Crafty Moms Share: January 2017

Stories of Love for Young Kids #ValentinesDay

Disclosure: Macmillan Publishers gave me copies 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.

Wow, it is February tomorrow. That means love is in the air. Today I am going to share some books about love for younger kids. Two are board books and the rest are picture books. Most of these are about family love and friendship love. The first is a fun board book called Love You Always by Roger Priddy and is part of the Shiny Shapes series.

Valentine's Day Crafts & More from Oriental Trading with Free Printable Valentine Cards -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent these items to review free of charge from Oriental Trading. 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.

Are you ready for Valentine's Day? We are, thanks to Oriental Trading. Now Hazel's school has a Father/Daughter Snow Ball the Saturday before Valentine's Day every year and this year I am co-chairing it. As a result I had even more Valentine's Day stuff to get than normal. I got the tablecloths we need for the Snow Ball.

Sharing Saturday 17-4

It is time for Sharing Saturday!! This is a link party to share all of your child-oriented crafts, crafts made for kids, activities and lessons as well as your parenting and/or teaching posts.

On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!! And for all of your cultural posts come share them at the monthly Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop.

Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party! It was another great party and there were some amazing ideas shared. A special welcome to all the new people who shared with us last week!! Our features are just a sampling of them so if you haven't checked them all out, you should! This week we have two groups of features: Multicultural (in honor of Multicultural Children's Book Day) and Other Features.

Multicultural Children's Book Day -- Link up!

Welcome to our 4th Multicultural Children's Book Day! Here's how to celebrate:

Link up your diversity book reviews
Win diversity book bundles at our Twitter Party tonight! We're giving away 100+ children's books from 9pm to 10pm EST. RSVP here. Use hashtag: #ReadYourWorld.
Get your a copy of Read Your World: A Guide to Multicultural Children's Books for Parents and Educators. It's FREE today through January 31st!

Read Your World: A Guide to Multicultural Children's Books for Parents and Educators

Multicultural Books for Different Ages of Readers -- Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me copies 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.

For my last review before the big link up and party tomorrow, I am sharing three multicultural books with you. Each one is for a different age group and each has so much to share. The first is a picture book called Green Pants by Kenneth Kraegel. It is being released in March.

Books for Younger Kids (Birth-Kindergarten)

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

Although Multicultural Children's Book Day is quickly approaching I thought I would share some books that are not part of the event. These picture books are great for younger kids, but we still enjoyed them!! The first book is the perfect book to bring to a baby shower. You know the ones that ask you to bring a book for the baby's library. It is Hand in Hand by Rosemary Wells.

Multicultural Books for Your 1st through 3rd Graders -- Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Capstone Publishing gave me copies of these books free of charge for this review in return for an honest 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 get to share with you some fun multicultural books from a silver sponsor of Multicultural Children's Book Day. These group of nine books are a mix of picture books and easy reader chapter books. We will start with the amazing picture books. The first book is appropriate for January since it is about a girl who cannot wait to meet the POTUS when she goes to work with her mother at the White House. It is When Penny Met POTUS by Rachel Ruiz and illustrated by Melissa Manwill.

Saraswati's Way -- Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Monika Schroder gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review in return for an honest 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.

Can you believe Multicultural Children's Book Day is on Friday? I cannot wait to see all the great books reviewed in the link up on Friday. I am a co-host so you can see them here!!

http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/

Heart & Fairy Crafts -- Crafty Weekends Link Party

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Thanks for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

This month I have been working many weekends at the store. Hazel has been missing me quite a bit, so this weekend I devoted time to spend with her when I was not working. She wanted to have a pretend sleepover in our family room, so she set up her sleeping bags and made a pretend pizza and snacks. Then we played a card game and decided to do some crafts. She had gotten as a gift The Fairy Kit.

Sharing Saturday 17-3

Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party! It was another great party and there were some amazing ideas shared. Our features are just a sampling of them so if you haven't checked them all out, you should! This week we have two groups of features: Winter and Other Features.

Soccer Star -- a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review #ReadYourWorld

Disclosure: Mina Javaherbin gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review in return for an honest 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 with you a wonderful multicultural book that gives an inside look at life as a child in Brazil. It is Soccer Star by Mina Javaherbin and illustrated by Renato Alarcao. This tale follows Paulo Marcelo Feliciano through his day. His hope is to have time to practice soccer, but first he and his teammates must do their work.

Matchstick Castle -- Book Review & Blog Tour

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.

Today I am participating in the blog tour for a great new middle grade book that has adventures throughout it. The book is The Matchstick Castle by Keir Graff. This book has quite the fantasy in it with every day humans.

Year of the Rooster-- Reviews & More to Celebrate the Chinese New Year -- MKB Chinese New Year Blog Hop

Disclosure: I was sent 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.

The lunar new year which is celebrated in China as well as many other countries
is January 28th this year. We will be saying goodbye to the monkey and enter the Year of the Rooster in the Chinese Horoscope. We have had a fun year of the monkey and are looking forward to the year of the rooster. To teach Hazel more about the Chinese culture we have enjoyed two books written for the year of the rooster. Both are bilingual books. The first is called The Year of the Rooster by Oliver Chin and illustrated by Juan Calle.

Announcement: Multicultural Children's Book Day Twitter Party (and Giveaways)

Please join us for our Multicultural Children's Book Day

Win 1 of 12 Book Bundles! Giving away Book Bundles every 6 minutes!

Twitter Party

Friday, January 27th

9 pm to 10 pm EST

Hashtag: #ReadYourWorld

We will be discussing the state of children's book publishing and giving away diversity book bundles every six minutes! We invite EVERYONE to join us: authors, publishers, parents, caregivers, librarians, KidLit lovers. You don't have to be an author or publisher sponsor to join us! Let's talk about our favorite multicultural and diverse children's books, authors, and illustrators!

How do you join the Twitter party? Just use hashtag #ReadYourWorld to find us. When you tweet, use the hashtag so everyone can find you!

Register below to be able to win!!

Multicultural Children's Book Day Twitter Party

This Book Is Magic-- Review & Giveaway

Disclosure: Penguin Kids gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review and is running 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.

Do you have a child who always wants to touch the book while you read it? Or perhaps you want your non-reading child to have more of a role during story time. Or you are like me with a budding magician. If you have a child or desire that matches one of these do I have a book for you!! The book is This Book Is Magic by Ashley Evanson. It is being released today!!

Multicultural Children's Books -- Mutlicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Scholastic gave me a copies of these books free of charge for this review in return for an honest 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 get to share with you three books from one of the Platinum Sponsors of Multicultural Children's Book Day. We have had so much fun with these books. We will start with The Granddaughter Necklace by Sharon Dennis Wyeth and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline.

Paper Cutting for Celebrations -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

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. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

This Thursday is the Multicultural Kid Blogs' Chinese New Year Blog Hop. In preparation I have been gathering some great resources and I thought I would share the craft one with you tonight. It is Paper Cutting for Celebrations: 100+ Chinese Designs for Festive Holidays and Special Occasions by Zhao Ziping.

http://www.tuttlepublishing.com/new-releases/paper-cutting-for-celebrations-paperback-with-flaps

Finding coupon codes that work when shopping--my review of Dealspotr.com

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.

Do you shop on-line and search for the latest deals for certain sites? Then always wonder if the code is still working? Or perhaps go into the store but search for coupons first? Or maybe you are one of those people who do not want to give your email out to get the coupons. (I have a Hotmail account for businesses that I only check when I want a coupon.) However I have recently discovered Dealspotr.com.

Sharing Saturday 17-2

Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party! It was a fun party with many great ideas shared. Our features are just a sampling of them so if you haven't checked them all out, you should! This week we have three groups of features: Holiday, Parenting and Crafts & Lessons.

10 Cheap Food-Free Valentine Ideas & Printables

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post. This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.Thanks for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Schools today usually request non-food Valentines. Does yours? I know Hazel's does and there is always at least one family if not more in her class that pays no attention. And her class has someone with severe food allergies. Of course the candy Valentines are so easy since you can buy them everywhere for pretty cheap. Today I am going to share some non-food Valentine ideas and printables to go with items you can order from Dollar Tree.

The Last Cherry Blossom -- a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review #ReadYourWorld

Disclosure: Kathleen Burkinshaw gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review in return for an honest 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 January and that means Multicultural Children's Book Day is approaching. This year it is January 27th and I am co-hosting, so be sure to check back to see the amazing array of books reviewed for this great day.

I Am Jim Hensen -- Book Review & Muppet Crafts & Activities

Disclosure: Penguin Kids gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review in return for an honest 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 a child of the 1970s and 1980s I grew up with Sesame Street and The Muppet Show and loved them. Of course back then Sesame Street was very different. There was no Elmo or Abby. Everyone in our family had a favorite character. My oldest sister loved Kermit, my middle sister loved Oscar the Grouch and I loved Cookie Monster. I remember at one point saving my money to buy a new album. I was going to get the newest Shaun Cassidy (it was the 70s after all) and instead bought C Is for Cookie from Cookie Monster. I sang those songs all the time except I did sometimes change the title to C is for Carrie. My sister who also loved Shaun Cassidy thought I made a bad choice, but I loved my album.

Reflections on the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther KIng, Jr. and a simple craft

As I thought about what I wanted to do this year for Martin Luther King Day for Kids I reflected on what we have done in the past. We have shared numerous books on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as other Civil Rights Activists. We have done various crafts about unity and diversity and peace. I'll be honest I wasn't sure what to do. Hazel understands the teachings of Dr. King and we have focused quite a bit on the Civil Rights Movement in the past. I want to first reflect on a few things.

Crafts from Recycled Materials (Valentine Themed) -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent these products to review free of charge from Quarto Books USA. 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.

Happy New Year!! Crafty Weekends has been on hold for a few weeks due to the holidays and Hazel's birthday parties. We are back this week with a review of two great children's craft books using things from your recycle bin!! I put a Valentine's Day twist onto the ones I made. I am also providing you with some free printable Valentines in case you do not want to make the crafts to go with them.

Sharing Saturday 17-1

Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party! I have been taking a few weeks off due to the holidays, but our party was still continuing. However we had a very small party the last few weeks, so our feature numbers are less. Our features are just a sampling of them so if you haven't checked them all out, you should! This week we have just one group.

Fairy & Ice Cream Party Updates

Disclosure: Some of the links 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 am finally stopping to catch up after the holidays and Hazel's birthday. Today I am going to share some of the details of her two birthday parties. First we always have a family and adult and younger kid party for her birthday. This year we decided on an ice cream theme. I made invitations with My Memories Suite.

Authentic Living for the New Year

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

We have had a very busy weekend with the new year and Hazel's birthday. After two birthday parties and many hours of working, I am back. I will share more about her ice cream themed and fairy parties soon!! Today however I am sharing the perfect book for getting your focus on your faith for the new year. The book is Authentic Living: 365 Devotions for Deliberate Faith by Richard Exley.