Book Recommendation - Christmas Cookies Bite Sized Holiday Lessons

I have decided I might as well post about the holidays until the new year. I guess most people would have done it all during the lead up to the holidays, but I am one of those people who doesn't really think about the holidays until the week before, then I cram all the fun into that week and on into the new year. Maybe that is why I haven't even received the Christmas cards I ordered to send out to people yet... I don't really get hung up on all of that, and I think it bothers some of the more organized people I know. But, I feel the only people I am accountable to are my hubby and kiddos, and well, they actually end up having more holiday fun because we are not stressed. We hang the lights, put up the tree, bake cookies, decorate with things we have made, read holiday books, have a little holiday photo shoot for our cards, go see Santa, hang with friends, do a little shopping, play in the snow, gather items for Santa's Anonymous, invite friends over for meals, go to holiday parties, connect with loved ones via cards, email, & phone, sit by the fire, cuddle... there are so many important things to fill our time.

One of our favorite holiday books, one of the only ones I keep on the book shelf all year round, is Christmas Cookies Bites-Size Holiday Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Illustrated by Jane Dyer. It is a charming book that includes small children and their live animal friends making and sharing cookies. Each page teaches the definition of a word, by using an example based on baking the cookies. For example, " Aniticipation means, I've been thinking all day about making the cookies. I'm so excited. I can't wait." or "Responsible means, you asked me to put away the cookie cutters, and you can count on me to do it." My aunt bought Quin this book and we all enjoy it. The last page even has a Christmas sugar cookie recipe. A beautiful book that teaches children the joys of sharing the holidays with others. Check it out at the library or buy your own copy to enjoy and pass along someday.

Book Recommendation - Art's Supplies by Chris Tougas

I love children's books. I used to read them even before I had a child. I strive to write one someday, hopefully sooner than later. I live in Canada. There are far fewer children's book publishers here than in the US. We do have a wonderful organization called The Canadian Children's Book Centre where Canadian's can find out about Canadian writers and illustrators. I like to look for Canadian children's books when we go to the library. They make it easy by putting a Canadian sticker on the spine. I am also drawn to kids books about art and art making. I recently came across Art's Supplies by Chris Tongas. Like most books for children about art, it is colorful and well illustrated. The story is about Art and the party he threw with his supplies. It is full of puns and knock knock jokes, both of which children love. My favorite joke in the book is:
"What's the one thing an artist can't draw? ... A good wage!"
Haha. Much truth is said in jest...
This book is published by Orca Book Publishers. It is $19.95. Check it out for your favorite little artist this holiday.

Book Recommendation - The Wheels on the Bus

From about 2 1/2 to 3 years old our daughter had a fascination with the song The Wheels on the Bus (before that it was Baa Baa Black Sheep). One day at library story time the instructor brought out the book The Wheels on the Bus by Paul O. Zelinsky. Quin's eyes lit up and she sat completely enthralled as the instructor read the story while showing the children all of the moveable parts; windshield wipers, bus doors, a woman getting off and on the bus, the babies crying, the mamas shushing, even the people going bumpity bump. I knew Quin wanted to touch that book, I knew she wanted to HAVE that book. On my urging she timidly asked the instructor if she could check the book out and bring it home. The kind instructor explained that unfortunately they could not let this book out of the library. It was only for story time. This made sense to me, since I have seen the shape some library books end up in, and a baby or toddler could really harm this book. I reminded QQ that her birthday was coming up and maybe we could get it for her birthday. She was sad she could not borrow the book but happy that maybe someday we would have one of our own...

I honestly, rarely, buy our kids new books. In fact, I am a book-aholic and I rarely buy myself a new book anymore. There are just too many places I can get good books for next to nothing; 50 cent children's books on the library sale shelf, 3 for $1 at the local thrift shop, yard sales, friends' hand me downs, a bag for $3 on the last day of the library book sale fundraiser, and of course, borrowing from the library. I know it sounds funny but this $25 new book amounts to 75 books from the thrift store. But, I knew we had to buy Quin this book. So, I did with some birthday money that grandma sent. I would have loved to have bought it from a local independent bookstore, but ours went our of business recently (that's another story for another time... ). I bought it online and it arrived lickity split. Quin was THRILLED and still is to this day. We have spent many fun times with daddy reading this book. And it has been a good way for Quin to learn how to take care of her things. She has been pretty good although her biggest lesson was learned on the day we taped the hand back on the woman who gets on and off the bus... C'est la vie!

Revamped Purple Cow

One of my favorite places to find preloved childrens books is at our local library. They have two books shelves, a magazine stand, and a free box, as you come in the door. All of the books are the same price and the proceeded go to the library: Hardcover $2, Paperback $1, Kids Books .50, yes fifty cents! They sometimes have DVDs, CDs, and VHS Tapes which I think are between $1.00 - 2.00. Magazines are .25 and the free book is well, free. I love the free box because very old, obscure items in rough shape end up there. Usually perfect candidates for being cut up and used in collages. My most recent free box find is the Canadian Scout Handbook. It doesn't have a copyright date and is from the early seventies as far as I can tell. One of the previous owners has his name scrawled inside the front cover. The book has delightful black and white images of Scouts having fun learning about such things as conservation, water activities, home and community, and leadership. The illustrations are retro fun for all as they instruct on such useful things as self rescue should you fall through the ice or how best to stay physically fit...


As usual, I just went off on a tangent that has little to do with my original post. Anyway, I should scan some images and write a post on that manual later. For now I will tell you about my latest children's book find from our local library sale shelf. We love the library because we spend a lot of time reading each day. We also love to cook and bake. So, we were excited to find a vintage 1975 Young Children's Mix and Fix Cookbook. It was put out by Parent's Magazine, a pretty mainstream publication so I am convinced that I owned this same book when I was little. My three year old looked at it on the way home and we proceeded to "read" it over the coming days and talk about which recipes to make.


The thing that kills me about retro cookbooks is what we thought passed for good food back in the day. Many of these recipes call for processed and packaged foods, lots of white bread and canned fruit. I suppose that is what was available. I would not allow Quin to make half of these recipes as is but the fun is in updating them to use fresh foods that are healthy. Even in the case of the desserts. I remember loving Purple Cows when I was a kid, or any ice cream soda for that matter. I would not let a three year old drink any kind of soda, especially purple or red or any other kind with artificial coloring. My daughter seems to be quite sensitive to colorings, and I remember my little brother was allergic to red dyes when we were young. I knew she would like an ice cream "soda" so I decided to modify the Purple Cow recipe. R. W. Knudsen makes spritzers that are actually 100% juice with carbonation. We decided to use their grape spritzer with natural vanilla ice cream and voila, we had a much healthier little float. Guess it is time to invest in some reusable curly straws, I see a lot of floats in our future. R. W. Knudsen also makes black cherry, raspberry, orange passion fruit, and tangerine spritzers, to name a few. We may also try grape juice and Perrier (yes, my kid loves Perrier, makes it interesting when we go to someone's house and they ask her what she wants to drink...).


Have you updated an old recipe to make it healthier? I am all ears, or eyes... just leave me a comment. Merci!

Happy Earth Day! A Kid's Craft Project and a Couple Children's Book Recommendations....

Today, it was FREEZING here... especially since yesterday was extremely springlike. Our Earth Day saw flurries. Oh well, I keep saying it is not really spring here until June...


I taught an Earth Day craft to an enthusiastic group of kids, ages 6-12, at the Banff Public Library this afternoon. The book that originally inspired our craft today is called "Seeds, Seeds, Seeds" by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. This wonderful books tells the story of a young bear, whose grandfather sends him 5 seed projects in the mail. Each project is dedicated to several pages of the book. I would love to teach a whole afternoon that is just centered around this book. The projects include making seed identification cards, watching how a seed germinates over time using illustrations on cards, planting a seed, making a bird feeder, and making a frame covered with beans and seeds. The book is recommended for ages 4-8 but could be adapted to all ages.


Our project involved decorating mat board with seeds. I photographed each child at the beginning of the hour, and Tonya, one of the librarians who was also my lovely assistant (thanks, Tonya!) for the class, ran them to Banff Camera where they were printed while she waited.

Project Materials
- Mat board with window
- Decorative paper
- White glue
- Raffia
- Poppy Seeds, Sunflower Seeds in the shell, and Pumpkin Seeds
- Photo corners
- Photo

1) Select a piece of decorative paper and a mat. Using the mat as a template, draw around it, then cut out a piece of paper the same size as the mat board.

2) Put glue on three sides of the back of the mat board, flip over the paper so that the colored side is glued to the back of the mat (so that you could see the color through the window).

3) Take a couple of strands of raffia, twist the ends, cover them in glue, and stick them between the paper and mat board, on the side that is not glued together. Now glue the edge together.


4) Now, it is time to work on the design. Using glue in a squeeze bottle it is very easy to create your design. The large seeds can be glued right on. The poppy seeds are sprinkled onto the glue, then the excess is tapped of the back. I work over a shoe box lid when sprinkling the seeds and then tapping. I use a small dish to hold the seeds and to sprinkle from. It is easy to repeatedly pick up the box top and return the seeds to the dish during the process.



5) Put the photo corners on the edges of the photo, and lick, or if self adhesive, remove the backing.

6) Center photo and stick down. Voila!


The kids did a great job. I am always struck by the variety of designs that come from kids in the same group using the same materials. It is amazing!


The book that we read while our glue was drying is called "June 29th, 1999" by David Weisner. It is about a girl who sends her seeds up to outer space to see what will happen. She reports to her class what she is hoping and soon GIANT vegetables start landing in the area. It is only once vegetables she had not planted start to arrive that she realizes these must not be her experiments... I will leave the surprise ending for you to discover. The illustrations are lovely and the language is wonderful!

Happy Earth Day!!

Ain't Gonna Paint...

Morning! Ok, late morning... I keep meaning to post about this awesome book I bought for my daughter last week when I was rummaging at the local church sale. It is called "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More" and it is by Karen Beaumont. It is fun, colorful, and a great way to get any kid riled up about art! The art by David Catrow is wonderful :) Go out and buy it or see if your library has it...