The Nonsense Book by Eric Carle -- Book Review

Disclosure: Penguin Kids sent me an advance 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.

Now everyone knows Eric Carle and probably loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar along with many others of his popular books. We have posted ideas for a birthday party and a story time to kick of a food drive to go with the theme of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Well Eric Carle is coming out with a new book and it is being released on October 13, 2015. It is called The Nonsense Show. You can pre-order it now.

The Nonsense Show is full of a lot of nonsense!! It is fun and silly and it is a great way to introduce young children to surrealism.  Carle's last two books, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse and Friends, introduced expressionism and abstract art. This sort of trilogy is perfect for introducing young children to the different areas of art. 

Rigoberta Menchu

Back in August I had the pleasure of sharing She Takes a Stand: 16 Fearless Activists Who Have Changed the World by Michael Elsohn Ross. One of the amazing 16 women I read about was Rigoberta Menchú. I decided then to focus on Rigoberta for Hispanic Heritage Month (there is a giveaway below). I wanted to share her story with Hazel (though she got bored--I guess I'll have to wait a few more years) and you.  Rigoberta is an indigenous woman from Guatemala. She has dedicated her life to promoting indigenous rights in Guatemala. She received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1992.

Rigoberta with other Human Rights Activists in 1992 By Moya110 (Own work) 
[GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Sharing Saturday 15-38

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! We had less than usual, but what was shared was amazing!! Our feature themes this week are Autumn Leaves, Art and Educational Play.  Remember the features are just a sampling of the things shared so if you did not get a chance to check them all out, go back and be inspired!

Let the Celebrations Begin! -- Book Review

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy 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.

As fall arrives and school starts my attention tends to be on a few things, getting Hazel ready for school, getting clothes for the cooler weather and then I start to think about the upcoming events and holidays. Being Christians and having Hazel attend a private Christian school we do not pay much attention to the Jewish holidays, but there is Columbus Day and Halloween in October and Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving in November. This year I have Veteran's Day on my radar. The parent group at Hazel's school is planning a collection service project for the troops, so perhaps that is why. Last year I had the pleasure of reviewing Once a Shepherd by Glenda Millard and published by Candlewick Press as well. This book helped explain the sacrifices of the soldiers and their families. This year I am going to share with you Let the Celebrations Begin!: A Story of Hope for the Liberation by Margaret Wild and illustrated by Julie Vivas. 

Math Lesson: Geometric Origami

 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. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

I haven't done a math lesson post in awhile and here is a fun one! It goes along with the Geometric Origami Mini Kit by Richard L. Alexander and Michael G. LaFosse. 

This kit includes a booklet, a DVD and some mini origami paper. The booklet has instructions for six different origami items and the DVD demonstrates how to make all six. The nice part of having the DVD is sometimes origami instructions can be a bit confusing, so being able to actually see them is great. This is a fun kit that is very reasonable and each project lends itself to a math lesson. I made up a lesson for the first project for various ages and will give suggestions for the second one.