Celebrations, Robots in the wild, a pants sale, and two books I bought
Plus the most fun you've ever seen gummy bears have at the playground.
The Lucky Red Envelope
By Vicky Zhang
Have you seen this one all over the internet the year for Lunar New Year?
If not, here it is!
It is so beautiful; a co-worker bought one copy for her family and bought another copy for the school I work at. I got to check it out today, and yes, between me and my kids, we opened all 140 flaps.
There is a surprise under every flap, and some have words to give even more information. We follow one family as they get ready and then celebrate Lunar New Year. It focuses on traditions celebrated for Chinese New Year, but also acknowledges that other countries celebrate in other ways.
There are so many amazing details and illustrations in this book; it’s a treasure and an adventure to read. This one will draw any reader in, kid or adult!
Check this one out for a beautiful story about celebrating Lunar New Year with extremely fun flaps and surprises!
The Wild Robot
by Peter Brown
Okay, you’ve probably heard of this book.
I’m going to talk about it anyway.
I read it a while ago but am currently reading it to my oldest right now, and she loves it! Which is strange, because she normally doesn’t have much patience for books without much dialogue. I mean there’s plenty of dialogue in this book, but certainly not right away.
This works as a great read aloud because there are short chapters, darling illustrations, timeless vibes. Remember those Instagram accounts of parents that only read their kids books that are over 50 years old? They love this book too, I think because of the classic feel to it, and the animals.
But hey, their kids are getting a book about working together, not judging someone just on how they look, being understanding of differences, non traditional families, being resourceful, and more. So that’s hopeful!
Did you know there are two more books out starring Roz and Brightbill?
There’s The Wild Robot Returns and The Wild Robot Protects.
PLUS there’s going to be a movie this September!
That’s the image I saw, which, yes, Roz looks a bit more complicated,
but I like the vibes.
I am loving reading this aloud and being back in this world again.
Here’s a link I found while searching for that movie image where the author/illustrator, Peter Brown, takes us behind the scenes of creating the book.
It’s really awesome to see the process in pictures!
Check this one out for a read aloud that will fill you with hope and make you want to move to an island and talk to the animals and live in a little house with a garden in the back.
Potato Pants
By Laurie Keller
We read this one when it came out six or so years ago,
and just found it at the used bookstore.
I remember my oldest loved it back then,
and she still loves it now!
Laurie Keller is the queen of puns and fun expressions on inanimate objects;
this one is a nice story about understanding others, social anxiety, and handling our emotions.
The crux of the book is the fact that Potato is afraid of Eggplant, because yesterday Eggplant, in a hurry to get to the pants store, shoved Potato out of the way, and that’s stopping Potato from going into the store (Eggplant is inside). But when Eggplant finds himself in a hurry to go in, the result is pretty similar to what happened to him.
I find this really helpful to talk about the relationship my kids have; my oldest frequently gets mad when the youngest does something to her that she has also done plenty of times to the youngest! Or the youngest does something that is frustrating and unkind to her older sister, and it’s something older sister has done to us as parents.
Check this one out for a fun filled story that lends itself to discussions on emotional regulation and being kind and understanding.
I’m kind of right in the middle of some books and don’t want to talk about them this week strangely, so I’m going to talk about two books I recently bought at Birch Tree Bookstore.
The Joy Of Watercolor
By Emma Block
I wasn’t looking for any books, but my eye caught this one.
One thing to know about me is I really like making art,
and I used to believe that if I got the right book, I’d be sure to make more art!
Okay, so I still think this way SOMETIMES,
but I’m coming around to the idea that no book is going to magically give me more time! (I have two drawing books and one watercolor book already and no more time!)
I bought this book though because I think I’m at the point where,
if I have a book and treat it like a course I’m doing,
I’ll be more likely to make the time to work on this goal.
(The other watercolor book I have is a bit more intense,
so I’m planning on tackling it after I finish this one!)
I’m reading through the entire thing before I start using it,
which is a bit weird since a lot of it is instructions on how to do the exercises in the book, but I think it will help keep me engaged.
Check this one out for an intro to watercolor that is fun and accessible!
The Memory Thieves: A Conjuror Novel
by Dhonielle Clayton, cover art by Khadijah Khatib
I knew I wanted to get this book when I went to the bookstore;
I recently got it from the library and felt stressed out that I would have to return it soon, which is usually a sure sign that it’s a book I want to own.
I also own the first one and really loved it, so it made sense.
I think I will re-read the first one before I read this one
to refresh my memory.
If you like magic, New Orleans, found friendships, mysteries, magical boarding schools, and adventure, you’ll love these middle grade books!
Check this one out for a great magical adventure (but you may want to read the first one first!)
Our oldest had to make a project with 101 of something,
and this is what she decided to make: a playground with 101 gummy bears playing.
Areas of note (and ones she’s really proud of coming up with) include:
two gummy bears climbing up under the huge slide, one almost falling off the swing, a gummy reading to friends (you can see that by the pink slide) and a peach gummy who has a tiny bit of red dye on its foot so is playing the part of a gummy who got injured from the monkey bars.
She brings it to school today and is so excited and proud to show it off!
We are very proud that she designed everything and glued everything, as well as cutting nearly everything (I cut those monkey bars).
Let’s chat in the comments (about this or anything else!)
Have you ever bought a book that you intended to read so you could learn a skill?
How did that work out for you?
See you in the comments and
happy reading until next week,
Kathy Ellen
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Rosemary is such a joy! So creative and clever!!