

She also made some crafts at the Breakfast with Santa. She only did two of the four crafts, but she made a Rudolph ornament and a Christmas tree. Now I'm off to rest and work on some Christmas gifts for her teachers. I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Rudolph

Stained glass tree from Oriental Trading

Busy Day Getting Ready for Christmas

This morning we baked our gingerbread cookies. We had made the dough yesterday, but did not have the time to bake them after it had refrigerated long enough. We used a recipe from Family Circle Magazine (a few years old). When I first made these cookies, my sister told me they were the best gingerbread she had ever tasted. We still have to decorate them after Hazel's quiet time.

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!!

Sew Cuddly -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: C&T Publishing sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own! I will receive a small stipend for purchases made through the links in this post. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

We have been having a busy weekend. My Thirty-One career is taking up more time than I planned and this weekend we kicked off the amazing December specials and new products. Then I woke up today not feeling too well and Hazel seems to be coming down with something too. Ugh!! Anyway today we get to share a fun sewing book with you. Do you know all those super soft and cuddly fabrics that are out now? Well this book takes them and makes them into fun and cute products to have the softness on your or near you. These are perfect for the winter and holidays!! The book is Sew Cuddly by Judy Gauthier.

Wild Kratts DVD Reviews & Craft

Disclosure: PBS Kids gave me a copies of these DVDs free of charge. 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.

Hazel's favorite television show is Wild Kratts. She gets up at 6 a.m. to watch it every week day and she likes to watch the double episode from 5-6 p.m. as well. We are lucky to have two "local" PBS channels that have it on at different times plus the PBS Kids cable channel. Now that school is out if we are home at 2 p.m.she also wants to watch an episode. Yes, Hazel's schedule goes around the Wild Kratts. She was so excited when I told her I was contacted by PBS Kids to review the newest Wild Kratts DVD: Super Sprinters. Hazel just stood there with her mouth wide open for a minute or two and then she started jumping up and down and cheering. When I wrote this back to my contact at PBS Kids, she said she would throw in a couple of extra DVDs for Hazel and she did! Today we will review all three of the Wild Kratt DVDs: Super Sprinters, Lost at Sea and Bugging Out.

Young Adult Books about Kids with Disabilities/Illness and Troubled Teens

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

So I have had some young adult books sitting on my shelf for awhile. I haven't been great about getting them read. I am going to share three with you today. Each of these books share a view into the lives of kids struggling with issues. I am going to start with the non-fiction book. It is If I Kiss You, Will I Get Diabetes? by Quinn Nystrom.

Gifts for Jesus -- a Sunday School Craft & More -- Crafty Weekends Link Party

Yesterday was Epiphany. In Hispanic countries it is known as el Dia de los Reyes (Three King's Day). This is the day when the three kings visit and bring presents to the children in these countries. In Sunday School this morning we told the Godly Play story of the Mystery of Christmas which goes through the story from Gabriel coming to Mary to the escape to Egypt and beyond. This year I have been finding crafts that tie into the story to give the kids' work time a bit more focus. I came up with a fun craft for the older students and wanted to share it with you. I also thought I would give some background. 

Merry Christmas 2015!! Features from Sharing Saturday and the Party Continues for Another Week!

Thank you to everyone who has shared with us so far in our two week party!! There were so many wonderful ideas shared!! Today I am sharing a some of the Christmas ideas shared thus far and repeating the same party so you can check out everything shared and still share with us for features for next week!! I have also started a new craft link party (the crafts just have to be family appropriate and not necessarily kid related) and it is a place to share crafts, reviews of patterns, craft books, etc. and patterns. I hope you will come check it out tomorrow.  This month's Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop is open for all your posts that are culture (multicultural) related!

I am celebrating the holiday with my family and will be computer free for the day, so I am sharing these fun features for the day in case anyone is looking for a last minute Christmas idea!! 

To see how I made the card

Mini Knitted Woodland and Safari Book Reviews

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge from Search Press. 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.

Today I am reviewing two fun knitting books. Both books make miniature animals and accessories, one is safari animals and the other is woodland animals. Both are written by Sachiyo Ishii. 

We will start with Mini Knitted Safari. I mentioned my knitted hippo back in April when I began it, but then the end of the school year stuff got in the way. I finally finished it, and it really should not have taken more than a day if I knitted consistently and was not so tired and distracted. Once I picked it up again I finished it right up.

Christmas in Hawaii -- Hawaii Challenge -- Christmas in Different Lands

As part of the Multicultural Kids Blog's annual Christmas in Different Lands Series, we are taking a look at Christmas in Hawaii. I figured since we are participating in our Hawaii Challenge we might as well find out what Christmas is like on the islands.

Origami Bonsai -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me 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.

Tomorrow we are sharing our exploration of Japan and our Japanese tea party as our post for the Multicultural Kid Blogs' Asian Pacific Island Heritage Month Series & Giveaway. To kick off our exploration of Japan I thought it would be great to share two Japanese arts in one book -- origami and bonsai. The book is Origami Bonsai by Benjamin John Coleman. 

Books for the Young

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

Today I am going to share books for your youngest kids. The ages of these books range from baby to kindergarten. They are a variety of board books and picture books. The topics range from travel, family, transportation and more!! I hope you will check them out for your little ones!!

Books Involving Color and Art

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Some of the links (Target ones) are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

I love art and want Hazel to love art. My love for art came from having an amazing elementary school art teacher. In fifth grade the special field trip was to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In order to go you had to pass a test on art and artists as well as complete a packet of projects and more. I am always looking for ways to bring art into our lives and I love doing it with books. Plus of course taking her to museums, but this is not always possible, so books at home definitely help. Today I am going to share five books that involve art or color. Some are about color and some are about art and others are based on art. All of them help you have conversations with kids about color and art. We will start with the two about color. The first is Pink Is for Boys by Robb Pearlman and illustrated by Eda Kaban. This book is coming out in June!

Christmas Around The World & Other Holidays!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I am going to start my focus on our next big holiday, Christmas. I have joined a group of bloggers led by Beth at Living Life Intentionally to present Christmas Around the World. Each day a different blog will feature what Christmas or a winter holiday is celebrated in a different country around the world. This amazing event starts today! My post will be on December 10th. To check out all the amazing posts, just click the links above!!

To kick off the holiday season, I thought I would share a few holiday books and an amazing multicultural CD with you. First from my friend, Daria (who is also participating in Christmas Around the World). (You may remember Daria from my first Multicultural Monday. She is the one who inspired me to start Multicultural Mondays!)

Daria was kind enough to send me her holiday CD to review here. Now this CD is not a Christmas CD. It is a World Holiday CD. The difference of course being that it does not only have Christmas songs.

Now my favorite part of this CD is that on the back she gives a little information/history of each song. The CD has five songs on it. Two are Hanukkah songs: one from Spain and one from America. Then there are two Christmas songs: Feliz Navidad and a German song with an English verse added and finally it has a version of Jingle Bells with the history that it is actually a Thanksgiving song. So if you are looking for a way to celebrate the season and not just one holiday, check out this great CD. You can purchase it here! I should also add that we love her other CD's as well or at least the one we have. Also, if you should check out her Monthly Song Newsletter. It always has amazing giveaways, songs, and crafts. November she is celebrating Native American Heritage Month and has some amazing ideas there.

I also wanted to share with you some of the Christmas books we have found and love!

Of course several are from this month's author for the Virtual Book Club for Kids. You can check out the blog hop for some ideas to go with a few. 

The first is The Story of Mary by Patricia A. Pingry. This is a book I picked up at a discount store a few years ago, but we love it. It tells the story mostly from Mary's view and sticks pretty close to the Bible, but is in a way that Hazel has always loved.

The second is The Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaola. This is the newest book by dePaola (and I know there are some posts in the blog hop on it). This story is about the birds discussing the different things they saw in Bethlehem the day before which of course was the first Christmas.

The third is The Story of the Three Wise Kings by Tomie dePaola. This book tells the story of the three wisemen in a way that children like to follow. We really enjoy it!

The fourth is Who Is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate and Ashley Wolff. This story is about the animals in the stable getting ready for their special guests on Christmas Eve.

The fifth is An Early American Christmas by Tomie dePaola. This story is about a small New England town where no one has Christmas trees, puts candles in the windows, or sings Christmas carols until a family from Germany and Pennsylvania move in. They make bayberry candles to put in the windows to light the way for the Christ child. They have a Christmas tree and sings Christmas carols and soon their neighbors start doing the same. This is one of Hazel's favorites!

The final one is The Friendly Beasts: an Old English Christmas Carol illustrated by Tomie dePaola. This English carol is about the roles the animals played in the stable to assist with the new baby king.

So here is our Black Friday post. I hope you will join us for the various events mentioned (Christmas Around the World, The Virtual Book Club Blog Hop, etc.)!

Crafty Weekends: Half Yard Christmas Review & Craft Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review free of charge from Search Press. 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.

For this weekend's Crafty Weekend we are sharing the start of our Christmas crafts. Today I am sharing ones I made with instructions and patterns from Half Yard Christmas by Debbie Shore. We started sharing our Christmas posts this week so you will have time to get and enjoy some of the great finds we have made this year. 

Native American Book Reviews for Native American Heritage Month Blog Hop & Giveaway

Disclosure: Lee & Low Books gave me these book free of charge to review and 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.

November is Native American Heritage Month! I love learning about Native American cultures, so I love this month!! While I was helping find prizes for the giveaway, Lee & Low Books offered to send some to review and giveaway. I of course jumped at the opportunity. They were kind enough to send me two Native American themed books to review for you.

Finding Family Treasure -- a Middle Grades Novel about Family History & More -- Review & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I am working with The Children's Book Review, K.I. Knight, and Jane R. Wood and was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am receiving a small stipend for this review.

Have you ever looked into your family history? Perhaps you have gone onto Ancestry or Family Search and looked up your relatives. Did you discover anything? Or perhaps your child needed to share a bit about the country your family comes from. Do you come from just one country? As what I call an American mutt, I cringe at those assignments. How do I pick one of the countries my family is from? When Hazel got that assignment, we went with Steven's family history since he is Italian American. Today I am going to share a middle grades book with you that a diverse class begins researching their own history. It is a tale of genealogy, family, connections and so much more. The book is Finding Family Treasure by K.L. Knight and Jane R. Wood. Oh, and there is a giveaway at the end of the post!

Handmade Christmas -- Craft Book Review & Crafty Weekends Link Party

Have you entered my current giveaway yet?

 Disclosure:  Ryland Peters & Small sent me a copy of this 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.

Today I am going to share the perfect book for any crafty Christian family this time of year. Handmade Christmas by CICO Books is full of different crafts and recipes for different age crafters! There are specific crafts labeled as kids' crafts and some of the other crafts are kid friendly as well!!

 The crafts range from sewing to paper crafts and even some tin and more!! The three chapters are Decorations, Cards & Giftwrap and Gifts. Some are traditional crafts like paper snowflakes.

Make Your Own Zoo -- Crafty Weekends

Disclosure:  Ryland Peters & Small sent me a copy of this 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.

We are definitely having a crafty weekend at my house. Hazel and I finished up some of the fun zoo animals from Make Your Own Zoo by Tracey Radford and worked on some Christmas gifts as well as doing the free craft at Lakeshore Learning. 

 This post however will focus on our zoo animals and this great book. Hazel was so excited to get started on these. She actually tried to make some herself, but got a little confused. It is definitely kid projects but a six-year-old needs some help with them. We of course had to make the flamingo.