New Picture Books About Friendships -- even with ones you think you might not like!

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Friendships are important. Sometimes your best friend may be someone whom at first you thought you didn't like or weren't going to like. Have you ever had one of those friendships? We often jump to judgement before getting to know someone and this can cause a missed opportunity at a best friend. Today I'm going to share two new picture books about friendships that almost don't happen because of missed opportunities. The first is I'm Sticking with You--And the Chicken Too! by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and illustrated by Steve Small. It is recommended for ages 4-8.

Summer Animal Fun -- Summertime Fun Reviews

Disclosure: I was sent 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.

 Summertime brings thoughts of many things--beach, heat, sunshine and animals. For me there are always new and fun things to see in nature and I like to share that with Hazel. What animals do you think about in the summer? We have so many different birds, bugs and frogs that come into our lives, so today's products are going to share those things with you. This year the town cleaned out some of the creek in our back yard and we discovered frogs around. So we will begin with Fabulous Frogs by Martin Jenkins and illustrated by Tim Hopgood. 

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. 

Poetry, Trees and Bees

April is National Poetry Month and last Friday, April 18th was Arbor Day. We have been doing things for both of these and today I thought I would share them. A few weeks ago Hazel got her first (and second) bee sting. I went to the library looking for books on bees. The children's librarian suggested some poetry including Unbeelievables by Douglas Florian.

This book has various poems about bees and then gives details about the information shared in the poem. It is a wonderful way for children to learn more about the positive sides of bees. We learned that male bees do not sting, only females do. The male bees or drones main purpose in life is to fertilize the queen bee's eggs. 

While in the poetry section I found a few more poetry books to check out. We really enjoyed reading Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman. There would be two poems with the question of "Who am I?" or something similar at the end and then the next pages would give details about the animals or things that were described in the poems. Hazel asked to get this one out again.

We also got a few others out that we have not read yet. They are Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O'Connell George (I wanted to try the origami with Hazel), Insectlopedia: Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian and Seeds, Bees, Butterflies and More! Poems for Two Voices by Carole Gerber (the librarian recommended this one).

Last Thursday the craft at the library was in honor of Arbor Day on Friday. I did not take Hazel with me since she was spending the day with Nonni, but I saw what they did and knew we could do it at home. Hazel also happened to ask last week to learn more about trees, so I was actually going to the library to look for books on trees. The craft was to cut a toilet paper roll in half and glue it down as your trunk. Then use green tissue paper for the leaves and they had sequins for flowers or apples or whatever. I used buttons. I gave Hazel lots of supplies to choose from and she came up with her own version. I did mine after her, so she would not get any ideas from me.

I found some stories about trees which we have been enjoying. 

Picture a Tree by Barbara Reid, we actually did artwork with this book last summer. Mighty Tree by Dick Gackenbach is a story about four tree seeds and what happens to each tree. One tree remains and keeps spreading its seeds. One thing I did not like is the seeds looked like maple seeds and the tree looked like a pine. The Family Tree by David McPhail is a wonderful tale about a boy who saves the tree, that his ancestors left when they built their farm, from being taken down for the road. Someday a Tree by Eve Bunting is about a tree that a family loves and they discover one day that it has been poisoned. The community comes together to help them try to save the tree, but it is too late. The girl however plants some of the acorns she collected from the tree near the dying tree so someday there will be another great oak.

We also took some books out to learn about trees. We have not read them yet, but the two above I think will be best. They are Be a Friend to Trees by Patricia Lauber and Tell Me, Tree All about Trees for Kids by Gail Gibbons.

So that is what we have been up to. Have you read any good children's poetry this month or learned about trees?

Virtual Book Club for Kids--Waddles by David McPhail

If you are looking for my Fairy Tales in Different Cultures for this week it is here!

I join many other wonderful bloggers to bring you the Virtual Book Club for Kids. This month we have picked David McPhail as our author. So each of us has chosen a David McPhail book to feature and do an activity with and will share it in a blog hop. If you have an activity to go with a David McPhail book please join us in the hop this month!

The host blogs 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

Now I must admit I had not checked out David McPhail previously. After looking at some of his books we fell in love. I also am happy to find he was born and grew up on the North Shore of Boston in Newburyport and is still a New Englander. That makes it all the more special for us!

Our Waddles

This month we choose Waddles as our feature book. After all I have a daughter who loves ducks so it only seemed fitting. Waddles is an adorable book about the life of a raccoon who waddles due to his size and therefore is called Waddles. He lives in a park near a pond where his best friend, Emily lives. Emily is a duck. (Did I mention that Hazel's latest new doll is named Emily? She got her shortly after we read this book a few times.) Waddles and Emily spend each day together until one spring Waddles finds Emily sitting on a nest. She has laid her eggs. Since Emily cannot leave the nest, Waddles brings her food each day. Then when Emily is yearning to swim, Waddles sits on the nest for her. That is the point a red fox decides to come and get an egg. After Waddles scares the fox away the eggs hatch. Waddles now has six best friends--Emily and her five ducklings. Life is wonderful until autumn arrives. The ducks need to fly south for the winter. Waddles is heartbroken throughout winter. Of course spring does return and so do his best friends.

For an activity we decided to make some finger puppets. I had seen this duck finger puppet at About.com. I thought it would be perfect to make finger puppets and use up some old pill bottles. We found different size bottles for the different animals and used some felt. Now I am going to say that I let Hazel decorate them for the most part and let her choose colors. She cannot wait to play with them. For the heads of the bigger ones we cut felt and used a bit of stuffing. We tried to make the fox and raccoon noses as well, but they are not perfect. She loves them just the same.

Our Emily

Our Ducklings

Apparently all the ducks had to have red feathers. Now I will admit we are a bit low on feathers, but she for some reason really liked the red ones.

I had a bit of difficulty with the fox's head and didn't get it glued or stuck as well as I had hoped. I'll try some more later. Hazel is very excited to act out the story now.

Now it is your turn to share any David McPhail book activities you have done. Or if you haven't, visit the ones shared here so you can learn about some more of his books!

Fairy Tales from Around the World--The Gift of the Crocodile

Travel with me if you will to the Spice Islands or the Maluku Islands.Today we are going to discuss the book, The Gift of the Crocodile by Judy Sierra. This story takes place in the Spice Islands where nutmeg and cloves grow on the trees. This story was collected and retold around 1900 by G.J. Ellen, a missionary,  and was published in 1916 in Woordenlijist van het Pugoe op Noord-Halmahera. (Source: The Gift of the Crocodile by Judy Sierra, Folklore Note.)

Source

First a bit on the Maluku Islands. The Maluku Islands are part of Indonesia which is in South East Asia. Historically they are known as the Spice Islands by the Chinese and Europeans, however other islands outside of Indonesia have been called that as well. They are a group of small narrow islands that have rainforests and grow rice, sago and spices. Most famous for their spices such as nutmeg, cloves and mace. (Source) These are the islands Christopher Columbus was looking for. (Source: The Gift of the Crocodile by Judy Sierra, Folklore Note.)

Dried Cloves (Source)

Malukus population is about two million which is less than 1% of Indonesia's population.  Due to religious wars, many people have been killed or displaced recently.

Maluku Province Source

Northern Maluku Source

A long history of trade and seafaring has caused mix blood ancestry here.  The natives traded with other Asian countries like China since the Roman Empire. The spice trade was a very lucrative trade. Venice had a monopoly on the spice trade so other countries tried to find a faster way to the islands to bring back the spices. The Portuguese were the first to try to find new routes including around the tip of Africa and discovering/founding Brazil. They took control of the islands, but were challenged by other European countries. First Spanish, then the English and Dutch joined in the conflict. In 1950 the islands finally gained independence. Then from 1999 to 2003 the Muslims and Christians fought and caused a separation between the Maluku Islands. There are now two provinces Maluku and Northern Maluku.

Nutmeg Source

Nutmeg and cloves are still cultivated today as well as cocoa, coffee and fruit. Fishing and producing pearls are also big industries on some of the islands as well as logging, producing ironwood, teak and ebony on different islands. (Source)

Now onto our story.  The story starts with a the image and scents of the nutmeg and clove trees.  Living under them is Damura and her parents. Her mother teaches her to kindle the fire, cook, tend and harvest rice plants, and dance the dance of their ancestors. Unfortunately, her mother becomes ill and realizes she does not have long to live. She calls Damura to her side and tells her to remember to always be kind and respectful of all animals so they will help her throughout her life.

Clove Tree Source

She remembers these words as she mourns her mother. She talks to the green parrot and the lorikeet and finds comfort sharing her sadness each day with them. A woman in the village makes a beautiful doll for her and says Damura can have it if she tells her father to marry the woman. Damura takes the doll and convinces her father to marry the woman even though he thought they were happy just the two of them. The woman has a daughter of her own. At first they are nice to Damura but pretty quickly they turn Damura into their servant. She has to kindle the fire, cook, clean and weed the rice fields.

Nutmeg on tree Source

One day Damura is by the river washing the family's laundry and a sarong washes away in the current. Damura begins to cry. A large crocodile appears and asks why she is crying. Damura remembers her mother's advice and calls the crocodile "Grandmother". The crocodile says if Damura will watch her baby she will go fetch the sarong. Damura agrees and as the baby tries to bite her, she finds a soft stick for it to chew on and sings it a lullaby. Grandmother Crocodile comes back with a sarong far nicer and more beautiful than the rags that Damura lost. Grandmother Crocodile tells her it is what she should wear. Of course when she gets home the stepmother and stepsister take the sarong. The stepsister goes the next day to the river and pretends to lose a sarong and pretends to cry. The crocodile appears again and the stepsister follows what Damura tells her however is very disrespectful to the baby and then just grabs the sarong. She puts the sarong on at once and it becomes a rag filled with leeches.

At some point word is put out for all the maidens to come to dance for the prince so he can select a wife. The stepmother takes the stepsister in the beautiful sarong that the crocodile gave Damura. Damura goes and cries to Grandmother Crocodile. Grandmother Crocodile gives her an entire outfit in gold and tells her to bring all of the clothes back to her at sunrise. And then Damura goes to dance for the prince with the dances she learned from her mother. The prince of course falls in love with her. As the sun rises she runs away--losing a shoe. She apologizes to Grandmother Crocodile for not having both shoes. The prince looks for the woman whose foot will fit the shoe and of course finds Damura and he takes her to the palace and marries her.

Now the stepmother and stepsister are very jealous and go to Damura saying they want to be friends again and suggest taking a boat ride. When they are out in the middle of the river they push her overboard and she is eaten by a crocodile. Then they rush back to the palace yelling that Damura has been eaten by a crocodile.

The prince goes to the river and calls for Grandmother Crocodile and tells her what has happened. Grandmother Crocodile finds the crocodile who ate her and uses magic to bring her back to life and then tells all of the crocodiles that if they see Damura's stepmother or stepsister they must eat them at once. They overheard this and ran off never to be seen again. Meanwhile Damura and the prince live happily everafter raising their children by the river under the nutmeg and clove trees.

Here is my basic worksheet filled out for this book. The blank worksheet can be found here.

Then our crafts for this week were coloring pages which can be found at these locations:

• Lorikeet
• Green Parrot
• Crocodile

I made a clothespin doll to look like the picture in the book when she went to dance for the prince. I used wool roving for her hair and some golden fabric for her outfit. I bought a packages ages ago of clothespins in different skin colors so I will be using these for this series.

Then we made crocodile clips. I was inspired by these clips here, but made a few changes like the eyes and our painting is not as neat. They however were fun to make. For the bumps on the back, I just cut out some green scrapbook paper, however green foam would also work. Then we used green and white acrylic paint. The pom pom eyes needed to be hot glued on since the white glue was not keeping them there. That was our only issue with them though.

I had been thinking of making oranges stuck with whole cloves or play dough scented with nutmeg and cloves, but we did not get a chance to do that yet. I thought it would be fun to bring the scents in to the experience as well. There is also a tutorial for spicy pine cones here. We might try something like that with just nutmeg and cloves and see how it works. I'll keep you posted!

I hope you will join us Monday for our David McPhail book for the Virtual Book Club for Kids and next Monday for our next installment of Cinderella in Different Cultures!

Virtual Book Club for Kids--January Author is David McPhail

Sharing Saturday is still open to share your child-oriented crafts and activities!! Or come by and visit a few to be inspired!

As you may know I have joined a wonderful group of bloggers to present the Virtual Book Club for Kids where each month we pick an author and all choose a book by this author and come up with an activity or craft to go with the book. Then we post our ideas and open a blog hop where you can join us. The blogs hosting 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

One of the  the things I love about this book club is it has introduced me to some great authors that I would not have read otherwise. This month is one of those authors.I had heard of David McPhail, but had not paid any attention to his books. I am not sure why. I guess I looked quickly at a couple and didn't think they were our style. However now that I have investigated them some more and actually read them, I am finding several I really like. I hope you will join us on January 21st for our David McPhail Blog Hop. Make sure you visit all the other hosts so you can see all the great ideas and learn more about David McPhail books!!

Virtual Book Club for Kids 2012-2013

Sharing Saturday is still open!! Please stop by to share your child-oriented crafts and activities or to be inspired by the features from last week and what has already been shared this week!    
Well as August ends and September begins the end of the Summer Virtual Book Club for Kids ends, however we have decided to make it a year-long event!! As you know in June, our author was Mo Willems, in July the author was Audrey and Don Wood and August the author was Kevin Henkes! If you missed any, please stop by and see the great ideas everyone has shared.

So the Virtual Book Club for Kids is a group of 20+ bloggers who will host a blog hop for activities to go with the author of the month. The Bloggers 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  - Here Come The Girls - PlayDrMom

Today I am going to share with you our line up for the next year!! The blog hop goes live the third week of each month and the dates are included in my list below! To participate read a book by the selected author of the month and do some activity with it. Be creative and have fun!! Then blog about it and come here to link up at the blog hop!! It is a fun way to get your child reading with you and enjoying books! Plus you may learn about some new authors that you will end up loving! Check out are great line up!

September 17th-Lois Ehlert

October 15th-Amy Krouse Rosenthal

November 19th- Tomie de Paola

December 17th- Jan Brett

January 21st-David McPhail

February 18th-Dr. Seuss

March 18th-Julia Donaldson

April 15th-David Shannon

May 20th-Leo Lionni

June 17th-Gail Gibbons

July 15th- Jez Alborough

August 19th-Donald Crews

I hope you will join us each month!!