How to use this Page

This year, Sam McBratney’s timeless, endearing story of Big and Little Nutbrown Hare, Guess How Much I Love You, turns 20!

Roses are Red, Your Feet Really Stink is one of my favorite Valentine books–especially when I was teaching. I read it to my class every year! Diana deGroat illustrated and wrote the book–such a talent. Here’s a summary of the story: “When Gilbert writes two not-so-nice valentines to his classmates, his prank quickly turns into pandemonium. But there’s always time for a change of heart on Valentine’s Day. This warm and funny book about a favorite holiday also provides a subtle message about forgiveness and being a good friend. Ages 5 up.” Besides using this book around Valentine’s Day, you can also use it to talk to children about how words can hurt and how to be a good friend. An activity you can do with this book is to exchange names among classmates and have students write a “nice” Valentine to the student whose name they received. You can talk to them about finding specific things, instead of general things, like, “I really like how you always help me with my math problems.” or “You are so good at kickball–you always kick a homerun.” Students can write their messages and decorate them before passing them out.

The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever written by Illinois author Brenda Ferber and illustrated by Tedd Arnold is a new picture book that is a real treat! If you are familiar with Tedd Arnold (Parts), then you know he is an illustrative genius. Brenda is a wonderful writer, and the two together make a terrific team. Here’s a summary of the story: “Leon has a crush. A secret crush. A dreamy crush. A let-her-cut-in-line-at-the-water-fountain-crush. And he’s made the perfect valentine. But the valentine has other ideas. ‘Love is yucky, kid! Valentine’s Day is all about candy!’ The card yells before leaping out the window and running away, leaving Leon to chase it across town, collecting interested kids along the way. Saying ‘I love you’ has never been so yucky or so sweet.” Brenda provides all sorts of resources on her blog for how to USE her book. She has a Q and A with her about things like why she wrote the book, how she named her character, and more. She also has an ACTIVITY KIT you can download for free (love this!). You can find all of this at this link: http://www.brendaferber.com/yuckiest-stinkiest-best-valentine-ever.php

Here’s a link to both books on Amazon! Have fun this Valentine’s Day and hug someone you love!

Madagascar by Aleix Cabarrocas Garcia www.flickr.com

I am including a photo of Madagascar on my blog today because I want to tell you about the commitment I made at church today. I want to post about it on my blog 1. to hold me accountable and 2. to inspire anyone else to do the same. At church, a priest from the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging spoke about sponsoring children and elderly from around the world for $1.00 a day. He said that over 94 cents goes to the sponsored child, which is a great amount compared to the amounts that some charities take for administrative staff.

Anyway, we’ve all heard stories like this before or seen commercials on TV. Many times, we do nothing–I’ve never sponsored anyone before. So, what made me change my mind this time. My daughter? My yearning to do something for people since I read HALF THE SKY? I’m not sure. But I was sitting there thinking about how much money we spent on a birthday dinner the night before, and I felt ashamed. If I can spend that much on one dinner (for a good friend, so it’s not totally selfish, right?), then I can surely give $1.00 a day to change somebody’s life. If I can stop spending $2.50 on a coffee and $2.25 on ONE PIECE OF COFFEE CAKE three times a week, I have my $30 a month easily. If I can eat lunch at home once instead of eating out. .. you get the picture.

So, my family is sponsoring Razafimamonjy from Madagascar. She is 5-years-old. Her mother does other people’s laundry for money. Razafimamonjy has syphilis. The family’s rent is $3.00 a month. Their walls are made of clay; their roof is tin; their floor is cement. They have NO indoor plumbing and get water from an outdoor pump. They sleep on the ground and cook with charcoal. I could go on. I won’t.

I am going to keep you updated on how I do with my STOPPING the Starbucks/Panera Bread coffee habit and giving my money to Razafimamonjy. If you want to join me, go to this website: http://www.hopeforafamily.org. They are legit. And let me know. It would be a great service learning project or family project for Lent. We can support each other while we are supporting people less fortunate.

I promised a picture book post today too, but I’m already going on and on. So, here’s a brief one:

Henry in Love by Peter McCarty

Henry is a cat in love with a bunny named Chloe. However, they are in elementary school. Therefore, Henry does crazy stuff like a forward roll in front of Chloe. She then shows him up by doing a cartwheel. In a twist of fate, the teacher moves Chloe and Henry to sit by each other, in time for snack. Henry has been saving his favorite snack all day–a blueberry muffin. But you know young love. . .he gives it to Chloe. Cute book. I enjoyed it. One reviewer on Amazon said she thought the love message was too subtle for kids to get–I see her point, but it’s still a cute book.

We are all starting to think about love around February. A cute gift for your child would be a copy of Henry in Love and some blueberry muffins. A fun Valentine’s Day activity for home school and/or the classroom would be to share this book with young readers and then together bake some blueberry muffins. You could also write poems/nice letters on p

‘Mockingjay’ to Conclude the Hunger Games Trilogy
Scholastic released the title and cover art for the third and final book in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy. Mockingjay will be released on August 24, 2010 and will have 750,000 first printing.

Seeing How Far $100 Can Go
A Brooklyn writer is celebrating four years of giving her friends cash and asking them to find ways to donate.

Lemony Snicket: Interview
Philip Womack on Daniel Handler, the enigma behind Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

And it wouldn’t be a long weekend without a few reading lists:

Roundup: African-American history for young readers
USA Today features a nice list of four new illustrated books for kids celebrating African-American history.

Love stories: Top 10 Valentine’s books for your kids
Love is in the air! Laura DeLaney, the owner of Rediscovered Bookshop in Boise, shares her top 10 Valentine’s Day books for kids.

Presidential Library: A President’s Day Reading List
Kenneth C. Davis, author of Don’t Know Much About History, provides a reading list of Presidential biographies.