Welcome to Weekend Links! This is my chance to share the best-of-the-best thanks to my online travels of the course of the week. This week has been filled with wonderful booklists and activities surrounding loving and celebrating our Earth and all that inhabit it. Here are some of my top picks this week.
This week we’ve been celebrating the planet we live on, Earth. Earlier this week I created a very Love the Earth booklist which honors amazing people preserving and restoring areas on our planet as well as others reusing items to accomplish great feats. The great thing about this list is that I am giving it away!
Enter to win the Giveaway HERE and don’t delay! It ends July 13th
Seems to me it’s SharK Week on Animal Planet so I though this booklist from Brain Power Boy was very fitting 
Sharks! They can be so fascinating and just a bit scary as well. We found some great non-fiction shark books for your boys.
{just for fun}
Mia at PragmaticMom had a wonderful book review of a book that lets young readers readers explore the ocean floor. Explore Ocean Forests with Non Fiction eBook
Since we are looking way down low into the ocean floor, let’s look way up high at the sky. Here’s a great past JIAB post that will help get your family interested in stargazing! Stargazing & Astronomy Booklist for the whole family.
I loved encouraging kids and families to GET OUTSIDE! That’s why I adore this Backpack Nature Books and FieldGuides Booklist from KCEdventures! “Outdoor guides for kids to take on their next hike — what a fun way to encourage reading this summer!”
Speaking of “getting outside”…did you know that my book A Year in the Secret Garden is filled with all sorts of outdoors activities inspired by the classic children’s book The Secret Garden?
Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale for a limited time! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” More details HERE! http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX
The post Weekend Links: Celebrating Our Wonderful Earth with Booklists (and a Giveaway!) appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
Welcome to Weekend Links!
So far this month has been jam-packed with insightful education, booklists, outdoor activities and cool nature resources for kids and parents interested in raising global citizens. I would like to share them this weekend as my Weekend Links Round-up. Enjoy!
Check out my guest post at Kid Lit Celebrates Women’s History Month; The Mother of Trees Wangari Maathai -so honored to be included!
This was shared by one of our dedicated readers Donna Marie and the it’s from the author of the Secret Garden’s house. Bookish Illuminations; Entering The Secret Garden at Great Maytham Hall. It’s fantastic!!
How to Find Children’s Books in Spanish in One Easy Step from Spanish Playground
5 Amazing Multicultural Novels in Verse and the Kid Lit Blog via PragmaticMom
10 Simple Ways Kids Can Celebrate Earth Day-via Multicultural Kids Blogs
We Need Diverse Books Tells AWP 2015: Write Diverse Books That Sell via Publishers Weekly
Reading: It’s good for their health. Harper Collins Children’s Books
Grab it before it’s GONE! My Free Curious George Gets a Medal Rocketship Craft and Activity!
Get Out in to the Garden! Have you missed the last few Secret Garden Wednesdays? These are too much fun not to read!
If you are in the mood for another and inactive story, check out the enhanced digital eBook for kids, The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory!
The Ultimate Guide To Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is a step by step roadmap to this magical world. Just some of the fun includes:
- A story filled with beautiful graphic illustrations including tantalizing Treasure Maps and vibrant tutorials.
- Over 20 Crafts and activities that not only entertain, but educate.
- You get to jump inside the book and enjoy creating the adventures yourself (Templates, maps, and more are included.)
- Ever wonder where chocolate comes from? Or how gum is made? Wonder no more. Now you get to make your own.
- Conduct activities in the areas of crafting, cooking, and game-playing as well as exploring many facets of candy production.
- The option to take Charlie’s journey over the course of several days or take shorter journeys if you wish.
- The creation of a new ritual of reading time with your family and the opportunity to experience the reading of this imaginative tale as a group activity, not a solitary event.
Go HERE to learn more and grab your copy from iBooks!
The post Weekend Links Earth Day, Garden and Other Assorted Book Fun appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
Wherever you are on this beautiful planet it’s time to celebrate the diversity and nature which lives here. There has been much talk of late as to global warming, nature deficit disorder, and many other topics which suggest that we are becoming completely disconnected from our life source “The Planet.” Not only are we celebrating Earth Day this week, we are giving one lucky winner the chance to win all 10 books with our Earth Day 10 Book Giveaway! Here are my top picks for wonderful Earth Books for kids :
What Does it Mean to Be Green? This colorful, insightful story, demystifies for children what it means to be green by helping them to view everyday tasks through an environmentally-friendly lens. The book empowers children to do whatever they can to protect the earth’s precious resources.
Connect with the whole wide, wonderful world with this green book that rejoices in the marvels of our environment. The catchy rhyme in this new take on a traditional spiritual begs to be sung aloud. Includes lots of facts about the Earth’s eco systems and tips on how to be eco-conscious.
Olivia’s Birds: Saving the Gulf {by Olivia Bouler}
One 11 year-old girl can make a difference-as budding ornithologist and artist Olivia Bouler has proven, single-handedly raising over $175,000 for the Gulf Coast oil spill recovery. Devastated by the disaster and eager to do her part, Olivia wrote a letter to Audubon, “11 years old and willing to help” offering her own bird paintings to raise contributions for Gulf recovery efforts. The idea took flight, and Olivia proceeded to send out over 500 paintings, many of which are captured in this lavish picture book that recaps her valiant campaign to save birds affected by the spill. Olivia has been a guest at JIAB and I have also had the pleasure of meeting this delightful young lady in person.
The Magic School Bus and the Climate Change
Like it or not, global warming is a hot topic, and it will affect the younger generation the most. So why not turn to the teacher kids like the most, Ms. Frizzle! Only the Friz can boil all the hoopla down to the scientific facts in a fun and informative way.
The World is Waiting for You {by Barbara Kerley}
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question kids get asked over and over. But very few connections are made for kids between the present and the future. This book shows kids a pathway from their current interests and talents to a future career or interest. And in so doing, it also encourages adventure, exploration, and discovery, three core principles of National Geographic’s mission. It’s a celebration of possibility–so simple and so profound.
Care for Our World {by Karen S. Robbins}
Get ready to meet some truly wonderful wild animals from every continent on Earth. As children turn the pages of this book, theyll encounter dozens of playful creatures in their natural habitats and will learn about the importance of caring for all the plants, animals, and people that call planet Earth their home. A timely reminder of the responsibility every generation shares: to nurture and respect life in all its many forms
10 Things I can do to Help my World { by Melanie Walsh}
Even young children are eager to help the environment — and here is a bright, inviting novelty book that offers simple ways to make a difference.
Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature By Nicola Davies
This stunning book takes us through the 4 seasons and beacons us out into the natural world. From listening to the pond in Spring to seeing bird tracks in the snow, this exquisite column of nature poems captures the sights and sounds of a child’s experiences from building dens to planting acorns, watching the birds above and tasting a crisp apple. Children soon appreciate that whatever is outside their window they are free to venture and explore. Be sure and take a peek at a past book review JIAB did of this book and profile of author Nicola Davies.
I Love Dirt:52 Activities to Help You and Your Kids Discover the Wonders of Nature {by Jennifer Ward}
Protect our earth by learning to cherish it. I Love Dirt! presents 52 open-ended activities to help you engage your child in the outdoors. No matter what your location—from a small patch of green in the city to the wide-open meadows of the country—each activity is meant to promote exploration, stimulate imagination, and heighten a child’s sense of wonder.
COMMON GROUND:The Water, Earth, and Air We Share {by Molly Bang}
A simple story of our planet’s natural resources with jewel-like paintings by Caldecott Honor author Molly Bang. Through the example of a shared village green and the growing needs of the townspeople who share it, Molly Bang presents the challenge of handling our planet’s natural resources. Full color picture book.
Giveaway guidelines and Official Rules:
Giveaway runs from April 22 to April 29th, 2014
- One winner will win one copy of all ten titles.
- Residents of USA and Canada only please.
- Must be 18 years or older to enter
- One entry per household.
- Staff and family members of Audrey Press are not eligible.
- Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize
- Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter on April 29, 2014
- How to enter: Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
- Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. The winners will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 12 hours after the giveaway ends. The winners will then have 48 hours to respond. If a winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is hosted and managed by Valarie from Jump Into A Book. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to the JIAB Project Manager Becky(at)AudreyPress(dot)com.
MANDATORY
By entering the sweepstakes, you agree to JumpIntoABook/Audrey Press’ Official Giveaway and Promotion Rules (link).
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The post Earth Day Booklist and Ginormous 10 Book Giveaway! appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind By William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer
Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon
$16.99, ages 6 and up, 32 pages
It stood like a clumsy giraffe and was cobbled from metal scraps, but to a teen named William it was more magical than anything he'd dreamed.
In this inspiring adaptation, Africa's William Kamkwambi recounts with New York author Bryan Mealer how he rigged a windmill for his poor village using only a picture as his guide.
The story, which can be read for free online at
wegivebooks.org, is based on Kamkwamba's New York Times best-selling memoir by the same name, also co-authored by Mealer.
Kamkwamba and Mealer condense the story beautifully, while West Africa-born artist Elizabeth Zunon conveys Kamkwamba's irrepressible spirit with fluid cut-outs and luminous, earthy oil paintings.
At age 14, William Kamkwamba pondered the possibilities of what could be. When night came to his drought-ravaged village of Malawi, he closed his eyes to see where his mind would take him.
In his dreams he built things and took them apart, like trucks with bottle-cap wheels and pieces of radio, and he wondered things. "If I can hear the music, then where is the band?"
He also dreamt of his grandpa's tales of witch planes and ghost dancers, hovering and twirling "as if a hundred men were inside their bodies."
At dawn, as he threw his hoe in the fields, his mind also wandered. He imagined magical beings drifting in the maize rows and wondered what made the engine of a passing truck go.
But as drought took hold and turned the maize to dust, William and his family, along with other villagers, found themselves in desperate need.
By Ted Kooser
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
$16.99, ages 4-10, 32 pages
When a little house is boarded up and forgotten, trees sprout up around it and lift it into the sky, in this stirring picture book about the power of nature to lift us up.
As he did in his moving debut Bag in the Wind, author Ted Kooser addresses a conflict between man and nature, but in such a gentle way that it never feels as if any judgment is being made.
In Bag in the Wind, he follows the journey of a discarded bag that's gotten loose in the wind, while here, he observes a man determined to keep trees from sprouting in his lot so that he can have a perfect lawn.
Kooser, in an author's note, explains that the man is struggling against time; as he fights to keep nature from taking over his yard, what he's really fighting is change. His children are growing up and moving away, and there's nothing he can do to stop it.
But like paintings, books can be interpreted in many ways, and to me, House Held Up By Trees is also a triumphant story of nature reclaiming what was taken from it, then of nature forgiving those who've trespassed on it.
Atmospheric paintings give the story a tender, dreamy feel, while showcasing the wild beauty of nature. Illustrator Jon Klassen (
This is Not My Hat) depicts woods as graceful, serene places of streaming light and shadows that beckon readers in.
The effect of all of this, the gentle, poetic words and sepia-like pictures, is almost meditative. Readers feel for the man's struggle and see the disconnect between order and chaos play out, then work through the conflicts in their own minds.
What a lovely book to inspire discussions about accepting what cannot be controlled, like the passage of time, and recognizing what can, such as the way humans exist with nature.
When the story opens, all that readers see is the house sitting on a bare square of earth and blurry white paint strokes at the horizon line, where woo
How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed their World
Written and illustrated by Allan Drummond
$16.99, ages 6-10, 40 pages
A Danish island where hats are always flying off heads learns to harness the energy of the wind and takes itself off the grid.
In this remarkable true story, Drummond tells about the people of Samso who used the very thing they couldn't escape from -- buffeting winds -- to work for them.
In 1997, Denmark's government designated the island as its "renewable energy island" -- a region that could eventually run completely on free, nonpolluting energy thanks in a large part to its windy location.
Since then, the island off the coast of Denmark has become almost entirely energy independent through the use of wind turbines, as well as district heating plants, biomass and solar panels.
It's even able to export surplus electricity from those turbines to the mainland and it has eliminated its carbon emissions by 140 percent.
That means if you were to look for a carbon footprint there, you wouldn't find one.
But becoming a green island was quick and it wasn't easy.
This is a story about ordinary people who, at first, weren't so sure they wanted to fuss with clean energy.
They didn't think about where their energy came from and they weren't very motivated to conserve it:
They switched on lots of lights, turned up heaters too much, used hot water without thinking, and expected oil to arrive by tanker ships or trucks and their electricity through cables.
Sound familiar? That's partly what makes this story remarkable -- they were people very much like everyone else.
Then one day, the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy planted the idea that Samso could be more than a fossil fuel consumer.
Though the government didn't s
Written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell
$14.99, ages 4-8, 48 pages.
Jules, the big-hearted kitten from McDonnell's comic strip Mutts, walks the world over trying to make hurts go away in this classic gem.
With the help of his girl Doozy, the little tabby puts on his green sweater and sets out into the world with a Hug To-Do List and front legs ready to cuddle.
First thing out the door, Jules wraps himself around each of his buddies, Mooch the feline, Noodles the alley cat and Earl the dog.
Then before he's gone far, he leaps up to give a butterfly a squeeze, and embraces a bed of buttercups and a gray squirrel.
Then it's off to the park to hug every bird he can find and next: the wide open sea. He's determined to find a big blue whale and soon spots a Y-shaped tail.
From the bow of an ocean liner, Jules reaches his arms out as the whale cranes its wide neck and hugs all of the whale that he can: a teeny tiny hug for a huge fellow.
Soon the ship docks in Africa and Jules realizes a hug just won't do, so he kisses the ground -- "the earth so precious, so fragile, so round," McDonnell writes.
Then it's off to hug all of Africa's animals, especially the endangered ones: an elephant gets a trunk squeeze, a chimpanzee gets a hug around its middle and a giraffe gets its snout loved.
Soon he's laying tummy-first on the back of a hippo in the water and squeezing him tight and finally, he heads over to wrap his arms around the baobab tree.
Next, on the list, exploring the rain forest, and to Jules's surprise, he walks right up to a new species, big-eyed little fellow with blue and purple stripes crawling up a plant stem.
"Kneeling, he whispers, 'We welcome you.'"
Then it's off to India to find tigers, but with so few of them still around, he will have to look hard and be patient.
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Friday is Earth Day here in the U.S, and here in Southern Oregon there will be all kinds of celebrations taking place over the weekend. In front of our local children's museum, people will set up tents, and businesses will demonstrate products that can help families to adopt a greener lifestyle. There will be live music to listen to, and food to try.
Over the years I have reviewed many books about
saving the environment that you might like to take a look at. There is also the
Earth Day feature where you will find books that explain how Earth Day came out, and how to celebrate it..
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