GIVEAWAY: Awesome America, From Sea To Shining Sea

Just in time for the 4th of July, TIME FOR KIDS has put out a new hardcover book that highlights all the awesome things about our wonderful country.  And I've got a copy to send to one lucky reader...

Awesome America: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the History, People, and Culture, by Kathy Steinmetz, is a comprehensive, fun introduction to the history of the good old U.S. of A.  It's packed with photos, stats, timelines, and fascinating facts...

Chapter 1, of course, starts with "Our Beginning", followed by "Our Government" and "Our Presidents".  

There's also a "Tour the Fifty States" chapter, where your child will learn what each state's "claim to fame" is, as well as each state's nickname.

Other chapters include: "Coming to America", "Moments That Changed America", "Civil Rights", "Great Americans" (highlighting Americans from Babe Ruth to Mark Twain to Frank Lloyd Wright), and "America's Home-Grown Gifts to the World", to name a few.

Chapter 13, "One of a Kind", is especially fun with topics such as "Who is on the $100,000 bill", "How to talk like an American", and "Top U.S. tourist spots."

There's something here for ALL AGES!  My kids would have loved this book, and I know yours will.

To enter this GIVEAWAY, use the rafflecopter below.  Winner announced at noon PST on Friday, July 1, 2016.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Four Books For the Fourth!

O, say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave,

o're the land of the free 

and the home of the brave...

The Star Spangled Banner by Peter Spier. Due to careful research, Spier's artwork depicts "the dawn's early light" and "the rocket's red glare" with remarkable authenticity and detail in this celebratory book. Among the highlights: a brief history of the anthem, a reproduction of Francis Scott Key's original manuscript, music for guitar and piano chords and many photographs.

The Story of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Patricia A. Pingry, illustrated by Nancy Munger. This is the story of how Frances Scott Key observed the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814 and was so moved by the sight of the flag still flying at dawn that he wrote the poem that became our national anthem. Included in this little book is the first verse of "The Star-Spangled Banner" along with the admonition to stand up, remove our hats, and place our hands over our hearts when this song is played.  My 2 and 1/2 year old grandson is obsessed with this book!

F is for Flag by Wendy Cheyette Lewison, illustrated by Barbara Duke. Flag Day was June 14, but with so many American flags proudly displayed, every day seems like Flag Day! Perfect for reading together with a young child, F Is for Flag shows in simple terms how one flag can mean many things: a symbol of unity, a sign of welcome, and a reminder that-in good times and in bad-everyone in our country is part of one great big family.

The 4th of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh, illustrated by Marie Nonnast.  The story opens on a stormy afternoon on July 4, 1776. Candles were lighted early in the State House in Philadelphia as the vote was taken on the Declaration of Independence. We go back, briefly, to see the need for the Declaration, and to see it written. Then there is the stirring moment when messengers leave with the first hastily printed copies of the Declaration in their saddlebags. We follow them through the country to see and hear the effect on the news on a farmer, on George Washington's soldiers, and on a congregation in church, as the minister says for the first time "God bless the United States of America". The narrative is told simply enough to bring it close to children who may be hearing it for the first time.

WHO MADE THE FLAG THAT BECAME "THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER"?

During the 19th century, Francis Scott Key's “The Star-Spangled Banner” became one of the nation’s best-loved patriotic songs, performed during both public events and more personal gatherings.  Did you know that some young teen aged girls helped make the flag that inspired the song?

Illustration by Bess Bruce Cleaveland (1925)

"In the summer of 1813, Mary Pickersgill (1776–1857) was contracted to sew two flags for Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland. The one that became the "Star-Spangled Banner" was a 30 x 42–foot garrison flag; the other was a 17 x 25–foot storm flag for use in inclement weather. Pickersgill, a thirty-seven-year-old widow, was an experienced maker of ships’ colors and signal flags. She filled orders for many of the military and merchant ships that sailed into Baltimore’s busy port. 

Helping Pickersgill make the flags were her thirteen-year-old daughter Caroline; nieces Eliza Young (thirteen) and Margaret Young (fifteen); and a thirteen-year-old African American indentured servant, Grace Wisher. Pickersgill’s elderly mother, Rebecca Young, from whom she had learned flagmaking, may have helped as well. 

Pickersgill and her assistants spent about seven weeks making the two flags. They assembled the blue canton and the red and white stripes of the flag by piecing together strips of loosely woven English wool bunting that were only 12 or 18 inches wide."  {Read More...SOURCE: Smithsonian American History}

CHILDREN'S BOOKS:
The Flag Maker by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, illustrated by Claire A. Nivola.  (K-2)
This book, set in lyrical prose, is the story of the flag which came to be known as the Star-Spangled Banner.  After seeing the flag at the Smithsonian Institution, author Susan Campbell Bartoletti became curious about the hands that had sewn it. Here is her story of this flag as seen through the eyes of flag maker Mary Pickersgill's daughter, young Caroline Pickersgill. Through the story we realize how this flag initiates action and emotion, brings people together, and inspires hope and courage.

Mary Young Pickersgill: Flag Maker of the Star Spangled Banner by Sally Johnston and Pat Pilling. (Ages 10 and up).
This fascinating chapter book explains how Mary Pickersgill learned to make flags, where she obtained the four hundred yards of fabric, woven only in England, to make the flag, how she organized a small work force of young women, including a free African-American indentured servant, to sew the flags and where she found a workplace to make such large flags.

FIREWORKS ALL SUMMER LONG!

For most kids, one night a year is not enough when it comes to fireworks. Luckily, in many communities there are numerous opportunities to experience the thrill of a good fireworks show throughout the summer: at theme parks, ballparks, outdoor concert venues... and of course in your own home in these picture books!

OLIVIA FORMS A BAND by Ian Falconer. Everyone's favorite porcine diva is back and with fanfare! There are going to be fireworks tonight, and Olivia can hardly wait to hear the band. But when she finds out that there isn't going to be a band, she can't understand why not. How can there be fireworks without a band?! And so Olivia sets to putting a band together herself... all by herself. Using pots, pans, her brother's toys, and even her father's suspenders, Olivia forms a band spectacular enough to startle any audience. Here is Olivia doing what Olivia does best--making noise

Olivia couldn't find her other red sock...

THE FABULOUS FIREWORK FAMILY By James Flora. Whether you choose James Flora's original book (first published in 1955) or the new version (both text and art have been completely redone), your family is sure to enjoy this jaunty picture book. 

Original Cover Artwork

To celebrate the birthday of Santiago, patron saint of the village, the Firework Maestro is asked to stage "the biggest and best BOOM! BAM! POW! firework fiesta ever made!" Aided by his wife and two children, the Maestro constructs a firework castillo (a tall bamboo frame onto which various gunpowder-filled figures are tied).  After the elaborate preparations, the festival itself attracts pilgrims from all over Mexico... the art becomes increasingly dramatic, climaxing in vibrant and highly patterned views of the fireworks. (Publisher's Weekly)

New Version

 THE DAY THE COW SNEEZED by James Flora.   A boy named Fletcher has a morning routine which includes taking his cow, Floss, down to the creek for a drink of water. Fletcher leaves Floss standing knee deep in the cold creek water when he is distracted by a bunny rabbit and runs off after it. Shaking and shivering, Floss lets out a powerful sneeze: "KA-CHOW!" That sneeze sets off a chain of events that results in an impromptu fireworks show and the release of an entire zoo.