Barefoot Books- Amazing Kids Stories- Get Yours Here!!!

December 7, 2011 by 169 Comments

Barefoot books is a great way to expose your children to different cultures. The way they do this is through classic tales and folk tales from cultures including Islamic and African. I had the pleasure of reviewing a few books recently, which cover a wide spectrum of themes, settings, and writer backgrounds.

First up is Winter Shadow which is the story of a little girl who finds and befriends a wolf cub. This story is written by Richard Knight, who was inspired by nature and includes nature as a predominant theme in all his writings. This book is a semi-chapter book. There are chapters but they are short, good for young readers looking to start getting into reading longer, more intricate stories.

Tales of Mystery and Magic is up next. This book is a collection of short stories from all over the globe all involving some darker, more mysterious tales. These stories include the Chilean “Two Little Elves”, the Scottish “Who Live in the Skull?” and the West African “Hunter’s Five Sons”. It’s sort of a tales from the Crypt UN edition, LOL- and not super scary, good for school aged kids.

The Wise Fool is a book of Islamic Fables. I love big books of fables and tall tales. These books are great because they usually have one element which is accessible to children, while the rest of the story spins in ways barely imaginable. This particular book does similar, has lots of tales and stories most will and do not know, including myself. What a great way to open our children’s eyes to a new culture, or teach them more about others around us and the culture they come from.

The final book is We’re Sailing Down the Nile: a Journey though Egypt. This books follows travelers down the Nile. I know you are surprised- please buy the book if you want to know how it ends, LOL. This book is packed with pages meant to provoke questions and curiosity out of children. As a bedtime story it doesn’t work quite so well, but as a story told during story time or in a mentally stimulating time of day, this is perfect.

All Barefoot books have beautiful detailed illustrations and pages, brightly colored and eye catching when appropriate or dark and mysterious when not. Plus? They educate, inspire, bring out curiosity, and help teach our kids to be better world citizens- and Americans at that. This is, after all, a melting pot/salad bowl of a country- lets help our kids learn as much as [Read more…]

Filed Under: education, giveaway, review

Win Caldecott Favorites on DVD- Great Educational Movies for the Kids

November 24, 2011 by 83 Comments

This is a wonderful 3-pack of DVDs from SCHOLASTIC that will both engage your child and expose them to some of their favorite stories. No flashy, wild animation here- these low-key movies are slow moving pictures from the mentioned books that they come from, with the words along the bottom that your child can read along with,

On the Caldecott Favorites DVD, featuring the award-winning Snowy Day, you and your child will see 23 Award-Winning Stories in a 3-DVD collection-
Caldecott award winners including Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day, Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling and Denise Fleming’s In the Small, Small Pond come together for the first time in Caldecott Favorites!
Antarctic Antics
o Antarctic Antics
o Bear Snores On
o In the Small, Small Pond
o Bark, George
Ezra Jack Keats Collection
o The Snowy Day
o Peter’s Chair
o Whistle for Willie
o Pet Show!
Make Way for Ducklings
o Make Way for Ducklings
o The Ugly Duckling
o The Story About Ping
o Angus and the Ducks

And maybe as a follow up, you can visit the library and choose a book from the series that you may not have read together yet!
We had never read Peter’s Chair, so that is just what we did. What a great way to expose your child or children to more books and stories, and these are award winning favorites and classics all children should read.
Fabulous for the classroom, daycare, or an in-home-care environment as well, literacy can only help your child in every aspect of his or her life, and these videos support honesty, humor, respect, and a love of reading. Not to mention if you have an animal lover in your home, this will be a smash-hit, with all the animal antics going on in these DVDs!

Another Read-Along DVD that I love (and is appropriate for today!) is called “Giving Thanks (and more stories to celebrate Native American heritage)”. This DVD will help support a love of history, learning, friendship, and an appreciation for our culture and the culture of Native Americans.

This DVD contains the following stories-

GIVING THANKS (Written and narrated by Chief Jake Swamp, illustrated by Erwin Printup Jr.) Known as the Thanksgiving Address, this Native American good morning message is based on the belief that the natural world is a precious and rare gift – from the moon and the stars to the tiniest blade of grass.

HIAWATHA (By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Susan Jeffers) Hiawatha’s boyhood is gracefully brought to life against a background of authentic Native American music in this excerpt from Longfellow’s classic poem.

THE PILGRIMS OF PLIMOTH (Written and illustrated by Marcia Sewall) The arrival of the Pilgrims in the new world is chronicled in this dramatic reenactment of their daily activities during those first trying years in the colony they called Plimoth.

LINCOLN AND DOUGLASS: AN AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP (By Nikki Giovanni, illustrated by Bryan Collier, narrated by Danny Glover) The story of an unusual, historic friendship between two great American leaders – Abraham Lincoln and [Read more…]

Filed Under: education, giveaway, kids, review

Olly Oogleberry- an Alien Review

November 24, 2011 by 3 Comments

Olly Oogleberry is a strange little alien from the planet Oogleberry. He is on a mission of discovery and adventure. Olly and his friends explore different planets and even a planet we all know and love, Earth.
Olly is a cute little guy, who is on a T-Shirt Little Man likes a lot. We got this cool orange shirt with an ‘army of Olly’s’. The shirt also says hello in five languages. Little Man likes it because not only is there an alien on it, but also there are words he doesn’t know. Every time he puts it on, or takes it off or just happens to take a look a it he asks, ‘what’s that one say?’. Take a look at the Olly Oogleberry site.

You can pick up all sorts of Olly gear, from shirts to skateboards to books to phone cases.
After traveling 11 million years from his home Planet of Oogleberry, Olly and his band of alien misfits have landed on planet earth to a town near you, just in time for the holidays.

Olly and his friends are here to to educate and inspire with a published [Read more…]
Filed Under: education, kids, review

GOING FOR GOLD with Disney’s Cars 2!

November 2, 2011 by 1 Comment
Want some career advice and insider industry tips from the artists, animators and creative team at Pixar? You got it. Want to get a job in animation? Follow the advice of these animation bigwigs from “Cars 2” – and go for gold!
LEARN THE BASICS
“Cars 2” Director John Lasseter says: “The advice I give to all potential animators is the same: Study the basics and grow from there. You have to learn to draw, even if you want to get into computer animation, so learn basic design principles, learn basic animation principles and learn basic film grammar for starters. These basics are so vitally important because your tools will change throughout your career, but you’ll always fall back on the basics. Technology never makes a movie; it’s what you do with it that does. Software will always change and evolve. I use my basic art foundations every day of my career and I can’t stress enough how you should never short-change the basics.”
EDUCATION IS KEY
“Cars 2” Supervising Animator Shawn Krause says: “I was lucky enough to go to CalArts and that certainly helped me get into Pixar, but there are many other ways to get into the industry. Art school obviously helps, but it’s a good idea to start learning about art and animation as early as possible. I grew up watching a lot of the classic animation that Disney and Warner Brothers made and I studied the work of animators like Frank Thomas from a young age. If you want to get ahead, study as much as you can. It’s also a good idea to study things like anatomy so you know how the body moves. You should also try your hand at different styles of animation and art. It’s always good to have as many skills as possible because you never know what you’re going to be asked to pull out of the bag when you’re working.”
ARM YOURSELF WITH KNOWLEDGE
Story Supervisor Nathan Stanton says: “I never stopped drawing as a kid. I literally never stopped and I sincerely believe that my drive and passion is what got me here today. If you want to be a filmmaker and you want to get into Pixar, arm yourself with as much knowledge of film and animation as you can. Keep on top of new technologies and new software, but know the basics and keep at it.”
ENTHUSIASM WILL TAKE YOU FAR
“Cars 2” Producer Denise Ream says: “There’s one thing we always look for in a potential Pixar employee: enthusiasm. There’s a huge amount of enthusiasm and passion at Pixar and I want to work with people who love animation. If you want to do live-action movies you should be making live-action movies. I want to hear that you are eager to work on animated films and that you’ve strived to learn as much as you can about them. I came to Pixar because I love animation and that’s exactly what we want to see in all of our employees. Having a passion for what you want to do is really key to getting far in this industry. The founder of the company is passionate about animation and so should you be. Let the passion shine through.”
PUT IN THE EFFORT
“Cars 2” Animator June Brownbill says: “You don’t have to be a California native to work at Pixar, or even an American citizen, but you do have to put in a lot of effort. I’m from England and Pixar is a very long way from home for me, but I couldn’t be happier. To work here is a dream come true. It’s something I’ve always wanted and it’s something I’ve always [Read more…]
Filed Under: disney, education, kids, movie

National Geo Kids Halloween Book of Fun @NGKidsBks

October 20, 2011 by 4 Comments

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Happy Halloween!

Are you in the mood for some spooky festive fun without the terror and nightmares that the holiday is known for?  Maybe more of the fun and costumes, pumpkins and all that wonderful stuff.  Well, a good place to start is National Geographic Kids.  I know what you are thinking.  What do animals have to do with Halloween?  Well “Nat Geo” does a lot more then just animals.  This year they have published a wonderful book called National Geographic Kids Halloween Book of Fun.  Contained in these pages are hundreds of fun activities to do with your kids, ranging from creative costume ideas to coloring pages, to Halloween themed crafts that are easy for kids, and adults.

 I especially liked the Halloween fun facts which were peppered throughout the book.  Much too often, kids get the wrong ideas about Halloween, thinking it is all about monsters and scaring people.  Yes, that is a fun by-product, BUT Halloween is more about letting your “other” self out.  Expressing yourself in the form of a costume/role play is to let that creativity that is within you shine for all to see (and the candy of course!)  Another point I like about this book is that it is easy to flip to a page and have something fun to do with your kids, there isn’t a lot of planning and prep work.  Daddy likes that a whole lot, too, LOL.

Make sure you follow National Geographic Kids on Twitter- they have awesome books!

Filed Under: education, holidays, kids, review

Curious Critters, a great new kids book for animal lovers and Pre-K ages!

October 9, 2011 by 3 Comments

How many of you make funny noises at your kids just to see that quizzical reaction from them?  You know you do, don’t ya?  In a store  you look at them and make a funny noise to get them to laugh or even just cause you want to make a funny noise and have an excuse?  Well, for once you will have a good excuse for making funny noises at your kids.  Curious Critters is a new book by David FitzSimmons.  This book has some of the most incredible looking animals around in such large format and sharply defined pictures you will want to pick them up and pet her/him.  Pictures of frogs, goldfish, possum, snakes and birds all look like the colors were turned up to an 11, maybe even 12. Amazing!

There is one other component to this book, the little blurbs written about the animals.  They almost always, for each specific animal, have a part in them where you make an animal sound.  Be it a Kee-eee-arr of a blue jay to the snap of the Ohio crawfish.  This makes this book so much fun to read to kids it should be illegal.  Making silly noises and getting a giggle is the best, pair it with a silly face while doing it and you are golden.  Then leave it out and have your friends pick it up thinking its an animal photo book only to get a giggle out of them about the musings written for each animal.

Enjoy this wonderful book!

“When parents read CURIOUS CRITTERS with their kids not only will they have fun reading, but they also inspire in them a life-long interest in nature. Kids will want to swap TV and video games for a trips to the park or more time in the backyard. So, get ready to have a budding biologist on your hands!”
Just some of what kids will learn:
  • What turtles and humans have in common
  • Why black swallowtail butterflies impersonates their toxic cousins
  • How Eastern box turtles can live longer than humans (over 150 years!)
  • If squirrels can fly
  • Why crayfish grow new legs
  • How bats find food
  • Why frogs sing
  • How jumping spiders jump and why they never have to look over their shoulders.

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Filed Under: animals, book review, education, kids, review

Worry Woos- Say Hello To Wince! (Adorable Kids Toys and Books)

October 6, 2011 by 6 Comments

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to meet Wince, the newest of the Worry Woo monsters!  Wince, the monster of Worry, just can’t seem to stop thinking of all that he has to do, and this stops him from doing all that he needs and wants to.  Poor Wince!  The worst part is, that all of his worrying just feeds the bothersome WorryBug, who just gets larger and larger- until little Wince needs to enlist the help of some friends to figure out how to be rid of this pesky pest once and for all.

Surprise- it was also Wince’s birthday!  YAY!

The kids had a great time meeting Wince, and browsing all of the Worry Woo merchandise, created by Andi Green.  Each Worry Woo has it’s own adorable plush toy and story to go with it, helping children to embrace their emotions and learn how to deal productively with their feelings.  The kids all colored their own Woos, and put on temporary Tattoos and learned how to draw their own worrybug!

My kids had a great time at Wince’s party, as did the others there.  And if you want to wait until November, I have a special surprise for all of you as well!
In the meantime, Embrace YOUR inner Woo, and try not to feed the worrybug.
Sometimes I think these kids’ stories are REALLY meant for their parents, as well, LOL.
Happy Reading! (AND snuggling!) 

You can follow the Woo’s and Andi on Twitter and Facebook for tons of fun news  🙂 

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Filed Under: education, family, kids

Teaching is….. (Book Review)

October 6, 2011 by 11 Comments

Teaching Is…Impossible to sum up in a little book, but that is not to say this author didn’t do a bang-up job!
A sweet coffee table book, it is filled with the author Marjan Glavac’s personal experiences and parables of his own 30 year teaching career.  This is a quick read, meant to inspire teachers as well as explain to non-educators why teachers teach- for reasons such as “Having a student come up with a better way to solve a problem- even though you have taught the same lesson for five years.”

I have been having a rough go of it lately.  My house has been badly damaged by Irene and flooding, my dog has cancer, and my job is killing me.  I LOVE being a teacher, however- lately there are aspects of this particular job that are getting harder and harder to swallow.  With all that is going on, I was recently sorting through a pile of things hastily thrown into a box while we were trying to salvage things from the flood.  That is when I saw this book- it must have come right before I got home from Ohio to meet the storm, because I had not seen it.

As I sat there and flipped though it, it made me laugh, and made me think.  Being a teacher is a unique kind of job- it is a huge responsibility, yet so many parents and politicians want to place the burdens of the world on our shoulders, while reducing resources, materials, benefits, paychecks, and classroom aids- of course all the while INCREASING class size and requirements and expectations.

However- there are some of us that are still foolish enough to want to teach.  It is a big job to help mold children who will one day be the adults that run this country, and it amazes me every day that teachers are often the political and parental “whipping boy” so to speak.

It’s not about money- it’s the love of watching a kid UNDERSTAND what you are trying to tell them, keeping your class quiet because they WANT to hear you, and having a parent tell you (years later) that little Jimmy still talks about you.  No one does this job to get rich or become powerful, they only do it because they feel the need.  Are there bad apples?  Sure, everyplace has them.  But don’t let a few bad apples spoil the profession!  I had a few lousy teachers as well- but I had way more great ones.

Here’s looking at you, Marjan Glavac, for telling it like it is, so clearly and so simply!
Great gift for any teacher, keep this on your radar for end of year or Christmas gifts for sure  🙂

Marjan Glavac is a firm believer that: “there are no boundaries for the journeys of the mind” and that every student, parent and teacher is capable of achieving great journeys. 
He is the creator of the highly regarded online teacher’s resource www.thebusyeducator.com.

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Filed Under: book review, education