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The Little Christmas Tree -- Book Review & Craft

 Disclosure: Kregel Publications sent 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.

It is hard to believe Thanksgiving is this week. Christmas is just around the corner. Today we get to share a book that is being added to our must read every year list for Christmas. These are books that bring the Christmas story and season alive. The Little Christmas Tree by Andrea Skevington and illustrated by Lorna Hussey is a definite must read. When we read it again last night Hazel commented on how she LOVES this story. 
http://www.kregel.com/childrens-story-books/the-little-christmas-tree/


Dreidel Fun! Hanukkah for Kids

Disclosure: Daria Music gave me a copy of this book 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.

As part of the Multicultural Kid Blogs Hanukkah for Kids Series we decided to explore dreidels with the help of Daria Music's Dreydel (Dreidel) Song and Game Activity



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. 
http://www.rylandpeters.com/make-your-own-zoo

 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.

Sharing Saturday 15-46


Sorry for the delay. Both my Linky Tools subscription and Blogger were giving me issues yesterday. But everything seems to be working today!!

Anyway, thank you to everyone who shared with us last week!! There were many fun ideas shared!! Our features are just a sampling of the wonderful things shared, so if you haven't checked out the rest you should!! The features for this week include Thanksgiving, Educational and Crafts and Gift Ideas. I have also started a new craft link party (the crafts just have to be family appropriate and not 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 past week we also began the new month for Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop--so be sure to stop by to share your multicultural posts and ideas and recipes there.

Cinderella's Stepsister & the Big Bad Wolf and The Wonder -- Book Reviews

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of these books 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 with you to fun picture books that came out in September. The first is a new take on Cinderella!! Cinderella's Stepsister and the Big Bad Wolf by Lorraine Carey and illustrated by Migy Blanco is a fun version of the classic tale. 
http://www.candlewick.com/cat.asp?browse=Title&mode=book&isbn=0763680052&pix=y


Dear Santa, Love Rachel Rosenstein -- Book 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.

Rachel loves Christmas!! She loves everything about Christmas--the decorations and lights and all the excitement. There is only one problem, Rachel is Jewish. What she really wants is to have Santa come to her house. Now she just has to figure out how to make it happen. This is the story of Dear Santa, Love Rachel Rosenstein by Amanda Peet and Adnrea Troyer and illustrated by Christine Davenier. 

A Squirrel's Story and The Ship Captain's Tale -- Book Reviews

Disclosure: Little Five Star sent me 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.

Today I am sharing two fun books from Little Five Star. The first is a true story about a mother squirrel who will do anything for her babies. A Squirrel's Story by Jana Bommersbach and illustrated by Jeff Yesh is a story about a mother's love. The narrator is the mother squirrel. 
http://www.fivestarpublications.com/book_detail.php?recordid=166

Christmas Book Review: B Is for Bethlehem and Santa's Christmas Train

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge from Ideals Books./Worthy Kids. 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 we get to share two fun Christmas books with you. One book is a religious Christmas book and the other is a Santa Claus one.  The first is a book that has the elements of the Nativity story in an alphabet book form. Hazel has been very into alphabet books lately and started reading this one as soon as we got it (in September). B Is for Bethlehem by Isabel Wilner and illustrated by Elisa Kleven is a beautiful book. 

Exploring Navajo Nation or Dine Nation -- Global Learning for Kids & Multicultural Mathematics

Last week we shared some books we used to explore a bit about Arizona from Massachusetts. I even shared some of the pictures my family took in Arizona on our trip across the country when I was young. While flipping through the pictures I noticed pictures labeled near the Navajo Monument and thought it would be fun to learn more about Navajo Nation. I remember fondly stopping to look at the beautiful jewelry made by the Navajo and getting to pick out a bracelet. I wore that bracelet all the time until it broke. So we went off to find some books about the Navajo.

Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop

Welcome to the Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop! The Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop is a place where bloggers can share multicultural activities, crafts, recipes, and musings for our creative kids. We can't wait to see what you share this time! Created by Frances of Discovering the World through My Son's Eyes, the blog hop has now found a new home at Multicultural Kid Blogs.
This month our co-hosts are:

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. 

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Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! We had a good number of amazing ideas shared!  Remember the features are just a sampling of the things shared so if you did not get a chance to check them all out, go back and be inspired! This week's features' themes are Autumn, Holidays, and Parenting. Also a side note  I host another link party on Saturday night for crafts for any age person called Crafty Weekends. If you are sharing a craft (especially a non-child craft) this is the best place to do it with some fun features from the previous week!! A new one will be tomorrow night. Stop by to share your crafts, patterns, reviews of craft books, etc.

Exploring Arizona with Books: Arizona Way Out West & Wacky and Addie Slaughter -- Book Reviews

Disclosure: Little Five Star sent me 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.

Today I am really excited to share with you our adventure in exploring Arizona. Now I have been to Arizona a few times in my life. The first was when I was almost eight. My family packed up our pop-up camper and car and traveled across the United States for an entire summer. Reading these books got me to help my mother search for our old photo albums and I'll share some old pictures with you. First we will start with Addie Slaughter: The Girl Who Met Geronimo by Susan L. Krueger, Ed.D. with Reba Wells Grandrud, Ph.D.

Ishtar's Odyssey and the Christmas Journey Storybook -- Advent and Christmas Book Reviews

 Disclosure: Kregel Publications sent 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.

As someone who likes to focus on one holiday before the next, I try not to share Christmas too early. However I am seeing it everywhere and this year I have some great books and DVDs to share with you. I decided to start with a great Advent book and a fun Christmas story book. I am always trying to bring our focus to the story of Jesus and not the commercialism that Christmas has become. These books are two great ones for doing this. 

Heartprints --Bilingual or Board Books Review & Craft

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge from Ideals Books./Worthy Kids. 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 we are sharing a book by P.K. Hallinan called Heartprints. It was originally published in 2002 but is being released again on December 8th. I received two versions of the book for this review: a board book and a bilingual paperback book. 
http://www.amazon.com/Heartprints-P-K-Hallinan/dp/0824919645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447272212&sr=1-1&keywords=Heartprints+board+book
Both books have the same story in English. The bilingual version also has the words in Spanish.

Legacy -- YA Book Review -- Mommy Time

Disclosure: Novel Publicity sent me a copy of this book free of charge in return for an honest review. 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.

The year is 2041. A teenage girl is crossing the Golden Gate Bridge alone to enter the evacuated and dangerous San Francisco. Her mother is sending her with important information for the Resistance, but it may get her killed. This is how this amazing book starts. Legacy by Ellery A. Kane is a page turner. 

Exploring Diwali with Books, Game & Craft -- Free Templates


This post is part of the Multicultural Kid Blogs' Diwali for Kids Series. Be sure to check out the other great posts and link up an Diwali posts you have.

As Christians we do not know much about Hinduism or Diwali. We of course turned to books to learn a bit more. We found some books that we found informative and on the right level for Hazel at the library.



Metacomet (aka. King Philip) -- Native American Heritage Month Blog Series and Giveaway

For one of my posts in this year's Native American Heritage Month Blog Series and Giveaway, I thought it was about time I learned more about Metacomet. After all I went to a middle school named in his honor with his English name--King Philip. I knew King Philip was an Native American who had fought a big war, but that was about all I knew. I'm a little sad I didn't learn more about him while at a school named in his honor. Anyway we of course turned to the library.

Crafty Weekends -- Fat Quarters: Small Fabrics, More Than 50 Big Ideas -- Book Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Lark Crafts 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 have the pleasure of sharing with you Fat Quarters: Small Fabrics, More Than 50 Big Ideas by Lark Crafts. 
http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Quarters-Small-Fabrics-Ideas/dp/1454708794/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446948070&sr=8-1&keywords=Fat+Quarters+Lark+Crafts


 This book has patterns divided into six sections: Babies & Kids, Bags, Quilts & Pillows, Home Decor, Wearables, and Give & Use. The patterns require different number of fat quarters to make each item. For those that do not know, fat quarters are pieces of fabric cut in a 18-inch by 22-inch rectangle (which is equivalent to buying a quarter yard of fabric, but in a more useful shape). The projects range from birthday hats, toys and clothes to organization baskets and so many more! It was hard to chose which project to do first, however I decided to start with the Child's FQ Reversible Apron. design by Anneliese. 

Sharing Saturday 15-44



Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! It was another great week of sharing!  Remember the features are just a sampling of the things shared so if you did not get a chance to check them all out, go back and be inspired! This week's features' themes are Pumpkins, Thanksgiving & Diwali, and Educational & Fun. Also a side note  I host another link party on Saturday night for crafts for any age person called Crafty Weekends. If you are sharing a craft (especially a non-child craft) this is the best place to do it with some fun features from the previous week!! Our third party will be tomorrow night. Stop by to share your crafts, patterns, reviews of craft books, etc.

Modern Art Adventures -- Book Review

Disclosure: Chicago Review Press 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.

My plan was to do some of these projects with Hazel over the summer; explore more art this past summer like we had one in the previous one. However summer somehow came and went and we hadn't tried one. We finally sat down and tried a couple. The book Modern Art Adventures by Maja Pitamic and Jill Laidlaw has thirty six projects for children to try based on eighteen modern artists including Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Andy Warhol, and Frida Kahlo. With each artist a famous painting is shared with information about the painting and artist and then there are projects based on that famous painting and artist's style.

The Great Thanskgiving Escape -- Book Review

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave 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.

Imagine a large family gathering. where you are a not a little kid and not a teenager, but in the middle. You are stuck in the room with the babies. Your only cousin close in age to you tells you it is time to make a break and go out to play on the swingset. Of course the journey to the swingset has many obstacles--the wall of butts, the hall of aunts (the type that squeeze your cheeks), the teenager zombies, etc. Then you finally make it to the back door to see it pouring. What are the cousins to do? Well make their own fun of course! This is the story of The Great Thanksgiving Escape by Mark Fearing. 

Chalk Ola Markers -- Product Review

Disclosure: ChalkOla sent me 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.

I am sure by now you have noticed the chalkboard craze going on. Everywhere I look I see chalkboard products on sale. Whether it is chalkboard paint, chalkboard stickers or actual chalkboards they are everywhere. As a former teacher who hated chalkboards, I just didn't get it. When I taught with a chalk board (which wasn't most of the years I taught thankfully), my hands were so dry and messy. I hated it. I already have issues with dry skin and did not need chalk making it worse. Thankfully the invention of chalk markers has happened. My first exposure to them was at work. They are used to make signs as well as to label boxes. One of the best things about them are they require a wet cloth to clean them so the chalk does not just rub off (once it is dry). Plus the colors are great!

The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen -- Parragon Book Buddies

Disclosure: Parragon Books sent me a copy of this book 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.

Parragon Books sent us a copy of the soon-to-be-released The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen retold by Mandy Archer. Now you know we love our fairy tales. We have read many fairy tales and versions of fairy tales with our Fairy Tales in Different Cultures Series. However we have not read too many of Hans Christian Andersen's tales.

http://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Tales-Hans-Christian-Andersen/dp/1474802559/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446574527&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Fairy+Tales+of+Hans+Christian+Andersen+by+Parragon

P'esk'a and the First Salmon Ceremony -- Book Review & Learning about the Sts'ailes People -- Global Learning for Kids

Disclosure: Groundwood 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.

November is Native American Heritage Month. With my love for Native American culture I love this heritage month!! I was thinking today about why I love Native American culture so much. It could be part of white man guilt over how they were treated (and are still being treated by our government), but I think it is more how they lived in harmony with the environment. I really love their stories and how they did not waste. The talents each group has was so amazing and it just seems so much more of what I see God wanting from us. They were usually good stewards of the earth. 

Since it is Native American Heritage Month, Global Learning for Kids is focusing on Indigenous People of North America.  Multicultural Kid Blogs is hosting its annual Native American Heritage Month Blog Series and Giveaway. We will be participating in the blog series later this month, but you can enter the giveaway now and the book we are sharing today is in one of the prize packs! Today we are sharing P'esk'a and the First Salmon Ceremony by Scot Ritchie. 

Crafty Weekend: Thanksgiving Activity Book

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.

It is Halloween tonight, yet I am sharing a Thanksgiving book. I guess I am rushing into my holiday season. Sorry for the late start but we had an exciting night of trick-or-treating here. I hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween. Today we are sharing a book that is perfect to help kids learn about Thanksgiving and keep them busy whether traveling or during a Thanksgiving celebration. The book is Thanksgiving Activity Book by Karl Jones and illustrated by Joey Chou. 

http://www.penguin.com/book/thanksgiving-activity-book-by-karl-jones-illustrated-by-joey-chou/9780843182965


Sharing Saturday 14-43


Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! There were so many great ideas shared once again!  Remember the features are just a sampling of the things shared so if you did not get a chance to check them all out, go back and be inspired! This week's features' themes are Halloween (to make sure you are ready), Autumn, and Parenting/Educational. Also a side note that last week I started another link party on Saturday night for crafts for any age person called Crafty Weekends. If you are sharing a craft (especially a non-child craft) this is the best place to do it with some fun features from the previous week!! Our third party will be tomorrow night. Stop by to share your crafts, patterns, reviews of craft books, etc. And don't forget to share all things pumpkins (crafts, recipes, lessons, etc.) at my Pumpkin Link Party!

Colour Your Day & 99 Prayers for Children -- Book Reviews

 Disclosure: Kregel Publications sent 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 love finding ways to bring God into our lives. I know I personally need time to reflect and pray and want to teach Hazel to do the same. I found some books to help me with both of these things. The first is for me--some Mommy time. It is Colour Your Day: A Spiritual Colouring Book by Marcel Flier. 


http://www.kregel.com/christian-living-and-devotionals/colour-your-day/
Now I have mentioned the adult coloring craze previously and reviewed a fun adult coloring book already. What is different about Colour Your Day is that the focus of each page is on God and/or Jesus. There are scriptures quoted, blessings and such on these pages as well as crosses.

The Perfect Gift for a Child: Personalized books

Disclosure: I See Me! Inc.  gave me a copy of this book and ornament 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.

Last year I had the pleasure of reviewing a personalized book from I See Me! Inc. Hazel describes Hazel Can Change the World as her favorite book ever!! She often pulls it out just to look at it and now reads it to herself as well as to my parents at story time. (She reads to my parents over the phone almost every night.)

http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/2014/10/personalized-childrens-book-review.html


She has literally made paper hearts for all of her classmates because there is a page in it where the brown haired girl gives out hearts to spread love.  I have to say it is one of the best things I have gotten her. Therefore I jumped at the idea of getting another personalized book for her. This year we got My Very Own Fairy Tale by Maia Haag and illustrated by Joyce Patti.

The Incas -- Global Learning for Kids -- Peru

Congratulations to Bernice for winning the DVDs from NCircle Entertainment!!

This month Global Learning for Kids is exploring Peru. Since we have explored Peru previously with Around the World in 12 Dishes, I let Hazel have some say in what we focused on. We started by watching two DVDs. One was on Peru and the other on the Incas.


Hazel was fascinated by the one on the Incas, so we focused on them. We have been exploring books about the Incas from the library.

Robo-Sauce -- Book Review

Last day to enter my giveaway to win ABC Monsters & Houdini DVDs ! Have you entered yet?

 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.

This is Craftbot reporting on a great new book by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri called Robo-Sauce. Well the great part of the book is really Robo-Book with data by Adroid Rubot and images by Salmatron 5000 but more on that book later.
http://www.penguin.com/book/robo-sauce-by-adam-rubin-illustrated-by-daniel-salmieri/9780525428879

 Robo-Sauce is about a boy who wants to play robot (I mean who wouldn't want to be a neat robot?). His family will not join in the fun so he makes a top-secret recipe for robo-sauce. With this sauce he changed himself and his dog into robots--actual real robots like me, Craftbot. Then he used this sauce on his family and they kept going, because robots are so cool and need to take control of the world.  What is robo-sauce? Well I am going to let Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri tell you.

20 Furry Tales -- A PBS Kids DVD

I am hosting a giveaway to win ABC Monsters & Houdini DVDs ! Have you entered yet?
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.

Today I get to share with you a new PBS Kids DVD that is available only at Walmart. The DVD is 20 Furry Tales. It came out last week. It is not available on-line (or at least I could not find it at Walmart's website), so you have to go into a store to buy this one. 

This DVD has almost four hours of shows on it! It includes Wild Kratts, Peg + Cat, Word World, Caillou, Arthur, Super Why, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Reading Rainbow and Word Girl. All of the stories feature a furry friend!! Hazel loves this DVD because it has many of her favorites as well as some of her previous favorites that she likes to watch every once in awhile all in place. It is great for multiple ages due to the shows on it and can span preschool to early elementary. All of the shows are educational and teach about life, math, reading and animals. The DVD menus are set up so that you can look at the episodes of a particular show and do not have to watch all the shows if a child is too young or too old for the show. I hope you will take the time to check it out.

In Real Life -- Young Adult Book Review -- Multicultural Monday & Math

I am hosting a giveaway to win ABC Monsters & Houdini DVDs ! Have you entered yet?


 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. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation. 

Today I am sharing a young adult book. It is about a high school boy, Seth, who is very good at math as well as video games. He wants to compete against the top Starfare players in the world and those are the professionals in Korea. What interested me was the idea of a multicultural math story. The book is In Real Life by Lawrence Tabak.

Crafty Weekends: Paper Pom-Poms & Other Party Decorations Book Review & Link Party

I am hosting a giveaway to win ABC Monsters & Houdini DVDs ! Have you entered 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 sharing the perfect book for the DIY party decoration maker. This book has amazing ideas and instructions for making some common party decorations as well as creative new ones. I brought it into work (at the Paper Source) and my manager loved the book and wanted a copy for herself. The book is Paper Pom-Poms ad Other Party Decorations by Juliet Carr.
http://www.rylandpeters.com/paper-pom-poms-and-other-party-decorations

 I started with some basic party decorations. The rosette and the paper pom-pom. For the rosette I used a hummingbird paper from the Paper Source. I am planning on making some more for Hazel's Wild Kratts themed birthday party this year. I got a small rip in it unfortunately.