Bookmark This Bookfair

If you're in the SoCal area or passing through, October 4th is the West Hollywood Book Fair. Don't miss this one! It'll be lots of fun with loads of books, author signings and great things to do with the kiddies. Hope to see you there!

GIVEAWAY ALERT! Travels with Tarra & Just For Elephants by Carol Buckley

Come and Join us this week-end on Tilbury House's Elephant Tour!
Two books will be given away from the comments on this blog post. The winners will be announced on Sept. 10th and hey-you can also win a book stamped by Tarra the Elephant! Super Awesome!

Here is a list of blogs joining us on this tour: Reading Rumpus!, Sacred Elephants, Margo Dill's, Maw Books , Shelf Elf, Through the Looking Glass and Bri Meets Books.

These two gorgeous hardcover books, Travels With Tarra and Just For Elephants are an educator's/home-school parents dream. They have wonderful photographs on every page, excellent supporting materials and the Elephant Sanctuary website contains a K-8 downloadable curriculum guide full of fun activities to go along.

Travels With Tarra is the true story of how an elephant and her trainer (author Carol Buckley) became friends and founded an elephant sancturary in Tennessee. The sanctuary provides a haven for old, sick and needy elephants. For younger audiences this book works well as a read-aloud.

Just For Elephants is the non-fiction story of how Shirley the elephant comes to the elephant sanctuary and makes friends with Jenny elephant. It reveals the complexity and intelligence of elephants and their ability to feel and express intense emotions as well as bond with fellow elephants. The picturebook format makes the story accessible for all ages (with teacher/parent support for those age 5 and under).

Oh My! I almost forgot to mention that there is another blog comment giveaway for this post from Tilbury House as well, a collection of 3 animal books: The Goat Lady, Thanks to the Animals and an advance copy of Bear-ly There.

So Comment! Comment! Comment!

(And- anyone who tweets from now- Sept. 9th about the elephant blog tour will also be able to win a copy of Travels With Tarra or Just For Elephants :)

The Spin on Garden Spiders

We've been staying at my folk's house for a week now. It's the same home I grew up in as a child and I am reminiscing about all the fun times I had playing in the wonderful big backyard, rescuing bees from the pool, feeding the anthills sugarcubes and admiring spider webs glistening with dew in the early morning.

Author Ginger Wadsworth's latest book release Up, Up, and Away just arrived in my mother's mailbox and my son (who loves spiders)immediately snatched it from my hands and ran to the sofa to read it for us. I knew he would love this one.....especially the part where the spider "bites her prey with powerful jaws and sucks up juicy beetle guts or sips fly stew." EEEEeeewwwww!!!! ;) Ginger Wadsworth knows just how to hold a little one's attention.

The story teaches us garden spider facts
while following a little spider who searches for a home of her own. While there are a few moments that may be a little tough for a small child to grasp, (when "a brother crunches a sister for lunch" or when the mother spider "ties the egg sac tight, then dies")they are true to life and nature. These are important moments to take advantage of allowing us as parents and teachers to discuss the natural cycle of death and new life.

Patricia J. Wynne's illustrations are beautiful, bold and colorful. She depicts the Zipper Spider aka the Banana Spider of the South. We had lots of these in our garden in Virginia. I haven't come across any in So. Cal yet. They have bright yellow and black markings on their abdomens and spin silky webs with thick white zig-zags down the center.
Here's the wonderful trailer:

Smile Baby Smile

Yikes! I know it's been a while since the last post....with a combination of new baby, our big move out west, school starting, Nancy and the bookstore, and a new book release for October, but we are still reading books to our kids daily and my mom just gave me a new book for the baby that I absolutely adore. Smile Baby Smile by Moira Butterfield with illustrations by Rosalind Beardshaw.

Little S is now 4 weeks old and I'm not sure when most babies start smiling, but my mom was able to coax the first smile out of him. I didn't believe her until she started talking to him and I saw him smile! It really wasn't from gas! It was a big wide open mouth smile. I tried to take a picture of it, but each time was too late. Here's his debut picture with the start of a grin that later turned into a smile.

This is the story of a little family just like ours, where baby makes 5 (big brother, little sister and baby brother). When baby starts to cry, everyone in the family try all they can to make him smile again. A song, a game and even a drive in the car don't work. "Then the baby did a funny burp... and then the baby... smiled!"

The Louds Move In

As I write this, Steve is apartment hunting in L.A. and I know that he will find just the right place for our family to move into. Yesterday he called and said he had found a cute place... EXCEPT that it was upstairs from an old lady. That won't do (our 6 year old son likes to stomp and jump and run) unless............ we do as the "Louds" do!

My fave children's librarian, Sarah gave me the big thumbs up at checkout for The LOUDS Move In. She said to be sure to read it in my best Jersey accent ( oooo I wish Steve were here:)

I read that the author, Carolyn Crimi got the brilliant idea to write this book after hearing a very LOUD family of four choosing a movie at Blockbuster. She thought "Oh my gosh, I am so glad I don't live next to that LOUD family."

All the neighbors on Earmuffle Ave. engage in silent, solitary hobbies (pin cushion collecting, watching a goldfish ...) and hardly speak to one another. When the Loud family moves in, they are friendly and welcoming as well as loud, funny and a little chaotic.

The quiet neighbors start off disliking the Louds, asking them to leave and then come to miss the family and their friendliness when they are away. When the Louds return, they are happily welcomed back.

The neighbors change of heart brings a nice ending to the book and is very heartwarming.

Regan Dunnick's illustrations capture the emotional feel of the characters with the Loud family's happy, wide, open mouths and the quiet neighbors with closed mouths -until the end.

This is a fun, feel-good book about reaching out to accept and appreciate others and letting a little bit of noisy friendship into your life. I hope it will encourage young readers to keep an open mind about others and not to prejudge.

I also hope our new neighbors will be kind and accepting.

A Sweet Print

I bought this print today for you Nancy as a bookstore/house warming gift to hang in the New shop. I LOVE this artist, Emily Martin and can't wait for her to have some childrens picture books out someday. Her style is soooo dreamy and sweet.
Congratulations to you and family as well. These really are exciting times!

Lullaby for Baby

This is such a lovely musical collaboration- I thought I would post it for Kim's new baby. Enjoy!
Slumber My Darling Alison Krauss and Yo Yo Ma.