**some of these links are affiliate links

Something to Do Minecraft-Inspired Activities:

 

 

HANNAH RIALS: A Maryville native and current college student at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Hannah began writing her first novel at age twelve. Eight years later, the result is her new YA novel Ascension; a modern day teenage romance filled with “double-blooded” vampires and revenge-seeking witches (to be released in August of 2016). When not spending time with her family and playing with her beloved Corgis, Buddy and Noel, Hannah leads a creative group, crafts and cultivates her writing skills. Connect with Hannah on Facebook, Twitter and via her website.

Breaking News! Proof that Dragons are indeed REAL!

My newest book, Dragons are Real is available and the excitement is almost blowing the roof off at Jump Into a Book/Audrey Press headquarters!

SO…what if I told you that all of the fairy tales, myths and legends that have been told about dragons over the years are WRONG. What if I told you that Dragons are indeed Real and that they are different than you’ve ever imagined?
This fairly true story is based on the author’s childhood friendship with a REAL live Dragon; a very special Dragon that she and her brother spent two magical summers with.

As readers turn the pages and learn the truth about Dragons, they will see that the fiercest beasts in known history can actually be the best of friends. It’s a lesson in finding companionship in the most unusual of places. Dragons are Real is a magical book filled with stunning illustrations and hints that dragon are indeed all around us

Dragons are Real is now available for purchase on both Amazon and Gumroad! We are also offering a special free bonus gift of a Dragons Are Real Inspiration Activity Guide when you purchase your copy of this enchanting picture book.

The post Minecraft Lab for Kids by John Miller and Chris Fornell Scott appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Our Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza Series has come to an end and we are SO grateful for the participation and wonderful guest posts from our contributors.

I truly feel that that series was a success, and it wouldn’t have been possible without our contributors fun and fresh kidlit book picks and activities. We are already percolating on ideas for next summer’s reading event!

Below is a list of all of the posts links and bloggers who participated and I encourage everyone to take a peek to see if you missed any and re-read and enjoy and favorites. There were SO many great contributions this summer and we will be working feverishly to put these posts into a free downloadable document to share (more details to come on that).

Shannon Medisky:Stand Tall, But Read All Around

Leanna @ Multicultural Kids Blog: Read Around The World Summer Series

Unconventional Librarian: Brown Girl Dreaming

Shannon Medisky-Dancing Differently:’

Gladys Elizabeth Barbieri: WISH

Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes: Fiesta Fiasco by Ann Whitford Paul {Guest Post by Frances from Discovering the World Through Her Son’s Eyes}

If You Were Me and Lived in…by Carole P. Roman {Guest Post from Squishable Baby}

Discovering The Cree Culture in America-Wild Berries by Julia Flett Review & Activity! (Guest Post from Felicia at Stanley and Katrina)

Erik at This Kid Reviews: Peter Lerangis’ Seven Wonder series

Cooking with Books: Lucky Birthday Noodles {Guest Post by Jodie from Growing Book by Book}

Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza: Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke {Guest Post by Sprout’s Bookshelf}

A Peek into Thailand {Guest Post from Stephanie Kammeraad of Mama-Lady Books}

A Chair for My Mother Book Review & Activity {Guest Post from Vicki Arnold}

The Magic Poof-A Visit with Author Stephen Hodges.

Until next summer, keep “discovering your world” through books!

The post Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza Series Recap appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

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We are so excited to be participating in Multi-Cultural Kids Blogs Read Around the World Summer Series.   You can find great reads on their Pinterest Page or just click on the logo below.

I would like to share on of my favorite children’s books and activities. Making tangrams is something fun that kids can do by themselves or together with family. Grandfather Tang’s Story by Ann Tompert, is a wonderful story about two fairy foxes uniquely told in tangrams.

“Kindergarten-Grade 4– Two competitive fox fairies go through rapid physical transformations until a hunter’s arrow reminds them of their true friendship. This original tangram tale is framed by the loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter as they share the story under the shade of an old tree, and culminates in a tangram of an old man and a girl likewise resting. Tangrams, ancient Chinese puzzles in which a square is cut into seven traditional pieces (each called a tan), are arranged into patterns used to help tell the story. Parker’s watercolor washes complement the text, adding energy and tension, as well as evoking oriental brushwork technique. However, the text is strong enough to stand on its own, and will be valued by storytellers and listeners alike.” –Carolyn Noah, Worcester Public Library, MA

Fairy foxes are ancient animals indeed, just like all fairies. Fairy foxes can change shape into anything. The two fairy foxes in our story constantly challenge each other into changing from one animal shape to another.

First a rabbit and then a squirrel.

After a couple of easy animal changes they changed into a hawk to fly high in the sky.

All was well as they continued to change from animals from land, sea, and sky. It was at the goose where problems arose.

Come read this Tangram tale and find out how they work together to have a happy ending. This story is good for any age. Even my 12 yr old loved it and we all had an absolute blast playing our Tangram game. Read below to find out how.

Want to Create your own Tangram Story?:

This story lends itself nicely to a moment of Tangram play. Like building blocks, tangrams can teach kids about spatial relationships, can help kids learn geometric terms and develop stronger problem solving skills. Some of my teacher friends revealed to be that they also thing tangram play can assit in general mathematics as well. Tangrams is a very ancient Chinese game using 7 shapes.

• 2 large right triangles.
• 1 medium right triangle.
• 2 small right triangles.
• 1 square
• 1 parallelogram

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My Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza is winding down, but I continue to be amazed at the high-quality and in-depth book reviews my guest posters have come forth with. This week is no exception either as Vicki Arnold from The Library Adventure joins us to share a wonderful book and activity that your family is sure to enjoy. Welcome, Vicki!

A Chair For My Mother was written and illustrated by Vera B. Williams. This picture book is recommended for ages 4-8, but I used it with my 8-11 year olds and my 2 year old. My older children enjoy picture books still and I enjoy the conversation that can arise from the story lines. Experiencing a picture book with kids who can analyze the text and photos is completely different than experiencing it with a toddler or even a younger elementary student.

Vera B. Williams was born in California in 1927. She grew up and currently lives in New York City. At her parents’ encouragement, she studied art in high school and in college. She graduated Black Mountain College in 1949. Before becoming an author/illustrator, she taught in multiple alternative schools from 1953-1970. She then went on to write and illustrate many children’s books, for which she won several awards.

A Chair For My Mother is a 1983 Caldecott Honor Book and rightfully so. The illustrations are colorful and have a whimsical feel to them – childish, but not baby-ish. I particularly enjoyed the city block that illustrated the community coming together to help Rosa’s family.

The basic story line is about Rosa, her mother, and grandmother, though extended family and their community play a part, too. Sometimes after school, Rosa visits her mother at her work. Josephine, her mother’s boss, gives her jobs, too. All the change and half of Rosa’s earnings go into a huge jar.

We then find out that the jar is how the small family is saving money to buy a big, soft chair for mama to rest her feet in at the end of the day because all of their possessions had been destroyed in a fire and they only had the “hard kitchen chairs” to sit in. Ultimately, they save enough money and buy their dream chair.

There are a lot of themes you could pull from to discuss with children. Family is an obvious choice, financial hardships is another option. I chose a third.

In the middle of the book, there is a celebration of how the community comes together to help when the family of three moves into Rosa’s aunt and uncle’s basement apartment. The image of neighbors bringing what they could to give to someone who had lost everything is touching.

A Chair For My Mother Activity

I am all about simplicity. There is a time and place for elaborate crafts and activities, but I’m just not in a season of life for that right now. This activity is simple. We chose to focus on the kindness shown by Rosa’s neighbors. For this activity, you will need:

• paper
• pen or pencil

I also used a clipboard, but that’s optional.

I labeled our paper with these headings:

• Home
• Family
• Community/Neighbors
• Strangers
• Into the World

What we did next was to focus on ways we could serve or perform random acts of kindness in these areas. I’ll explain each section with a little more detail.

• Home – We discussed ways they could bless the other members of our household. From my experience, this can be both the easiest and the hardest for kids. The easiest because these are the people they are in contact with each day so they have a better idea of what would be a help or blessing to those individuals. The hardest because it can be difficult to want to bless your siblings in certain seasons of life.
• Family – This is where we put acts of service we could do for extended family members like grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.
• Community/Neighbors – Those around our home. The ones that we may or may not know all that well.
• Strangers – We thought of the strangers that cross our paths as we go grocery shopping or run other errands. My kids ideas were simple, but, from experience, they often are met with the most encouraging responses. Things like smiling at strangers, holding open doors, and helping load groceries in cars.
• Into the World – The last area we discussed was how we could have an impact globally. For us, this was pretty easy. Through our church we have knowledge of many ministries that work with many different demographics. We started with some that we already support (Operation Christmas Child) and then made a note to explore more ways we could help other ministries and demographics.

Finally, I challenged my kids to actually DO some of the items we listed or come up with another idea. Either way, I wanted them to actually serve, not just think or talk about serving.

You can find A Chair For My Mother at your local library or on Amazon (that is an affiliate link, you can learn more about them and why I thank you for your support here.)

Vicki Arnold is the happily married, homeschooling mom of four children. She blogs about homeschooling, faith, and books at Simply Vicki. She is also the owner of The Library Adventure, where a great group of writers share their passion for books, literacy, and libraries! You can also find her and The Library Adventure on Pinterest pinning great resources for everyone.

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I received a copy of this series in exchange for a thorough and honest review. The opinions stated herein are 100% my own. This post contains an affiliate link.

***

Do you like going on trips, getting packed up, and discovering new and exciting things? I certainly do. I love meeting new people, learning a new language and experiencing new food!

Here is a way of doing all that and more – minus the packing up and getting on a plane part!

Before we go, how about we make a passport to keep track of all the new places we venture to? Don’t forget to grab your passports and put it in your suitcase. We are going to need it since we are going on a trip around the world!

Carole P. Roman’s new series, If you were Me and Lived in… is a child’s journey around the world. It’s a fun way of learning about different customs, including those from France, Portugal, Russia, Australia, Turkey, India, Kenya, Norway, and South Korea.

When you first open the book, your child will see a map of the country and it’s capital city. Then, it will show him/her where it is located on the globe. The author then gives information a child would be interested in, such as – friends names, what they would eat when they visit, what you would call your mom and dad, popular places to visit, and special holidays and happenings. In the back of each book, it hows how to pronounce each word – so they can say it correctly!

All of the books in this series are interactive. It asks questions…

When Daddy tucks in at night, you always say; “Amo-te paizinho (a-mo-te pa-i-nho)

Can you guess what you are saying to your pai (pay)?

In the list of definitions in the back, it will give your child the answer.

For my family, these books were a great jumping off point for acquiring further information. In the book on France, the author talked a bit about Bastille Day. So, from there, we talked about the French Revolution and Marie Antoinette. I don’t know about your kids, but my kids love to learn about a good beheading.

Sigh.

If you are adventurous in the kitchen, the author talks about the food your child will experience. If you look up some new recipes on the internet, it will add value to the experience. In the book on Kenya, she talks about Chapati being served with a barbecue of beef or goat called nyama choma and mixed vegetables. It can be made very simply.

My Children’s Favorite If Your Were Me and Lived In… Book

We learned all kinds of fascinating things about Kenya! One thing mom liked, most of the toys would be handmade. When we visit Kenya, the kids would be creating their own entertainment by gathering wire, sticks and cloth to make Galimoto. No Nintendo’s, YAY!

Don’t forget to stamp your passport with a drawing of something you learned about the country before you leave. It’s very important so that you child can remember when he or she has been and also make the experience their own!

Lisa aka, The Squishable Baby is primarily interested in the educational development of young children. She is a homeschooling mom to 3 and blogs education, health, and picture books. You can catch her on her blog – The Squishable Baby or on Facebook or Pinterest.

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Is summer flying by or what??!! Hard to believe in a little over a month our thoughts will be turning to lunches, backpacks, school supplies and homework. In the meantime, Jump Into a Book wants to continue to soak up every drop of this precious summer and that includes continually sharing amazing multicultural children’s books and complimenting activities to cultivate learning and fun time as a family.

Last week we were visited by one of my favorite young bloggers and authors and this week we are honored with another! Felicia “Neighbor Girl” along with her wildly-talented mom and assistant “Cool Mom” have joined us on JIAB and are sharing another wonderful book for the Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza. Felicia currently aspires to be a movie director when she grows up. Her first book is The Perpetual Papers of the Pack of Pets and you may visit her characters online at www.StanleyAndKatrina.com. Enjoy!

DISCOVERING the CREE NATION THROUGH BLUEBERRIES

Title: Wild Berries

Author/Illustrator: Julie Flett

Year Published: 2013

Publisher: Simply Read Books

Pages: 32

Age Level: Pre-school – 3 years. In addition, it is a great way to introduce The Cree culture to older children.

Summary : Share the journey of Clarence and his grandmother picking wild blueberries. As they do their work, they meet ant, spider and fox in a beautifully illustrated landscape, the ancestral home of author and illustrator Julie Flett. This book is primarily written in English with words shared in the Cree n-dialect, also known as Swampy Cree. The publisher has also made “Wild Berries” available completely in the n-dialect.

WILD BERRIES

The illustrations drew us in, and the fact that we knew nothing about Swampy Cree sealed the deal. We do not study much about the Cree culture in America (at least where we live) but over 200,000 Cree live in communities in Canada and the northern United States.

This is a simply written book which contains powerful translations of key words into Swampy Cree on each page. We found it fun to attempt to say the word at first, then checked the pronunciation guide in the back of the book – boy, were we wrong. ;0)

Julie Flett’s illustrations perfectly accompany her text. She also included notes about the specific Cree dialect used in the book, and a recipe for wild blueberry jam in the final pages.

ACTIVITY:

You may, of course, do an activity related to the animals in the book but we wanted to do something related to the culture. We settled on an activity that would get us out in nature (as the book is set), and created a small Teepee, and canoe which we found on ehow. This was our result:

Julie Flett’s illustrations perfectly accompany her text. She also included notes about the specific Cree dialect used in the book, and a recipe for wild blueberry jam in the final pages.

SUPPORTING ONLIne ACTIVITIES:

Check out this teacher created, elementary level resource that includes the Cree culture:  http://www.spiritsd.ca/learningresources/FNM%20Resources/GR3%20Cree%20and%20Nisga’a%20Integration%20Document,%20Done%20June%2014.pdf

Learn how to tell someone I love you in Swampy Cree: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

/>v=xbMbDUaz_VU

Listen to Cree Champion Pow-wow Singers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACtKuFYBuqw

For another great book about blueberry picking, check out Blueberries for Sal.

THE STANLEY & KATRINA GANG

  Stanley (author) is a three-year-old black Labrador/Rottweiler mix who does his best to ignore Katrina. He enjoys snow, attention and turkey.

 Katrina von Cat the Master of Wisdom and Knowledge (author) is an eight-year-old grey tabby cat who loves her toy mouse. She enjoys treats, naps and bossing the dog around. Katrina also enjoys using big words and shares her Words of the Week with free printables and a video.

   Neighbor Girl (Felicia) is the eleven-year-old human who knows Stanley & Katrina the best. She assists them with everything. Neighbor Girl loves writing, reading, acting, singing, reading, gymnastics, karate, doodling, reading, ice skating, painting, reading, directing short films, doing computer stuff, oh… did we mention reading? She currently aspires to be a movie director when she grows up. Her first book is The Perpetual Papers of the Pack of Pets. You may visit her characters online at www.StanleyAndKatrina.com. The pets get excited when humans follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Google+.  

   Cool Mom is Neighbor Girl’s mother and personal assistant when she needs  help. She is also the  web administrator and social media manager for Stanley & Katrina. Visit her hobby project www.kidlitprintables.com.

**Please share this post on Facebook and Twitter and feel free to comment below!

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It’s time for Weekend Links! These are my top picks from my weekly internet travels. Enjoy!

I just LOVE this Fairy Tales in Different Cultures post from Craft Moms Share: The Golden Slipper: A Cinderella Tale from Ukraine is an amazing example of a great multicultural children’s book!

Imagination Soup had some great picks for new books for 8-12 year olds.

Africa to American had a great blog post about Children’s Books About Australia: A List -

Here’s another fun one! (Kid-Friendly) Drinks from around the world!!! ‪ from Kid World Citizen

Past Multicultural Children’s Book day sponsor Lee and Low Books:

Past Multicultural Children’s Book Sponsor Lee and Low Books offered up a post about diverse books that can compliment your summer fun (specifically visiting National and State Parks).

The start of a school year is just around the corner and fellow blogger Mia from PragmaticMom had some awesome Multicultural Starting School Books for Kids.

Speaking of the Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza, we had some wonderful guest bloggers this week!

Erik from This Kids Reviews offered up his review of a great new series for middle readers.

Jodie from Growing Book by Book showed our readers a great multicultural book plus a yummy way to incorporate NOODLES!

What great reads have YOU found this week?

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Our Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza is rolling right along and I am truly hoping that our Summer Reading Extravaganza has shown reading families some amazing and fresh summer reading ideas thanks to the many book bloggers who have graced the pages of this blog over the last month and a half.

Today is no exception and I am pleased to have Jodie Rodriguez from Growing Book by Book with us to share a multicultural children’s book that is a family favorite. Welcome Jodie!

Cooking with Books:  Lucky Birthday Noodles

As a former classroom teacher and now parent, I diligently look for books that will expose my kids to the world.  Luckily, it has become easier to do this over the years with more and more choices (although the publishing world still has a long way to go).  I also have a love of books that involve food or cooking.  The book I’m sharing with you today fits with both of these passions!

Mei-Mei’s Lucky Birthday Noodles by Shan-Shan Chen and Heidi Goodman  is a loving story of adoption, Chinese culture and a special birthday treat. This brand-new book published by Tuttle Publishing has been read several times in our house.  Mei-Mei is Chinese.  She was adopted by a family who flew across the world to get her.  It’s important for Mei-Mei’s family to help her learn about her roots and culture.  So, on her birthday, Mei-Mei’s mom makes the traditional Chinese dish- long noodles which represent a happy long life.   This year Mei-Mei is old enough to help in the dinner preparation.  Readers are taken through the day of this birthday celebration.  And, the book even includes a recipe for Lucky Birthday Noodles at the end.

I love that the Goodman’s illustrations compliment the text beautifully.  And, Mei-Mei’s 6th birthday cake looks as yummy as the noodle dish!  This is a book that children of all ages will appreciate.

Author Shan-Shan Chen comes from a long line of restauranteurs.  She is often a guest on television where she shows viewers how to prepare Chinese dishes. Chen is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.  She loves to share Chinese traditions with her family and the public. Chen hopes that this new book will help children learn and celebrate a culture through food.

This book is perfect for encouraging families to get in the kitchen and cook together.  My boys enjoyed making and eating the Lucky Birthday Noodle recipe in the back of the book.  The kids tried some new foods including bamboo shoots and bok choy.  There were also lots of familiar ingredients too!  I’ve found that if kids help to prepare or even grow the meal, they are more likely to eat it.  We planted a large garden with our neighbor this year.  My kids are learning so much about how food grows.

There are so many literacy benefits to having kids work with you in the kitchen.  Children work on following directions, reading, listening, developing vocabulary and developing oral communication skills.  I aim to have my kids cook or bake at least one recipe a week with me.

I really love the idea of exploring cultures through food.  I think we will try to find a book each month that inspires us to explore another culture and cook a native cuisine.

Do you have a favorite book that has inspired you to try a new dish?  I’d love to hear your recommendations!

Jodie Rodriguez has a passion for helping caregivers nurture our youngest readers.  As a former National Board Certified early-childhood and elementary teacher and administrator she has worked with thousands of families and educators providing best literacy practices.  She now stays home with home with her two young sons (ages 2 and 3) and is the creator/founder of Growing Book by Book.

Visit Jodie’s blog, Growing Book by Book. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Google +.

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Our Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza is rolling right along and I am truly hoping JIAB has shown reading families some wonderfulnew  summer reading ideas thanks to the amazing book bloggers who have graced the pages of this blog over the last month and a half.

Today is no exception and I am pleased to have Mary Kinser from Sprout’s Bookshelf join us with her take on a great multicultural book called Anna Hibiscus. Thank you, Mary!

In my house, we’re always on the lookout for fun, interesting kid’s books set in Africa. Fortunately there are lots more on the shelves these days than there used to be. Unfortunately many are too advanced for my five-year-old Sprout, or they deal with topics that he’s just not ready for yet.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to find the Anna Hibiscus books by Atinuke. This is a funny, upbeat series set in modern-day Africa, featuring a multi-racial, multi-generational family. How much more awesome could you get?? And even more fortunately, Anna Hibiscus is geared toward the younger spectrum of readers, which means these work as read-alouds for kiddos my age, and as great stories for emerging readers as well.

Anna Hibiscus features adorable illustrations of Anna and her family – her mother, who is Canadian, and her father, who is African, plus her extended family and baby brothers, twins named Double and Trouble. I love the feeling of family and community the pictures give – breaking down any barriers readers might experience when thinking about life in Africa, and showing the common themes that run through any small child’s everyday world. Each story in the book tells about a different aspect of Anna Hibiscus’ life, whether it’s watching her mischievous brothers while on vacation, or preparing the house for a visit from a favorite Auntie. There are lots of sweet moments and plenty of laughs too – enough to keep kiddos wanting to turn pages.

Atinuke, the author of the Anna Hibiscus titles, is a Nigerian storyteller. Like Anna Hibiscus, Atinuke lived much of her early life in a big house in Africa filled with extended family. But later she moved to England to attend boarding school, and England became her home. She wrote the Anna Hibiscus books in an effort to share stories about growing up in Africa with children from the UK. And luckily for all of us, the books have spread to the US as well.

I love reading the Anna Hibiscus stories with Sprout. His eyes light up as we read about life in Africa (Atinuke doesn’t define what country Anna Hibiscus is from – which works for us, as it could easily be Ethiopia, the land of Sprout’s heritage!). It’s so great to share stories that are on his level, that present a positive family dynamic and show so many commonalities between everyday life no matter where you’re raised. Truly, when you read about Anna Hibiscus and her incredible family, you just want to join in the fun!

There are currently six books in the Anna Hibiscus series, and each is even more charming than the last. But our hearts will always belong to the first book, just titled Anna Hibiscus, which we read on vacation last summer and have continued to love ever since. In fact, as I’m writing this post, Sprout saw our copy of Anna Hibiscus sitting by my computer and yelled, “I love this book!”. So what better endorsement could you ask for?

Activity

The last story in Anna Hibiscus is all about our heroine’s deep desire to see snow. And even though I’m not much of a crafty mom, I did stumble across a perfect idea to connect with the reading by doing an activity with Sprout. Jump over to Red Ted Art to find this great tutorial on making a homemade snow globe. It’s simple and fun, a great chance for kids to get creative and even satisfies that longing to see snow that sometimes crops up on a hot summer day!

Sprout wanted to make his snow globe Star Wars-themed – hence the LEGO Luke Skywalker – and as such we opted to put in silver stars and moons (made from foil) rather than snow. (And since Sprout’s in a big dinosaur phase, he had to add an Apatosaurus figure too. ‘Cause even Jedis can get a little help from a prehistoric pal.) You could absolutely go the traditional route with a holiday theme and some glitter, in keeping with Anna Hibiscus’s wish to see the white stuff. Here’s a few pics of our snow globe in action – it was pretty hard to get good pics because the second we put this bad boy together, Sprout was shaking it up constantly!

Bio

By day, Mary Kinser is a Collection Development Librarian. By night, she’s a curator for Zoobean. And all around the clock she’s the mother of a gorgeous five-year-old boy from Ethiopia, lovingly nicknamed Sprout. She writes about diversity and adoption in children’s literature at her blog Sprout’s Bookshelf. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and pinning all things kidlit at Pinterest.

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I am so happy to be able to welcome the funnest librarian on the planet, Pam Margolis from the Unconventional Librarian and her post; Kid Writing and Biographies: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson to the Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza!

I believe that growing up in the South during the civil rights era is akin to growing up in different country. We all know that people of color were not treated well in the South. It’s difficult to imagine that there was a time when literature for children did not include people of color. Of any color.

Jacqueline Woodson, a powerful voice for multicultural children and teens, was born in Ohio in the 60s. Her childhood was spent in South Carolina and Ohio before finally settling in New York City. Imagine watching the differences in the interactions between Whites and Blacks from a child’s perspective. Woodson’s sensitivity to a child’s thoughts is uncanny. There are many ways to incorporate family projects into the reading of this book.

What I love about Brown Girl Dreaming is that not only is it an autobiography (written in free verse) but it’s also a tale of the civil rights movement told through the voice of a child. Even the youngest child will understand the meaning of the behaviors described in the book. For example:

In the stores downtown

we’re always followed around

just because we’re brown.

Any point in the book is a great opportunity to discuss race, our differences, and similarities. There are so many teachable moments in this book. In addition to discussing civil rights, the book would also make a great study of Black literature, for example, young Jackie discovers Langston Hughes:

I loved my friend.

He went away from me.

There’s nothing more to say.

The poem ends.

Soft as it began—

I loved my friend.

–Langston Hughes

I remember when I first discovered Langston Hughes and this sad poem. I was instantly moved. Fortunately, young Jackie is discovering her writing voice and she writes a poem in response to Hughes:

I love my friend

and still do

when we play games

we laugh. I hope she never goes away from me

Because I love my friend.

-Jackie Woodson

She was in fourth grade, when she wrote that, can you believe it? Wouldn’t this make a great lesson on poetry writing or writing your own biography? When given the proper tools, children are amazingly astute writers.

The book will be published in August; perhaps writing could be a late summer project for your family? If your family can’t wait until August to learn more about Jacqueline Woodson, there are many books to become acquainted with:

Picture Books:

This is the Rope (a story of migration)

Each Kindness (a story on bullying)

Middle Grade:

Locomotion

Feathers

Young Adult:

Hush

Miracles Boys

Many of Woodson’s books are multiple award winners, so I’m sure you’ll find at least one good book for your family to enjoy together.

p.s. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her twice and I’m proud to say I acted like a complete idiot each time (gabbing and fawning all over her); but I don’t care. Good authors are my rock stars.

Brown Girl Dreaming could also be the title of my autobiography. What could the title of yours be?

READ. ALL. THE BOOKS!!!

PammyPam

Pam, a.k.a. An Unconventional Librarian, is a curator of YA and children’s literature, a book blogger, coffee drinker and cupcake lover, who seeks multicultural books that appeal to all kids. Pam is also building a Harry Potter collection to enter the record books and she thinks being a little silly never hurts. You can connect with Pam on her website Pinterest page or on her Facebook page.

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The post Kid Writing and Biographies: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson {Guest Post from The Unconventional Librarian} appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

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Can you believe school is DONE?!!? Ack! Now everyone is kicking into “summer reading gear” and Jump Into a Book is no different.

This year I decided to “mix it up” a bit and invite some of the many amazing bloggers and reading/play advocates that  I know to stop by and share their knowledge and creativity with the JIAB readers. PLUS it will offer kids and parents some cool new reading ideas and activities for summer.

Summer reading programs are abundant after school ends. It’s our goal to not only create an ongoing summer reading booklist with activities option for parents, but also work to keep the focus on helping our young readers be Global Citizens. We would like to focus on books that will help our kiddos explore their world and keep our initiative of multicultural books for kids in the forefront of people’s minds too. To acheive this, I created the Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza.

This fun summer reading and activity event will run from June 1 to Sept 1 and we encourage your to keep stopping by Jump Into a Book during this time to view all of the booklists, book reviews, crafts, recipes and activities my guest bloggers will be sharing! Here is our first guest for the Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza, Shannon Medisky of SCIKite.com

Dancing Differently 101

By Shannon Medisky

Maybe it’s the teacher in me. Yeah, I left the classroom, but my desire to make everything a learning opportunity certainly hasn’t gone poof! Summer provides the perfect opportunity for me to share this with my kids, and Giles Andreae’s book called Giraffes Can’t Dance provided the perfect platform for a new kind of lesson: how to dance differently than everyone else.

In the book, Gerald, a tall and clumsy giraffe, is an outsider. Surrounded by a wide variety of different jungle animals, everyone can dance beautifully-everyone, that is, except for Gerald. The ending of the book is no surprise: Gerald learns to dance in his own unique way.

But what is a surprise is just how enjoyable is to read this book aloud! Andreae is clearly adept at writing in rhyming prose, something that’s not easily done. And, as a result, this book is just as fun to read as it is to listen to. The words of the story literally glide off the tongue as kids are genuinely sucked into poor Gerald’s plight. Mid-way through the book, a tiny cricket speaks softly to Gerald at his lowest point. He
encourages Gerald to block out the negative words of all the other bullying animals, and instead listen to his own “different” song. In the end, this process enables Gerald to dance beautifully but differently as he embraces his own moves, his own way, instead of trying to copy everyone else. This is definitely a skill and a truth I want to impress upon my own kids, and fortunately I was able to create a number of fun activities to do just that. Though Gerald has an awful time at the annual “Jungle Dance,” it provides a perfect opportunity to get kids up and active while exposing them to a wide variety of different styles of music! I found 5 different pieces of music: a waltz, a rock and roll song, a tango, a cha-cha and a Scottish reel. And after we read the book aloud together, we listened-and danced-to the different styles of music. As both boys got caught up in the fun, they began to realize there was no “right” or “wrong” way to dance to the different types of music. Instead, they were too caught up in having fun with each other. Just like Gerald at the end of the book, my boys were realizing that everyone really can dance when they find music-their own music-that they love.

Like I shared earlier, once a teacher, always a teacher and so I couldn’t let this activity stop without bringing it to a thoughtful and thought-provoking close, too. I invited my now exhausted kiddos to take a seat and close their eyes, just like Gerald did in the story. I asked them to remember something that they struggled to do, something that was hard for them or something that they did differently than everyone else. Next, with their eyes still closed, I asked them to practice doing that same thing right now inside their head, only this time focus on
enjoying doing it and doing it their way.

Then, I had them continue to sit quietly, eyes still closed and listen to the sounds-the music-that was all around them right in that moment. It was a way to practice positive thinking, visualization and mindful relaxation, but only after I’d
physically worn them out first!

Shannon Medisky is on a mission to inspire innovative thought in kids while simultaneously igniting a passion for science. In short, Shannon seeks to make science go BOOM! So children’s futures can take off, too.

A former classroom teacher and current writer, Shannon presents science concepts in fun, easy-to-understand ways, helping kids to understand that science isn’t just a “what” but “how” also. Additionally, she challenges kids to think critically, creatively and differently, encouraging an entrepreneurial approach to learning and failure along the way. The result is true education reform one child at a time, empowering kids to affect positive change in their own lives now while simultaneously equipping them for what lies ahead.

Her articles have been featured in many prominent magazines such as Exceptional Parents, Adoptive Families, Hybrid Mom, Mothering and Focus on the Family’s Thriving Family.

To learn more about Shannon, visit ShannonMedisky.com or connect with her on Facebook.

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The post Dancing Differently 101-Giraffes Can’t Dance Book Review & Activity {Shannon Medisky} appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

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Is your family kicking into “summer reading gear?” Since I have always tried to offer ideas and books on Jump Into a Book to keep families reading, I really wanted to do something different this summer. This year I decided to “mix it up” a bit and invite some of the many amazing bloggers and reading/play advocates that I know to stop by and share their knowledge and creativity with the JIAB readers.

PLUS it will offer kids and parents some cool new reading ideas and activities for summer.

This summer, not only do we want to keep kids reading, we want to also work to keep the focus on helping them be Global Citizens. We would like to focus on books that will help our kiddos explore their world and keep our initiative of multicultural books for kids in the forefront of people’s minds too. To achieve this, I created the Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza.

This fun summer reading and activity event will run from June 1 to Sept 1 and we encourage your to keep stopping by Jump Into a Book during this time to view all of the booklists, book reviews, crafts, recipes and activities my guest bloggers will be sharing!

Today our guest for the Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza is bilingual children’s author and educator Gladys Elizabeth Barbieri from Chucko’s Books.

Read A Book, Travel The World & Make A Wish

I’m a sucker for picture books, especially books that encourage children to learn about other worlds and cultures. When I came across the picture book Wish: Wishing Traditions Around the World by Roseanne Thong and illustrated by Elisa Kleven, I immediately bought it. Not only is it multicultural in nature, it’s about wishes, one of my most favorite things. I also got to meet the author, Roseanne Thong. Not only did she autograph my book, she is also really sweet and warm, another plus!

Wish is a book that invites young children to “travel” to fifteen countries by reading about the many and different ways people make wishes worldwide. The illustrations are breath taking and lyrical. My first graders were so enchanted by the illustrations that during free time many opted to recreate the artwork in their writing journals. I read the book to my first graders over a period of a week so that they could really absorb the information presented.

We traveled to far off places like Iran, Russia, Brazil and Guatemala. Many were familiar with Guatemala since it is a Spanish speaking country. A little girl eagerly said, “My mom is from El Salvador and that’s close to Guatemala.” My soccer fans were excited when we read about Brazil because of the World Cup. “I hope Mexico beats them because they’re the team to beat,” was a shared sentiment. We learned that in Iran, families celebrate the New Year by eating seven dishes on a special tablecloth to represent love, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, patience and beauty. In Russia, if you find a coin you make a wish and put it in your left shoe.

In addition, impromptu geography lessons were occurring as the students asked where a particular country was on the map and how close or far they were in relation to the United States. After reading the book, the students wrote about their wishes, the importance of wishes and how they hoped they would manifest. Some of their wishes broke my heart and gave me a sobering glimpse of the challenges they faced in their young and fragile lives.

I wish I could see my mom every day.

I wish my dad came to visit me.

I wish I had a house and a room with a bed.

I wish I had a puppy.

I wish I had a jetpack to go to space.

I also asked parents to write their wishes for their children. A parent volunteer assembled the star cut outs and made a “wish” mobile.

They were hung in class and every morning the kids would send magic to their wishes. On the day of our end of the year class celebration, I handed my first graders their wish mobiles and parents read their wishes aloud to their children. It was an immensely powerful activity and there was not a dry eye in the class. Even some of my little first graders started to cry as they felt the array of emotions from the adults. Our school principal graciously stepped in on behalf of the parents who were unable to attend the ceremony. Based on what was shared, I know that all parents, no matter where they come from, have similar wishes for their children: A life full of joy, love, health and a college education for a brighter future.

Author Bio:

Gladys Elizabeth Barbieri has been an elementary school teacher for almost 20 years. She loves to teach beginning reading and every night makes wishes when the stars come out and dance. She is also a bilingual children’s author. To read more about her adventures in first grade you can read her blog: https://gebarbieri.wordpress.com

Website: http://www.chuchosbooks.com

Twitter: @chuchosbooks

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The post Read A Book, Travel The World & Make A Wish {Guest Post from Gladys Elizabeth Barbieri} appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

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Can you believe school DONE?!!? Ack! Now everyone is kicking into “summer reading gear” and Jump Into a Book is no different. This year I decided to “mix it up” a bit and invite some of the many amazing bloggers and reading/play advocates that I know to stop by and share their knowledge and creativity with the JIAB readers.

PLUS it will offer kids and parents some cool new reading ideas and activities for summer.

Summer reading programs are abundant after school ends. It’s our goal to not only create an ongoing summer reading booklist with activities option for parents, but also work to keep the focus on helping our young readers be Global Citizens. We would like to focus on books that will help our kiddos explore their world and keep our initiative of multicultural books for kids in the forefront of people’s minds too. To achieve this, I created the Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza.

This fun summer reading and activity event will run from June 1 to Sept 1 and we encourage your to keep stopping by Jump Into a Book during this time to view all of the booklists, book reviews, crafts, recipes and activities my guest bloggers will be sharing!

Here is our first guest for the Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza, Shannon Medisky from SCIKite.com

Stand Tall, but Read All Around! Book Review and Activity by Shannon Medisky

I’ve got two little boys reading at drastically different levels. So finding books that we can all enjoy together can admittedly be a little difficult. Fortunately, though, I’ve found one particular book that fit that bill nicely, and I came up with a fun, creative way to help us all enjoy the book both together and individually, too.

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell and illustrated by David Catrow is a picture book that’s wonderfully easy to read aloud and beautifully unpredictable. Little Molly Lou is just that—little—and she gets bullied and picked on in many different ways because of it. But little Molly Lou surprisingly finds some pretty big ways to transform all her differences into advantages.

Lovell is an author and a teacher, and admitted in an interview that Molly Lou is “a spunky, self-possessed little girl who she admires.” And while “self-possessed” may initially sound like a bad thing, I’ve discovered it’s exactly the right thing to teach my kids about how to be good global citizens.

Wait! Don’t stop reading yet, but go ahead and readjust yourself and get comfortable because what I’m about to share might go against the grain a little bit. It admittedly might rub you the wrong way. After all, isn’t self-centeredness the exact opposite of what we should be teaching our kids to be? I disagree. Here’s why.

As I shared earlier, I have 2 sons. My biological son is 9 years old and typically developing. He meets and exceeds all his developmental and academic benchmarks at school. He towers over his peers and is nearly as tall as his dad already. My youngest son is nearly 8 years old. He’s also adopted and of a different ethnicity than everyone else in our family. He also happens to have many special needs, an intellectual disability, speech and communication issues and he’s legally blind to boot. And as if that weren’t enough, Mark’s also a little person, making finding his school uniform clothing in sizes 18month and 2T significantly challenging!

I share all of this because both my boys have struggled with bullying. My older son because he is so much bigger than everyone else, and my younger son because he is so much smaller and has so many special needs. Both my sons struggle with the same problem but in very different ways. Ironically enough, though, I’ve found that the best way to help both of them is encourage them to look inside themselves for their self-worth, discover and create their own strengths not in spite of their differences but because of them—just like little Molly Lou does in this book!

We enjoyed this book together as a read aloud first, making it a fast favorite. The story is anything but predictable due to Molly Lou’s creativity and David Catrow’s charmingly messy illustrations bring her character to life in believable ways. But perhaps what made this book the most fun was the activity I came up with after we shared the book together.

Because Nate can now read independently, I admittedly steer him towards chapter books and more challenging nonfiction. But just as it’s a mental break, a reprieve, for many adults to pick up and read a magazine, so can returning to a less-challenging picture book manuscript help older, independent readers reignite a love for reading. So, as you can imagine, Nate invited this opportunity wide-eyed and whole-heartedly. Mark, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to get his hands on the book and “read” it independently by revisiting the pictures all by himself.

I wanted to come up with an activity that supported what Molly Lou was and what echoed what both my boys are, too. I wanted the boys to experience reading in all the different rooms of the house. I wanted them to experience concretely and personally how even different surroundings can profoundly affect one experience. They shared the book together, laying on their tummies in the dining room as the summer sun spilled across the pages. Nate read it aloud to Mark as they sat criss-cross applesauce on the cold, tile floor of the laundry room. But, by far and away, hands down, the most popular room in the house was reading in the bathroom, while lying inside a cool but dry bathtub! With that in mind, I’m attaching a  free (optional) printout/downloadable resource for parents to use with this activity idea! Click HERE to download your own copy.

Maybe little Molly Lou has it exactly right after all. Maybe encouraging kids to be a little more “self-possessed” can help them better withstands the bullying that will unfortunately, but likely always come their way. But at the same time, doing so can help build self-confident, tolerant, more respectful global citizens, too.

Shannon Medisky is on a mission to inspire innovative thought in kids while simultaneously igniting a passion for science. In short, Shannon seeks to make science go BOOM! So children’s futures can take off, too.

A former classroom teacher and current writer, Shannon presents science concepts in fun, easy-to-understand ways, helping kids to understand that science isn’t just a “what” but “how” also. Additionally, she challenges kids to think critically, creatively and differently, encouraging an entrepreneurial approach to learning and failure along the way. The result is true education reform one child at a time, empowering kids to affect positive change in their own lives now while simultaneously equipping them for what lies ahead.

Her articles have been featured in many prominent magazines such as Exceptional Parents, Adoptive Families, Hybrid Mom, Mothering and Focus on the Family’s Thriving Family.

To learn more about Shannon, visit ShannonMedisky.com or connect with her on Facebook.

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The post Stand Tall, but Read All Around! Book Review and Activity {by Shannon Medisky} appeared first on Jump Into A Book.