“My Family” Picture Books by Claudia Harrington

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

At the library you can always find me searching through the new titles in the children’s section.  I love picking books that are going to teach and show my children something different.  I want them to know and understand different topics including families that aren’t your typical mom and dad.  I don’t shy away from books that deal with topics that are deemed controversial.  For me, if it’s age appropriate and tackles the topic in a respectable and loving manner, then I’m checking the book out and reading it with my children.

The “My Family” picture books by Claudia Harrington was a great find at the library.  I was quickly drawn to them and super excited.  I didn’t think twice about putting them in the check out pile.  I was able to find 3 titles out of the 6 in the series.

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by Claudia Harrington, Illustrated by Zoe Persico

Here’s a brief synopsis of these titles above:  Lenny is the class reporter in these books and he follows his classmates home for a school project.  He learns about Elsie and her life with her two moms, Connor and his life with his dad and military mom, and Jasmine and her life with her two dads.

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These are the other three book titles in the series.

Honestly, what I loved the most about these books is the innocence that is conveyed through the character’s story of who does what within their families respectively.  Each character’s way of life is what they’re accustomed to and they can’t wait to share it with their friend.  I loved that!

I highly recommend these books.  You should check them out at your local library and if they don’t have it, request it!

Take good care all!

Until next time…

International Women’s Day

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

I make my pledge for parity and I hope you will too!

Today is International Women’s Day and one day I will.

I’m striving for that day to come sooner than later.

Check out these wonderful websites so you can learn and do as much as you can!

http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

https://www.madewithcode.com/

http://girlswhocode.com/

https://www.malala.org/

https://www.womenwill.com/?hl=en

https://www.womentechmakers.com/

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Crazy Hair Day

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

Last week we celebrated all things great of Dr. Seuss with book readings, poems, and special activities that included wearing a hat to school (crazy or favorite), Dr. Seuss colors (black, white, and red), pajamas, and our favorite, crazy hair.  Of course, my daughters were super excited, especially my young one because it was going to be her very first crazy hair day at school.

I wanted to do something special, but keep things simple at the same time.  This is what we came up with:

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We decided to turn a hair bun into a birdie’s nest by taking brown, tan, and green pipe cleaners and twisting them around the bun so they could look like twigs and leaves.  Then we stuck several feathers in and last but definitely not least, the main attraction was these little paper birdies that we found at AC Moore craft store.  It was easy to attach the birds onto the bun because the birds already had a metal hair clip.

Of course, these buns can be decorated more and taken to another level, but like I said before, I wanted to keep things simple.  My girls were super happy with the results (mission accomplish!) and ready to participate in crazy hair day.

Take this idea and let your imagination and creativity fly!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Student Series

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

I’m a strong believer in giving to charities that will help people and animals in need.  I donate to charities like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital , Autism Speaks, Feeding America, PETA and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has a student series and I’m proud that schools in my area are participating with this campaign.  I set up a page and you can click on the link below.  Any donation and I mean any is greatly, hugely appreciated!  THANK YOU!

http://events.lls.org/pages/cpa/PaxtoniaElementarySchool/AMercado

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Juvenile Chapter Books – Ivy & Bean and The Adventures of Sophie Mouse

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

I’m continuing with my book finds because it’s very dear to me. My girls and I love juvenile chapter book series and when we sit down to read a book with chapters before bedtime we usually read one or a couple of chapters every night until we’re done with the book.  This allows us time to read several other easy to read or picture books before lights out.  I strive to read up to three books per night depending on how long each book is.

The first book series that we fell in love with was on a summer reading list and we quickly found it at the library.

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Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows + Sophie Blackall

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_and_Bean

As soon as we finished the first book of these two fun-loving and mischievous friends, we couldn’t wait to check out book #2.  The series, so far, goes up to book #10, which left my daughters baffled and in despair for book #11.

“But why isn’t there a book 11?” they asked me and I said, “Because the author probably hasn’t finished writing it. We have to be patient and find another series to read in the meantime.”

And that’s exactly what we did.

Sophie Mouse to the rescue!

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The Adventures of Sophie Mouse

by Poppy Green, Illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell

We stumbled upon this wonderful book series at the library when my youngest daughter spotted a nickname version of her own name on the front cover of the book.  They absolutely go bonkers whenever they see their names on the front cover of books.

This series is a great introduction to chapter books.  It’s completely adorable and there are beautiful black and white illustrations within the book.  The stories are endearing and the main character, Sophie Mouse, is an artist who simply loves adventures and sharing them with her dear friends, Hattie Frog and Owen Snake.  So far the series is up to book 6, but book 7 has a release date for this year so I’ll be requesting a hold on a copy at my library so my girls and I can get a chance to read it as soon as possible.  We can’t wait!

I highly recommend these books.  You should check them out at your local library and if they don’t have it, request it!

Take good care all.

Until next time…