Imagination Soup

Art and Writing Project: When Mom or Dad Has Cancer

2012-05-17T03:06:40Z

Art helps kids express feelings. For many children, it’s easier to draw an emotion than label it and talk about it. Certainly this is true for young children who may not know the feelings words yet.

In fact, art therapy is used for grief, loss, learning disabilities, emotional issues, mental disorders, abuse, cancer, and divorce, among other ways.

I’m not an art therapist but with two kids under age five, when my friend’s husband was diagnosed with cancer, I decided to try to use writing and art to help them deal with their feelings. The kids wouldn’t understand the particulars of cancer, or the books I found about cancer, because they were so young.

As a result, I wrote a story about a panda bear named Kai whose dad had cancer – thinking of all the ways I could incorporate the boys frustrations and new situation into the story. Then, I had the four year old help me illustrate it.

Fiction is hard! My story is only sort of decent because two of my dear fiction writing friends gave me some very kind feedback (how hard it must have been!) to make it less awful!! Thank you P.K. Hallinan and Suzanne Santillan. You are so talented and had your hands full.

I’m making the story available to you to use with a child who has a parent with cancer for your use only – don’t republish it or sell it please, it’s just for your own use.

Printable .doc Panda’s Dad Gets Sick

Look what my friend’s son drew. Do you think he expressed his feelings?

Learn more about art therapy for kids with these resources:

Books

Art Therapy Sourcebook
The Creativity Handbook: A Visual Arts Guide for Parents and Teachers
Art Therapy Exercises

Websites

Art Therapy Blog
Top 50 Art Therapy Blogs via Expressive Art

Have you used art as therapy with your children or students?

I wrote this post to celebrate my friend, MamaSmiles, cancer-free 32nd birthday.

For a $15 donation to the American Cancer Society, you will receive a Project Hope eBook, a book of hope-themed arts and crafts to make for cancer patients.

View all the projects and blogs, visit Mama Smiles.

14 May Mama Smiles
15 May Artsy Craftsy Mom and Rainbows Within Reach
16 May B. Inspired, Mama!
17 May Rainy Day Mum and Imagination Soup
18 May Inspiration Laboratories
19 May Experimenting Mom
20 May Outlaw Mom
21 May NurtureStore
22 May Living Montessori Now
23 May Mess for Less
24 May Having Fun at Home and Craf toArt
25 May Mama Mia’s Heart2Heart
26 May Angelique Felix and Sense of Wonder
27 May Sun Hats & Wellie Boots
28 May Duck Duck Octopus
29 May Smiling like Sunshine
30 May Mommy with Selective Memory
31 May One Perfect Day
1 June The Educators’ Spin On It
2 June Kids Stuff World
3 June Rainy Day Mum
4 June Teach Preschool
5 June Dirt and Boogers
6 June Creative Connections for Kids and The Golden Gleam
7 June Montessori Tidbits
8 June Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
9 June The Iowa Farmer’s Wife
10 June Scribble Doodle and Draw
11 June Learn with Play
12 June Kitchen Counter Chronicles
13 June CRAYON Freckles
14 June Glittering Muffins
15 June Wise Owl Factory
16 June Crafty Maa
18 June Lessons Learnt Journal
20 June Growing a Jeweled Rose
21 June Growing Play
23 June JDaniel4′s Mom

Great Illustrators Study – Shel Silverstein (plus some poetry, too)

2012-05-16T15:57:29Z

Maggy of Red Ted’s Art Blog is hosting a monthly series called Kids Exploring The Great Artists. I thought I’d participate but adapt to be The Great Picture Book Illustrators.

As I pondered what illustrator to choose first, my 10-year old told me about an in-class project on Shel Silverstein‘s black and white drawings. Her teacher, Jayme Mansfield, is an artist and a writer and thanks to her, we’ll start with an illustrator study of Shel Silverstein.

“Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
‘Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain’t been there before.”
- Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein – The Illustrator

Shel Silverstein’s illustrations are black and white cartoons. If you look at the illustrations with new eyes, you’ll see how they capture the essence of each poem. Read more about Silverstein’s life on his website and see the complete list of books he created.

Draw Like Shel Silverstein

Materials Needed:

Pen or Pencil (I like Faber /Castell PITT Manga pens or Sharpie.)
Paper (Strathmore Visual Art Journal, Strathmore Drawing Paper)
Elements of Art printable (optional)

Illustration Ideas:

We often only of Silverstein as a poet but he was a skilled illustrator, too. In fact, he’s one of the best illustrators to start this bi-monthly series since his illustrations are simple and don’t require a lot of materials. Take a look through some of his poetry books and observe his style.

Shel Silverstein, from A Light in the Attic

Today Is Very Boring
Use the first two lines from Jack Prelutsky’s poem, “Today Is Very Boring” and continue in with his rhyme scheme and stanza breaks but use your own words to write a new poem. Illustrate in the style of Shel Silverstein.

The Missing Piece
Use the idea behind The Missing Piece and make your own missing piece story, illustrations and all.

Point of View
1. Write your own silly poem or use one of Silverstein’s.
2. Decide what object or point of view to choose for the drawing.

Cutting Kate
This printable poem is ready-made for illustrations and more than one child. Have fun!

Faces
Go to the last page of this Silverstein packet and trace the camel. What do you notice about the face? How did Silverstein make the camel expressive?
Try several versions of the camel’s face and focus changing on the eyes to create different expressions.

Eight Balloons – A Book to Draw and Play With
This printable Eight Balloons book gives kids the delight of creating their own illustrations to match the popping balloons.

More Activity Sheets, Games & Fun
FREE activity sheets, games & fun.

“Happy endings, magic solutions in children’s books create alienation in the child who reads them. The child asks ‘Why don’t I have this happiness thing you’re telling me about?’ and comes to think when his joy stops that he has failed, that it won’t come back.” – Shel Silverstein

Please visit The Great Artists series on Red Ted Art and the other hosts of this amazing art series, The Imagination Tree, Mom 2 Posh Little Divas, and Creative With Kids.

You Might Also Like . . .

Introduction to Art Journaling With Kids

Sign Up to Receive Imagination Soup’s Posts by Email

Pretend Play George’s Marvelous Medicine

2012-05-14T20:59:29Z

Guest post by: Charlotte from Make, Do and Friend.

Hi! I blog about creative play and imaginative learning with my 2.5 year-old son, Vincent. I’m so excited to be at Imagination Soup sharing our Roald Dahl inspired playtime.

Recently Vin and I caught a reading of George’s Marvelous Medicine at our local library. Vinnie loved the story; we brought it home and read a chapter each night before bedtime. One of our favourite things to do is turn stories into playtime so I knew we would end up playing along as we read.

George’s Marvelous Medicine really lends itself to concoction making. We read through the description of George’s cupboard raiding, looking for disgusting ingredients and then looked in our own cupboards.
Using empty bottles in the recycling, I gave Vin coloured water, milk, vinegar, and baking soda, along with washing up liquid, lemon juice, almond essence, face cream and toothpaste, aiming for a range of different colours, scents and textures. Talk about a sensory experience. I also knew from a recent baking soda experiment that some of the ingredients would react with each other to create different effects.

I set out measuring scoops and a big mixing bowl, then Vin and his friend started concocting. By the end of our playtime, we had a gross vibrant pink, curdled, bubbly, frothy mixture. The kiddos totally had a blast, and chattered away about “making horrible medicine for grandma” as they played.

Exploring a story after you read it helps deepen a child’s understanding of the book; there is so much inspiration to be found in children’s literature. (See my pinboard of Book Related Activities for more book-themed ideas.)

————————————————-
Bio: Charlotte is a twenty-something mum to Little Vin, early years childminder, playdough maker and believer in the power of playdates. Check out the fun over at Make, Do & Friend, on Facebook, Twitter, G+ & Pinterest.

You Might Also Like . . .

Duct Tape Cities

Book Rhymes with Nook (Enter to Win!)

2012-05-14T18:24:04Z

You, my wonderful readers, go to the library with your kids. I know this. Now I’m wondering about your home libraries; so is Target. And Target wants to give one of you a . . . NOOK . . . and to tell you about the Target School Library Makeovers and Literacy Pilot program .

Nice, right?

School libraries need our help – badly. (Did you see this post about DC Schools cutting almost 50 librarians?!!)

Target is helping; renovating 32 school libraries with more books, new furniture, carpet, and shelves, and a full technology upgrade. In addition, each child in the school will receive seven new books for their home library.

In fact, why don’t we talk home libraries for a minute? What’s your home library situation?

As for me, I’m a scatter-the-children’s-books-around-the-house kind of gal. Here’s how I organize our books.

Living Room: Built-In Book Shelves

Basement: Free Standing Book Shelves

Bedroom: Wall Shelf

Bedroom: Plastic Tub

Bedroom: Shoe Shelf

Anyplace: Wooden Crates

How do you organize your kids’ books?

Do you have them in one central place or a little here and there?

Nook Sweepstakes

Comment with your home library system and you’ll be entered to win the prize package from Target worth $500 including
- a Nook
- 10 age-appropriate books
- 1 bookshelf
- 1 blanket
- 1 $50 Target Gift Card
- 1 “Fatboy” chair
leave your answer to the question (How do you organize your kids’ books? Do you have them in one central place or a little here and there?) by midnight EST Sunday, May 20, 2012.
By entering this sweepstakes, you agree to Imagination Soup’s official sweepstakes rules. No purchase necessary. Open to individuals in U.S. only, 18 years of age or older, void where prohibited. Winner chosen at random. Target sent me a $50 gift card to thank me for my participating in this giveaway.
P.S. Check out Target’s Before and After Library Makeover photos –
Before:

After:

See a listing of all the schools getting library makeovers.
Connect with Target: Like Target on Facebook, follow Target’s Twitter account, or read Target’s online magazine, A Bullsey View.

You Might Also Like . . .

Kids at the Library

Subscribe to Imagination Soup’s Posts by Email and Receive a FREE eBook of Pretend Play Ideas

24 Educational iPad Apps for Kids in Reading & Writing

2012-05-11T06:46:12Z

As I started a go-to list of the best educational iPad apps for kids, the list got so long, I split up my posts into categories. So, today we’ll start with my favorite iPad apps for literacy — reading and writing for toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary-age kids. Also, I’ve included special needs iPad app resources at the end of this post.

General Literacy and Learning iPad Apps

1. BrainPOP Featured Movie – BrainPOP®
I’m very impressed with the quality and learning videos – kids love these!

2. The Electric Company
Social-emotional games and content.

Pre-Reading, Reading and Writing Apps

3. Word Games for Kids – Futaba – INKids

4. Word Wall HD
A game that makes learning words fun.

5. FirstWords: Animals
Fun and playful.

6. Fingerprint Play Maker
Write your own play.

7. Big Kid Life Fire Fighter
Lots of fun — for free!

8. Big Kid Life Vet
Free!

9. Sight Word Bingo
Engaging fun for learning sight words.

10. Goofy Mad Libs
This app gives you word suggestions so you’re also building vocabulary while learning parts of speech and writing.

11. iF Poems
I LOVE this app! Especially the poems read by Helena Bonham Carter.

12. Toontastic
A big favorite of ours – a great way to write your own stories.

13. Scribblenauts Remix
Thinking, writing, spelling, problem solving . . .

14. Don’t Let the Pigeon Run This App!
Make your own story and learn how to draw pigeon.

15. iDiary for Kids Lite 16. abc Joined Up
An engaging way to get kids to write!

17. Story Patch 18. My Story – Book Maker for Kids

19. Sock Puppets 20. Comic Life

21. Kids Crosswords 22. Spellosaur

23. Chickitionary 24. Rory’s Story Cubes

If you’re reading textbooks on the iPad, taking notes, or sharing files, you’ll want to consider these apps –> Goodreader, Evernote, Audio Note, Dropbox, and Aurasma.

Special Needs iPad App Resources:

Apps for Autism by Lois Jean Brady, M.A., CCC-SLP
A Basket of Special Needs Apps on Help f0r Struggling Readers
Apps for Special Needs on Moms With Apps
Special Needs iPad App List on Support for Special Needs

What are your kids’ favorite reading and writing iPad apps?

You Might Also Like . . .

Best iPad Book Apps for Kids

Early Readers & Easy Chapter Books – Spring 2012

2012-05-09T03:42:47Z

If you have a child who is beginning to read, you’re looking for engaging books. Here are my favorite newly published early readers and easy chapter books.

But, I must add that there is no need to rush into chapter books. Picture books are always marvelous – and often get forgotten when kids start chapter books. Don’t forget them. Please?

Early Readers

Ride Fly Guy Ride by Tedd Arnold
Is there a bad Tedd Arnold book? I think not. This is another super Fly Guy story that engages early readers. We love these books!

Pinkalicious I Can Read Level 1 by Victoria Kann
(Pink around the Rink, Pinkie Promise, School Rules!, Pinkerrific Play Date)
JJ (7-years old) likes these books better than the original picture books. She loves stories that she can read by herself and anything about pink is good in her book. (She’s waaaaay into pink!)

The New Puppy (Bob Books) Level 1 by Lynn Maslen Kertell, illustrated by Sue Hendra
This new, harder series for Bob Books keeps the same simple stick-figure illustrations but adds color and tells a relatable story about children who want a puppy. A fine book for beginning readers.

LEGO Ninjago Readers by Tracy West
My friend, Mia, aka. Pragmatic Mom says her son LOVES these books. Read her review here.

National Geographic Readers: Titanic, Lizards,
These non-fiction easy readers rock! Enough said. Try to make sure your kids practice reading non-fiction, too. Let them pick a subject they’re interested in. Choice is essential.

Easy Chapter Books

Zeke Meeks vs. the Gruesome Girls by D.L. Green, illustrated by Josh Alves
I’m a big fan of Zeke Meeks. This is another funny adventure where Zeke is being tortured by the girls in his life – his mom, sister, and now his new neighbor. Great cartoon illustrations, too!

Jinxed! A Topps League Story by Kurtis Scaletta illustrated by Eric Wight
This is a story that will appeal to readers even if they don’t love baseball as much as Chad, the main character. He’s thrilled to be a bat boy for the summer but can’t understand why his classmate Dylan isn’t as thrilled. Nor can Chad figure out how to help his favorite player who can’t seem to stop all his bad luck. Is he jinxed?

Welcome to Silver Street Farm by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Katharine McEwen
Several mixed-up events happen to give these three best friends enough animals to start a city farm — not a country farm mind you. The kids have the perfect spot – the abandoned train station. But will the city council abandon their plans for a parking garage?

Duck for a Day by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Leila Rudge
Abby is so excited that her teacher has a class pet, a duck! She and all the other students eagerly hope they will be allowed to bring the pet duck home for an overnight. Mrs. Melvio insists on specific guidelines for the ducks care. When Abby gets to bring the duck home, he escapes. Getting him back means she’ll have accept neighbor, Noah’s, help. Everyone, even Mrs. Melvio, learns a lesson.

Sadie and Ratz by Sonya Hartnett illustrated by Ann James
I just love Hannah, who has the naughtiest hands, Sadie and Ratz. Her hands are quite fed up with little brother, Baby Boy, and seem to always get into trouble.

Hooey Higgins and the Shark by Steve Voake illustrated by Emma Dodson
Hooey is a thinking kind of kid – he’s got plans to achieve his goals and is the kind of character I adore. To make money to buy a huge chocolate egg, Hooey decides the perfect plan is to (got to love his kid logic here) capture a shark and charge people to see it. Brilliant, right? Hooey will not be deterred in his goal to buy the egg – no matter what. A very funny, charming story.

Mrs. Noodlekugel by Daniel Pinkwater illustrated by Adam Stower
Nick and Maxine’s parents tell their kids not to visit or bother the old lady in the cute little house behind their apartment building. Of course, the kids do and are delighted to find a kind woman named Mrs. Noodlekugel who has tea with half-blind mice and talking cats. When the children confess to their parents, the parents said that they wanted the kids to disobey them. I’m still a bit puzzled by it. You’ll have to tell me what you think after you read it. Seems weird to me.

Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst and Lane Smith
Want to teach young writers about voice in writing? Use this book! I loved that Viorst interjected throughout the story of a spoiled brat named Lulu. Lulu is so mad that her parents won’t give her a Brontosaurus for her pet that she runs away to find one for herself. Which she does. Only he wants her to be HIS pet. What will happen? Will Lulu learn her valuable lesson? (Of course she will.)

Rainbow Magic Fairy, Olympia the Games Fairy by Daisy Meadows
(also new are the Magic Animal Fairies)
I’ve said this before, and here it is again. Gack. These are totally predictable and mind-numbing but for some reason, my kids love them. So, we own hundreds. (I even ordered some from the UK just to keep my reluctant reader reading.)

Mega Mash-Up
Remember these from my puzzle book post? These are fun, interactive books for young readers!!

You Might Also Like . . .

Recommended Early Readers for Young Learners – October 2011

Spring Picture Books, Board Books, & Non-Fiction Books

2012-05-08T03:43:02Z

Spring’s bounty of newly published books for kids is here with a round-up of picture books, board books, and non-fiction books your children will love. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten chapter books — stay tuned for those soon.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, created by James Dean
I imagine it’s hard to follow the perfection of the first Pete the Cat book. So, my kids and I read this book with a wary eye . . . and loved it! Again we have the colorful illustrations of James Dean, and the sing-songy tale created by Eric Litwin filled with great repetition and counting. Poor Pete keeps losing his buttons. Pop goes a button.

Did Pete cry?
Goodness, no!

Buttons come and buttons go.

He kept on signing his song:

“My buttons, my buttons,
my three groovy buttons.
My buttons, my buttons,
my three groovy buttons.

The ending is just about as fabulous as you can get in a picture book! We LOVE it.
* Bonus fun: Get the Pete the Cat iPad School Jams app!

Oliver by Judith Rossell
Oliver takes an adventure down the bathtub drain and discovers a boat filled with partying penguins with jet packs. You’ll love Oliver’s imagination and want to read this sweet story many times.

Secret Agent Splat! by Rob Scotton
Someone is stealing a duck from Spat’s collection each night and returning it the next day missing a beak. JJ adores Spat! so we were thrilled with another story – this mystery doesn’t disappoint. (And, there’s a Secret Agent Spat iPad app, too!)

An Awesome Book! by Dallas Clayton
If you’re going to buy a new book this year, buy this one. It’s basically an imagination manifesto for children and adults. It will inspire you to dream of jelly-bean powered cars and more . . .

There are places in the world
where people do not dream . . . /
of rocket-powered unicorns /
and candy-cane machines.

Clayton continues by telling of these places where people dream of buying a new hat, or owning matching silverware. (“Can you imagine that?”) Dream big, he writes. Dream for those who’ve given up. Dream!

Ladybug Girl and Bingo by David Soman and Jacky Davis
Ladybug Girl goes on her first camping adventure with her family and their dog, Bingo. When Bingo runs off, Ladybug Girl knows she can find him. Another sweet story in the series to which all kids can relate.

Sophie’s Fish by A.E. Cannon, illustrated by Lee White
This book cracks me up! Sophie asks Jake to babysit her fish, Yo-Yo, and Jake worries, er, panics.

What if Yo-Yo gets hungry and wants a snack?
What kind of snacks do fish like to eat?
What if Yo-Yo wants to play a game after eating his snack?
What kind of games do fish like to play?

Soon, Jake realizes that it can’t be too hard to take care of a fish. He stops worrying. That is . . . until he sees Yo-Yo . . . Now he IS worried.

What Little Boys are Made Of by Robert Neubecker
I thought I wouldn’t like book this but it’s really quite cute. Do you think your boys would like it, too?

What are little boys made of?

Sticks and stones

and skulls and bones.

Ships and sails and oceans and whales!

That’s what little boys are made of.

Tyler Makes Pancakes! by Tyler Florence & Craig Frazier
What goes into the pancake recipe and where does it come from? All the answers are in this charming picture book about making pancakes including how maple syrup coming from sap in the trees that gets boiled into delicious golden brown syrup, even how buttermilk from cows is what’s left over after butter is made.

Cindy Moo by Lori Mortensen illustrated by Jeff Mack
Cindy Moo is persistantly trying to achieve her goal of jumping over the moon. Fortunately she doesn’t listen to all the other animals telling her she can’t because she has a dream. Just as she’s about to give up, she finds the reflection of the moon in a puddle and makes her big jump. Success at last!

Pirate Princess by Sudipta Bardham-Quallen illustrated by Jill McElmurry
Princess Bea isn’t a proper kind of princess; she wants to be a pirate. But, once aboard the pirate ship, it turns out she’s terrible at pirating (she throws up from the crow’s nest, makes inedible stew, can’t swab the deck . . .) Just as she’s about to be thrown over board, she smells something, she smells . . . GOLD! All is forgiven, she’s not thrown overboard and Princess Bea the Pirate’s new job is to lead the pirates to gold.

Dini Dinosaur by Karen Beaumont illustrated by Daniel Roode
Is your toddler learning the names of clothes? Dini Dinosaur gets into the bath but forgets to take off his shoes, his pants, his shirt, and his hat. It’s simple, silly, and good practice for naming clothing.

Crouching Tiger by Ying Chang Compestine illustrated by Yan Nascimbene
This story captures a common story of feeling embarrassed about being different. When Vinson’s grandpa from China visits, Vinson is embarrassed. However, Vinson learns grandpa is a martial-arts master and starts to see grandpa him as someone to be proud of. The elements of Chinese culture like tai chi and clothing make us all learn proud Vinson can be of his culture.

PeepSqueak by Leslie Ann Clark
Peepsqueak doesn’t give up his dream of flying high to the sky even when all the other animals tell him he can’t.

But Peepsqueak did not listen.
Because why?
He was on the move!

Lots of fun repetition with high, high, high and down, down, down. And, Peeksqueak eventually does fly high — on the back of Old Gray Goose!

Red & Yellow’s Noisy Night by Josh Selig
Red and Yellow live happily together in the Olive Tree. One night when Yellow wanted to sleep, Red wanted to be loud. It took some time to work out a solution but eventually Red played quieter and Yellow liked it. In fact, he fell asleep to it.
This book is part of Little Light Foundation, a non-profit charity whose goal is to help children learn about conflict resolution and mutual respect.

The Scar by Charlotte Moundlic, illustrated by Olivier Tallec
This book will make you cry. We watch a young boy narrate his grief; his his mother has just died. Illustrated in red and white, the dramatic colors capture the pain of his words and his fear that he will forget his mother.

When Honey the Tiger Flew written in collaboration with The Somaly Mam Foundation Voices for Change Program illustrated by Prak Ke
Voices for Change is a network of human trafficking survivors that supports and empowers young women and children. This book is a collaborative effort about an endangered Indochinese tiger named Honey who wants to help his mom find food for them both. The last third of the book explains more about the tigers, Cambodia, the authors, Somaly Mam, and action we can take right now to help.

Woody Guthrie’s Riding In My Car illustrated by Scott Menchin
Lift the flap, pull the arrow, sing along, and ride with this family of dogs through the United States. New York, farm land, The White House, the desert, all the way to San Francisco’s Bay bridge. “This land is your land . . .” What this book lacks in plot is made up with a feeling of childhood nostalgia — singing this folk song at my alternative elementary school.

Board Books

Noodle Loves to Eat by Marion Billet
Super cute panda bear, Noodle, loves to eat all sorts of foods (I like his good influence!) in this brightly colored touch-and-feel board book.

Backseat A-B-See by Maria van Lieshout
The perfect car ride board book that travels through the alphabet using road signs. Very unique!

A – Airport

B – Bike route

C – Children At Play

My Birdie illustrated by Jessie Ford
A bird-themed board book that features pop-out, sturdy puzzle pieces, counting, and colors great for the youngest of readers.

Non-Fiction

Pantone: Colors by Pantone, Helen Dardik
Is it just me or do you also think naming colors be the coolest job in the world? This sturdy color book shows the variety of shades in nine basic colors.

Swords by Ben Boos
Swords is a fantastic visual and factual history of swords. The illustrations and design entice readers into the information – even if they’re not that interested in swords. Kids will pour over this book for hours and learn the history of swords, and the types of sword use for people like medieval knights, samurais, and sultans. It’s gorgeously illustrated and very well-written.

Leopard & Silkie One Boy’s Quest to Save the Seal Pups by Brenda Peterson, photographs by Robin Lindsey
A group of volunteers called Seal Sitters, watch out for baby seals who are left on Seattle shore while their mothers hunt for food. This photographic story tells the story of baby seal, Leopard, who is crowded by onlookers and dogs. Young volunteer, Miles, calls his fellow Seal Sitters to help him move the people away from Leopard. Miles and his grandpa decide to build a floating dock for Leopard so he will be safe when his mother hunts. It’s a compelling story about the real dangers that marine mammals face every day.

Illusionology The Secret Science of Magic by Albert D. Schafer
Another lavishly illustrated Ology book, this time about illusions and magic. It’s a behind-the-scenes guide to magic feats, illusions and slight of hand. Addictive!

You Might Also Like . . .

The Best Villains in Children’s Books

Stop the Summer Slide with Engaging Puzzle & Activity Books

2012-05-08T03:43:33Z

It’s time to get organized for summer learning so your kids don’t experience the dreaded “summer slide .” Fun puzzle and activity books for kids can be an easy way to keep your kids learning and thinking this summer.

New Favorite Puzzle and Activity Books for Kids

Ages 2 – 5

eyePad ABC/abc and eyePad 123

Ages 6 – 12

eyePad Amazing Games & Puzzles

EyePad Games offers a variety of activities like the one above, dot to dot, mazes, and more. It’s a great activity book for the car or restaurants.

My Beastly Book of Twisted Tales
illustrated by Berengere Delaporte (Owl Kids)

JJ’s (seven-years old) been loving this silly doodle and imagine book – and it’s HUGE so it is lasting her a long time. Download this sample page, “There’s a Hair in My Soup,” and try a page for yourself.

Ken Ken Mania by Tetsuya Miyamoto
150 math puzzles from easy to hard that, to quote my ten-year old, are “fun.”

Complete Idiot’s Guide to Picture Puzzles (Alpha Books)

Mega Mash-Up Series (Noisy Crow)

Pirates vs. Ancient Egyptians in a Haunted Musuem
Aliens vs. Mad Scientists Under the Ocean (above)
by Nikalas Catlow, Tim Wesson, and YOU
These books are part novel, part activity book. You read along with the story and participate in the illustrations or dialogue. I love that the books start with the supplies you’ll need and directions for how to make textures like crayon rubbings on the floor or pencil rubbings on a wooden door. (Don’t miss the cool Mega Mash-up website!)

Dude Write! Draw! Destroy! The Book of Crazy, Immature Stuff! (Coke or Pepsi Universe)
by Mickey and Cheryl Gill
This is exactly the kind of crazy, random book a boy will love. What’s not to love when you have a 2 page “Spitaball Target Practice” or “Build a barf inducing burger” where you list the ingredients or pages of “Would you rather?” questions? (Would you rather honk every time you laugh or sing like a female opera singer every time you scream?”)
I haven’t seen the girl’s version of this book but I imagine it’s just as cool– Girl! Diary, Pages & Pages of Me.

Please Pass the Doodles Activities Puzzles Cartooning Fun Facts
36 Tear-Off Placemats
by Deborah Zemke

Children 13+

Puzzle Baron’s Sudoku, Hours of brain-challenging fun! (Puzzle Baron)

More Puzzle and Activity Books for Kids

My First Book of Cutting (Kumon)
My First Book of Mazes (Kumon)
1 to 25 Dot-to-Dot (A Get Ready Book)
Brain Quest workbooks
These are well-developed, colorful, easy to read, and hands down my favorite for kids.
Drawing A Book by Melissa Sweet (eBoo)
The Usborne Art Coloring Book in association with The National Gallery
Mad Libs: Star Wars Mad Libs , Summer Fun Mad Libs Junior

What Other Activity Books Do Your Kids Enjoy?

Soup Scoop – Star Wars Day & Other Fascinating Topics

2012-05-08T03:44:05Z

Thanks so much for welcoming all my guest posters this past week! I enjoyed a jam-packed trip to Washington D.C. where I spent 3 days at Mom Congress, 1 day sight-seeing (aching feet!), 1 evening gallivanting at the Reading is Fundamental gala, and 1/2 day of meetings. (I’m more introverted than extroverted so don’t expect spoken words for several days. Need. To. Rest.)

Did you see that May 4th is Star Wars Day? (You’re so excited, aren’t ya?)

via MTV Geek

Speaking of the Evil Empire, grading standardized test essays can now be robotized. Isn’t that peachy? Not really says Les Perelman, director of writing at MIT who made it his mission to prove how idiotic the robot grader (called Robo-Reader) really is. You’ll want to read the NY Times article how he writes essays using long sentences, inaccurate facts, and a random Ginsberg line to get a good score – a 6.

In geeky word news, the Oxford Dictionaries has games! Palindromes, and malapropisms are my two favorites.

Temple Grandin shares with Salon her thoughts about the new autism numbers. (1 in 88!) And, she seems quite disgusted with the DSM’s proposed changes, too.

Sing along with this RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) jaunty tune, “Book People Unite,” and watch the Three Little Pigs sky dive and Little Red drive the wolf in her sporty convertible. Isn’t it a catchy song?
Get books in the hands of kids who don’t have any. It’s easy!
1. Send a Macy’s Mother’s Day eCard and they’ll donate $3 to RIF.
2. Donate a gift of money. $10 buys 4 books.

Here are 19 Fun Facts from Mental Floss about our favorite children’s books and their authors. For example, “Maurice Sendak was a window dresser for F.A.O. Schwarz while in art school” and “Dr. Seuss said he expected to spend “a week or so” writing The Cat in the Hat. It ended up taking a year and a half.”

EdX, a partnership between MIT and Harvard, will offer free online classes to the world. Free. Harvard. Wow!

Mom Congress 2012 = advocacy information galore! Highlights from the Mom Congress 2012 experience, part I and part II. I LOVED trailing Melissa Bilash, Educational Advocate from PA and Carole Samango-Sprouse, Ed.D. of the Focus Foundation, to meet with education-committee Senator aids to advocate for the TALENT Act and the need for a formal definition of the term “educationally relevant” –which is often used to deny students services and at the moment has no legal definition.
(from Melissa Bilash & Jenny Nance for ACFE & The Focus Foundation: “The term “educationally relevant,” when used in connection with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), refers to a criteria that schools use to determine whether or not a child needs a related service to access their education. “Related services” can include a variety of areas, from transportation to speech therapy, from nursing services to parent counseling. [1] However, although the definition from the IDEA is fairly broad, unfortunately many parents find their districts arguing against providing various related services under the contention that they are not “educationally relevant” but are instead “medically relevant”—that is, they are a medical need but not an education need. The line between the two may be fine, but the difference is stark: if a need is medical instead of educational, then the district can refuse to provide the service or accommodation, leaving the child’s parents to seek reimbursement from insurance, to pay out of pocket, or worst of all, to go without.”)

Finally, two inspired graphics. First, a wonderful idea from Easy Peasy Kids — “Imagine If.” The blogger, Nathalie, uses these ideas with children who may need some help getting started with imaginative play. (I think we adults might need these more though – don’t you?)

Second, a graphic that’s gone viral from a non-profit literacy agency here in Denver, Burning Through the Pages. Genius!!

Have a fantastic weekend, my friends.

~ Melissa

You Might Also Like . . .

Soup Scoop – April 20, 2012: No Regrets Parenting, Literacy & Art, & Homework
Soup Scoop – March 23, 2012: Imagine, Go Out and Play, Make a Brain Hat, Blogging & Teens

10 Book-Loving Picture Books & 10 Book-Fun Activities

2012-05-03T04:26:43Z

We all want to raise a reader. In my family we’ve found ten favorite book-loving picture books and ten book-fun activities. Try them and see if they inspire new ways to love books in your family!

The Books:

1. Wild About Books by Judy Sierra - In this fun rhyming story, librarian Molly McGrew takes her bookmobile to the library. After reading them a story, the animals are wild to read more. She finds the perfect match for each animal, even finding waterproof books for the otter who adores Harry Potter.

2. 5 Little Monkeys Reading In Bed by Eileen Christelow - Mama has read 4 books to her 5 little monkeys and tells them lights out. They can’t resist reading a few books though. During the sad book they weep so loudly that Mama has to come in. The scary book and the joke book follow, eliciting shrieks and laughter from the monkeys and prompting return visits from Mama. When the monkeys finally settle down to sleep strange noises coming from down the hall cause them to investigate. It’s Mama reading the books!! The rhyming, predictable text, and adorable illustrations make this a perfect book for preschoolers.

3. The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco - Grandpa shows Mary Ellen how the sweetness inside books must be worked for by taking her on a hunt for honey. Perfect for children who are learning to read, especially those who might be struggling.

4. Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don’t) by Barbara Bottner – Miss Brooks helps all the children in her class find books they love. Missy is a tough customer, though, and dismisses them all until Miss Brooks finds her a book she loves too.

5. Good Books Good Times by Lee Bennett Hopkins is a collection of great poems about the joys of reading. Two of my favorites are “Give Me a Book” and “I Met a Dragon Face to Face”.

6. The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting- As a birthday surprise for her father, Anna and her grandmother are working on their reading. The twist is that it is Anna who is teaching her grandmother to read! This is a book with a wonderful message about the joy of reading and learning from each other and is suitable for almost any age.

7. I Can Read with My Eyes Shut by Dr. Suess- Read the reviews of this book on Amazon, and you’ll get lots of opinions about the message in the book – it’s about the importance of sight, it’s meant to get children to memorize books, it’s about how you see much more of the world with your eyes shut. My personal opinion is that it’s about how reading opens up the world around you. Whatever the message, it’s classic Suess with silly rhymes and fun illustrations.

8. Book Book Book by Deborah Bruss – The farm animals are bored when the children go back to school so they head to town to find something to do. One by one they head into the library, but the librarian can’t understand what they want. When it’s the hen’s turn she goes in and says, “Book! Book! Book!” and gets three books! The animals happily take the books back to the farm where they all entertained. Except the bullfrog who says, “Already…Read it! Read it!”

9. Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn is a sweet book for preschoolers about a little girl and her mother going to the library. She has her own library card and gets to choose any book she wants!

10. Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates is about Dog who loves books so much that he opens his own bookstore. He’s a little disappointed when nobody comes to buy books. Luckily, he has lots of books to keep him occupied and before he knows it, he has a customer!

The Suggestions:

1. Get every child their own library card.

2. Give books as gifts.

3. Do a book swap with friends, classmates, or neighbors.

4. Do fun crafts and activities to go along with books. I’ve heard there’s some great ones over at Reading Confetti.

5. Dedicate a special bag for each child to take to the library.

6. Make snacks or meals related to books (check out our book themed picnics!)

7. Put on family plays based on a favorite book.

8. Share your own childhood favorites with your children.

9. Find special places to read. Blanket forts are great!

10. Be a great role model by showing enthusiasm for books. Keep reading with older children and make time to read your own books.

Bio: I’m Lorie, a reading specialist turned SAHM to two preschoolers. I blog over at Reading Confetti, where we do fun activities and crafts related to children’s literature.

You Might Also Like . . .

Start a Parent-Child Book Club