Dear Wild Child -- new picture book in response to home burning in wildfire

 

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

With climate change the world is truly changing and we are seeing damage to homes. Whether it is wildfires, tornados, hurricanes or something else, home loss can be devastating to all but especially to children. For me it was simply my parents downsizing when I went to college. I was the youngest of three and it was time for them to sell the house and move to a smaller condo. Even without devastation of the home, there is a loss, but as Wallace Nichols and his daughter Wallace Grace Nichols share the home goes with you with all the memories. The book is Dear Wild Child by Wallace J. Nichols and Wallace Grace Nichols and illustrated by Drew Beckmeyer. It is recommended for age 4 to 8.

The Wild Garden -- New Picture Book Perfect for Earth Day Everyday!

 

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

Earth Day is this week! I wanted to share a book with you that screams Earth Day to me. Sadly, the book is not being released until May in the US, but it is the perfect book to talk about some of the Earth Day issues. The book is The Wild Garden by Cynthia Cliff. It is recommended for ages 5 to 9. I am also sharing a round-up of gardening crafts, activities, and recipes for kids.

The Leaf and The Tree -- We Are All Connected

 

Disclosure: I am working with The Children's Book Review and Bruce Nemovitz and will receive a small stipend for this post. I was sent a digital copy of the book in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

We are in the middle of winter here in Massachusetts. The trees are bare, but I am dreaming of spring and warmer weather. Today's book is perfect for this dream. It is The Leaf and the Tree by Bruce Nemovitz and illustrated by Ani Ghosh. 

50 Hikes with Kids in New England -- Review and Sharing a Hike

 

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

The weather here in New England is not perfect for getting outside and certainly not for hiking without snowshoes. However, I like to think about warmer weather and weather where the ground isn't covered with snow and ice. I know it is coming! So today I am going to share a new book that shares 50 hikes around New England that are good to do with kids. The book is 50 Hikes with Kids: New England by Wendy Gorton.

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!

Learning about Climate Change on Groundhog Day with Fun Facts about Groundhogs & Craft Round-Up

 

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

Did you see the Groundhog Day video I shared on Facebook? It is the annual Groundhog Day video of Ms. G, the official groundhog of Massachusetts. I like watching this video more than Punxsutawney Phil. One Ms. G is closer to me and has weather more like mine. Two, she isn't surrounded by all the news cameras with the extra lights to make shadows. Plus I love how they share a bit about groundhogs, animals and more. She lives at Mass Audubon's Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary. We loved visiting Drumlin Farm when Hazel was young. In the video they say Groundhog Day is also Climate Action Day. So today I'm going to share some fun facts about groundhogs with a small craft round-up and share with you a new book about climate change. We all need to be aware of climate change and take action to help stop/slow it. 

Christmas during a World Pandemic

 

Merry Christmas to you and your family! This Christmas has been a strange one. It really hasn't felt like Christmas. We have had an unusually warm December. Then there is the threat of the new variant. I know people who traveled for the first time since December 2019 and others whose plans got completely ruined. This year seems even harder than last year when most of us were not vaccinated. Christmas 2020 we planned differently. We knew we needed to social distance and only have small gatherings. Our family split times with my parents. My sister who lives in Rhode Island, Hazel and I gathered at the Cape house and spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my parents. My sister and nephew from North Carolina came after Christmas to celebrate with my parents so we could not cross contaminate each other. I have not seen my sister and nephew since July 2020 when we visited them at the Cape and only stayed outside with them. 

The Complete Guide to Drawing for Beginners -- Crafty Sundays Review

 

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

Do you have a budding artist in the family or perhaps are you one? In our house Hazel is our budding artist and one of her favorite forms of art is drawing. Over the summer she went to a weeklong art camp at her school. Her art teacher is truly amazing and he ran it. I wanted to review this book for her or actually I wanted her to review the book. She did try some of the projects for me to write the review. The book is The Complete Guide to Drawing for Beginners by Yoshiko Ogura. 

Holiday Gift Recommendations & Where to Shop This Year

 

Disclosure: All of these recommendations are based on reviews I have written or will write for products that were sent to me in exchange for a review. Some links will be affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage if you purchase through them. Thank you for your support!

This year there will be shortages for gifts, especially toys. They are saying to shop early and not wait to see if things go on sale. I decided to provide my gift recommendations and my favorites of 2021 for you earlier than usual. I went through what I have shared with you and some of what I will share with you to give these recommendations. I may make additions in the future since I don't have everything I will review this year yet. I am dividing it up by ages for actual gift recommendations! Many of the recommendations are for books. If you follow the rule of four for gifting this should be helpful! I hope you find this list helpful!

Powerful Latinx Novels for Hispanic Heritage Month

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

Hispanic Heritage Month ends Friday and I wanted to share two new Latinx books with you to help celebrate. One is a graphic memoir. The author was in middle school living in New York City when 9/11 occurred. The other is a young adult novel that deals with ethnicity as well as rape and more. We will start with Big Apple Diaries by Alyssa Bermudez. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12. 

The Book of Amazing Trees

 

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

Life has gotten a bit crazy this week. I was hoping to share two new books with you that both came out this week, but I'm still reading the other one. So today I get to share with you a beautiful and amazing book all about trees. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12. It is The Book of Amazing Trees by Nathalie Tordjman and illustrated by Isabelle Simler and Julien Norwood. 

Fun Facts about Embroidery with Book Reviews

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. Some of the links shared here will give me a small percentage of any purchase made by you at no cost to you. (Thank you for your support!) All opinions are my own.

I have had some craft books sitting on my review shelf for awhile and need to share them with you. I have been so focused on other things and diamond painting that I have not given much thought to embroidery, so I thought I would share all of the embroidery books with you as well as some fun facts today! Embroidery is the art of decorating fabric with a needle and thread. It has definitely changed over the years (centuries). Let's begin with some fun facts and a bit of history.

Fun Facts About Embroidery:

Fun & Facts Coloring Books Review & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I was sent digital copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Daniel Gershkovitz and am receiving a small stipend for this review. All opinions are my own.

Today we get to share eleven fun coloring books that aren't just for coloring. They have fun facts about each of the pictures featured in the coloring page. The topics of these books range from animals to vehicles and space. There is literally something for every interest!! The books are We Can Color! Fun & Facts Coloring Books created by Daniel Gershkovitz. They each have 70 pages and are for all ages! Plus there is a giveaway at the end!

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.

Learning about Pandas -- Book review, fun facts, & Craft Round-Up

 

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

This week we have been focusing on the ocean, but today we are going to move out of the water and into the trees with a look at pandas! Today we will be sharing a National Geographic Kids book, fun facts from the book, and a panda craft round-up. The book is Go Wild! Pandas by Margie Markarian. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Navigation History and How-To for Middle Grades

 

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

Do you have a good sense of direction or are you one of those people who always gets lost? I tend to have a pretty good sense of direction. When I do get lost, I can usually call my husband, and he will pull out a map and find where I am and how to get where I want to be or use my GPS. Steve loves maps. When we were first married, he would drive me crazy. I would print out directions when we were going somewhere but instead of reading me the directions, he would try to tell me the directions from the map. Unfortunately he is not as quick as needed in the map reading when I'm driving. Because of Steve's love of maps, Hazel became interested in maps at a young age. Of course, there are places that are not mapped out like the forest. What happens when you get lost there? Today's book is a book to give the reader skills to not get lost or at least know how to find one's way and what tools one might need when exploring. The book is How to Go Anywhere (and Not Get Lost) by Hans Aschim and illustrated by Andres Lozano.

My First Science Book Series Review & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I am working with The Children's Book Review & Dover Publications by participating in this virtual book tour. I was sent copies of these four books in exchange for an honest review and a small stipend. All opinions are my own.

It is hard to believe it is June. Summer is basically here. For many this school year was a mess. I know many parents are worried about how much their kids learned with all the remote learning the past two years. Every summer kids lose some of what they have learned. This summer it will be more important to keep our kids reading and learning. I am going to be sharing books that will give you extra resources to keep the kids learning all summer long in fun ways starting today. Today I am sharing part of Dover Publication's My First Science Book Series and at the end there will be a giveaway!! 

Books looking at the world in different ways

 

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

Earth Day is Thursday. I have been sharing books each week to use as resources for it and today the books I share work for Earth Day but two of them work with a twist. All three books are picture books recommended for preschool and early elementary (ages 3-8). We will start with the book that is perfect for Earth Day. It is Once Upon Another Time by Charles Ghigna and Matt Forrest Esenwine and illustrated by Andrés F. Landazábal. 

Books for Earth Day

 

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

It is hard to believe Earth Day is next week! I feel like April is flying by and as a former teacher once April hits--well April vacation (next week)--I feel like the school year is basically over. Hazel's new school has a different vacation schedule so she had two weeks off in March, but I know the public schools are off next week so the feeling is still there. Today I am going to share an other set of books that are great for Earth Day. These books range for ages 4-7 and 7-12, so basically books perfect for elementary grades. We will start with Sunrise Summer by Matthew Swanson and illustrated by Robbi Behr. 

A New Book Perfect for Presidents Day

 

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

It is hard to believe that Monday is Presidents' Day. I am thinking back to last Presidents' Day and how much has changed including our President. Last Presidents' Day my family was getting ready for our big trip to Florida. Hazel had asked for Christmas and her birthday for a trip to Disney. We picked her February vacation to do it. That trip is the last time we were out of Massachusetts. When we returned we found a new school for Hazel. My car needed to be replaced and then the lockdown happened. Presidents' Day represents what was my normal life for me before this pandemic. And of course, the President and the election were BIG news this year. Well today I am going to share with you National Geographic's 2020 Edition of Our Country's Presidents: A Complete Encyclopedia of the U.S. Presidency by Ann Bausum. Every four years National Geographic Kids puts out a new edition.