Virtual Book Club for Kids--Carousel

It is time for the Virtual Book Club for Kids again. This month's author is Donald Crews. Today we are going to share his book, Carousel. We picked this book since Hazel loves riding carousels. This is the first real ride she went on and ever since she has loved them. Here are some pictures of her on them.

I think I may have missed a few, but I found many of them. She has progressed much since we had her on the bench of one at age two. We had gone to the Zoo Lights at our local zoo. The Zoo Lights are a display of holiday lights and there is a Santa Claus as well as some carnival rides. We have gone to them twice since Hazel was born. The first time in 2010, we were in many, many layers since it was an extremely cold night.

Now for those who do not know what the Virtual Book Club for Kids is, it is a group of bloggers who host a blog hop every month featuring a different author each month. The blogs who host are:

Toddler Approved - Rainy Day Mum - Adventures in Reading with Kids - 3 Dinosaurs - Royal Baloo - The Educators' Spin On It - Inspiration Laboratories - Pleasantest Thing - Edventures with Kids - Two Big Two Little - Playing With Words 365 - Kitchen Counter Chronicles - Outlaw Mom - Mommy and Me Book Club - Crafty Moms Share - No Twiddle Twaddle - The Good Long Road - Ready. Set. Read 2 Me - Reading Confetti - Mama Smiles - Juggling with Kids- Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas - Creekside Learning - Creative Family Fun - The Usual Mayhem - Teach Preschool - PlayDrMom - CraftoArt - Here Come the Girls - Being a Conscious Parent - Smiling like Sunshine - Crayon Freckles - Train Up a Child - Smile Play Learn - Enchanted Homeschooling Mom - Coffee Cups and Crayons - Having Fun at Chelle's House- Love, Play, Learn -  Motherhood on a Dime - Growing Book By Book- This Reading Mama - Fantastic Fun and Learning

This coming September there will be a few changes. The blog hop will begin the second Monday instead of the third Monday of each month. You can also see the list of authors for 2013-2014 here. Now onto our author this month.

Donald Crews has a very distinct style to his books. They are often short on words but have wonderful pictures and actions. Carousel is no different. It is about a carousel sitting empty and then getting full and the ride going and of course ending. That is all. The visuals are there for the ride as you would imagine it and the words are the sounds for the most part. It is a simple but fun book.

Flying Horses Carousel, Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts

For an activity for this book I would have loved to explore the oldest platform carousel in the United States. It is the Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. Oak Bluffs is on Martha's Vineyard. I have been to the Flying Horses Carousel, but Hazel has not. Since we were recently at Cape Cod it would not have been too hard except President Obama was vacationing on the Vineyard at that time and that would mean road closures and other issues. Plus we had a lot of local stuff to do while we were there and wanted time with my parents. My hope is to take Hazel to the islands (Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket) at some point soon since I think she would really enjoy the ferry ride and exploring the islands (especially seeing this neat community of "gingerbread" houses).

Houses in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts

We however did a simple craft to make a carousel with paper horses, paper plates and straws. Our finished product is not perfect, but Hazel loves it!! We used a brad to connect a small paper plate to the bottom one so it would turn. We used a milkshake straw for the center column. Hazel taped the horses onto the straws. I had to adjust them or all the people "riding" our carousel would be hitting their heads on the roof.

Now it is your turn. Have you done something with a Donald Crews book? Come share or get inspired by what others share. We will be sharing another Donald Crews book next week. I hope you will join us again!