literacy Archives -

5 Camping Themed Books for Kids

1Jul | 2014

posted by Paula

You know summer is here when you start to see RVs, boats, and cars loaded down with camping supplies heading down the highway. Whether you’re camping close to home or planning a bigger trip further away, here are some books to help introduce your kids to camping before they actually get there. From cooking to activities to setting up the tent, these books are sure to cover everything your child needs to know.

Cooking On A Stick: Campfire Recipes for Kids by Linda White tells kids everything they need to know about cooking over a fire. From chili to popcorn, this book is filled with old favourites in recipes that even a novice can cook. White also introduces kids to the basics of building a fire and discusses campfire safety. Beautiful illustrations accompany the recipes. Paperback. Gibbs Smith, 2000.

Kids Camp!: Activities for the Backyard or Wilderness by Laurie Carlson is a great book full of ideas for things to do while camping. Young campers will learn more about their environment, including insects, animals, and plants, and have fun while doing so. There are even ideas for rainy days. And if you can’t make it camping this summer, many of these ideas could be done in your backyard. Paperback. Chicago Review Press, 1995.

Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems by Kristine O’Connell George is a beautiful book of poetry that captures the spirit of camping for children. George turns every little camping moment into something memorable with her spirited, evocative verse, accompanied by Kate Kiesler’s vivid paintings. This book will help get young campers excited about camping—or remember the little things they enjoyed about their camping trip. Hardcover. Clarion Books, 2001.

S is for S’mores: A Camping Alphabet by Helen Foster James takes readers on an alphabetical tour of everything camping-related. From national parks to famous conservationists, camping snacks to camping equipment, James has it all covered in this book. Informational sidebars accompany James’ poetry to give readers more information about each topic discussed. Hardcover. Cherry Lake Publishing, 2007.

When We Go Camping by Margriet Ruurs follows one family on their camping trip, teaching children about what happens while camping and offering information about wildlife that campers might encounter. Each story had a hidden animal and tracks curving onto the next page. Beautiful artwork accompanies the story. Paperback. Tundra Books, 2004.

Of course, children may also enjoy going camping with their favourite literary friends in books like:

· Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping by Melanie Watt

· Curious George Goes Camping by H. A. Rey

· Olivia Goes Camping by Alex Harvey

· Fred and Ted Go Camping by Peter Eastman (aka Dr. Suess)

· Just Me and My Dad by Mercer Meyer

· Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping by Peggy Parish

Have you taken your children camping? What was their favourite camping memory?

This post contains affiliate links. If you want to buy any of the books mentioned above, click through to amazon.ca and you can buy directly. Any small profits from the affiliate link, then helps keep this blog going.

This is a guest post by contributor Bonnie Way. Bonnie Way went on her first overnight camping trip at age seven and has taken her daughters camping in a tent when they were each newborns. She’s looking forward to more camping trips this summer in a brand-new family-sized tent! When she’s not camping, she can be found blogging as The Koala Bear Writer.

Seven Books About Mom For Preschoolers – #Mother’sDay

10May | 2014

posted by Paula

By Thrifty Momma’s Tips Contributor Bonnie Way

7 Books about Moms for Preschoolers

Mother’s Day is the perfect time to sit down with some books and snuggle close with our little ones. Here are a few books about moms, perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, to celebrate everything that mom means on this special weekend. These books are guaranteed to delight your little reader—and to result in a few hugs and kisses!

Mommy Hugs by Karen Katz is a delightful board book about counting and hugging. Toddlers will delight in Katz’s bright, sweet illustrations, which focus on mother and baby together throughout their day. Hardcover. Margaret K. McElderry, 2006).

Me and My Mom by Alison Ritchie celebrates the special relationship between a mother and a child through the story of Little Bear and his mom. Little Bear is so impressed by everything his mom can do… including the one thing she does best of all. Hardcover or paperback. Good Books, 2009.

My Mommy and Me by Tina McNaughton captures the love between Little Mouse and her mommy. With beautiful, soft illustrations and an easy-to-read story, this book is a perfect story to snuggle with on Mother’s Day. Hardcover. Good Books, 2008.

Mommy Hugs by Anne Gutman is all about the different ways that animal mothers show their love for their babies. With adorable illustrations of elephants and polar bears and other animals, this book celebrates the affection between mothers and babies and is sure to result in lots of kisses and snuggles while reading. Hardcover. Chronicle Books, 2003.

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch is the classic children’s tale of a patient, loving mother who sings the same lullaby every night to her son, even when he flushes her watch down the toilet and plays rock songs in her living room. Available in Hardcover, Paperback, or ebook. Firefly Books, 1995.

In Just Me and My Mom (A Little Critter Book) by Mercer Mayer, Little Critter spends a special day in the city with his mom. There’s the usual Little Critter trouble along the way as he loses tickets, touches things he shouldn’t and misbehave, but his mom is always patient with him. Available in hardcover or paperback. Random House Books for Young Readers, 2001.

The Mommy Book by Todd Parr celebrates the differences between moms and helps kids understand that some moms work and some stay at home, some moms are tall and others are short, but all moms love their kids. This easy-to-read book has plenty of fun, colourful pictures. Hardcover. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2002.

Bonnie Way is a mom with three daughters (ages 6, 4 and1) who enjoy reading and snuggling. She might just have one or two of the books on this list memorized… When she’s not reading, she can be found blogging about motherhood at www.thekoalabearwriter.com.

DK Canada #Valentine’sDay Book Love

27Jan | 2014

posted by Paula

How much do you love reading? If you are like our family, you love reading almost more than breathing some days. Books are fuel for the brain and I only recently realized how very many books this family owns when we started packing to get ready for our move. But there’s always room for more.

Right now, if you head over to DK Canada web site you can vote on which books are your favourites and potentially win a $250 batch of DK Canada books. That should keep you busy through the long, cold winter and then some.

Every February, DK Canada creates a boutique of their most popular books as selected by
readers. Throughout January ask invite DK lovers to submit their choices for
their favourite DK book of all-time, and we pick 20 of the top books and
offer them up at 30% off.

Each person who votes is entered into a draw for a $250 DK shopping spree
where they can choose whatever books they like from the website.

http://cn.dk.com/static/cs/cn/11/nf/features/ilovedkcontest/index.html

Voting is open until January 30th. I can’t wait to see what books you pick. In fact leave a comment here to tell me which of their books is your fave. Just because.

My Five Favourite Books for Babies #TMMGG2013

10Dec | 2013

posted by Paula

When my babies were still scarcely able to open their eyes I started reading to them. I have had a lifelong passion for books and reading and knew immediately that was one thing I wanted to instil in my children – a love of reading. In fact I read essays and articles about nurturing a love for books from even before the girls arrived. One of the pictures in my head that grew in my heart was that of me sitting and cuddling with my kids and reading to them. Those were precious moments, perfect for bonding.

There are a few sweet board books I have still kept from those early years. I will keep them forever because they stand the test of time and will ring true even for grandchildren years from now. I thought that you might appreciate a list of my favourite infant board books because it is the season of giving and gifting and books are always the perfect present.

My Five Favourite Books for Babies:

Goodnight Moon

The Very Hungry Caterpillar board book

Guess How Much I Love You

Runaway Bunny

Time for Bed

You can click on any one of the above links and purchase directly from Amazon. Time For Bed is a gorgeous little book of rhyme about animals going to sleep. I adore Mem Fox. Good Night Moon and The Runaway Bunny are both by Margaret Wise Brown and they are the first books my oldest daughter ever received. They are timeless and beautiful. I especially love The Runaway Bunny because it gently assures babies and toddlers that a mother’s love means you will never be lost. Eric Carle’s books are always magnificent and the drawings are truly unique. Guess How Much I Love You is just a sweet little, loving and gentle story. I have always believed babies take in so much more than we give them credit for and their brains are perfect little sponges. What better way to build a relationship than to read with them?

Polarity Bear Tours The Zoo Review

9Dec | 2013

posted by Paula

Polarity Bear Tours the Zoo: A Central Park Adventure is a whimsical little picture book for any child over the age of four who loves reading about animals. Polarity is a bear who seems a wee bit depressed, or bored with her home in a cage inside the Central Park Zoo. She enjoys the zoo but what good is that when she is caged and not able to explore? She arrived at the zoo when animals still lived in cages and not more natural habitats. These days, many zoos in North America have more spacious environments that more closely resemble life in the wild.

So one day, Polarity hatches a plan. She squeezes the bars of her cage apart, when she angrily sticks out her tongue at the world and the cage breaks, freeing her for the evening. She tours the zoo when nobody else is around. She rides the merry-go-round, dances around, swims with the sea lions and milks every ounce of fun out of her night.

The prose is lovely here and Polarity Bear Tours the Zoo: A Central Park Adventure is told in rhyme. The rhyme however is never forced. It flows in a manner that supports and builds the story. Lately we have seen too many children’s books with rhyme that impedes narrative because it is so obviously forced. Polarity Bear Tours the Zoo is fun conceptually and a read that demands a bit of skill on the part of the reader. Challenging words and place names add to the reading level and experience here. Although I believe some 4-year-old readers might be interested in hearing this book the skill level is more aptly set about the age 6-7 and up in my opinion.

Polarity was published in 2011 in the US. The setting is fun and the author Sue de Cuevas reads kids well. She is a specialist on the Bronte Sisters and used to teach at Harvard, but here she brings a smart little story to an audience of growing readers and she pens the narrative with a sophisticated touch. The illustrations here are dynamite. One of my favourite things to do when we review books here is to ask my daughter’s opinions on the story. Ainsley, 9, enjoyed the story and very much likes books about animals. But her one conistent comment was about the illustrations. “I loved the pictures.” We both had trouble choosing just one because there are so many brilliant pictures in this book. Illustrator Wendy Rasmussen elevates this book to art with her incredible pictures of Polarity dancing, swimming with sea lions (my favourite) and then collapsing in exhaustion at end of the night. Rasmussen has illustrated over 25 books, many of which were about animals. I cannot stress enough how magical and captivating her pictures are. These are frameable pages, magnificently rendered with emotion and life. Each picture captures Polarity experiences a larger than life adventure and emotion. Spectacular art.

Polarity Bear Tours the Zoo: A Central Park Adventure would be a great gift book for any animal loving children in your life. It costs $17.95 and is a hardcover picture book published by Polarity Bear Books. This book gets a $$$$ out of $$$$$. We received a copy for free in order to review this book. I was not paid to post this review. My opinion is my own.

Disney’s Never Girls Collection 1 #giveaway

24Sep | 2013

posted by Paula

Take Disney and add some fairies, with a healthy dose of magic, imagination and some horse thrown in for good measure. Well, seriously. You don’t need much more than that to pull a grade school girl into a story.

I had never heard of this series until Random House Canada sent Disney’s The Never Girls From the Mist this week. But my girls were huge Rainbow Magic Fairies fans and read volumes of those fairy books, so I figured they might be intrigued by From the Mist. From the Mist is written by Kiki Thorpe. The series itself is intended for ages 6 to 10. There are four fairies, each one with a distinct personality. Kate is adventuresome. Mia is a girly girl, who loves dresses, flowers and pretty things. Lainey dreams of talking to animals and Gabby is Mia’s little sister, incidentally also the one who most believes in fairies.

While at a sleepover the girls discover a mysterious mist in Gabby’s room and set out to explore where it is coming from The mist brings mist horses and horses bring adventure. My youngest enjoys reading about horses and we are working through this one at night together. She still likes me reading to her at bedtime. This book is a wholesome great little before bed read. (Read – not scary or violent)

The fourth book was released today. For a short time you can win one of five prizes of the collection. Each book costs $6.99 Canadian and is a great little chapter book for imaginative girls.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tales From the Treehouse – DKCanada and How People Lived: Snapshots of Life From Prehistory to the Present

25Jun | 2013

posted by Paula

DK Canada’s How People Lived is a great book for school aged children who love culture and anthropology. Payton, 11, loves things like social sciences so I knew this book would be a huge hit here at out house. There is a glossary in the back and this book covers many cultures, ethnicities and eras from cave dwellers to the current times.

You can follow DKCanada on twitter for more information about their amazing book selection. How People Lived got a $$$$$ out of $$$$$ from Payton. I agree because it’s crammed full of facts, history and important information. I wouldn’t recommend for anyone under age 5 and really I’d say it’s ideally suited to ages 6 and up to 13.

Blurb from back of the book –
“See how ancient Egyptian farmers train baboons to collect fruit from trees. Feast your eyes on the spectacular fireworks and dragon dances in medieval China. Watch a viking raiding party preparing for a strike on enemy territory in search of gold and silver.”

DK Canada is a hardcover $20.99 in Canada, 80 pages.
I received a copy of this book for purposes of review. My opinion is 100 % my own.

Tales From the Treehouse – Zoe’s Room #giveaway

11Jun | 2013

posted by Paula

Zoe’s Room is a sweet story about sharing and sisters. We loved it here and are happy to share our giveaway with you also. This one was so good it was a natural catalyst to getting our Tales From the Treehouse series kicked off for the season again. Zoe is a little girl, a wee bit of a princess, with a bit of a knack for turning her room upside down after lights out time at night. She adores creative play and her imagination is magnificent. Please click through the video review above to see what my kiddo thought. Ainsley enjoyed this one very much and took it to school to share with her entire class.

It gets $$$$$ out of $$$$$.

ZOE’S ROOM (NO SISTERS ALLOWED)

By Bethanie Deeney Murguia

In Stores Now

Picture book for about ages 3 to 5. (I overestimated the age for this in our vlog review, but I think it can go a lot older than the suggested age of 5. My 9 year old liked it here.)

Three winners will get a copy of Zoe’s Room: US ONLY!

· A copy of Zoe’s Room (No Sisters Allowed)

From the Press release:

About the book

Zoe rules as Queen of the Universe — or at least, her room! — in this sweet, funny companion to Zoe Gets Ready.

Zoe is the Queen of the whole Universe … but her favorite place in the Universe is her own room, where she hosts tea parties, builds empires out of blocks, and gazes out upon the stars.

Then her parents announce that her little sister Addie is moving in to Zoe’s room. Little sisters aren’t good at tea parties (too rude), block-building (too clumsy), and starwatching (just plain too young!). So the Queen’s new roommate is a royal pain . . . until Zoe discovers that even her smallest subjects can be useful in a storm!

For ages 3-5 years.

About the author

Bethanie Deeney Murguia earned an MFA in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts. Bethanie lives with her family and her fifty pound lap dog, Disco, in Sausalito, CA. She is the creator of Zoe Gets Ready and Buglette, the Messy Sleeper.

To Win a copy leave a simple comment here and tell me where you are from (US ONLY) and who this is for? I will draw with random.org on June 28th. Three winners. US only.

Human Body Detectives: CDs and Workbooks Review

3Jan | 2011

posted by Paula

How do you teach school-aged children about science, healthy eating and the body? Well, the Human Body Detectives series, by Canadian Heather Manley, now living in Hawaii, is one of the smartest tools available. Dr. Heather Manley is a naturopathic doctor and a parent who created the series called Human Body Detectives. (http://www.humanbodydetectives.com/) There are three stories so far in this series and each one tackles a topic of biology and features sisters Merrin and Pearl as they are transported through the human body in search of clues as to what might be happening to a friend or a relative. In Battle With The Bugs, Merrin and Pearl are vacationing with family in Mexico when their young cousin Max gets ill. Together, they journey inside Max’s immune system and learn how the body fights bugs. The story is educational and entertaining. My kids were using very complex science terms like leukocytes and macrophages after only hearing this audiobook once. The drawings on the app _downloadable app for the digestive system book called Lucky Escape _ and on the workbook pages are dynamite and truly high quality. I loved that this series came with an audio CD. I like these a lot for reinforcing learning in the car.

You can purchase the CD set with workbook and colour stickers for only $15.00 through Dr. Heather Manley’s web site. The app for Lucky Escape is a steal at $1.99. I give this series a $$$$$ out of $$$$$. Educational, smart and makes sense for families on the go. Also promotes healthy eating in children. Meant for ages four and upto 12.

(Join us later this week Thursday, Jan. 6th at 1 p.m. EST for a twitter party #drheather and you could win your own set of these books and CDs.) Stay tuned for more details.