So, you’re torn between traditional sensible titles and contemporary crazy reads to fill your under 12 year-olds’ stockings. Why not splash out on both and please everyone. Here are some more stocking stuffers to complement the rollicking fun ones Romi featured in her Christmas inspired picture book round up. Time to get your Santa on. […]
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Blog: Perpetually Adolescent (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: picture book reviews, Jackie French, children's picture book, Traditions, Christmas ideas, Dimity Powell, Book Reviews - Childrens and Young Adult, Romi Sharp, Aussie Christmas, Stocking stuffe, Bruce Whatley, Add a tag
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: fairy tales, romance, dragons, castle, Tolkien, prince, traditions, love story, Kaleidoscope, Carole Anne Carr, Smaug, dragon's hoard, Add a tag
Blog: Teach with Picture Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: traditions, Scarletta Press, family, sports, baseball, biography, winning, book giveaway, Scholastic, Add a tag
Peanuts, Cracker Jack, cotton candy, and hot dogs! Those are my fondest memories of the ball park, and they certainly top my daughters' lists as well. But one equally hallowed tradition of baseball had been fading from the American scene, so I'm glad to see a picture book that's bringing it back.
Betsy's Day at the Game, written by Greg Bancroft and illustrated by Katherine Blackmore, describes a young girl's visit to the ballpark with her grandfather. The book captures all there is to love about baseball, and that's because author Greg Bancroft seems to be a baseball fan first and foremost. His words and Katherine Blackmore's images capture the sights, sounds, smells, and (my favorite part) tastes of the ballpark. Via their narrative, we spend a day vicarioulsy at the park. Simple enough, right?
As the story progresses and the game begins, however, we realize that much more is taking place. Betsy and Grandpa are teaching us, step by step and in plain English, how to keep score. For the those who are as clueless as me, keeping score in baseball goes way beyond tallying runs!
Codes and symbols are entered onto a scorecard, effectively chronicling every offensive and defensive play of the game. From what friends have told me, baseball fans can read a score book and see the entire game played out in their heads in the same way that musicians can read sheet music and actually "hear the song."
So while I started out as a true scoring novice, by book's end I had a pretty good idea of the whole process. And trust me, if I can figure it out, anyone can! Betsy's Day at the Game would definitely score a home run with any young baseball fan. Using the handy scorecards supplied in the back of the book, fans could easily follow along with and score their favorite team at the park or on TV.
You can enter to win a free copy of this book for your fave fan or yourself by simply emailing me at keithschoch at gmail dot com (standard email format) with PLAY BALL! in the subject line. Contest closes at 11:59 PM EST Friday, April 19, 2013.
Want more chances to win? Visit the blog at Scarletta Press to discover more sites featuring book reviews and giveaways.
Some Recommended Baseball Resources:
- Aspiring writers will want to check out Greg Bancroft's 10 Things I Didn't Know Until I Published My First Book. If you're planning on breaking into the book biz, you should read this article!
- See more of Katherine Blackmore's illustrations at her site.
- Check out a tutorial on scoring if you want more examples, plus the formulas to figure out all the stats you would ever need. The actual scorecard isn't as nice as the one in the back of Betsy's Day at the Game, however.
- The Baseball for Kids site features lots of extras for young fans of baseball.
- Taking your child to the park for the first time? Definitely have a Plan B! We know how attention spans can dwindle as kids become hot, tired, cranky, over-sugared, and all of the above. TeachMama has a fabulous set of suggestions for surviving your outing using Kid-Friendly Learning During Baseball Games.
- Check out some earlier posts on this site including Going Extra Innings with Baseball Picture Books (books and lots of sites for kids about baseball), A League of Their Own: Women in Baseball, and Girls Got Game (incredible female athletes). Let Them Play, discussed in an earlier post on Black History, is another baseball story from history that kids find incredibly intriguing.
- With 42, the Jackie Robinson movie, releasing in theaters this weekend, younger readers might interested in learning more about this courageous hero in baseball history. For readers in grades 2-5, I highly recommend Jackie Robinson: American Hero, written by the star's own daughter, Sharon Robinson. This transitional book features not only the perfect blend of images and text, but also the perfect blend of backstory and biography. Sharon Robinson provides young readers with just enough historical context to understand and appreciate what made Jackie Robinson's accomplishments incredible not only for his time, but for all of time. If you're a teacher hoping to engage your reluctant readers with chapter books, this one is a winner!
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: traditions, feliz año, año nuevo, Add a tag
Blog: I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: 4 Star Books, age 13+, Author David M. Perkins, Book Review, Adult, Traditions, Add a tag
Leaving home; for college, for military service, or for a job. It's a milestone in the life of almost every child - and a bittersweet crossroads for almost every parent. What you say to your child at this critical moment, and how you say it, can be a welcome catharsis for you, as a parent, and a lifelong gift to your child. The letter in this book is how David Perkins chose to say goodbye to his son as he left for college. He does not hold it up as a template, or even as an example, for others. He only wants you to know that it made this important rite of passage easier for him to navigate. How his son feels about it may not be known for some time.
Dear Austin: A Letter to My Son is just what the title says it is - a letter author David M. Perkins wrote to his son Austin. This is a really quick read. Just 56 pages with lots of pictures. I think it only took me about 15 mintues to read through.
I really enjoyed reading through this letter. Filled with words of advice, encouragement and love from a father to his son. I wish I had a letter like this from my mother who passed away several years ago. This book made me decide to write a letter like this one to each of my children when they leave home.
Rating: 4 Stars
Source: From Author for Review
Blog: Jean's Encouraging Words For Writers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: traditions, picture books, Christmas, Add a tag
In our little family we're big on traditions around the holidays and birthdays. I believe the familiarity of traditions brings us comfort and security. Traditions ground us in our past so that we can grow into our futures. They remind us of who we are and where we came from. Picture books have been part of those traditions for us. We've had to become flexible about those traditions in recent
Blog: Rodents Of Unusual Size (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Christmas, Traditions, Add a tag
Now Playing - Work Song by Dan Reeder Life - For the last seven years or so, I've had a lot of difficulty really getting into the Christmas season. I've tried, but there's something about working the holidays in retail that manages to suck all of the enjoyment out of it for me. It's weird. I know a lot of people that work all Christmas and love it, like being surrounded by the retail
Blog: Write About Now (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: back to school, traditions, back to WIP, Add a tag
Three summers ago we spent two-and-a-half weeks in the Carolinas. Best vacation EVER. We got back home the day before school started. Since we were all still on eastern standard time, the kids were up and ready for school way early. We decided to go out for breakfast to celebrate the first day of school and a new tradition was born.
We don't eat out a lot, especially not for breakfast. But once a year we head to Paula's Pancake House in downtown Solvang for a huge meal: pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, orange juice, fruit and coffee (the coffee is only for the grownups!). Wednesday morning found us up with the fog, sliding into a table at Paula's.
Even though we live in Solvang, my kids are lucky enough to go to Ballard Elementary, a school that has been in continuous operation since 1883. There are more modern buildings on the campus as well, but this little red schoolhouse is for the kindergarteners. Trust me, I cried the first day my kids went here. It was just so sweet, so quintessentially American. The teacher, Mrs. Carlson, is everything you could want in a kindergarten teacher. It's the perfect beginning.
Of course, I don't have any more kindergarteners. With one in 2nd and one in 5th, I am wondering how they got so old so fast. We've already got homework, soccer practice and play dates, so I relish even more the quiet time during the day.
Tomorrow will be my first day with an empty house (hubby has had off the last two days and let me tell you, he is a HUGE distraction!) and I've already made big plans for a pitcher of tea, an extension cord and my lovely back yard where I won't answer the phone. WIP, here I come!
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: holidays, tree, Christmas, traditions, Add a tag
Despite the promises we make ourselves that we will not recreate the irritating habits our parents inflicted on us, they sometimes pop up like weeds. When I got my first apartment, I was so excited about creating my own Christmas tree without the restrictions of my family traditions. My Brooklyn apartment was decorated almost entirely in mauve and cream (give me a break, it was the 80s) and I spent that November carefully choosing and purchasing tasteful Victorian-style ornaments that matched my home. By mid-December I had the perfect tree; it looked as if I walked out of Gimbel’s seasonal department, hauling it over my shoulder in its entirety, lace trailing behind. I moved the ornaments with me to Vermont, and continued to collect pieces appropriate to the theme.
When I had my son, I considered how I would adapt the handmade ornaments he would undoubtedly come home with from day care to my carefully maintained tree design. For his second Christmas I installed a small tree in his room, complete with his own child- friendly ornaments (a transportation theme…scary, huh?) and twinkling primary colored lights. My son showed no interest in his little tree, gravitating towards the larger one in the living room with its monochromatic white lights. He would sit on the rug and joyfully rearrange the carefully placed ornaments. After he went to bed I would return the tree to its pristine state.
In between seasons we would store our Christmas tree decorations in a large plastic box in a loft in our garage. That year I had been given a large glass snowglobe that I carefully wrapped and placed in with the decorations. Well, during the change of seasons the water froze, then expanded and the globe shattered. In the summer the icy guts of the globe melted all over the tasteful ornaments, eventually molding them beyond recognition over the long hot summer. That December when I opened the box and discovered the green furry remnants of my decorations, a full range of feelings rushed through me: grief, repulsion, amusement but the loudest and most surprising was relief. I was free. That weekend I took my young son with me and we ran around Ames, purchasing relatively inexpensive, brightly colored ornaments with no thought to theme. Over the years the white lights have been replaced with colored ones, and the tree is every color of the rainbow, with his handmade ornaments looking right at home.
The Christmas tree is just one example of the many things in life that I have learned to let go of, to have fun with through my role as parent. That year I was reminded that Christmas is indeed a child’s holiday, and that, thankfully, it comes in colors other than mauve and cream, and though my son has grown and toys have been replaced with electronics, I remember that particular holiday with nostalgia. That was the greatest Christmas gift I’ve ever received…one that will not be forgotten.
Happy Holidays, gentle readers!
Blog: PaperTigers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: customs, S.E.A. Write Award, Southeast Asian literature, The Happiness of Kati, grief, The Tiger's Bookshelf, The Tiger's Choice, Thailand, traditions, Children's Books, Add a tag
Nine-year-old Kati lives an idyllic life in rural Thailand, cherished by her grandparents, surrounded by people who care about her, a modern girl whose days are shaped by customs that are steeped in tradition. Her world is secure and she is happy, except for the nights when storms blow in, lightning fills the sky and following the rumbles of thunder, Kati can hear cries of “heart-stopping despair” mingled with the sound of the rain.
Nothing in her life has ever been tinged with the sadness Kati hears in these cries–or has it? Is her imagination playing tricks on her or are these sounds emerging from forgotten memories? When Kati discovers the answer to these questions, she also discovers joy and the true meaning of family, as well as grief that few girls her age have to face.
This slender little book illuminates another culture while exploring the universality of love and loss. The 2006 winner of Thailand’s S.E.A. Write Award that is given annually for outstanding Southeast Asian literature, this is a novel that celebrates life’s everyday pleasures as thoroughly as it examines some of its deepest questions.
Please join us in reading and discussing The Happiness of Kati.
Blog: Happy Healthy Hip Parenting (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: international, holidays, history, celebrations, families, lisa smith, father's day, regionz kidz, traditions, Add a tag
by Lisa Smith
In June of each year, we celebrate the wonderful Fathers and father figures in our lives! The modern celebration of Father’s Day has ancient roots, dating all the way back to the Babylonian period of history.
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Blog: librarian.net (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: aynrand, books, humor, craigslist, librarymofo, Add a tag
“Ayn Rand man, I would like to apologize for a few things. To begin with, I am sorry that I did not state in simpler words, when you asked why Ayn Rand was shelved in the fiction section instead of the philosophy section, that the Fountainhead is a novel.” from best of craigslist, via library_mofo.
This one sounds like it might make the reader tear up.?
Thank you, Kathy, for your kind words. I love your blog, and I'm honored to be included with the wonderful books and authors you've featured here. I fully intend to be a frequent visitor here.
I hope the giveaway generates some interest, and I look forward to sending out copies of Dear Austin to your loyal readers.
Thanks again,
David Perkins