Tuesday Tales | The Angel Forever

Category Archives Tuesday Tales

Tuesday Tales: The Albany Children’s Book Festival

Posted on November 4, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Over the weekend, TechyDad and I took the boys to The Albany Children’s Book Festival. The sixth annual event was hosted by The Albany Academies and included over fifty authors and illustrators. Last time we went to the event, we had an amazing experience. We met new talented people and were able to say hello to familiar faces from books that we love.

When we told the boys about the event taking place in November, they were beyond excited. Then I had told them that Artie Bennett would be there and they kept talking about meeting him thanks to our review of his book Belches, Burps, & Farts – Oh My! The kids wanted to find him as soon as we walked in the door. So, we followed the trail and located Artie. He immediately knew my name and blog. Such a kind, funny, and creative man.

As I finished chatting with Artie, the boys moved along and happened to stop to chat with Jennifer Berne. She is the author of the Calvin books that we have also reviewed over the years. The silly boys had forgotten that we own her newest book about Calvin and his new glasses. I know we are looking forward to more tales with Calvin.

As we wandered around, we said hello to illustrator Diane deGroat. She has a great sense of humor and joked with us for awhile. As we moved down the row of tables with more and more author and illustrators, I was pretty sure I recognized someone.

Sure enough, I noticed author and illustrator Nick Bruel walk by. That is when JSL was on a mission. He brought two of his Bad Kitty books to be signed. My shy little guy was so thrilled to be seeing the man that truly inspired my kiddo to read this summer. As I have mentioned, JSL was afraid to read chapter books on own until he tried Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel. He devoured that first book in just under 24 hours and finished the series early in the summer. We shared this with Mr. Bruel who was beyond kind and showed JSL the next book in the series that will be coming out in January 2015.

Oh and check out the fun sign he put out when he left for five minutes.

The boys also kept busy meeting new authors and illustrators thanks to a scavenger hunt of sorts for the event. They had specific authors to locate, answer a trivia question, and get an autograph. This helped us to meet Gail Carson Levine – Ella Enchanted, Coleen Paratore –The Wedding Planner’s Daughter, Steve Sheinkin – Lincoln’s Grave Robbers, Mark Teague – illustrator of the Where Do Dinosaurs books, and many others. We also learned that my oldest had met Elizabeth Zunon last year when she visited his school. I vaguely recall him mentioning something, but was amazed with this talented local woman.

Before heading home, the boys were allowed to select a book to purchase and get signed by an author or illustrator. It took them a bit, but eventually they selected new series to try reading. NHL selected Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to NOT Reading by Tommy Greenwald. JSL picked out Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look.

More about these books coming soon because both boys are already reading them and having a hard time putting them down.

Have you or your children met any of their favorite authors or illustrators? I would love to hear about their experience. As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Previous posts about The Albany Children’s Book Festival in April 2013 are The Albany Children’s Book Festival – Part 1 and The Albany Children’s Book Festival – Part 2.

Categories:
books Educational local event Tuesday Tales

Tuesday Tales: Children’s Activity Atlas

Posted on October 21, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Imagine a book that can take your child around the world and back again. This is the reality of the Children’s Activity Atlas – An Interactive & Fun Way to Explore Your World. I received this book from Sterling Children’s Books to review with my family.

Children’s Activity Atlas – Written by Jenny – Illustrated by Katrin Wiehle and Martin Sanders

Published by Sterling Children’s Books August 2014 – ISBN 9781454913207 – $16.95 – Ages 5-9

The book by Jenny Slater is a hands on atlas that includes 13 illustrated maps by Katin Wiehle and Martin Sanders. The book also includes a small passport tucked away inside. This is where the book becomes something that will engage kids. The thirteen regions represented in the book with their own map have a section in the passport. The passport gives facts about that part of the world and also asks them to find answers to questions on their map. To do this, they must utilize the map grid to reply.

The maps are beautiful and include capital cities, important cities, rivers, mountains, and country borders. The How to Use the Atlas section explains using the grid. The maps also have biome information and and area where children can place flags for the countries in each regions.

My older son loved looking at the maps to see areas that he has been talking about in school. He was also able to help my second grader when he wanted to explore.

As a parent and teacher, I think this book is a fantastic way to get kids involved in maps and different regions of the world. The information included will likely make many want to learn more when they are finished. I could see adults making more passport questions to keep kids busy on rainy or snowy days ahead.

Do your children like to explore with maps? I would love to know favorites books that they have used to explore educational areas like this. . As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Disclosure: As noted above, I received both of these books from Sterling Children’s Books to review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

Categories:
books Educational Tuesday Tales

Tuesday Tales: Belches, Burps, and Farts–Oh My!

Posted on September 9, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Imagine getting excited about an email that has belches, burps, and farts in the title. This kid at heart actually squealed when author Artie Bennett wrote to say that his new book was being published. So I…–er we eagerly waited to receive the review copy. When I opened up the book, the message to my boys was priceless.

Belches, Burps, and Farts–Oh My! – Written by Artie Bennett – Illustrated by Pranas T. Naujokaitis – Published by Blue Apple Books

September 2014 – ISBN 978-1609053925 – 17.99 – Ages 4-8

So what is this book about? Well, I think you know the gist of it from the title. What you may not expect is the way that it goes about giving children of all ages scientific information. Belches, Burps, and Farts—Oh My! truly is educational. Readers will learn why we pass gas via different routes of the body.

I must confess, I read this book aloud to TechyDad the evening it arrived while he was cooking dinner. I wanted to preview the silly and educational tale before reading it with the boys. The two of us laughed a lot. Sure it talked about bodily functions that many are not comfortable with, but they are a fact of life. There is just something wonderful about the rhyme and rhythm of the book that dishes out fart jokes and facts side by side. Add in the hilarious and colorful illustrations by Pranas T. Naujokaitis and you have a fantastic combination.

While reading the book to JSL, he was fascinated with the fact that you can’t burp while on your back. I have a feeling he may try to see if he can do this. Meanwhile, I hope neither of my kids attempt what is depicted in the picture above. Admit it, we have all burped an answer to someone once or twice before.

One of my favorite moments was when I was reading this page to JSL:

TechyDad heard the page again and yelled, “So, does that mean that SpongeBob does not fart?” The laughter from the seven year old was priceless as everyone thought about episodes they may have seen.

I won’t spoil the rest of the book. All I will say is I highly recommend it to others. While it may not be on a traditional topic, I think it’s important to have fun while learning about the body and science. Just remember the more comfortable you are now talking about belches, burps, and farts, the easier other talks may be in the future about other tricky topics. FYI other Tuesday Tales on books written by Artie Bennett are Peter Panda Melts Down and The Butt Book.

Have you read any books by Artie Bennett? If you have not, what are you waiting for? As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Disclosure: As noted above, I received this book from the author, Artie Bennett, to review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own. Once again, it was my choice to kvell about this book and Artie never pulled my finger twisted my arm.

Categories:
books Tuesday Tales

Tuesday Tales: Calvin the Bookworm Birdie and Monsters

Posted on August 5, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

This summer, my youngest has been reading a lot of different books on his own. Clearly a major milestone for JSL. While I love his independence, it makes me sad at the same time. I miss curling up with my kiddo to read a special picture book together. When two new books arrived from Sterling Children’s Books to review, I asked JSL if I could read them to him before bed one night.

We took the books above and read them together like we used to do before diving into chapter books. It was a lot of fun celebrating at a party with a monster book from an author/illustrator that was new to us. JSL and I also adored visiting with our familiar birdie friend Calvin in his new tale.

Calvin, Look Out! – Written by Jennifer Berne – Illustrated by Keith Bendis – Sterling Children’s Books August 2014 – ISBN 9781454909101 – $14.95 – Ages 4-8

Calvin the book loving bird is back in this latest book by Jennifer Berne. This time, Calvin starts to notice something just is not right with his vision. Why yes, the bookworm birdie shares his adventure as he gets his first pair of glasses. The clarity of the world changes at an instant and poor Calvin is teased because he is different than others. What happens when Calvin finds himself in trouble and needs to save the day? You will need to read the story and follow along with the beautiful illustrations from Keith Bendis that immerse us into Calvin’s world.

JSL really enjoyed this book and it gave us a great topic to talk about. We were able to discuss differences. Why it can be hurtful not to accept people the way they are. Oh and thanks to Calvin we talked about never giving up and the important of problem solving when it appears that you are in trouble. I highly recommend the latest book about Calvin and others if you have never read them before. I also pulled up my post from The Albany Children’s Book Festival where we met author Jennifer Berne to remind JSL because he had forgotten about that.

Monster Party – Written and illustrated by Annie Bach – Published by Sterling Children’s Books August 2014 – ISBN 97814549105 – $9.95 – Ages 2-5

We are big monster fans in this house, thanks to the famous Disney monsters like Mike and Sulley. Monster Party is a sweet story about a monster getting invited to a party. Annie Bach’s simple words and whimsy artwork bring us along to see what the little monster does with his friends.

JSL liked the rhyme scheme and pictures in the book. It was a little juvenile for him, but he read along with me. I could see this book being used at Halloween time to act and make up a song with a preschool group. Lots of items that could be creatively incorporated with young children.

Are you a fan of Calvin the bookworm birdie or other monster books? Be sure to let me know if you have read about Calvin or any good monster tales recently. As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Disclosure: As noted above, I received both of these books from Sterling Children’s Books to review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

Categories:
books Tuesday Tales

Tuesday Tales: New 2014 Summer Reading Selections

Posted on July 15, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Over the 4th of July weekend, the boys received a gift from a cousin. It was a gift card to the book store and she told them they had to use it for books. This weekend, the boys begged to head to the store to select a special book of their own choosing. They kept to the wishes of Cousin A and went right to the books. We spent a LONG time looking at different options. NHL quickly found several books that were interesting and had to narrow it down. JSL was a bit more tricky. In the end, they each selected new to them book series to read.

NHL selected the first of the How to Train Your Dragon books by Cressida Cowell. JSL finally decided on Bad Kitty Meets the Baby from the Bad Kitty Series by Nick Bruel. Both of the boys started reading the books on the way home from our outing. What I never expected was JSL’s nose to be in the book at almost any chance he got. As soon as he woke up, he would run to the couch to read more about Bad Kitty. While we had roof work done on Sunday morning, he pulled out a chair and read. Before we knew it, JSL was finished with the 141 page book and begging for more.

The best news, thanks to the summer reading program at Barnes & Noble both of the boys can work toward another book in their series. Did I mention JSL had already read way more than the eight books that are required? He wants to go back to get his reward now.

Are you or your children Bad Kitty or How to Train Your Dragon books? As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.