Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Product I Love: Lego Hagrid's Hut
No Harry Potter lover wants to miss out on the awesome lego models of various scenes from the books. Check out this cute Hagrid's Hut. My daughter jealously guards hers. She builds it, admires it, then carefully takes it apart for next time.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Jane Austen: Philosopher
I only recently discovered Jane Austen for myself. Oh, I knew she was acclaimed and her works were considered must reads, but I'd never gotten around to actually reading her. Last year I read Pride and Prejudice. I loved it. In fact, I immediately downloaded all of her books. Then I got distracted (I believe it was Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill who led me astray), but my favorite entertainment blog has reminded me again of Ms. Jane Austen. Their post leads to a blog dedicated to Austen's work and brings back many of the reasons I found Pride and Prejudice wonderful. The underlying philosophy and unique (for it's time) thought is indeed what elevates her work beyond a dramatic romance.
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| Read the entertainment blog here, then follow their links to the Austen blog. It's a lovely way to spend a morning. |
Friday, April 4, 2014
Profound Quotes from Children's Books: A Light in the Attic
This week Parade Magazine featured ten quotes from children's books that are profound enough to change lives. I decided each of these lovely quotes deserved a pinnable meme. It may take me a day or two to make all ten, but here we go!
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| Buy your own copy here. |
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Pinkalicious Origin Story
Here's a bit of fun book trivia for April Fool's Day. If you have little girls, you know all about Pinkittis and a silly little girl named Pinkalicious. How fitting that her origins are in such a silly day!
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| Check out the Pinkalicious books here! http://ittybittyurl.com/ |
Friday, March 28, 2014
A Book I Can't Wait to Read: Neil Gaiman's Marvel 1602
There are some authors that I want to read, no matter how improbable the dustcover description makes a book sound. Neil Gaiman is pretty close to the top of that short list of writers, and I was pretty sure I knew at least the titles of all of his work. I was happily proven wrong this morning when this book popped up in my Recommended section on Amazon. I've never been into super heros, but if Gaiman writes it, I want to read it so I clicked the link. As crazy as it sounds, Gaiman takes Marvel's familiar heros (including Spiderman, Daredevil and the X-Men) and moves them to the year 1602. They have to deal with all the correct historical issues of the day, and of course save the world - super hero style. After reading the Publisher's Weekly review, I'm convinced I will love this book!
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Fun with Fractured Fairy Tales
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| Buy Dog Tales Here |
These books are fabulous ways to engage with kids as you read together. Especially with younger kids who may not be familiar enough with the original stories to really find the humor in the fractured tales, I like to start by reading the un-fractured version. Then I introduce the silly one and tell the kids I want them to see if they spot any differences between the two. They love pointing out how the books differ, but also how they are the same. This is a really great way to truly engage in story time.
Many kids also love writing their own fractured tales. When they first begin, their stories will probably mirror the ones you've read. That's okay. They're still building those story teller muscles. As kids get older and become more experienced writers, their stories will be more original and even more fun to read. To ratchet the fun level even higher, involve the whole family in writing a new story. Assign your fastest writer as scribe and start throwing ideas out there. After the story is written, everyone can have a ball illustrating it. When you're finished, you'll have a terrific family heirloom.
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