Virtual Book Club for Kids: Quiet in the Garden by Aliki

It is time for the Virtual Book Club for Kids and this month's author is Aliki. Now Aliki has wonderful children's books. Some are about historical people, some about things like the five senses and others about experiences. We have read several and Hazel decided her favorite is Quiet in the Garden.

Virtual Book Club for Kids: K Is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo by Giles Andreae

It is time for the Virtual Book Club for Kids and this month the author is Giles Andreae. We have been having so much fun with his books. Hazel picked her favorite to feature this month and it is K Is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo. We actually got this book out of the library on Friday. I was all set to do some giraffe crafts to go with Giraffes Can't Dance, but she changed her mind once we read K Is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo. Well my idea changed. Instead of doing a craft we changed to an activity or game. Actually this book is perfect for one of the things Hazel's school wanted the students to work on over the summer. They want us to practice with the beginning letters of words. 

Virtual Book Club for Kids: Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle

 Disclosure: I was sent the seahorse craft kit 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 added links to the particular products for your convenience, but not for any compensation. 

Virtual Book Club for Kids: Yoo-Hoo Ladybug! by Mem Fox

The author this month for Virtual Book Club for Kids is Mem Fox. Now Mem Fox has many wonderful books, so it was hard to choose one, but since this year we hatched ladybugs and have been focusing a bit on them, I thought Yoo-Hoo Ladybug! was the perfect one to share. Plus the bonus that Hazel LOVES reading it. Of course she also LOVES looking for the hidden ladybug on the pages.

Virtual Book Club for Kids: In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming

Today we are going to share our April book for Virtual Book Club for Kids. This month's author is Denise Fleming. We had not read many Denise Fleming books previously, but found them to be fun. Her books have few words but beautiful pictures. She has a wonderful website full of activities to go with her books. 

Virtual Book Club for Kids: Hopper Hunts for Spring

We have been having so much fun with Marcus Pfister books this month, we decided to share a second one. If you missed our first post for Virtual Book Club for Kids this month, we shared Ava's Poppy. Today we are going to share Hopper Hunts for Spring.

Virtual Book Club for Kids: Ava's Poppy by Marcus Pfister

It is time for Virtual Book Club for Kids again! For those that do not know about Virtual Book Club for Kids, I have joined with an amazing group of bloggers to present books from a selected author each month. We then host a blog hop for anyone to add a post with an activity or craft to go with a book by our selected author. This month's author is Marcus Pfister. The amazing blogs that bring you this fun book club are:

March Happenings

This month promises to be a good one. However the beginning is a bit crazy. A good friend has her young son (less than one) in the hospital, and I have been helping with her older son's care, so if I miss a few days this week you will know why. This month will be filled with fun activities, crafts and reviews plus a giveaway!! I know I am excited for spring and cannot wait for it to get here. We will continue our Hawaii escape posts until then. I am also looking forward to Easter and the preparation of it with Lent. We will also continue our Friday Fruit Explorations and Hazel has been asking to do some under the sea discoveries, so expect to see some of that as well. It is so fun to have her at an age where she is asking questions about things and we can do some research together on them.

Now for our monthly clubs and posts. This month  for Virtual Book Club for Kids, the author is Marcus Pfister. Do you know his books? They are amazing. The first book I was introduced to of his is The Rainbow Fish. My sister had given it to us as a hand-me-down. She had bought it for my nephew when he thought he should be given things by strangers because of his cute looks. It is the perfect book to deal with that issue. So many of Marcus Pfister's books help teach life lessons. A little about Marcus Pfister: he was born in Bern, Switzerland and still lives there. He became a graphic artist. In 1986 his first book, The Sleepy Owl, was published. Then in 1992 when The Rainbow Fish burst into the international book scene, he stopped his work as a graphic artist and focused solely on his book authoring career. (Source)

Hazel and I have been enjoying so many of his books and we are having a hard time choosing which one to pick for the club post. It will be one on this collage though.

Update: Here are our posts: Ava's Poppy and Hopper Hunts for Spring and an older one on Rainbow Fish.

March begins a new season for Around the World in 12 Dishes. It is hard to believe we have been through a year of it already. We had so much fun joining in this journey, that we have signed up for another year. Here is this year's schedule:

Our first stop is Iceland! This summer my sister happened to take a trip to Iceland, so I have a few of her beautiful photos to share!!

I also wrote an introduction to the country for the Around the World in 12 Dishes blog, so I will not be sharing as much of the country's background here and will just provide a link for you to the introduction. That will give me more space for our crafts and such. Here is the cover for this season's passport pages. You can begin your exploration of Iceland with the placemat and passport pages. Join us the week of March 17th to see our Icelandic adventures!

So stay tuned this month for St. Patrick's Day crafts, Lent crafts, spring crafts as well as our fruit explorations, under the sea crafts and explorations, Iceland, Marcus Pfister, and a few reviews including some on The Octonauts. I hope you will join us!!

Virtual Book Club for Kids: The Amazing Pig by Paul Galdone

It is time for the Virtual Book Club for Kids!! This month the featured author is Paul Galdone. Since so many of his books are classic tales, I considered doing Cinderella and counting it as my Fairy Tales in Different Cultures, but to be very honest, I couldn't think of a fun craft or activity to do that we haven't already done with some form of Cinderella. So we decided to feature The Amazing Pig.

February Happenings: Paul Galdone, Canada and Black History Month

With the busy start of February, I have not had a chance to preview the month for you. February brings some added events such as Valentine's Day, Presidents Day and Black History Month. We have joined some other great members of Multicultural Kid Blogs to bring you the Black History Month Blog Hop. We have already shared posts on Thurgood Marshall and the song We Shall Overcome. For Valentine's Day we have shared a simple sewing project of a felt heart so far.

Another event coming up this month is:

 International Book Giving Day is an initiative aimed at increasing children's access to and enthusiasm about books. To participate you donate or give books to children either ones you know or a charity or a classroom or library. Will you join us is celebrating?

For Virtual Book Club for Kids the author this month is Paul Galdone. Now most people know something of Paul Galdone's work since so many of his titles are classic stories. He illustrates them and tells the traditional tale. We will be sharing a Galdone book next week with you!!

For Around the World in 12 Dishes, we will be exploring Canada. This will be the twelfth country we have explored in this series!! We have had so much fun exploring the countries. Hazel is always asking where we will be exploring the next month. The new season begins in March. I hope you will join us exploring our neighbor to the north with food, stories, music and more!
Stay tuned for more reviews, giveaways and crafts!!

Ponyella--where Fairy Tales in Different Cultures meets Virtual Book Club for Kids

While looking at books by Laura Numeroff, I discovered she had a horse version of Cinderella. So today, Fairy Tales in Different Cultures meets Virtual Book Club for Kids. We are presenting Ponyella by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans.

Virtual Book Club for Kids: Sherman Crunchley

Today we get to share a Laura Numeroff book as part of the Virtual Book Club for Kids. For those that do not know, Virtual Book Club for Kids is a monthly blog hop where an author is picked for the month and a group of amazing blogs shares one of the books by the author with an activity or craft to go with it. Anyone who has an activity or craft to go with a book by the selected author is welcome to share it at the blog hop.  The bloggers presenting the blog hop are:

Virtual Book Club for Kids: Mortimer's Christmas Manger

Yes, I still have Christmas on my brain--way too early! This month's author for the Virtual Book Club for Kids is Karma Wilson. Now Karma Wilson has some amazing books. I think the most famous ones are the Bear series. Lately Hazel has been scared of books with bears, so I stayed away from them. We however fell in love with Mortimer. We read the two Mortimer books and since Christmas is coming sooner than when I'll plant a garden again, we went with Mortimer's Christmas Manger. We however also loved the Little Pip series too!

Virtual Book Club for Kids: Mixed Up Fairy Tales by Nick Sharratt

This month the author for the Virtual Book Club for Kids is Nick Sharratt. We have really enjoyed his books. He has quite a range of books and then even more that he has illustrated. You can learn a little more about Nick Sharratt on his website.

Virtual Book Club for Kids--I Pledge Allegiance

Today I am going to share a second Bill Martin, Jr. book for the Virtual Book Club for Kids. If you missed our post last week, we shared The Little Squeegy Bug. Today's book is I Pledge Allegiance and it is co-authored with Michael Sampson. Now the main words to this book are the Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Virtual Book Club for Kids--The Little Squeegy Bug

The author for September in the Virtual Book Club for Kids is Bill Martin, Jr. For those that do not know about the Virtual Book Club for Kids, each month a group of bloggers pick one author to feature on all of our blogs and host a blog hop. Each blogger picks one (or sometimes two) book by that author and does an activity or craft with it and posts about it. Then we open up the blog hop to anyone else who would like to share a book by the author of the month and an activity to go with it. The Virutal Book Club for Kids is brought to you by the following group of bloggers:

Donald Crews Part 2: Ten Black Dots

We have a winner!! Congratulations to Doreen W. for winning the Room on the Broom DVD!

Today I am going to share our second book for this month's author in the Virtual Book Club for Kids. This month's author is Donald Crews. Last week we shared Carousel. This week we are going to share Ten Black Dots. If you do not know anything about the Virtual Book Club for Kids, you can check out my post last week or click the button on the left which will take you to the Book Club's Facebook page.

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.

Virtual Book Club for Kids Bobo Books by Jez Alborough

Have you entered my current giveaway?

This month the author chosen for Virtual Book Club for Kids is Jez Alborough. We had not read any of his books but quickly fell in love with the Bobo series as well as the Duck series. Today we are featuring the Bobo series. I thought it would be fun for us to learn more about chimpanzees since they are an animal we do not know much about. But first let me tell you about the Virtual Book Club for Kids.

The Virtual Book Club for Kids is a group of amazing bloggers that have one author chosen for each month and each blogger chooses a book by that author and comes up with an activity or craft to go with the book. Then we host a blog hop which starts the third Monday of the month. We each link up our posts and invite others to link up posts about books by this month's author. The amazing bloggers hosting this book club 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 - Juggling With Kids - Motherhood on a Dime - Growing Book By Book

- This Reading Mama - Fantastic Fun and Learning

Ok, now onto our books. Bobo is a wonderful little chimpanzee. He is friends with many animals in the jungle but in particular an elephant and a lizard (at least I think it is a lizard, but it could be a frog). Each of these books have very few words. In fact most of the words are just the title repeated over and over. For example in Hug, on every page Bobo sees an animal friend getting a hug from its mommy and he says, "hug" repeatedly. Then he yells it and begins to cry until his Mommy yells, "Bobo" and comes and hugs him. The only words in the book are hug, Bobo and Mommy.



In Yes, Mommy tells Bobo it is time for different parts of the bedtime routine like a bath. Bobo says, "Yes" repeatedly during the bath, but when it is time for bed and Bobo says, "No" repeatedly. Then Mommy says "Bye-bye, Bobo," and Bobo's friends come and to play with him in the water. The lizard splashes Bobo and he says, "No." The lizard says, "Yes." Then they both say no when the elephant runs to the water. Then the three friends enjoy the water together saying yes. Soon Bobo becomes tired and falls asleep. The elephant carries him sleeping with his trunk to his bed in the trees where Mommy is waiting for them.



In Tall, Bobo is feeling small and climbs on a rock to be tall. Then his lizard friend comes and stands up on his hind legs and is taller than Bobo on the rock, so Bobo feels small again. The lizard has Bobo climb onto his shoulders so he can be tall. Then they find a lion cub who is taller so Bobo feels small. The lion cub gives Bobo a ride so he is tall. This continues throughout the book with different animals being taller until he gets on top of the giraffe. He begins to dance on the giraffe's horns and loses his balance. He yells, "Fall" and his Mommy comes running yelling his name and catching him. She carries him home hugging him and he is happy to feel small.

For these books we did a craft by making masks for Bobo and Mommy. For the pattern I went to the Jez Alborough website and went to his How to Draw section. How to draw Bobo is in the club members only section, but to join the club is free, so I joined. I used his steps to draw a pattern.

Dark Brown Pattern Pieces

We cut the pattern pieces out of cardstock scrapbook paper and cut the eyes out to make the masks. Then we colored the mouth, nose and eye brows. We glued them together and left them to dry. After they dried we punched holes and tied on stretchy string.

Light Pattern Pieces

Hazel then modeled both of them for me.

Bobo or Hazel's Mask

Mommy

Hazel loved wearing the masks, but I need to tighten the string on the Mommy mask. I also wanted to teach her more about chimpanzees, so we took some books out of the library.

I discovered that chimpanzees are endangered. I found this very sad especially since they have so many similarities to humans. I also found on Disneynature an educator's guide to go with their Chimpanzee Movie. I have requested the movie from the library, but have not gotten it yet. We had some fun exploring chimpanzees. I printed the lessons intended for the youngest grades in the educator's guide. It started with comparing chimpanzees to human beings. We looked at feet, hands and then took measurements and compared which was longer our legs or our arms. There was also a sheet to identify the emotions the chimpanzee in a picture was displaying on his face. 

They also gave us a map to color in where chimpanzees are found in the wild. Hazel mistakenly colored in an extra country, but we also noticed they are in Kenya which is our country this month for Around the World in 12 Dishes (post will be tomorrow), so it was a nice connection. We also read a short story and chose what animals and plants were in the chimpanzees habitat and finally we looked a food chain with the chimpanzee in it.

So that is our study of chimpanzees which was all inspired by the Bobo series of books. Every time I read one Hazel gets so excited and comments how she loves Bobo. Have you read a Jez Alborough book and done some activity or craft with it? Now is your turn to share. If you don't have one to share you can always check out all the great ideas others share here too.

July Happenings at Crafty Moms Share

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It is hard to believe July has already started! We have joined several amazing bloggers to bring you different special events this month. Some have been going on for awhile like The Virtual Book Club for Kids and Around the World in 12 Dishes, but one is something special just for this month, a Pinterest Scavenger Hunt. I cannot wait to tell you more about it.

It will involve several multicultural blogs and there will be prizes! I'll let you know more soon since it begins on July 15th!! 

This month the Virtual Book Club for Kids' author is Jez Alborough. Now this is an author I really knew/know nothing about, but Hazel and I have been enjoying his books so far. Several of them have few words with wonderful pictures. Others rhyme. All of them have been fun! I hope you will join us on July 15th to see which we pick to feature and of course to share your activities with a Jez Alborough book.

If you have not heard about the Virtual Book Club for Kids, we are a group of bloggers who choose an author each month to feature. Each blogger chooses a book and does an activity and/or craft with the book and then posts about it and hosts a blog hop. Everyone is welcome to join the hop as long as it is a post about a book by that month's author!

This month for Around the World in 12 Dishes we are traveling to Kenya! A country we have done a few posts on but are looking forward to exploring more in depth. So far we are loving some books and stories from Kenya. I hope you will join us on the 16th for our day exploring Kenya!

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This summer our goal is to take it slow and easy. I hope to have a lot more at home time with Hazel instead of us running all over the place like what seems to happen. That being said this month we do have plans to visit Maine with friends and for Hazel to attend Vacation Bible School at our church (and me to volunteer at it).  We also have a few theater tickets to see princess musicals at the local theater. Hazel loves going to these. We saw Snow White last week! More about that another time though. I hope you will tune in this month and join us for some of our fun and relaxing adventures!