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March is Women’s History Month and we’re bringing the month to a close by celebrating in grand style. Before women make their history, they first had to have some focus, bravery, and perseverance to get them there. Let’s face it, all women have hurdles to jump over, but every woman that makes, and contributes, to history qualifies as a “Gusty Girl!”

Before we continue, we need to pause for a…..

WARNING !!!

” Many of the situations that the author encounters in this book have inherent dangers and can lead to serious or even fatal injuries. One particular undertaking-Climbing the Golden Gate Bridge-is also illegal and should not be attempted. Readers should not venture into any of these situations without professional instruction, suitable training, and proper supervision. Neither the publisher nor the author assumes ay responsibility for any injuries incurred by the reader.”

This is the first page of one of the greatest reads of the year. You’re probably in one of two camps after reading this warning. The first camp can’t wait to find out what could be in this book to create such a warning and the second camp will run as fast as they can. Just so you know, I’m in the first camp BUT I greatly advise people of the second camp to take a deep breath and read it anyway. There’s something for everyone to help unveil the gutsy in all of us.

First I had to know more about that Golden Gate Bridge story and second I just had to know more about author Caroline Paul, what type of woman is she and what escapades in her life led her to write a guidebook for tween girls about creating such adventures? The Gutsy Girl:Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure is probably one of the finest reads I’ve picked up so far in 2016.

Backstory

Author Caroline Paul was one of the first women on the San Franciso firefighting force as well as an experimental plane pilot, throughout the pages of her book we also learn that she is a recovering/rescue scuba diver. All this from a woman who says she was the biggest scaredy cat in the world as a child. Caroline greatly believes that girls are taught to be frightened by being instilled with the language of “fear”, while boys are fed that bravery and resilience are the goals to aspire to.

The Gutsy Girl: Escapades of Your Life of Epic Adventure is her antidote to empower tween girls to embrace their own bravery and resilience. This book is FUNNY and extremely imaginative and really intelligently written. Inside she shares her own stories one by one and the lessons and bravery she learned. Not all of them have happy endings but all of them have a take away to a new understanding of who she is or was at that time. This book is also part manifesto using language, insights, and encouragement into bravery and shear gutsiness. This is a guidebook however, and guidebooks mean you have to take action. Caroline Paul has also placed many great and inventive activities called Daring-Dos, as well as journal pages to reflect on ones own Daring-Dos experiences.

While sharing her escapades, author Caroline Paul is brilliant about showing the boundary lines between being gutsy and being stupid. She is always cautioning against being reckless and the difference between recklessness and being adventurous . She just doesn’t say it once, it’s sprinkled everywhere throughout the book in many different ways.

Some of My Favorite Parts

I learned some fun new things….

The illustrations in The Gusty Girl :Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure are done by her partner Wendy Macnaughton who also has a great sense of humor. One of my favorite illustrations is the Gutsy Girl International Phrase Book. It had me howling probably because I’ve needed to ask these very questions of people in far off lands and unknown languages.

Did you know this about how to know what temperature it is ?

So cool right ?

Something To Do

Writer Caroline Paul wasn’t always brave, or adventurous.

“I had been a shy and fearful kid. Many things had scared me. Bigger kids. Second grade. The elderly woman across the street. Being called on in class. The book Where the Wild Things Are. Woods at dusk. The way the bones in my hand crisscrossed.

Being scared was a terrible feeling, like sinking in quicksand. My stomach would drop, my feet would feel heavy, my head would prickle. Fear was an all-body experience. For a shy kid like me it was overwhelming.”

She gives great examples of current gutsy girls and women. Some known most we’ve never heard of but I’m so glad to know about them now.

Right within the pixels of Jump Into a Book we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing books based on Gutsy Girls. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Wilma Rudolf (The Quickest Kid in Clarksville)
• Malala Yousafzai (The Right to Learn)
• Helen Keller (Helen and Annie booklist)

Below you’ll find a list and some links to some more gutsy girls. Go discover them and see what their bravery and adventuresome spirit inspires you to do.

Please Meet

Laura Dekker who set sail on the boat she made and remodeled with her father. Just shy of her 15th birthday, she set sail around the world to become the youngest person to ever circumnavigate the globe ALONE.

Learn more about her here. She also has a blog and a book called One Girl, One Dream.

Marie Antoine started climbing trees as a kid for fun. Now she does it as her job. She’s one of the few botanists who work in the canopies of the world’s largest trees the redwoods. From 325 feet up in the air, you’ll find her munching her lunch and taking a little snooze in the hammock she brings along. That’s a long long way down. One of my personal daring dos is to climb up into a Redwood tree. Just thought I’d share that. I first learned of Marie from the book The Wild Trees by Richard Preston which talked about her and her husband Stephen Stillet and the work they do way up there. Here’s a great look at their lives.

Shark Whisperer Cristina Zenato grew up is the African Congo. She is an accomplished diver. Christina calms the sharks by rubbing around their nose and mouth along small jelly filled holes. This quiets the shark into a semi-paralytic state for up to 20 minutes. During the time the sharks are hypnotized, Christina pulls out fishhooks, removes parasites from their skins, and extracts various samples for scientific research. In lieu of being fearful of these large sea creatures, she calls them family and says they are greatly misunderstood. Do you know who else says that ? My eldest daughter, “Bun-Girl” who also has had her own adventures with sharks.

To find out more about Christina Zenato  have a look here.

This book honestly speaks to girls and women of all ages. I found it to be timeless in it’s appeal. She beckons us to embrace the spirit of adventure or at the very least to explore the idea. She shares what it means to be brave, that perseverance is how to get through it, that we don’t need to be perfect just present and the most important take away for being a Gutsy Girl is to laugh at oneself a lot. That’s an important skill especially when trying to do nearly impossible things.

Are you a Gutsy Girl?

Ready to get your “sleuth” on? My Secret Codes, Mysteries and Adventures Activity PDF for kids will keep young minds percolating for HOURS!

Inside young super detectives will discover:

*19 pages of sleuthing fun for your family to enjoy.
*Use Pilot Frixion Pens and craft paper to create Invisible Secret Notes!
*Make I Spy Cookies!
*Discover a President of the United States who was a Master Code Creator!

This free activity guide is a great way to encourage kids to pull books off of shelves, discover the power of imagination and build a new excitement and anticipation for reading. Fill out the info below and grab your FREE copy. Enjoy!

The post If you’re a Gutsy Girl-Read This! appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Children’s Book Week is this week, May 4-10, 2015!

Children’s Book Week is the annual celebration of children’s books and reading. Established in 1919, it is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. The program is administered by Every Child a Reader (ECAR) and the Children’s Book Council (CBC) is the anchor sponsor.

In 2014, Official Events — which give kids the opportunity to connect with their favorite authors and illustrators in person — were hosted in all 50 states for the first time in the initiative’s history.

Here is the official 2015 Children’s Book Week Poster by Grace Lee! Grab your copy HERE.

The official poster commemorates the 96th annual celebration of Children’s Book Week (May 4-10, 2015), the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country.

Reading is a daily journey, a ritual to spend time with our favorite authors and with each other. A time to go to places imagined, to meet characters who have become friends or shortly will be. As the book is passed between us, our rolls change from listener to reader and back to listener again.

Family story time should be an illumined hour when the sun is gone and the stars have come out of hiding. It’s not about how quickly we can get through a book or how many accelerated reader points its worth or how well the kids will do on their exams, it’s all about us, the happily ever after reading family.

Creating a Slow Family Reading Moment:

• Try and choose the same time of day for your family reading session. It doesn’t have to be the exact hour just around the same time of day.
• Unplug. No cell phones, TV, instant messages, beepers, buzzers or alarm clocks. Basically anything which makes noise must be off.
• Be comfortable. Wear comfortable clothing.
• Make a cozy environment. Bring out your favorite blankets and pillows. Many people like to have beverages such as hot herbal teas, cider, lemonade etc. For ourselves we also add the element of sitting by the fireplace or fire pit in Autumn through the end of spring and then out onto the screen porch in the summer.
• Choose a book that everyone in the family can understand and enjoy.
• Create a system for choosing who will read next. Sometimes my husband or I will start the reading session and then quietly pass the book onto the next child. At first as your family is young, you will be the primary reader.By slowing down and reading from a place of timelessness and expectations, we create connections to each other. We are enraptured by books that inspire us and our creativity. Though not explicitly, children learn that the love of reading is an enjoyment we all share. There is an old proverb which says :”A fig tree, looking on a fig tree, becomes fruitful.” Children, by participating with their families in reading will grow to love reading for the adventures and insights it holds.

Let’s celebrate Children’s Book Week with a Super Spring Sale! I have two of my most popular books on a super special sale until May18th!

The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired #homeschool. And for a limited time, this best-selling book by Donna Ashton, The Waldorf #Homeschool Handbook is now only $17.95 until May18, 2015 ! http://amzn.to/1OhTfoT

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!” http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX

The post Children’s Book Week and a Quickie Lesson on Slow Reading Time appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

I can’t think of a better way to continue our Snow Festival week than with The Story of the Snow Children by Sibylle von Olfers. Who couldn’t love Poppy in her little red hat going to a winter’s feast? I was trying to remember the first time I heard this story and I can’t remember. It seems like its been a constant throughout my life.

As Poppy is gazing out of the window she notices the soft gently blowing snowflakes have little faces and are actually snow children. As they dance and swirl in the garden they soon take Poppy away to the snow kingdom of the Snow Queen. There, Poppy is welcomed to the grand festival by the Queen and her princess. Amidst the sparkling snow kingdom is dancing, feasting, and exciting games. At the end of all this play, Poppy sleepily returns home to recount her tales of the snow children to her listening mother.

To grab your copy of this book, go HERE.
To set the stage for the wonderful and exciting snow festival we need to be dressed appropriately. There is nothing better than a message crown to make one feel like wintry royalty.

Something To Do: A Message Crown

Materials:

An assortment of 81/2 x 10 paper
An assortment of 12 x 12 paper
White card stock or blank index cards
Scissors
Picking shears
Small fasteners
Glue dots or glue
Tape
Heart Pattern
Large Circle pattern
Small circle pattern
Large triangle pattern
Small triangle pattern
To make a message crown you will need the following:
1 woven heart

2 large circles
2 small circles
2 large triangles
2 small triangles
2 -12 inch paper strips, 2 inches wide

How to make the woven heart

Fold a 81/2 x 11 ½ sheet of paper in half
Place the bottom of the heart pattern on the fold
Trace pattern twice onto the paper, each one placed on the fold.
Cut the two center lines on each heart piece.

Weaving Your Heart
Weaving a heart is a little different than weaving. We aren’t going under and over but in and through. The left hand side of the heart I’ve marked ABC. The right hand side of the heart I’ve marked 123. Let’s try this step by step. Look at the photos for help.
Step 1: Place C (left side piece) inside 1 (right hand piece).

Step 2: Place 2 (right hand piece) inside C (left hand piece).
Step 3: Place C (left hand piece) inside 1 (right hand piece).
Step 4: Place 1 (right hand piece) inside B (left hand piece).

Step 5: Place B(left hand piece) inside 2 (right hand piece).
Step 6: Place 1 (right hand piece) inside B ( left hand piece).
Step 7: Place C (left side piece) inside 1 (right hand piece).

Step 8: Place 2 (right hand piece) inside C (left hand piece).
Step 9: Place C (left hand piece) inside 1 (right hand piece).

To Make the Message Crown you will Need the Following:
Two large circles
Two small circles
Two large triangles
Two small triangles

Make the Crown band
Take 2 12 x 12 inch pieces of paper. Place them wrong sides together.
Tape an inch on both the bottom left and right hand sides. This will hold your crown sides together.
Measure 2 inches from the bottom, fold, and cut along folded line. This is your crown band.
Crown Assembling
Take a folded heart and turn it over. On the reverse side, place a couple of glue dots down towards the bottom of the heart. Taking your crown band with the taped sides lying horizontally, place the heart in the center of the crown band.
Take one large circle and one small circle. Place small circle on top of the large circle and fasten with a small fastener. Make two of theses. Once together turn both pieces over and place a couple of glue dots on the circle and then place one circle to the right of the heart, and the other to the left of the heart.
Take one large triangle and one small triangle. Place a small triangle on top of the large triangle. Hold them together with a small fastener. Make two of these. Turn the triangles over and place a couple of glue dots on each triangle. Place the triangles to the left of the circles.
Adjusting your crown
Place the crown on the head holding it center on the forehead. In the back of the head, grab the crown band, gathering up the excess. Fold it over and tape it to fit.

Messages

The heart on the center of the crown is actually a little basket. It’s a perfect place for friends to leave messages for each other. To make your messages take the card stock and cut it into 8 rectangles. You can also use index cards as well. Cut those into quarters. Use your pinking shears to go around the edges. Write a heartfelt message. During the snow festival go around delivering your messages to your friends.

DON’T FORGET! There’s only a few days left of the Audrey Press Holiday Book Sale! (ends 12/31/14)

A Year in the Secret Garden (inspired by the classic children’s book Secret Garden) is on a wonderful sale until December 31st. Books always make an excellent gift for anyone in your life and it’s not too late to get your copy of A Year in the Secret Garden book for the special holiday price of $15.00 (ends December 31st) if you use the secret code word secret garden at checkout.

This guide uses over two hundred full color illustrations and photos to bring the magical story to life, with fascinating historical information, monthly gardening activities, easy-to-make recipes, and step-by-step crafts, designed to enchant readers of all ages. There’s also a link to a free download website for all of the wonderful paper toys that Marilyn Scott-Waters has created. Each month your family will unlock the mysteries of a Secret Garden character, as well as have fun together creating the original crafts and activities based on the book. This book also includes month-by-month activities as well INCLUDING fun book-related fun for the colder months of the year!

Get your copy here.

**some of these links are affiliate links

The post Snow Festival Day 3: Story of the Snow Children appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

 The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown is a heart grabber. The book has the most beautiful paintings which really remind me of my sweet boy “O”. Jim Lamarche, the illustrator, has contributed to the magic of this great story.

They put golden tinsel

 on his branches

And golden bells

And green icicles

And silver stars

And red and green and blue

And purple chains of shining Christmas balls.

All alone in an empty field grew a little fir tree. It dreamed of being part of a forest, or part of anything at all. Then one winter day, a man takes the little fir tree away and it finds itself at the center of a little boy’s very special celebration. This sweet little boy is special, he has a lame leg and he has never been to the forest and so his father brings the forest to him. This little tree gets planted in a wooden tub. “You have come to me from the wild green forest, and you are a part of my very own world.” said the little boy.

Something To Do

You can bring the magic of a fir tree into your very own home. Though some of us may have big trees decorated in our houses, making a little fir tree to go into a child’s room is something truly special of their very own.

Supplies:

• One small fir tree, fake or real. Both work.
• A string of 35 lights. Color your choice.
• small cinnamon sticks
• Cranberries
• Small pinecones
• String
• Large long needle
• Thick Thread
• A collection of small decorations
• Small hooks
• Tree topper

Instructions:

1. Thread your needle. Knot it at one end.
2. Put the needle through a cranberry and move it to the end. Then move the needled through a small pinecone and move it to the end. Add a cranberry and move it to the end, and then a cinnamon stick, moving it to the end. Continue in this pattern until you have a string long enough to wrap around your little tree.
3. String the lights around the tree.
4. Add your cinnamon garland.
5. Place hooks on your decorations and hang them on the tree.
6. Put on your tree topper.

Place your tree in your child’s room on a table top, or bookshelf. This is a beautiful way to bring light during the darkest time of the year into a child’s room. They will be thrilled and find it quite magical and spectacular. I have it from very good opinion that this one is a winner. Enjoy !!!

Special Note!

Many of you also may know that I am Co-founder of the wildly successful Multicultural Children’s Book Day. Our second celebration is coming January 27th, 2015 and so many amazing things are happening! We now have fourteen Sponsors for this event, 9 amazing Co-Hosts, a brand new Facebook page, a brand new Twitter page and we were featured in Publisher’s Weekly this week!

We also rolled out our Diversity Book Lists & Resources for Teachers and Parents on the site and we’d like to remind everyone to watch for the event’s hashtag; #ReadYourWorld. Please retweet and share when you see it!

The post Do You Know How to Enchant a Child? The Little Fir Tree Does. appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

I have been a contributor to Vicki Arnold’s The Library Adventure for awhile and I am so proud to be a part of such a wonderful site.

The Library Adventure was founded by Vicki Arnold in 2013 when she was faced with the quandary of how to fit her love of the library and books into her already bursting at the seams blogging schedule. She wanted a place for others to share their library finds with other bibliophiles.

As she started brainstorming, the idea kept growing and The Library Adventure was born. The Library Adventure strives to be a go-to resource for both library patrons and librarians. While The Library Adventure is for library fans of all ages, there is a special focus on children. I am not alone as a contributor, there are many wonderful bloggers and writers who contribute and you can get to know them here.

In honor of National Library Week (April 13-19) I thought I would shine the spotlight on Vicki’s amazine site, and recap some of the book jumps and activities I have done on The Library Adventure along with a few of my favorite posts from other contributors.

Having Fun with The Penderwicks!

The Penderwicks: A summer Tale of Four Sisters,Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall is filled with adventure, mystery, suspense, friendships, and villains–all of these ingredients mixed together make the best summer ever for the Penderwick sisters Rosalind, Jane, Skye, and Batty. Rosalind, the oldest, assumes the responsibility of taking care of her younger sisters. Jane just wants to have fun and enjoy the outdoors. Skye wants to finish her novel. And Batty…wants to be a butterfly. When they arrive at Arundel Hall for the summer with their Botanist father and their dog, Hound, the girls had no clue what was awaiting them behind the high walls of the Arundel house. Read article in its entirety HERE.

A Day With Pippi Longstocking {Hands On Activity and bookjump}

Pippi lives all alone in a large yellow and pink house, her mother died when she was a baby and her father is lost at sea somewhere but expected to return. Pippi fills her days with pancakes, games, dancing, and many other antics. Her best friends are a monkey named Nilsson and a white horse she lets in the house and sleep in the living room. She supports herself with her suitcase full of gold coins. Clearly, she needs no one and is very capable of handling every detail of life on her own. Read the rest of the article HERE.

Note: Myself and intern Hannah Rials had SO much fun creating this Hands On Activity! Let’s see if your family can create their own “Long Stockings!”

The Otter, the Spotted Frog and the Great Flood Activity

Over the years my family has enjoyed reading a variety of “great flood” tales from our local Blount County Library. This month found us enjoying the Creek Indian version called, The Otter, the Spotted Frog and the Great Flood by Gerald Hausman and beautifully illustrated by Ramon Shiloh.

In this version, spotted frog announces to the world that a great flood is coming which will destroy all of their homes. All of the animals ignore spotted frog’s warning, except an otter named Listener. Read the rest of the article HERE.

Hands-On Activities for Mama Panya’s Pancakes: A Village Tale from Kenya

We recently picked up a wonderful book from the Blount County library, this wonderful Kenyan Tale called, “Mama Panya’s Pancakes: A Village Tale from Kenya” by Mary and Rich Chamberlin, Illustrated by Julia Cairns.

This beautiful heart warming story shares the great message of “give and you shall receive.“ As Mama Panya and her young son Adika walk to the market, Adika invites every friend he meets to come and eat pancakes with him and his mother. Read the rest of the article HERE.

**Tops Picks from other Library Adventure Contributors**

Hands-On Activity for Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears tells the tale of the mosquito. This little creature begins the story by attempting to tell his friend iguana about a farmer digging yams. The grumpy iguana doesn’t believe the tall tale his friend is telling so he puts two sticks in his ears and walks away in a huff. As the other animals pass by the iguana they are confused about his actions. Iguana has no idea he sets off a chain of unfortunate events impacting all of the animals in the forest.

Hands-on Activity for Around the World in 80 Days

As Jules Verne’s story Around the World in Eighty Days opens we are introduced to the main character – Phileas Fogg:

“Mr. Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row, Burlington Gardens. He was one of the most noticeable members of the Reform Club, though he seemed always to avoid attracting attention; an enigmatical personage, about whom little was known, except that he was a polished man of the world.”  Read the full article HERE.

Be sure and visit The Library Adventure to find even more delightful book reviews and hands-on activities!

The post Celebrating National Library Week with The Library Adventure appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

A sweet book that shares the love of family and home can be found in The Coziest Place by Jaime Michalak.

Wintertime is fun. Then afterwards with cold toes and rosy noses, the bear family snuggles into their cozy home where they enjoy hot grilled cheese, hot cocoa, reading time, warm clothes, and special treats before slipping into their cozy beds for the night.

What an adorable story. Michalak’s lyrical prose combined with charming artwork by Jon Davis makes this a perfect book to help settle your youngsters down for the night or to enjoy when the weather is raging outside. The Coziest Place truly makes you appreciate all the loveliness of home.

Rating:

Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Tiger Tales (September 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1589251210
ISBN-13: 978-1589251212

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This review contains my honest opinion, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

• Black long-sleeve shirt
• Black pants
• Glasses
• Orange paper triangle beak (taped to bottom of glasses)
• White pillow tied with string
• No shoes (think like a penguin!)

written by Hannah Rials

The post Penguin Cha Cha by Kristi Valiant: Book Review from Hannah Rials appeared first on Jump Into A Book.