"The Secret Lives of Animals" - Blog Tour & Publisher's Giveaway!

Do you have a child who loves random facts about animals?  I'm happy today to be one of the stop-offs along a blog tour introducing a brand new not-to-be-missed book, The Secret Lives of Animals.

The book's intriguing subtitle will grab the attention of its target audience: kids aged 6-12...

1,001 Tidbits, Oddities & Amazing Facts about North America's Coolest Animals

I just love this book.  When my review copy arrived, I thoroughly enjoyed reading through it and immediately sought the opinions of four experts: my three home-schooled goddaughters and their mom.  They all agreed that it's a fun book, and one they would enjoy sitting down together with! 

The authors, Stacy Tornio and Ken Keffer have done an excellent job with the text which is at once informative and engaging. Their enthusiasm for the world of animals and nature is contagious! (This is their second book collaboration.  Their first was The Kids' Outdoor Adventure Book.)  

Having written a volume that's perfect for home schooled or traditionally schooled children, Ken and Stacy are inviting kids to become privy to lots of lots of random amazing facts and secrets about North American animals.

Take for example, the OWL:
Owls fascinate people all over the world.  They have gained a lot of popularity in the past several years, maybe in part because of Harry Potter.  Actually, there have been lots of owl characters in movies and literature over the years...

Little Known Facts
1. While owls mostly stick to themselves, a group of owls is called a parliament.
2. It might seem that owls can turn their heads all the way around, but that's not really the case.  They can turn their heads about 270 degrees but not a full 360 degrees.
3. Some owls often have to survive in the cold because their range goes well into northern areas.  One thing that allows them to do this is having feathers that go all the way down on their feet too.
4. Owls don't create (or excavate) their own nests out of trees.  Instead they find nests that have been created by other birds...
...and it goes on and on!  Twelve facts in all for the owl!

The chapters are organized by animal classifications. There are a couple of pages devoted to every animal, with a nice illustration by Rachel Riordan for each one. At the back of the book there's also an index of animals by state and province. 

In addition to the "little known facts" about each animal, your child will read about the animals' sizes, what they eat, who eats them, and where they hang out.  There are also science Q&A's, animal "all star picks" from around the world, and "go outside" challenges.

WIN A FREE BOOK AND A PAIR OF KEEN SHOES

Shoes, book, and t-shirt giveaway! Click to enter publisher's giveaway.

GO HERE TO ENTER

The publisher is doing a cool giveaway, which you can learn about and enter by going HERE.  (There’s an added fun part…whoever wins gets to choose a friend to send a book and t-shirt to as well!)

The Secret Lives of Animals is available on Amazon and from Barnes and Noble.

A Friday Photo: Just Can't Put This Book Down!

7-year-old Gabriella walking through Sprouts market

My goddaughter Gabriella's Mommy sent me this photo and  told me: "It just warms my heart to think she cannot put her book down long enough to walk through a store. After all the sadness last year of learning how to read.  Could I possibly be raising a book worm???" 

DO YOU NEED GOOD CHAPTER BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS?

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Whether you have an independent reader, or are looking for some really good chapter books to read aloud, here are some exceptional lists:

• Great Children's Books: "Fun Chapter Books For Beginners" has some good choices.
• I love Sara Jane's "Chapter Books for the Younger Kids" list.
• "How to Train Your Dragon Books" from Best Books For Kids.com 
• Scholastic's "Timeless Chapter Book List" is a great resource, too.
• AND THE GRANDADDY LIST OF THEM ALL: School Library Journal's "Top 100 Children's Novels Poll"  (what's great about this list, is that every book is linked to a review!)

My own lists/reviews (right-click link):
Chapter Books For Restless Readers 
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle & Other Fun Characters
Chapter Books My Daughter Loved
Chapter Books My Sons Loved 
Books Even Busy Boys Will Come Inside For 
Good Books For Pre-teen Boys 
Books That Transport Us... 

1000 Good Books

Orchard Window 1918, Daniel Garber, American Impressionist Painter (1880-1958) A Book by Edgar Guest “Now” - said a good book unto me - “Open my pages and you shall see Jewels of wisdom and treasures fine, Gold and silver in every line, And you may claim them if you but will Open my pages and take your fill. “Open my pages and run them o’er, Take what you choose of my golden store. Be you greedy, I shall not care - All that you seize I shall gladly spare; There is never a lock on my treasure doors, Come - here are my jewels, make them yours! “I am just a book on your mantel shelf, But I can be part of your living self; If only you’ll travel my pages through, Then I will travel the world with you. As two wines blended make better wine, Blend your mind with these truths of mine. “I’ll make you fitter to talk with men, I’ll touch with silver the lines you pen, I’ll lead you nearer the truth you seek, I’ll strengthen you when your faith grows weak - This place on your shelf is a prison cell, Let me come into your mind to dwell!” Source: 1000 Good Books List Click HERE to view this comprehensive list on the Classical Christian Homeschooling website -These titles can be viewed by age group or author Additionally, they have a very good 100 Great Books List -These titles can be viewed by according to time period

A Schoolboy Who Became a Saint

Today in the Orthodox Church is the feast day of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Back when I home schooled our three children, I was inspired by the childhood of this saint, who grew up in 14th-Century Russian and was then known as "Bartholomew".  At the age of 23, Bartholomew became a monk and took the name "Sergius", but as a young boy, Bartholomew had trouble learning to read. We would read his story at the beginning of the school year.

St. Sergius's Illumination: "Vision to the Youth Bartholomew",
by Russian artist Mikhail Nesterov

...Sergius was born of noble, Orthodox, devout parents. His father was named Cyril and his mother Mary. They found favour with God; they were honourable in the sight of God and man, and abounded in those virtues which are well-pleasing unto God. Cyril had three sons, Stephen, Bartholomew, and Peter, whom he brought up in strict piety and purity.

Stephen and Peter quickly learned to read and write, but the second boy did not so easily learn to write, and worked slowly and inattentively; his master taught him with care, but the boy could not put his mind to his studies, nor understand, nor do the same as his companions who were studying with him. As a result he suffered from the many reproaches of his parents, and still more from the punishments of his teacher and the ridicule of his companions. 

The boy often prayed to God in secret and with many tears: "O Lord, give me understanding of this learning. Teach me, Lord, enlighten and instruct me." His reverence for God prompted him to pray that he might receive knowledge from God and not from men.

One day his father sent him to seek for a lost foal. On his way he met a monk, a venerable elder, a stranger, a priest, with the appearance of an angel. This stranger was standing beneath an oak tree, praying devoutly and with much shedding of tears. The boy, seeing him, humbly made a low obeisance, and awaited the end of his prayers.

The venerable monk, when he had ended his prayers, glanced at the boy and, conscious that he beheld the chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit, he called him to his side, blessed him, bestowed on him a kiss in the name of Christ, and asked: "What art thou seeking, or what dost thou want, child?"

The boy answered, "My soul desires above all things to understand the Holy Scriptures. I have to study reading and writing, and I am sorely vexed that I cannot learn these things. Will you, holy Father, pray to God for me, that he will give me understanding of book-learning? "The monk raised his hands and his eyes toward heaven, sighed, prayed to God, then said, "Amen."

Taking out from his satchel, as it were some treasure, with three fingers, he handed to the boy what appeared to be a little bit of white wheaten bread prosphora [the bread offered for Communion], saying to him: "Take this in thy mouth, child, and eat; this is given thee as a sign of God's grace and for the understanding of Holy Scriptures. Though the gift appears but small, the taste thereof is very sweet."

The boy opened his mouth and ate, tasting a sweetness as of honey, wherefore he said, "Is it not written, How sweet are thy words to my palate, more than honey to my lips, and my soul doth cherish them exceedingly?" The monk answered and said, "If thou believest, child, more than this will be revealed to thee; and do not vex thyself about reading and writing; thou wilt find that from this day forth the Lord will give thee learning above that of thy brothers and others of thine own age."

Having thus informed him of divine favour, the monk prepared to proceed on his way. But the boy flung himself, with his face to the ground, at the feet of the monk, and besought him to come and visit his parents, saying, "My parents dearly love persons such as you are, Father." The monk, astonished at his faith, accompanied him to his parents' house.

At the sight of the stranger, Cyril and Mary came out to meet him, and bowed low before him. The monk blessed them, and they offered him food, but before accepting any food, the monk went into the chapel, taking with him the boy whose consecration had been signified even before birth, and began a recitation of the Canonical Hours, telling the boy to read the Psalms.

The boy said, "I do not know them, Father." The monk replied, "I told thee that from today the Lord would give thee knowledge in reading and writing; read the Word of God, nothing doubting." Whereupon, to the astonishment of all present, the boy, receiving the monk's blessing, began to recite in excellent rhythm; and from that hour he could read.

His parents and brothers praised God, and after accompanying the monk to the house, placed food before him. Having eaten, and bestowed a blessing on the parents, the monk was anxious to proceed on his way. But the parents pleaded, "Reverend Father, hurry not away, but stay and comfort us and calm our fears. Our humble son, whom you bless and praise, is to us an object of marvel. While he was yet in his mother's womb three times he uttered a cry in church during holy Liturgy. Wherefore we fear and doubt of what is to be, and what he is to do."

The holy monk, after considering and becoming aware of that which was to be, exclaimed, "O blessed pair, O worthy couple, giving birth to such a child! Why do you fear where there is no place for fear? Rather rejoice and be glad, for the boy will be great before God and man, thanks to his life of godliness." Having thus spoken the monk left, pronouncing an obscure saying that their son would serve the Holy Trinity and would lead many to an understanding of the divine precepts. They accompanied him to the doorway of their house, when he became of a sudden invisible. Perplexed, they wondered if he had been an angel, sent to give the boy knowledge of reading.

After the departure of the monk, it became evident that the boy could read any book, and was altogether changed; he was submissive in all things to his parents, striving to fulfil their wishes, and never disobedient. Applying himself solely to glorifying God, and rejoicing therein, he attended assiduously in Gods church, being present daily at Matins, at the Liturgy, at Vespers. He studied holy scripts, and at all times, in every way, he disciplined his body and preserved himself in purity of body and soul.

[Taken from this website, where you can read the full story of this saint's humble life.]

A NEW GUIDE TO SOME OLD "GREAT BOOKS"

The Great Books Reader: Excerpts and Essays on the Most Influential Books in Western Civilization, Edited by John Mark Reynolds
Book Description: Great Books programs have become increasingly popular among Christian colleges, high schools, and even home schoolers. This one-of-a-kind book is designed for those who do not have the opportunity to attend such a program but are still interested in directly engaging with the Western Canon. It contains substantial excerpts from thirty of the most important books in history, with each excerpt followed by an essay placing the work in historical and Christian context. Readers can learn directly from such authors and thinkers as Plato, Homer, Augustine, Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Tolstoy, Austen, and Chesterton.  The essays are written many prominent Christian writers, lecturers, and professors including Frederica Mathewes-Green, Peter Kreeft, Hugh Hewitt, Gary Hartenburg, Robert Llizo, Melissa Schubert, Fred Sanders, and John Mark Reynolds.

The Great Books Reader will most likely become a sought-after handbook for teachers and parents alike. Reynolds believes the book is helpful as a guide for facilitating the "necessary and practical" virtue of being well-read. He says, "Reading books can be like going to the dentist: a task we know we should do, but put off for dread of the torture. This reader tries to lessen the pain and increase the initial pleasure of taking one's intellectual medicine."


John Mark Reynolds —(Ph.D., University of Rochester) Founder and Director of the Torrey Honors Institute, a Great Books program, and Professor of Philosophy at Biola University. Dr. Reynolds lectures frequently on ancient philosophy, philosophy of science, home schooling and cultural trends.

SEPTEMBER REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY: BOB BOOKS "SIGHT WORDS" SETS

I discovered BOB BOOKS years ago, through homeschooling, when I used the BEGINNING READER FOUNDATION SETS as a supplement to the phonics curriculum we were using.  


These awesome little books helped me guide my children, step by step, to the next level: actually reading books by themselves! Which is the reason I am so enthusiastic to I announce that Scholastic has graciously agreed to sponsor my SEPTEMBER GIVEAWAY by offering this double set of Bob Books Sight Words - the newest set of the series - to the lucky winner of my drawing.  (More about that at the end of my post.)


BOB BOOKS are such an important piece in the learning-to-read puzzle. They give new readers confidence as they're discovering word recognition and beginning to put letter sounds together. You can learn more by visiting their WEBSITE HERE, or...
WATCH this helpful video about BOB BOOKS from Scholastic:


ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY BOOKS: 
Sight Words are words that are recognized by sight rather than sounded out, in order to achieve reading fluency. They are the most frequently used words in the English language, and are often unable to be read phonetically (“was”, “are”, and “out” are examples). Sight Words are words that are recognized by sight rather than sounded out, in order to achieve reading fluency. They are the most frequently used words in the English language, and are often unable to be read phonetically (“was”, “are”, and “out” are examples).

I love the subtle humor these books use to get sight word recognition across!  For example, in "THE JET" (from the Kindergarten Sight Words set), one of the words your child will learn is "fly"...as in "A bug can fly" (and of course the bug shown is a fly).  They will learn that a bird can fly, a car cannot, a jet can fly, and you can fly in a jet.
Bob Books Sight Word Kindergarten Set contains stories with basic three letter words, consistent vowel sounds, and simple stories. Children are challenged by sight words that must be memorized, but encouraged because all of the sight words in this set are less than four letters.  The Sight Word First Grade Set continues with simple words and stories, but introduces longer and more complex sight words. This set builds fluency in the more demanding sight words and reinforces decoding skills.

Sight Words - Kindergarten

Sight Words - First Grade

Each Sight Words box includes 10 original books that are about 12 pages each, 30 flashcards, and a parent guide.  My GIVEAWAY consists of BOTH sets.


HOW TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY:
1 - Leave a comment after any of my blog posts dated between September 20 and September 29, 2011.
2 - "Like" my GOOD BOOKS FOR YOUNG SOULS FACEBOOK PAGE by September 29, 2011.
3 - Post a comment on my FACEBOOK page between now and 9/29/11.
4 - Comment as many times as you like, your name will be entered for each comment.
GIVEAWAY ENDS 9/29/11 at Midnight WITH A RANDOM DRAWING, AND THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2011. CONTEST OVER


ONE GIVEAWAY NOT ENOUGH?? Visit the Bob Books BLOG, to enter their Giveaway for their Reader Sets 1 & 2.  Hurry - it ends Sept. 23, 2011. CONTEST OVER

Full disclosure: I was provided a set of books at no cost to review and the prizes for the giveaway, but no compensation for this post, nor was I influenced, directed or told what to post.  This review is based on my actual experiences with the product.

"I READ THE WHOLE BOOK BY MYSELF!"

That declaration is music to a parent's ear.  Especially if you have a child who has struggled with learning to read.  As a parent who home-schooled my children, hearing that phrase elicited feelings of not only relief, but gratification.  I was very lucky to have been directed to some wonderful little readers that got my kids off on the right foot...they're called "BOB BOOKS".

"Bob Books" were first introduced 35 years ago.

I'm excited to announce that BOB BOOKS and SCHOLASTIC Publishers have graciously agreed to sponsor my SEPTEMBER GIVE-AWAY!  Stay tuned to see what the free gift will be.  The post review will go up in the next few days.  TELL YOUR FRIENDS!  The drawing will be on September 30, 2011.

CONTEST OVER!
You can enter my SEPTEMBER GIVEAWAY by:
1 - Leaving a comment here on any of my blog posts dated between today (9/20) and September 29, 2011.
2 - "Liking" my GOOD BOOKS FOR YOUNG SOULS FACEBOOK PAGE between today and September 29, 2011.
3 - Posting a comment on my FACEBOOK page between today, 9/20/11 and 9/29/11.

These fun little books were created by Bobby Lynn Maslen for her preschoolers when she discovered she couldn't find early readers that were interesting.

The first BOB BOOKS were individually hand-drawn. When it became too cumbersome to make books for each child, Bobby Lynn persuaded the school to print 300 copies. This eventually led to more sets - starting a cottage industry and self-publishing.  Bobby's husband, John, illustrated them. The series, first adopted by homeschoolers and Montessori teachers, was picked up by Scholastic.

Today, BOB BOOKS are still very much a family-run business with management being handed down to the eldest daughter, Lynn, who has been involved with the BOB BOOKS right from the beginning. She started out with paste-up and lettering of the first edition in the 1970’s, but later spent several years in other ventures. Lynn then returned to the family business as her own daughter was beginning to read. That was when she gained true appreciation for the simplicity, fun, humor and easy success of Bob Books. Her daughter now joins the millions of kids that happily exclaim, “I read the whole book!”® Lynn lives in Seattle with her daughter and husband.

A BOY, A GRANDMOTHER, AND A SCIENCE LESSON!

"This beautifully illustrated picture book evokes the fullness of a New England childhood through descriptions of a single summer day."

—Publishers Weekly

NIGHT OF THE MOONJELLIES by Mark Shasha. This book was inspired by the author's memories of working at his grandmother's hot dog stand by the sea in New London, Connecticut in the 1970s. It features the warm relationship between the main character and his grandmother, along with the hustle and bustle of the busy day at the hot dog stand. Seven-year-old Mark finds "something that felt like jelly" on the beach. After their busy day at work, Gram and Mark take a boat out to sea, where Mark sees an oceanful of shimmering white lights--moonjellies--and returns his to the water.


What exactly are "moonjellies"? Visit Mark Shasha's website to find out.  (Hint:  they're not "jellyfish".)

Many homeschoolers have discovered this story and used it as part of literature-based FIVE IN A ROW cirriculum...look at what this inspired mom did with her kids, while they read and completed activities for NIGHT OF THE MOONJELLIES - click here.

READ ALOUD LENTEN LITERATURE

A good book my husband and I couldn't have done without in our years of raising a family was Making God Real In the Orthodox Christian Home by Fr. Anthony Coniaris.  I love this quote about Lent:

"It is significant that Lent happens to coincide with spring.  I think there is a wonderful lesson for us in this happy coincidence.  Lent should be for all of us a period of placing ourselves in the position where the best things can happen to us...in the presence of Christ, where the Sun of His love and power can shine into our arid souls to bring about a real awakening..."

source

For many of us, that awakening comes by slowing down, turning off the television, and making more time for daily prayer, spiritual reading, fasting, and participation in the special church services of Lent.  


In our family, we also tried to carefully choose good books to read aloud with our kids during Lent, that would help underscore what we were doing.  


There are the obvious choices of Bible and Saints stories, but today I thought I'd highlight some good literature for kids, that you may not have considered...please let me know if you have any to add!


SIR GIBBIE by George MacDonald, Kathryn Lindskoog. (ages 8-12) From Publisher's Weekly: George MacDonald's 1870s' Sir Gibbie, about a destitute Scottish orphan, was reportedly a favorite of C.S. Lewis's. An edition of the novel, prepared by Kathryn Lindskoog, inaugurates a Classics for Young Readers series, while a companion, Sir Gibbie: A Guide for Teachers and Students by Ranelda Mack Hunsicker, is available for teachers, students and home-schoolers. In the Guide, Hunsicker contends that Sir Gibbie served as a source for Huckleberry Finn, although Mark Twain (a friend of MacDonald's) upended MacDonald's religious message. Noting that previous editions of Gibbie "cut out much of MacDonald's Christian teaching," Hunsicker adds that Lindskoog's goal was "to restore [the book] to its original Christ-centered plot."  (218 pages)


HEIDI by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Ruth Sanderson. (ages 7-12)  I hope you can find this adaptation with Ruth Sanderson's gorgeous illustrations. In any case, try to get a good unabridged version. Spyri's descriptive telling of Heidi's struggle to learn to read, as well as her relationships with her grandfather, the Alps, the goats, Klara, and Peter and his blind grandmother are not to be missed. What touched me most was the underlying story of the stern grandfather ("Alm Uncle") as a prodigal son figure who has his heart softened by his tender granddaughter. (285 pages)



THE BRONZE BOW by Elizabeth George Speare. (6th grade and up) Newbury Medal Winner. Daniel bar Jamin is driven by only one passion: to avenge his father's death, by driving the Roman legions from his land of Israel. He joins an outlaw band and leads a dangerous life of spying, plotting, and impatiently waiting to seek revenge. Headstrong Daniel is devoid of tenderness and forgiveness, heading down a destructive path toward disaster until he hears the lessons taught by Jesus of Nazareth.  Elizabeth Speare said she wanted to make young adults feel what it would be like to live during the time of Christ. I think she succeeded!

EDUCATION THROUGH ADVENTURE!

PADDLE-TO-THE-SEA is also a film.

Kids love books full of adventure. The genius of Holling C. Holling was that he knew how to teach through adventure, by filling his entertaining tales with well-researched historical, geographical, and scientific data that might otherwise be boring to children had it not been presented in an exciting work of fiction.

This author/artist/naturalist was born in Jackson County, Michigan, in 1900.   His father was superintendent of schools, so as a boy, Holling had access to all the books he could want at home (but his mother would also make trips to the library to find books that he especially liked about animals and Indians.)

He not only loved reading, he loved being in the outdoors - roaming the woods, camping and exploring. “At three, he was an avid artist, drawing very advanced pictures of horses, cows, and other animals. In his youth, his father once brought him a dead owl. The investigative boy became fascinated with it, making an Indian headdress from the feathers and a belt with the claws. His love of Indian customs and ways was a constant throughout his life.” (as noted in Major Authors and Illustrators for Children and Young Adults, 2nd ed., Gale Group, 2002)


Holling Clancy Holling graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1923. He then worked in a taxidermy department of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and spent time working in anthropology.  He married Lucille Webster and within a year of their marriage they had both accepted positions as art instructors for a year (1926-1927) on the first University World Cruise, sponsored by New York University.

For many years of his life, Holling C. Holling dedicated much of his time and interest to creating books for children.  I'd like to focus on a set of large format books he started in the 1940's.  Much of the material he wrote about was known to him firsthand through field and library research. His wife worked with him on many of the illustrations.  Each story is rooted in the natural world: set on the sea, rivers, the coast, and inland trails. Each story involves a journey.

"The story lines of these books are well-complemented by their art. Of special interest are the sidebars that make a reader linger. They may be a detailed, hand-lettered pen and ink of a ship’s rigging in Seabird or the Great Lakes displayed “like bowls on a hillside” in Paddle-to-the-Sea. Learning new information was never more inviting and entertaining. Holling was a writer/illustrator who tapped into children’s secret consciousness and curiosity.  Such richness in storytelling and illustration still makes for classical favorites, which says much about this master of children’s literature." -Walter Giersbach, (Grinnell College Book Review).

These stories are especially loved by homeschooling families.  Click here to see Beautiful Feet Books wonderful "Geography Through Literature Pack" that uses these books.

PADDLE-TO-THE-SEA the four year journey of a miniature wood carving of an Indian boy in a canoe from its starting point in Lake Nipigon, Canada, through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River to its final destination in the Atlantic Ocean.  Paddle receives help staying on course from people who read the message carved on his canoe: "Put me back in the water. I am Paddle-to-the-Sea".  Middle readers will learn about the history, industry, geography, seasons, tides, currents, locks, inhabitants, animals of the region.


TREE IN THE TRAIL the story of the passing of history as seen by a stationary cottonwood tree, located on what eventually becomes the Santa Fe Trail. (The wood from the tree is eventually made into an ox yoke and ultimately makes a journey to the end of the trail.)


SEABIRD - Through the travels of Seabird - an ivory gull carved by a cabin boy from a walrus tusk - the history of America at sea is traced. Your child will delight in this story of sailing, whaling, ships and ship building, while they learn world geography and much more!


MINN OF THE MISSISSIPPI Minn (a snapping turtle) travels over many seasons and years from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico.  Children will learn about the history of the Mississippi River Valley and its fascinating world of bayou's, steamboats, river pirates, flatboats and keelboats, French and Spanish explorers, plantations, floods, and even Mark Twain.


PAGOO studies life in a tidal pool through the story of a hermit crab named Pagoo.  Every detail of tide pool life is presented. Holling's wonderful illustrations bring to light the many microscopic forms of life found in the sea, and the habits and methods of survival are clearly explained.