Today on Tuesday Tales, I was going to review It’s Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder. The book was mentioned in a magazine I was browsing through and I HAD to read it.
NHL and I finished reading the book last week. He was going to help me with the review for today. Then this "little" conference called BlogHer happened from Thursday to Sunday and jumbled up my plans. Rather than rush my review, I am going to postpone it until next Tuesday. Of course, I could not help but smile when there were cupcakes at my first event on Thursday evening. I immediately thought of Isabelle and her family’s adventure within It’s Raining Cupcakes.
In the meantime, please stop by my review from last week on Potty Animals for your chance to win one of 5 copies of the book.
See you next week for my review of It’s Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder.
One of the hardest things that I have done as a parent is to potty train my youngest son. I should know, we are almost ready to say he is officially potty trained after the adventure began last Wednesday. That same night, when we were starting the process, I took out a book to read with the boys. The book was Potty Animals by Hope Vestergaard. I figured a little lesson learning about potty etiquette would be fitting given what we would be doing over the next few days. This is another of the books that I had received from Sterling Children’s Books.
Rather than explain what the book is about in my own words, I think Hope Vestergaard and illustrator Valeria Petrone did a fabulous job with their Book Trailer for Potty Animals. Make sure your volume is turned up and get ready for a lesson in What to Know When You’ve Gotta Go!
While the little guy was off playing between reminders to head to the potty, NHL read Potty Animals to me. As an almost seven-year old, he is pretty good with his potty etiquette. He laughed at the scenarios and we talked about why these things are important for little kids to learn, especially once they go to school. We both liked when we read about Arnold and his troubles being accurate with his aim in the bathroom and reminder to lift the seat. There really was something profound about seeing Wilbur, Wilma, Freddie and friends make the wrong choices and then get reminded about things. Of course, as the girl in the family I secretly wished there was a reminder to put the seat back DOWN when finished. You can see NHL reading the story to me here.
A little while later, we were trying to calm JSL down. He was upset about using the potty and did not want to bother. I sat next to his little Winnie the Pooh potty and read him Potty Animals. He laughed at the reminders at the end of each section. I was not sure if he really understood some of the items. He will be going to nursery school in September and I think at that time it will be more relevant to him. Still, a day or two later when he was using the potty, he reminded me several times of the items we had read about in the book. He told me he had to wipe each time, to close the door when he was using the big potty, and not to forget to flush. Even at three, the fun rhyming verses with colorful characters on each page had made an impact.
More about the book from Sterling:
Meet Wilbur, who won’t wash his hands after going potty. Wilma, who waits too long…and sometimes doesn’t make it in time. And Freddie, who’s afraid to flush. These are just a few of the preschool animals who need a little help with their bathroom etiquette! With wit and good humor, Hope Vestergaard presents a unique “toilet basics” guide for toddlers. It covers everything from lifting the seat and closing the door to planning ahead when you’re on a trip. All told in cheerful rhyme, with hilarious illustrations, it’s a fun way to handle a serious subject. PLAN AHEAD! DON’T WAIT TOO LONG! GO POTTY BEFORE YOU SLEEP! EXCUSE YOURSELF! KNOCK FIRST! BE SURE TO LIFT UP THE SEAT! CLOSE THE DOOR! DON’T LOLLYGAG! NEVER FORGET TO WIPE! WASH YOUR HANDS! ZIP AND FLUSH! ALWAYS TURN OUT THE LIGHT!
Sterling Children’s Books sat down with author, former preschool teacher and toilet training expert, Hope Vertgergaard, who gives us the bottom line (ha ha!) on her unique and lighthearted guide to bathroom manners and some useful tips for parents and kids. Read the Q&A
And download a free copy of the Potty Animals Bathroom Poster: it’s the perfect way to remind everyone about the “dos and don’ts” of bathroom behavior.
Potty Animals (Sterling Children’s Books; On Sale March 2010; $14.95; Ages 4+; ISBN: 1-4027-5996-7
We enjoyed Potty Animals and will be reading it again with JSL as we continue on our potty using adventure. I will also be asking JSL’s teachers if they would like to borrow it. I imagine it would be a great addition to read aloud to the children in the first few weeks of nursery school (and even into 1st grade) where many of the kids will be new to the social etiquette involved in potty time at school. There are even some adults that may benefit from some of the gentle bathrooms manners reminders within the book. As a teacher, I could tell you stories involving the bathrooms in kindergarten and first grade classrooms that would scare you!
Giveaway:
Thanks to Sterling Children’s Books, FIVE lucky readers will each win a coupon for a copy of Potty Animals and a bottle of "Potty Animals Hand Sanizer" to go with it.
Rules for Giveaway:
MAIN RULE – Answer the following question: What was your favorite part of the Book Trailer for Potty Animals?
The following Bonus Entries may also be done. Please be sure to leave separate comments for each that you complete below to make sure you get the right number of entries.
1 Bonus Entry – Who will this book be for and why is it perfect for them?
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Potty Animals Book Giveaway in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Tuesday Tales from @TheAngelforever is all about Potty Animals. The best part, 5 will #win the book in #giveaway http://bit.ly/c5tcA2
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of June/July (Be sure to check out my other Tuesday Tales posts). Leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries.
To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today July 27 and ends at 10:59 EST on August 13 , 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. and Canada residents only.
Disclosure: I received this book complimentary of Sterling Publishing in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own. Sterling Children’s Books are also providing the giveawsay items to my readers.
Summer time reading is crucial in our house. NHL is about to enter second grade and adores to read books. I have to admit that I am quite lucky not to have a reluctant reader. If he sees a book that does not have chapters in it and has pictures, he immediately picks it up to read.
Recently, we received some books from Sterling Children’s Books. One of the books included was The All-American Jump and Jive Jig by M.P. Hueston.
The book immediately intrigued NHL and myself. The two of us decided to pick it up and plunk down on the couch to read it. We were transported to places across the United States where we learned things about the states via fun dances. As we read along with the easy flowing rhyming lines, NHL started to ask questions. He wanted to know where all of the places were located in relation to us in New York. This is where my teacher brain started to kick into high gear. This book would be fun to use in a read aloud with a map of the USA. Student volunteers could help to map all of the locations in the book to make sure that we had indeed gone from state to state. Another interesting option would be to map out the route traveled and see how many miles the adventure takes you on. When NHL heard me mention this, he was curious and we may try this on a rainy day once I dig out a better map of the United States to use.
We both enjoyed the book, especially with our timing. NHL and I read it on July 3 and I have to say it really made us think about the country that we live in. NHL adored the fun illustrations by Amanda Haley. He was fascinated with the page about the hula in Hawaii. I think this is thanks to It’s a Small World at Disney World. He kept asking me questions about the different states and facts mentioned within the book. It lead to a good discussion and some fun after reading. On another day, the book caught the eye of JSL. Here he is enjoying it:
More about the book:
Come along on a joyful journey across America, where children from east, west, north and south show off their coolest moves in The All-American Jump and Jive Jig (Sterling Children’s Books; On Sale June 2010; $14.95; Ages 4-7; ISBN: 978-1-4027-5143-1).
From the Juneau Jitterbug to the Hawaiian Hula, the Brooklyn Boogie to the Miami Mambo, these jubilant, creative and boisterous dances will entice children to gather their friends, get up, and groove. Which will be their favorite – Maine’s Rockland Sock Hop or Michigan’s Mackinac Milkshake? The Lubbock Line Dance or the Rockies’ Elevation Celebration? Every dance is irresistible fun, and will set happy feet in action!
A perfect way to celebrate the U.S.A. and the 4th of July holiday, M.P. Hueston’s witty, rhythmic verse and Amanda Haley’s colorful, vibrant pictures make following along easy….and encourage kids to come up with their own choreographic creations!
Here is NHL’s favorite part of the book as I read it to JSL. Sorry about the moving camera, it’s tough filming, reading and wrangling a wiggly three year old.
We truly enjoyed this book. Books that educate while putting a smile on a child’s face are crucial and this book hits that mark. We will definitely be looking for other stories by M.P. Hueston.
So what have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Tuesday Tales and/or leave a comment below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.
Disclosure: I received this book complimentary of Sterling Publishing in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own.
I have a confession, I am addicted to books. These are just some of the books that our boys have. Some were mine from teaching, others ones we have bought or received over the years. There are many other chapter books and adult books in storage for another day.
Of course, this is not really surprising since I am a teacher, but something you may not really know about me. My favorite class while getting my undergraduate degree in Elementary Education was Children’s Literature. Where else could you spend an entire semester talking about favorite childhood books, characters and authors? In addition to reading a lot of children’s books for the class, we also had to do a presentation on a picture book author and one on an author that writes for older children.
Who would you have picked for each of these?
For the first of mine, I wrote about Arnold Lobel. He is the author behind the long time favorites Frog and Toad. While Lobel is possibly most famous for the stories about this famous duo, he also won the 1981 Caldecott Medal for his book Fables. I learned a lot about his career and grew to love Frog and Toad even more.
My second presentation was on Lois Lowry. When I was in elementary school, I adored the Anastasia Krupnik. They were the books that I went to when I was older and had finished reading Beverly Cleary’s Ramona series. While in college, I found another book of Lois Lowry’s that will forever be one of my favorite books, Number The Stars. This historical fiction book about the Holocaust won the 1990 Newbery Medal. It is a powerful book that teaches children about the topic on a level that is perfect for them. I adored this book so much that I did several projects in college about it and then did a unit on it when teaching Language Arts a few years back. After looking over her website, I now see that I need to catch up on some of her latest books.
For many years, all I read were books for college, my classroom, and my own children. Even when I had time over the summer, I would sit down with a children’s chapter book to see what my students had been reading – you know like Harry Potter, The Series of Unfortunate Events and the list goes on. These days I do stop and read my own books by Debra Macomber, Mia King or dive into a little vampire life with a Sookie Stackhouse book, but the teacher in me always moves toward books to read with my children.
So now each Tuesday, I hope to bring you some books that we have read. Whether they are old favorites, newly released or something a little different we will be sharing them with you via:
I hope you will join me each week to share a favorite story and link up what you have been reading, whether with your children, at school or on your own. All books are welcome. See you next Tuesday when we share with you The All-American Jump and Jive Jig by M.P. Hueston.
