If Picasso Had a Christmas Tree An Illustrated Introduction to Art History for Children by Art Teachers Written by Eric Gibbons Illustrated by 30 Art Teachers Firehouse Publications 9/09/2014 978-1-940290-33-1 100 pages Ages 7+ “This book was conceived of, written by, illustrated by, and created by 30 art teachers from all over the …
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Blog: Kid Lit Reviews (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Colin Temple, Daryn Pake Martin, Donna Cooper Smith, Eric Gibbons, Firehouse Publications, If Picasso Had a Christmas Tree, Children's Books, NonFiction, Middle Grade, Favorites, art history, art appreciation, Christmas trees, Art Book, K-12, 4stars, Library Donated Books, Add a tag
Blog: Kid Lit Reviews (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Christmas, Favorites, Candlewick Press, Christmas trees, Holiday Book, 5stars, Bethanie Deeney Murguia, Library Donated Books, The Bests Part of Christmas, Children's Books, holidays, Picture Book, Add a tag
$50 Gift Certificate Holiday Giveaway Enter here: Mudpuppy Holiday Giveaway The Best Parts of Christmas Written & Illustrated by Bethanie Deeney Murguia Candlewick Press 9/22/2015 978-0-7636-7556-1 32 pages Ages 4—8 “Fritz knows that the best parts of Christmas—from decorating to sharing treats ad opening presents—happen around the tree. And Fritz gets to …
Add a CommentBlog: billkirkwrites (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: snow, Christmas trees, grandchildren, hot chocolate, mittens, billkirkwrites, s'mores, Christmas, Add a tag
(Childhood winter time memories stay with us wherever we go. May these recollections take you back and bring you home.)
"Remembering Winter"
(North Dakota Horizons, 2007)
Silhouetted sentries stare,
Standing leafless, stark and bare.
Snowflakes, on their wingless flights,
Swirl in winter wind that bites….
Silv'ry, golden strings of lights,
Star-filled skies on nippy nights.
Snowsuits, mittens, itchy tights,
Sledding, skating, snowball fights;
Steaming cocoa-whispered sips,
Smiles on children's rosy lips.
Sticky, frosted finger tips;
Scrumptious s'mores and chocolate chips;
Scents of winter in the air,
Sounds of children everywhere;
Stockings filled with special treats,
Stories Grandpa still repeats.
Simply said, though far you roam,
Special memories bring you home.
Blog: billkirkwrites (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Christmas, humor, Christmas trees, the writer's life, billkirkwrites, Add a tag
For men, Christmas tree shopping has got to be at the top of the list of life’s all-time stress producers—right up there with purchasing a new mattress, remodeling the kitchen or babysitting six-month old triplets… alone… on Black Friday.
Tree acquisition is usually irreversibly triggered by “someone” remembering the holidays. That is, once your wife decides it’s time to get the tree, any chance for escape is lost. So, it’s best to get on board early by showing your beloved that you already have a trip to the tree lot in your Planner, immediately after Thanksgiving.
Yes, you could volunteer to get a tree earlier, although that would likely be viewed as sucking up. Pushing the date out a bit might work—let’s say until the Thanksgiving left-overs are gone. But I would eat fast.
Let’s assume for a moment that you make the right timing decision. On the day of the big purchase you will be richly rewarded if you take someone with you to share the experience. Trust me, tree selection is a decision you do not want to make alone. If no other option is available, call in a marker and take another male with you to help deflect the blame when you totally screw things up. Your buying guide should be someone highly regarded by your wife—-you know, like Josh Groban, Bon Jovi or the Iron Chef.
In the event you don’t know someone rich and famous who can cook or sing, take children—preferably related to you. And remember to lavish praise on them when they make their selection. You’ll want them beaming when your wife first sees them marching through the front door, proudly toting their Charlie Brown tree.
It goes without saying, the gold standard is convincing your wife to come with you. Surely, if you put your heart into the invitation, she will willingly leave the warmth of hearth and home for a trip to the cold, poorly lit and newly sprouted urban forest—AKA Jack’s Tree Lot.
Once there, she will no doubt relish hearing your carefully studied views of height versus girth, spruce versus pine, relative trunk curvature, growth patterns, limb distribution and, of course, moisture content. By next summer you’ll both remember this as a bonding experience.
With any luck, you’ll be in and out of the lot in less than ten minutes after picking the first tree you come to. Hey! It could happen. However, as a precaution, it might be prudent to bring along a thermos and some snacks. Better yet, if you have room in your trunk, consider tossing in a stocked cooler and a portable grill—you could be there for a while.
Merry Christmas, everyone. Drop by my web site any time for updates on my children's books or just to browse around ( http://www.billkirkwrites.com ).
Blog: Booktopia (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: swimming, accidents, sisters, Wendy Lamb Books, hospitals, summer story, arc 7/08, YA, Friendship, jobs, sisters, swimming, accidents, Wendy Lamb Books, hospitals, summer story, arc 7/08, Add a tag
Ahhhh...summer when you're a teenager. I don't care if you lived in city or in country, chances are you were wandering the streets with a group of your friends getting into various amounts of trouble. You were free of adult constraints answering your parent's question of "Where are you going?" with the simple word "Out!"
This is the summer scene for sisters Claire and Natalie. Claire is soon heading off to university. She's ready to dump her boyfriend for an unknown future full of promise, and she cannot really wait to go off on her own. Natalie, on the other hand, is a bit anxious. She's never been without Claire, and cannot imagine going from sharing a room to seeing Claire occasionally. But Natalie is spending her summer like she always does. She's hanging out at the Ding-Dong where Audrey works with the rest of her friends. She's playing hideous games of "Would you rather..." with them, waiting for everyone to show. You know...how gross can it get? The rest of the night is spent pool hopping when the owners aren't around.
And then everything changes.
After the accident, Natalie doesn't know what to do. Is it wrong to go to work while your sister lays comotose in the hospital? Is it wrong to kiss a boy when your parents are so distraught that they can't even talk to you? Would you rather see your sister die, or be hooked to machines for the rest of her "life"?
Written in sparse prose, Marthe Jocelyn brings the reader into a family tragedy, and introduces some amazing teenage characters. Natalie's feelings are so raw, and her life with her friends is incredibly realistic. They are smart, and sharp, and genuinely care for one another. While this is a sad story, readers will find themselves hoping that Natalie can find her way and hoping that her family can keep it together. Would You is a perfect choice for the teens who have recently enjoyed Before I Die, by Jenny Downham
Again, in the interest of full disclosure, I do know Marthe Jocelyn, but rest assured, this book would not appear on my blog if I didn't think it was great!
Blog: Scribblings (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Happy Australia Day. What better thing to celebrate than the wonderful country where I live. As the new Australian of the Year, Lee Kernaghan said in his acceptance speech, there is no greater honour than to be Australian. Anyway, here I am dressed up for the Corrigin Australian Day Breakfast. I had fun with the temporary tattoos, though you can see only one in the photo. The other essential
Blog: Summer Friend (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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In Florida, we don't get snow or those other elements that let you know it's Christmas time, but we do have trees that hang their own ornaments:
Orange trees--edible ornaments!
Ilex holly--don't the berries look like little tomatoes?
I don't know what this one is called, but I made a psychedic version of it, too!
Blog: Summer Friend (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: A Year of Reading (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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GRAYSON
by Lynne Cox, author of SWIMMING TO ANTARCTICA
There will be no competitive open water swim for me this summer. Reading GRAYSON will have to do. And it will do just fine.
In this slim book, Cox tells the story of an early morning (before sunrise) training swim in the ocean off Seal Beach, California in March (55 degree water) of the year she was 17. She had already swum the English Channel twice, and the Catalina Channel once.
As the sun rose during this swim, Cox suddenly became aware of a huge presence swimming near her. She was afraid it was a shark, but it turned out to be an 18-foot baby grey whale. Because it was swimming with her, she could not swim to shore -- it would beach itself and die. So, in spite of the voices inside her head that doubted the choice, and following the voices inside her heart that felt a compassionate connection to the baby whale, Cox stayed in the water for several more hours, swimming from a pier to an oil rig and back to the pier LOOKING FOR THE MOTHER WHALE! She had the help of a lifeguard boat, several fishing boats, and a small crowd on the pier, but she was the one who stayed in the water with the baby until he was reunited with his mother.
The book is a lyrical description of the intimate connection of a swimmer to the ocean, the tides, the currents, and all of the living creatures of the ocean, both beautiful (dolphins) and frighteningly beautiful (rays and purple jellyfish). It's also the story of the power of positive thinking, and mind over matter. Everything you ever needed to know about taking risks, pursuing goals, and overcoming doubts, you can learn from Lynne Cox in this book. Here is my favorite passage:
"The answer came to me. Wait as long as you need to. The waiting is as important as the doing: its the time you spend training and the rest in between; it's painting the subject and the space in between; it's the reading and the thinking about what you've read; it's the written words, what is said, what is left unsaid, the space between the thoughts on the page, that makes the story, and it's the space between the notes, the intervals between fast and slow, that makes the music. It's the love of being together, the spacing, the tension of being apart, that brings you back together. Just wait, just be patient, he will return."
Wonderful photos, Danette. The colors are amazing! And now? I am totally craving fresh-picked oranges and tomatoes! (Yes, I know they weren't tomatoes but I'm very suggestible when it comes to a good tomato. :P )
So beautiful! And perfect, too. These are the best oranges to get in your stocking on Christmas morning. I always crave tomatoes, I think it's a Southern thing, programmed deep into our DNA.
Nice pictures! The colors are alive and lovely.
A Christmas in Florida is a whole 'nother country!
Those are just lovely pictures! And I'm jealous cause I'd rather be warm during Christmas anyway. Boo cold, boo snow!
Have a very Merry Christmas! I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday!
LOVE these photos. They are like little pieces of lovely weather in my web browser.
And LOVE the psychedelic photo!!!
Virginia and plaidearthworm,
Thanks on the photos!
AJ,
Thank you for your compliments. Having lived up north most of my life, I agree--Christmas in Florida is a whole 'nother country!
Thank you, Ello! Merry Christmas to you, too!
"Little pieces of weather." I like that, Courtney!
I think the berries at the bottom are a type called "Beauty Berries." They're gorgeous and we have them in droves here in south Louisiana.
"Beauty berries"--I like that. Their color is so rich; it's unbelievable sometimes what you can find in nature.
My aunt lives in Florida. It's nice to see pics from there. Have a great Christmas!
hugs,
Donna
Lovely photographs, and here's to trees that decorate themselves! I feel a touch of Bah, humbug this year; even decorating the tree struck me as being a bit of a chore.
I used to live in Florida, and I remember those orange and lemon trees. Different, somehow, from the ones we had in California. Oranges rank high on my list; I'd rather have a good bunch of them for Christmas than a box of chocolates or a mess of bath salts.
Merry Christmas, Danette!
Donna,
It's always good to have an aunt in Florida! I need one of mine to move to Vermont so I could ski, I mean visit.
I think you're right, Mary. I've heard that the California oranges are bigger, and the Florida oranges are juicier.
Your holidays are clearly more colorful (and edible) than mine; I wouldn't know how to get through them without a snow shovel in hand. Merry Christmas, Danette!
Your post has reminded me how much I want a digital camera... Lovely pictures, Danette.