How Robin Saved Spring by Debbie Ouellet - Book Review

The robins haven't arrived here, but very soon I hope to see plenty of them hopping about in our yard. Then I'll know for sure that spring has finally arrived. The robin is Wisconsin's state bird and for that reason it has always been one of my favorites.

"Robin sat on the windowsill of the little cottage. With his plain brown belly pressed against the windowpane, he watched everything that Lady Winter did. "Oh no!" he cried. "Sister Spring mustn't sleep forever! What will we do without spring?" - How Robin Saved Spring by Debbie Ouellet, illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli.

How Robin Saved Spring has one of those gorgeous covers that catches your eye. The image of a girl gently holding a robin looks so tender and sweet, I was instantly drawn to the book. What I didn't expect was the creative and interesting story inside - a kind of folklore type tale written by Debbie Ouellet. The book provides an unusual, fictional reason why the robin has a red belly and avoids the winter.

The story begins with two powerful sisters, Lady Winter and Sister Spring, who reside together in a little cottage. It's wintertime and Lady Winter wants to keep it that way forever. Her perfect world is one covered in snow and ice. When the time comes for Sister Spring to wake up, Lady Winter knits a magical white blanket and places it over her sister so that she will continue to sleep. The creatures in the forest learn of Lady Winter's actions and desperately want spring to arrive. They band together and each take a turn trying to wake up Sister Spring, but Lady Winter proves to be a formidable foe. If you've ever pondered why a ladybug has spots, how a skunk got his stripe, why the maple tree gushes sweet sap, and about that red-bellied robin, you should read this fascinating tale.

My daughter found the story extremely engaging, and the telling also presented an interesting teaching opportunity for me. Separating fact from fiction is hard for preschoolers and they are naturally inquisitive. She really wanted to know why robin has a red breast. Reading How Robin Saved Spring gave me the chance to discuss the difference between fantasy and reality and also nurture her imagination. The intriguing, luminous illustrations by Nicoletta Ceccoli give the story a perfect dreamy fantasy feel and really capture the true qualities of the sisters. Lady Winter's snow white hair contrasts well with Sister Spring's lively personality, red hair and nurturing ways (vines grow around her head even as she sleeps).

How Robin Saved Spring by Debbie Ouellet; illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli. Macmillan (March 2009); ISBN 9780805069709; 32 pages (Book from our own personal collection)

Does the robin truly say, UP, UP? If you want to listen to a robin's cheerful song, cheerily, cheeriup, cheerio, cheeriup visit BirdJam to hear a splendid recording and read more about the call.
BirdJam - Sounds of the American Robin

Related Links:
Debbie Ouellet - Author Website
Nicoletta Ceccoli - Illustrator Website


This week's Feed Me Books Friday theme at The Adventure of Motherhood is Spring and Easter. Link up your favorites there. I am an Amazon affiliate and may receive a very small commission for products purchased through my Amazon links.

Forever Friends by Carin Berger - Book Review and stART

"Hello! Come play! sang the bird, and the bunny did. Soon they were friends."

Forever Friends by Carin Berger. HarperCollins (March 2010); ISBN 9780061915284; 40 pages (Review copy provided by publisher)

Some friendships remain strong over long distances and despite life changes. Carin Berger brings one such friendship to life in her new picture book, Forever Friends. One spectacular spring day, amidst the blossoming trees, a blue bird and brown bunny meet for the first time. They become instant companions, playing together all spring and summer long. When fall arrives, the bird must fly south. The two friends miss each other over the long winter months but the time spent apart helps them understand exactly what it means to be "forever friends."

It's never easy to leave a friend or loved-one behind, no matter if it's just for one day or over an extended period of time. Children especially can experience difficulties with separation, and Forever Friends helps reassure them that true friendships can weather many winters and indeed last a lifetime. The simple, short text pairs perfectly with Berger's intricate cut paper collage artwork. This book is a wonderful spring companion to Berger's previously published fall-themed book about friendship, The Little Yellow Leaf. The detailed collage illustrations are so exquisite -- Berger uses ephemera like old catalogues, books and receipts to craft her illustrations. Every time I read one of her books I notice something new (for instance, if you look really closely at Forever Friends, you'll notice a scrap of J.Crew & Vera Wang). I also simply adore Berger's trees, especially the ones composed of tiny bits of text, all carefully glued together to form bark. The differently striped legs of the bird made me smile, and I'm still wondering how Berger managed to place all those fine hopping/flying dotted action lines on the pages. Even though this is a children's book, I would also not hesitate to buy a copy for my adult friends and let them know how much I cherish their friendship.

According to my daughter, "Her collage is so cool." Yes, it is...I couldn't agree more.

Related links:
Carin Berger - Author Website
Under the Green Willow - The Making of Forever Friends
Brimful Curiosities - Review of OK Go by Carin Berger

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We attempted our own collage projects for this week's stART (story + art) crafts. The kids both made patchwork bunnies using bits of paper from magazines. At first my daughter cut out her own scraps, but quickly grew tired and would only complete the project after I cut the rest of the paper for her. My little guy only glued on a few pieces of paper before declaring his patchwork bunny finished.



While the kids were busy gluing, I decided to try my hand at creating a Berger inspired bunny and bird image using cutout pieces from a magazine and a bit of blue lined paper. Cutting and gluing little tiny pieces of paper requires A LOT of patience and time. I must say after this little project I have gained a greater appreciation for Berger's illustrations!






Post what you've been reading each week with your kids at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns. A Mommy's Adventures hosts the "stART" meme (Story + Art) each week. Hope Is the Word hosts a Read Aloud Thursday link-up as well. I am an Amazon affiliate and may receive a very small commission for products purchased through my Amazon links.

Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey - DVD Review

A pair of big ears and long trunk equal an interesting, loveable animated character. Take Dumbo and Horton, for instance. Elephants have long been a favorite of cartoonists, and now there's a new animated elephant to talk about -- a baby elephant named Kayla. She stars in the newest Curious George movie, Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey, released earlier this month.

In this full-length sequel to the 2006 Curious George movie, George convinces the Man in the Yellow Hat (Ted) to take him to Mr. Piccadilly's magical show. The star of the show, a baby elephant named Kayla, seems a little sad, so George does his best to cheer her up. The two wander off together and end up going on a cross-country adventure in hopes of reuniting Kayla with her brother and sister in California. While trying to return the elephant to Mr. Piccadilly, The Man in the Yellow Hat ends up trapped in a boxcar with the two wanderers and they all head to California by train. Due to a misunderstanding, Mr. Piccadilly believes that Kayla has been stolen and hires a silly "crime stuffing" detective named Donno Wolfe to locate the supposed perpetrators.

Like many other recent children's films, this movie also has an underlying message, showing the importance of family and friends. Ted (the Man in the Yellow Hat) wants to obtain the director's job at the museum and spends his time obsessing over his binder filled with charts and graphs. As a result of his unexpected journey with George he eventually realizes his priorities are all wrong and learns that what really matters is family, friends and people coming together.

We do love Curious George (hard not to love that mischievous monkey), and Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey was a fun film to watch. The animation is not as artistically rendered as in the first movie, but the storyline is cute and features several humorous segments. My daughter thinks the opening scene is hilarious with the Man in the Yellow Hat sleeping on his computer pressing the letter "Z." My train-loving son especially enjoys the scenes with the California Express train. And, there's nothing cuter than a curious little monkey sleeping on top of an elephant, using a large ear as his blanket.

It would be pretty difficult to match Jack Johnson's songs in the first Curious George movie, but the songs in this film are catchy enough to get your toes tapping, especially Brian Wilson's version of "California Sun." A band called Carbon Leaf performs several of the other songs in the movie and lend nice, leisurely drifting melodies like "Life Less Ordinary" and "Heart Of The Day" to the film.

If you loved the first Curious George movie, chances are you'll like this cute, adventure filled sequel as well.

Curious George 2 DVD Giveaways:
The Cloth Diaper Report - 3/23
Mom Knows It All - 3/21
The Dirty Shirt - 3/22
Momma Findings - 3/26
Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy - 3/24
Jolly Mom - 4/1
Fairy Blog Mother - 4/1
A Happy Hippy Mom - 3/31
An Island Life - 3/21

(DVD Source: review copy provided for free for review purposes by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. All opinions expressed are my own. I am an Amazon affiliate and may receive a very small commission for products purchased through my Amazon links. View my full disclosure statement for more information about my reviews.)

Wordless Wednesday - Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hope you are having a terrific St. Patrick's Day. We made some decorations earlier in the week by using potatoes to make shamrock prints (or, in the case of my toddler, green smears.)


Find more of this week's Wordless Wednesday (or Wordful) posts at 5 Minutes for Mom or Seven Clown Circus.

The Princess and the Frog DVD Releases Today - Activities and Crafts

We watched The Princess and the Frog movie when it first arrived in theaters last year. My daughter will always have fond memories of Princess Tiana and the other characters because it was the first movie she saw in a movie theater. Even though the darkness of the movie and the voodoo aspects surprised me, I appreciated the hand drawn animation and diverse musical score in the New Orleans style. Today the movie makes its debut on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD. Since we weren't one of the lucky blogs selected to review the new DVD, we'll most likely buy our own copy to add to our Disney Princess collection. If you are planning to purchase your own Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, don't forget to print out the $10 coupon available at http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/disneymagicalsavings/. Plus, check out Friday's Full to the Brim list and enter some of the blog contests for the DVD.

Several related coloring pages and printables are available online:
Random House - The Princess and the Frog Activity Pages
Disney Family.com - Everything Princess and the Frog features crafts, recipes, and fun ideas. We like the printable Princess and the Frog Playset [pdf]
About.com Family Crafts - The Princess and The Frog Printable Activities lists several coloring pages

Full to the Brim - Kid's Book Giveaway List (3/12/10)

Please check out my other "Full to the Brim" posts as well. Many contests are still underway. I publish "Full to the Brim" every Friday. Thanks for visiting my blog and come back soon!

Fish for more children's book giveaways at Lori Calabrese's Fish for a Free Book linkup each Friday

My book related giveaway(s):
GoodNites Bedtime Theater Kit (includes an iPod shuffle, $25 iTunes Gift Card, Brookstone cuddle blanket, Patagonia bag and Logitech speakers) Ends 3/29/10


Other book giveaways:
Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves - Book Giveaway Ends 3/14/10
The Tyger Voyage
Teaching Authors - Book Giveaway Ends 3/17/10
Ten Stories of Tricks, Jokes, and Swicheroos by Johanna Hurwitz
Flying Giggles and Lollipops - Book Giveaway Ends 3/25/10
Hey, Rabbit! by Sergio Ruzzier plus Easter basket filled with many items including an original signed ink and watercolor framed drawing
Energizer Bunny's Mommy Reports - Book Giveaway Ends 3/20/10
Little Black Ant on Park Street by Janet Halfmann
My Four Monkeys - Book Giveaway Ends 3/22/10
custom Find Me Book
Mama to 3 Blessings - Book Giveaway Ends 3/27/10
FLIP ALONG FUN by Michael J. Dowling
Muse Reviews - Book Giveaway Ends 3/17/10
Marshmallow by Clare Turlay
Thoughts on Life and Dirty Diapers - Book Giveaway Ends 3/15
The Deluxe Edition, The Jesus Storybook Bible
Another Day, Another Thought...or Two - Book Giveaway Ends 3/24/10
All eight Sterling Publishing's picture books in the Listen-Along Storybooks program, three packs of eight books in total
Booking Mama - Book Giveaway Ends 3/20/10
All eight Sterling Publishing's picture books in the Listen-Along Storybooks program, three packs of eight books in total
Energizer Bunny's Mommy Reports - Book Giveaway Ends 3/27/10
First Adventures of Incredible You
Lori Calabrese - Book Giveaway Ends 3/12/10
My Shoes and I by René Colato Laínez
Annies Home - Book Giveaway Ends 3/10/10
signed copies of the Meno books and custom made Meno (blue) or Wishi (pink) blankets
Needle and thREAD - Book Giveaway Ends 3/13/10
Alaska Puzzle Bears
Woven by Words - Book Giveaway Ends 3/18/10
autographed Jack Stalwart series books (early chapter readers)
The Dirty Shirt - Book Giveaway Ends 3/22/10
autographed The 39 Clues Book Set (books #1 & 2)
The Dirty Shirt - Book Giveaway Ends 3/22/10
Curious George 2 Prize Pack Giveaway
Spanglish Baby - Book Giveaway Ends 3/12/10
Kid’s Guide to Latino History
Opinions of a Moody Mama - Book Giveaway Ends 3/28/10
autographed copy of Mudworks Bilingual edition
Momma In Flip Flops2 - Book Giveaway Ends 3/22/10
Hey, Rabbit! by Sergio Ruzzier plus Easter basket filled with many items including an original signed ink and watercolor framed drawing
Go Graham Go - Book Giveaway Ends 3/20/10
How Rude! Book series for Teens
All Because Two People Fell in Love - Book Giveaway Ends 3/23/10
Weird But True Book by National Geographic


To help parents and teachers explain the Haiti tragedy to their children, Sylvan Dell has posted their Pandas’ Earthquake Escape eBook on their homepage free for the next 30 days.


Other Giveaways:
There are several Princess and the Frog DVD Giveaways going on. Here are a few:
5 Minutes for Mom Ends 3/27/10
My Organized Chaos 3/26/10
Crazy Working Mom 3/19/10
Mommy Mandy 3/19/10
Sheilacakes 3/26/10
Momstart 3/26/10
Tara's View of the world 3/26/10
Night Owl Mama 3/26/10
The Freebie Fairy 3/26/10

Print a coupon for $10 off The Princess and The Frog Blu-ray™ Combo Pack. Expires 3/21/10


Have a children's book you are giving away on your blog? Let me know! I'll spread the word here!

Easter Babies by Joy N. Hulme - Book Review & stART

On the days my daughter is in school, I've decided to try crafting with my toddler. His skill level is different from his sister's, and he gets frustrated when he's not able to make his pictures look like hers. This week we worked on our first project, a sticker page inspired by a spring themed counting book.

Easter Babies: A Springtime Counting Book by Joy N. Hulme, illustrated by Dan Andreasen. Sterling (February 2010); ISBN 9781402763526; 24 pages (Review copy provided by publisher)

Everything looks fresh and new in this springtime counting book full of cheerful, sweet baby animals on the farm. From a baby foal to kittens, bunnies and ducklings -- all the animals along with a few children take the time to enjoy spring. There's even an Easter egg hunt! Unusual for a toddler book, the author uses lesser known terms for some of the animals like kids, nestlings, and hens in her rhyming verses. The brightly colored illustrations by Dan Andreasen show the beautiful scenery in a rural area and on a few pages the city and churches are shown in the distance. Children can count along all the way up to the number twelve, as everyone celebrates a joyous Easter morning and new life. "In churches all around the town 12 Easter bells are ringing ... "

I'm always pleased by the quality of Sterling children's picture books. They use high quality materials, and it is evident that much thought and planning goes into each and every one of their books. I was pleasantly surprised that Easter Babies has an ever so slight religious tone, with the church bells ringing at the end. This is a perfect title to share with your favorite toddler or preschooler during the Easter holiday.

Related links:
Joy N. Hulme - Author Website
Easter Animals Cutting Practice Page [pdf] - www.activityvillage.co.uk

For our stART (story + art) project this week, we made a Barnyard Sticker Page Craft, using the same animals found in the Easter Babies book. As we read the book together, my toddler identified then placed each animal on the page, starting with the foal. When he was finished placing the stickers, we counted the animals on his page, and he drew in grass and clouds.

(We own a lot of stickers, but I thought for sure we'd have a hard time finding a goat sticker. Turns out it was the kitten sticker that gave us trouble...my daughter had previously used all our cat stickers up, all except for one black Halloween cat! Wonder what her favorite animal is?)









Post what you've been reading each week with your kids at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns. A Mommy's Adventures hosts the "stART" meme (Story + Art) each week. Hope Is the Word hosts a Read Aloud Thursday link-up as well. I am an Amazon affiliate and may receive a very small commission for products purchased through my Amazon links.

Wordless Wednesday - EKCO Best Hand Mixer

One of my favorite kitchen utensils - my vintage ECKO Best Hand Mixer. Both my grandmother and mom own one as well. We use ours often to beat up a batch of pancakes. Notice the Betty Crocker cookbook in the background? That's vintage, too!

Find more of this week's Wordless Wednesday (or Wordful) posts at 5 Minutes for Mom or Seven Clown Circus.

Storytelling and GoodNites Bedtime Theater: Iggy's Next Adventure Contest (and a Giveaway)

This week several bloggers are participating in Share a Story - Shape a Future, a weeklong blog tour for literacy. It's a way for bloggers share ideas on ways to raise a reader and support children's literacy efforts. I'm excited to host a giveaway sponsored by GoodNites brand of sleep pants in conjunction with this event.

A good story draws attention. Parents can use storytelling to increase interest in reading and books. Storytelling goes hand in hand with reading and literacy development because oral communication provides the basis for beginning reading. Children that tell stories increase their understanding of word development and grow their vocabularies.

Bedtime is the perfect time for parents and children to engage in storytelling. Kimberly-Clark is sharing its commitment to literacy and wants to help parents and children bond at night with the magic of storytelling. Their GoodNites website offers several storytelling bedtime activity suggestions:

Play with Finger Puppets [pdf] - Put on a puppet show with the finger puppets and have your child act out their own made up story.

Use Template Word Games [pdf] - Create wacky stories by filling in the blanks of a short story with words and phrases. Read the story aloud together.

Make Hand Shadows [pdf] - Tell a story and illustrate it with your hand shadows on the wall.

The GoodNites brand of sleep pants also recently launched Bedtime Theater,™ a series audio bedtime stories available for free download online (CD versions are available in packages of GoodNites Sleep Pants). The story is about a boy Iggy and his exciting adventures with his magical bed. Along with listening to the story, families and storytellers can participate in the Iggy's Next Adventure Contest by creating a new adventure for Iggy and entering it in the contest. Only a story summary is required (approximately 275 words), so the contest isn't overly difficult to enter. Take a moment and enter your story idea for a chance to win the $2500 grand prize or one of the smaller weekly prizes. The contest ends on 4/15/2010. See the official rules for contest information.

The Bedtime Theater helps parents establish a nightly bedtime story routine with their children and reduce anxiety around bedtime. According to Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg, one of the GoodNites NiteLite experts, "having a regular evening ritual, such as a bedtime story, can quell nighttime issues like bedwetting and become an important step in building your child’s self-confidence." Even though the website is geared toward those needing help with bedwetting, all parents and children can enjoy the Bedtime Theater.



As a way to spread the word about the GoodNites Bedtime Theater, activities and storytelling contest, GoodNites has kindly offered to give away a Bedtime Theater kit to a Brimful Curiosities reader. The kit is worth approximately $175 and includes an iPod shuffle, $25 iTunes Gift Card, Brookstone cuddle blanket, Patagonia bag and Logitech speakers.

To enter, leave a comment with a storytelling activity idea or a description of how you have used storytelling with children.

• For contact purposes, if you are a non-blogger or your email is not accessible in your blog profile, please leave a valid email address within the comment section.
• Contest is open to US only
• Contest ends on Monday, March 29th, 2010 at 11:59 PM CST.
• Winner will be chosen at random and sent an email notification.

Ways to gain extra entries (Please leave a separate comment for each entry):
1st extra entry: Enter Iggy's Next Adventure Contest and comment with the date you entered. (Remember, you can enter the storytelling contest once per day.)
2nd extra entry: Blog about this contest then post your link in the comment section.
3rd extra entry: Follow me on twitter (iambrimful) and tweet about the contest.
4th extra entry: Follow Me! or subscribe by email or RSS reader

GoodNites® provided me with Bedtime Theater Kits for my family and to conduct a reader giveaway. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive sentiments towards GoodNites® products. (View my full disclosure statement for more information about my reviews.)

Don't miss out on these literacy related events this week!

Susan at The Book Chook compiles a wonderful digital magazine called Literacy Lava that parents can access for free in pdf form. She just released the fourth issue and it includes a lot of helpful and interesting articles about creative thinking, magazine hunts, raising book-loving boys, encouraging writing skills, how to select quality books, discovery baskets, story stretchers and using multimedia for storytelling. I especially love all the links to different online resources. I hadn't heard of many of them and will certainly refer back to them in the future. Well worth checking out!

Each week, Mom It Forward hosts a #gno twitter party (Girls’ Night Out). This Tuesday, the topic is "Celebrate Reading and Children’s Literature." Join other moms on Tuesday, March 9 from 9-11 ET by using the #gno and #memetales hashtags as they discuss ways to nurture young readers (Make sure to RSVP to the party.) You can also enter for a chance to win a Kodak zi8 Video Camera.

The Share a Story - Shape a Future blog tour begins on March 8th and runs until March 12th. Each day different kidlit bloggers promote reading and literacy by sharing useful tips and ideas.
The topics covered each day are as follows: (more information here)
Day 1: The Many Faces of Reading - Terry Doherty @ Scrub-a-Dub-Tub
Day 2: Literacy My Way/Literacy Your Way - Susan Stephenson @ The Book Chook
Day 3: Just the Facts: The Nonfiction Book Hook - Sarah Mulhern @ The Reading Zone
Day 4: Reading Through the Ages: Old Faves & New Classics - Donalyn Miller @ The Book Whisperer
Day 5: Reading for the Next Generation - Jen @ Jen Robinson's Book Page

Full to the Brim - Kid's Book Giveaway List (3/5/10)

Please check out my other "Full to the Brim" posts as well. Many contests are still underway. I publish "Full to the Brim" every Friday. Thanks for visiting my blog and come back soon!

Fish for more children's book giveaways at Lori Calabrese's Fish for a Free Book linkup each Friday

My book giveaway(s):
Mandy and Pandy Play Sports (Learn Mandarin Chinese) Book Giveaway Ends 3/8/10


Other book giveaways:
AuthorsNow! - Book Giveaway Ends 3/9/10
Time for Bed, Baby Ted by Debra Sartell
AuthorsNow! - Book Giveaway Ends 3/14/10
Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount (teen)
She Scribes - Book Giveaway Ends 3/20/10
Hey, Rabbit! by Sergio Ruzzier plus Easter basket filled with many items including an original signed ink and watercolor framed drawing
A Patchwork of Books - Book Giveaway Ends 3/7/10
I, Q: Independence Hall by Roland Smith (YA)
aPARENTly Speaking - Book Giveaway Ends 3/8/09
The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl and The Inside Tree by Linda Smith
My Organized Chaos - Book Giveaway Ends 3/13/10
Cogs Corner Goes Green by Erin Saelens
Vintage Kids' Book My Kid Loves - Book Giveaway Ends 3/7/10
The Rooster Crows by Maud and Miska Petersham
Muse Reviews - Book Giveaway Ends 3/10/10
Race You to Bed by Bob Shea
Flavorwire - Book Giveaway Ends ??
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland plus artwork by Camille Rose Garcia
A Psych Mommy - Book Giveaway Ends 3/18/10
All eight of the Sterling titles currently featured on the Listen-Along Storybook site
Raising Itty-Bitty Bookworms - Book Giveaway Ends 3/19/10
The Things a String Can Be [BubbleGum Books]
Littles Rule the Roost - Book Giveaway Ends 3/11/10
Choice of one of the Dr. Hippo books by Dr Charlotte Cowan
Madelyn Rosenberg - Book Giveaway Ends 3/10/10
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger (middle grade)
Sweeps4Bloggers - Book Giveaway Ends 3/22/10
Family Folktales by Karen Pierce Gonzalez
As they Grow Up - Book Giveaway Ends 3/16/10
Curious George Prize Pack
Mommies with Cents - Book Giveaway Ends 3/8/10
Henry Aaron’s Dream by Matt Tavares
Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia - Book Giveaway Ends 3/19/10
Mister Monday by Garth Nix (middle grade)
Austism Learning Felt - Book Giveaway Ends 3/10/10
Over the Rainbow, paintings by Eric Puybaret and the music is performed by Grammy Award winner Judy Collins


Other Giveaways:
Outnumbered 3 to 1 - /DVD Giveaway Ends 3/18/10
Fantastic Mr Fox on DVD
Just for Me...and You 3/09/10
Tidy Books Bookcase

Have a children's book you are giving away on your blog? Let me know! I'll spread the word here!

Clovers and Shamrocks - Our stART project

The other day my daughter asked me, "Mommy, when is Clover Day?" St. Patrick's Day is coming up in a few weeks, and it sounds like we have a little explaining to do when it comes to that holiday. To start off, this week we focused on clovers and shamrocks. Why are shamrocks associated with St. Patrick's Day? After some research we discovered that, according to legend, St. Patrick used the three-leaf clover to explain the Trinity - The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

"S is for Shamrock ... Try to find one. If you do, Irish luck will come to you."

S Is for Shamrock: An Ireland Alphabet (Discover the World) by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Matt Faulkner Sleeping Bear Press; (February 2007); 40 pages; ISBN 9781585362905

Eve Bunting was born in Ireland. Several of her books are appropriate for St. Patrick's Day. In her book, S is for Shamrock, she describes places and things in Ireland, from the letters A to Z. Highly educational, some of the topics covered include the Blarney Stone, Claddagh, Giant's Causeway, Leprechauns, St. Patrick and, of course, the shamrock. A short poem accompanies each letter, with more detailed information for older children included in the sidebar. This would be a useful book for homeschooling because the layout makes the book interesting for children of various ages. Faulkner's detailed, colorful drawings accompany each letter and a map of Ireland is shown in the front of the book. My preschool daughter liked looking at the pictures and reading some of the poems, but the majority of the book is a tad too advanced for her age. Teacher's Guide (Review copy provided for free for review purposes by publisher)


"When new grass grows in the sunny meadow, what do rabbits do? Hop all over in the clover."

Spring Song by Barbara Seuling, illustrated by Greg Newbold. Gulliver Books/Harcourt; (March 2001); 32 pages; ISBN 9780152023171

We checked this book out because of the spring themed title, but the gorgeous illustrations by Greg Newbold clearly steal the show. I'd gladly frame a few of the pages and hang them on my walls - yes, they are that stunning! The front cover shows a beautiful painting of rabbits eating clovers and inside the book, paintings of spring landscapes and animals busy in the spring season fill the pages. The text by Seuling, in a questions and answers format, discusses animals' actions (bullfrog, bear, skunk, mole, eagle and rabbits) upon the arrival of spring. My daughter likes the frog picture, and I love all the rural landscapes. (Review copy from public library)

stART project - Bunnies in a Field of Clover Craft

Inspired by the pictures of bunnies eating clover in Spring Song, we made our own clover patch out of pipe cleaners and some playdough. The kids each made their own brown rabbit. We cut out rabbit shapes from brown construction paper, they used crayons to color parts of the rabbits white and pink, and then we attached cotton ball tails and googly eyes. We wanted to rabbits to stand up by themselves, so I cut out strips of paper, taped them in circles and stapled to the back of each rabbit. We had fun pretending the rabbits were eating the clover field using the book as the backdrop.









Post what you've been reading each week with your kids at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns. A Mommy's Adventures hosts the "stART" meme (Story + Art) each week. Hope Is the Word hosts a Read Aloud Thursday link-up as well. I am an Amazon affiliate and may receive a very small commission for products purchased through my Amazon links.