Inspiring Bookworms

I love books.   I almost think that I’m a book-a-holic because I drool over and snap up books like some women do shoes.   Like many, as the economy dives, I’ve had to cut back from my usual book buying haunts in search of cheaper and more economical resources. In the beginning, I went cold turkey and started to get any book that I wanted from the library – test drive it to see if I really wanted it.   Then I really started to pay attention to the library’s annual book sales and, of course, the books that they have for sale in the foyer every day.   Can’t go wrong with $1.00 hard cover and $0.50 paperbacks!   I’ve gotten many ‘steals’ from browsing this selection. Unfortunately, the selection can be quite limiting.   Thankfully, I stumbled upon a new and upcoming online bookswap service called BooksfreeSwap.com.   It was created earlier this year as an easier way to swap books and audiobooks online.   Swap as in, FREE! Here is how it works: ...

I'm so excited to share with you an offer from Early Moments. What better way to start or add on to your book collection than with Free Books? I loved Dr. Seuss when I was a child and I am grateful to be able to share them with my children now. We are currently reading "Go, Dog Go!" and have enjoyed "Are you my Mother?" , and the classic "Green Eggs and Ham" . You can probably list off a few titles yourself. Remember, there is no commitment to buy more books from this offer. You may cancel at anytime. It's a win-win. Gt 2 books FREE! Just buy "The Cat in the Hat" for only $4.99 plus S&H . If you are already a book club member, I know your little bookworms thank you. Please feel free to pass this on. I know, I for one, have seen this offer many times and put it off and put it off, then when I came time to wanting to sign up, I couldn't find where to actually sign up. Funny how those things work. Here's to hel...

Twinkle, Twinkle: An Animal Lover's Mother Goose painted and photographed by Bobbi Fabian (Ages 4-8) Here's another Mother Goose book; however, she's never looked so wobbly and interesting.  It was interesting and fun read.  The little ones giggled how Goosey, Goosey, Gander swirled around on the page. You'll find some of your favorites... Mary Had a Little Lamb Old Mother Hubbard Twinkle, Twinkle The Cat and the Fiddle Which they all loved. Unless you already have your favorite Mother Goose book, this may be a good start.  If you do have a favorite, please share as I'm always looking for a good book. Happy Reading!

Treasure by Suzanne Bloom (Ages This book is an absolute treasure!  I received many giggles and laughs all the way through. Two very unlikely friends - a goose and a polar bear hunt for treasure, only in the end to have found the perfect treasure - each other. I caution you though.  If your children have not started the, " Are we there yet? " groan from car rides.  They will.  However, here's a fun response that will be sure to toss those boredom blues out the window when you say... " Let's look! " I'm looking forward to getting her other book, A Splendid Friend, Indeed .  I'm sure this one will be a treasure too!

Tractors (By Air, Sea, and Land) by Paul Strickland (Ages4-8) "Tractors" is a colorful illustration of different types of farm tractors, then and now.  Children who love different kinds of vehicles will also enjoy this short book.  It's not a story, almost a what's what or how to book. This is what tractors looked like fifty years ago.  They were smaller and less powerful.  These tractors did not have cabs or protective coverings. This old tractor has a wagon that can carry lots of different things, like sheep or other animals. At the end it give you an opportunity to ask your little readers what they learned.  The questions are already there for you.  For those not familiar with farm equipment, tractors specifically, this is a fun way to get to know them.

It's that time again when 5 Minutes for Books hosts the monthly carnival - Whats on Your Nightstand ? Click on over and see what everyone else is reading, or better yet, link up yourself and share with the rest of us what you are reading. No blog is necessary. You can always join in by leaving comments on what you are reading. I've been reading a lot of books with the kids for the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge hosted by J. Kaye's Book Blog , so I have not had much time for reading of my own. Because of that, I've tried to scale down the number of books that I am reading. I truly love our library system! So, among the children's books they love me to read, I am also juggling time for a few of my own. All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum I was at my annual sales conference in July and one of our speakers referenced this book. Just from her highlights, I wanted to read more. Share everything. Play fair. Don...

"Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way. Yesterday is history Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift; that is why we call it the present." ~Unknown Until now, this blog has served primarily as my place to keep track of books that I and the kids have read, in addition to reviews for Thomas Nelson . One of my mini goals in life is to inspire my children to have a passion and love for reading and learning. That will not change moving forward, however, I'm adding an additional subject matter. It fits right in actually. For sometime, I've been researching the ins/outs/ howtos of homeschooling. By definition, to homeschool , homeschooler or homeschooling simply states to educate one's children at home instead of sending them to school . As a family, we've been educating our children since birth. ABC's, 123's, pottie training, please & thank yous, self care, etc... Why does it seem for far fetched to continu...

BTT asks: Do you keep all your unread books together, like books in a waiting room? Or are they scattered throughout your shelves, mingling like party-goers waiting for the host to come along? *sigh* Hmm... Books that I want to read, have started reading, need to read or said I'd read, did I miss any? Again, I *sigh* as I think of all the books that I SO WANT TO READ and there is just not enough time in life to read them all. It's depressing if I think about it, so I try not to. My books are every where. I even have some in storage, I know, abuse. I can't help it. I move a lot. Otherwise, you can find them next to my bed, on the table in the dining room, in my purse, on my dresser, on hold at the library for me to pick up or my over-flowing bookshelf. Not to mention all of the children's books I read aloud to my kids. Those are floating everywhere too, just in case they want to pick one up. No rhyme, no reason, they are just every where. Even books that I hav...

Visiting the Art Museum by Laurene Brown and Marc Brown is a wonderful book to get you and your children ready to visit an art museum. It's illustrations and photos of real life art make it a fantastic starting point. Journey from Australia to Samoa to America to the Ivory Cost to Mexico. See sculptures and paintings and learn something yourself along the way. A nude Frisbee player? Really ? Pharaohs all wore false beards. Interesting . Follow a young family of five as three children and their parents navigate through the ups and downs of visiting a museum. Can you imagine? Comforting your six or seven year old afraid of a ceremonial costume while your tween is making comments about that nude Frisbee player. Oh, and don't forget the toddler sneaking out of their stroller while you gaze at a portrait too long.

Although I don't remember it very often and it is something I need to work on, but I love it when I realize how lucky I can get sometimes. A couple of weeks ago I snagged a classic at the library for my little ones. I couldn't resist. It is a classic. Or at least I think it is. Here is the lucky part. The kiddos started school last week and on Friday my son brings home his first homework assignment. He's in Pre -K. Please work with your children on the following sight words. This will help them have a head start in kindergarten. Thank you so much for your cooperation! go at here down and These same words are all throughout this short and sweet board book. Go and See . It's perfect! I hope to find more of these gems.

I do it! I do it! LET meeeeee doooooo it!!!!! Jumping up and down on the verge of tears. Wait honey, let me help you. Trying to finish helping her little sister... doing whatever. Brush teeth. Comb hair. Pour milk, juice, etc... No! I do it, myself! Ever get that? If you have little ones fighting for their independence, you get me. If not, well, then maybe you do, maybe you don't. If you do, you and your little freedom fighters will love this cute Little Critter story, All by Myself by Mercer Mayer. Mercer Mayer's Little Critter stories, which address all major issues of growing up, are perennial favorites of parents and children. Yep, I'd have to agree. The littles loved the story and ask for it again and again for story time. If you'd like more fun beyond story time or to incorporate with story time, go to Little Critter's website here .

Ever have one of these days? I love days like this. Exploring and learning where imagination ( with a little prompting ) inspires further curiosity. Ever try to recognize those white puffy clouds into something you know and just, well, can't? I can only imagine how the title of this book came to be. It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw While reading, I would say, "Sometimes it looked like a" and before I could say whatever it was, my kids would blurt it out laughing and giggling. While I finished, "But it wasn't a ...". It didn't matter. We were laughing the whole way through. Again. And again. And again. And when I hinted that I'd had enough by saying, "Ok, what's next?" They stopped laughing. LOL I've had to extend my library loan to the max and we have to take it back tomorrow. Not LOL. So, we'll be adding this one to our wish list. thankyouverymuch Anyway, even though it's recommended for children 4-8, go...

Perfect Pigs : An Introduction to Manners by Marc Brown & Stephen Krensky (Ages 4-8) I'm not sure about you, but I really feel that during my short tenure as a mom, that teaching manners to children has to be one of the toughest challenges thus far. The practice of 'please' and 'thank you' is not necessarily easy, however, it is the easiest to teach. Ensuring our children practice this specific behavior correctly is a common lesson that is able to be taught each day and eventually, it sets in with little or no "What do you say?" prompting. I must confess. This book jumped out at me while at the library. One, it had the word Pig and Manners in the title - two words you don't see together often. You see, my beloved daughter is a very messy eater and sometimes, I think she does it on purpose. Well, ok, all of the time and I try my best not to tell her what I am thinking... that she is eating like a pig and I don't approve, my frustration do...

The Honey Makers by Gail Gibbons (ages 4-8) Did you know that bees and pollinators are responsible for every third bite of food? Yeah, me either. Nor did I realize how fascinating and orderly a bee colony could be! The Honey Makers is an informative book with wonderful illustrations. Busy bees work hard to produce the honey that we and an occasional Pooh Bear love to eat. And each have their own assigned job assigned for each stage of their life. When I say informative, I mean INFORMATIVE . This book is chock full of information. For example: Are you aware of the Bee Dances? How about Beemilk or Royal Jelly? Forager bees can visit up to 10,000 flowers a day, but all of the nectar collected throughout her entire lifetime will only produce one teaspoon of honey! I look at bees in a whole new light after reading up on them more. They are not something to be feared, but respected and shown gratitude.

I Spy a Freight Train by Lucy Micklethwait (ages 4-8) While at the library my son spotted this gem and asked if we could bring home. He loves trains, so of course I said yes. We have a large freight train station in town, so it is rare that we not see a train. It's fun to see his excitement when he sees a train, but it hard to also watch him panic as the train keeps going and disappears. I called this a little gem because I didn't realize that the book about more than just freight trains. We got to spy on airplanes, row boats, horses, sleighs, a baby carriage and many more. Not to mention the other 'made up' things we spied while making a game of it. It was fun. Even more so, my children haven't heard the term baby carriage or sleigh, so that was fun to see what they thought was it. Here's another excerpt of the book. Oh, and while I am not much of an art know it all, in the back of the book are the credits for all of the pictures used. You will find the likes...

Have you visited your library lately? Most have summer reading programs for the kiddos to help keep them educationally active. I love ours because I can reserve books online and pick them up when they are ready. I can even wait a couple of days to pick them up while more become available or until I get in there. Usually about once a week or week and a half. I am so grateful for this service, as having three small children in tow can be quite challenging . But, I'm especially lovin' my library today because I scored a book for $0.50 that I've had on my wishlist at Amazon! ~You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay I also picked up an interesting read at the same price. Double Yeah! ~A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines "This majestic, moving novel is an instant classic, a book that will be read, discussed and taught beyond the rest of our lives." -- Chicago Tribune I can't wait. So, what do you love about your library? Hmmm...

As a mom to three little ones, I'm always searching for appropriate entertainment for them. Something that will engage their curiosity, have a positive message without violence and keep them occupied while I get some things done that don't require little helpers. As much as I love to have them help me with household chores, they can't be tied to my {invisible} apron strings all of the time. As a Book Review Blogger for Thomas Nelson, I was honored to have the opportunity to review Skeeter and the Mystery of the Lost Mosquito Treasure by Max Lucado on DVD. The video is about 60 minutes in length is based on Psalm 139:13-14. At the first viewing, none of my children managed to watch the whole thing. Not even 10-15 minutes into the program. I'm not sure if it was the talking in the beginning or because they realized it was not Miss Spider's Sunny Patch that didn't captivate their attention. With that, I put the video up for a later day. After a few more at...

It's Kids' Picks Day over at  5 Minutes for Books .  C lick on over to check it out!  There is always an open invite to join in or follow along.  Either way it's a great way to see what other parents are reading to/with their children and what they have to say about the books and stories being read.  If you don't have children, but love to read...   Click here  to view the other carnival themes that you can participate in or again, just follow along.  Avid readers must stop by! Where does the time go?  This spring as I get the kids ready for school in the fall...  My son in Pre -K and the girls in Preschool.  Honestly, what is the difference?  If you have been to my other blog you may know that I've been struggling with whether to homeschool or send them to public school.  It's not an easy decision, but alas, I have their applications in and we'll see. I highly doubt this months pick by my son has anything to do with school, but he's taken a serious int...

What's Age Got to do With It?  Living Your Happiest & Healthiest Life by Robin McGraw What's Age Got to do With It? honestly took some time for me to get through.  Although it is only 213 pages in 9 Chapters, I found myself trying to decipher between her life versus the advice and long list of experts that backed up her claims.  The extra jargon (for me) was distracting; however, I understand if it was required for liability purposes.  Personally, I would have much rather read through the advice and personal experiences without all of the "medical-ease" and long list of experts - most of whom - I don't know.  I would have preferred it to be at the end where if I had wanted to get more info, it would be there. With that being said and out of the way, I must confess.  I love this book!!  It is truly chock full of great advice.  What's even better...  is that this advice is coming from a woman, whom may have it all compared to my or your standards now , but...

A Bargain for Frances by Russell Hoban (Ages 4-8) 1970 I loved this story, although, I have to admit I was a bit hesitant as I was reading it to my children for the first time.  I couldn't believe the conniving tactics that Frances' friend was using to swindle her out of her money that she was saving up for a tea set. I was relieved as Frances thought of her own plan to set the record straight while saving the friendship. My three are a bit young to understand the concept of the story, but they enjoyed the thought of a tea set.  :) Question for you though.   Do you pre-read/screen stories before reading them to your children?  I'm giving it thought now since this story and am curious what other parents do. Happy Reading!