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Join in our Halloween fun!

10/30/2017

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Our Halloween book choices and activities have been filling up our Instagram feed this month. Have you had a chance to check them out? We have now posted them all on the website so you can come back for them any time. This is just a peek at some of the fun we have had.

We started off with Goldfish Ghost by Lemony Snicket. Using some leaves from our garden, we painted spooky ghosts on them to hang up as decoration. We also tried some scissor practise for toddlers, with chalk drawing and googly eyes, inspired by the ghosts in the story! 

See our Goldfish Ghost activity page HERE!
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Little Boo was probably our favourite new find this season. It is such a sweet story, you have to check it out. If you are a teacher or homeschooler, this book would be great for examining life cycles of plants. We looked at pumpkin seeds, did some sensory play with all the pumpkin goop, made our own cardboard pumpkin and wrote about things we can't wait to do when we grow up!

See our Little Boo activity page HERE!
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J is for Jack-O-Lantern turned out to be way more than just an ABC book. There are loads of interesting facts in there which make it appropriate for older readers while the ABC factor is great for younger ones. 

We decided to make some play dough jack-o-lanterns and did a shadow and light investigation with our pumpkin templates.

See our J is for Jack-O-Lantern activity page HERE!
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Our final read was probably the spookiest of them all! A few household objects come to life which might scare some younger readers (but is a really fun read for anyone who can handle it). To offset any fear, we made light of objects coming to life by adding adorable little eyes to furniture around our house. 

​See our Rules of the House activity page HERE!
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New books! Things to look forward to this autumn

10/10/2017

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New book alert! Who isn't a sucker for new children's books? We sure are. Especially in this day and age when they are finally starting to represent so many more people in this world (who have previously been absent!). 

There are really too many to choose from, so here is just a little round up of some of the books we can't wait to get our hands on. All book descriptions come directly from publishers and were not written by us. Let us know if you pick any up and how you enjoy them!
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After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again)
​by Dan Santat

Everyone knows that when Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. But what happened after?

Follow Humpty Dumpty, an avid bird watcher whose favorite place to be is high up on the city wall―that is, until after his famous fall. Now terrified of heights, Humpty can longer do many of the things he loves most.

Will he summon the courage to face his fear?
​
​Release date 10/03/2017 by Macmillian Publishers​​
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That is My Dream! ​by Langston Hughes

Follow one African-American boy through the course of his day as the harsh reality of segregation and racial prejudice comes into vivid focus. But the boy dreams of a different life--one full of freedom, hope, and wild possibility, where he can fling his arms wide in the face of the sun.

Release date 10/03/2017 by Penguin Random House 
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The Wolf, the Duck and the Mouse by Mac Barnett

This is a story about a mouse and a duck who get swallowed by a wolf.

Early one morning a mouse met a wolf
and was quickly gobbled up. 

When a woeful mouse is swallowed by a wolf, he quickly learns he is not alone: a duck has already set up digs, and, boy, has that duck got it figured out! Turns out it’s pretty nice in there, with delicious food and elegant table settings, courtesy of the wolf’s unchecked gluttony. And there’s something even better: no more fear of being eaten by a wolf! In fact, life is pretty good, until a hunter shows up. . . . With a nod to traditional fables and a wink to the reader, the award-winning Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen offer a tale of cooperation and creative cuisine that is sure to go down easy.

 Release date 10/10/2017 by Penguin Random House​
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Malala's Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai

Malala's first picture book will inspire young readers everywhere to find the magic all around them.

As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil. She would use it to make everyone happy, to erase the smell of garbage from her city, to sleep an extra hour in the morning. But as she grew older, Malala saw that there were more important things to wish for. She saw a world that needed fixing. And even if she never found a magic pencil, Malala realized that she could still work hard every day to make her wishes come true. 

This beautifully illustrated volume tells Malala's story for a younger audience and shows them the worldview that allowed Malala to hold on to hope even in the most difficult of times.
​
Release date 10/17/2017 by  Hachette Book Group
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Here We Are, Notes for Living on Planet Earth
by Oliver Jeffers

Oliver Jeffers offers a personal look inside his own hopes and wishes for his child--a missive about our world and those who call it home.

Release date 11/14/2017 by Penguin Random House
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Hortense and the Shadow by Lauren O'Hara

Hortense is a kind and brave girl, but she is sad--even angry--that her shadow follows her everywhere she goes. She hates her shadow, and thinks her shadow must hate her too. But one cold, dark night, when bandits surprise her in the woods, Hortense discovers that her shadow is the very thing she needs most.

This stunningly illustrated story stirs the soul with its compelling, subtle exploration of self-esteem, self-identity, and finding inner strength.

Release date 11/07/2017 by Hatchett Book Group
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Dump trucks and diggers! Our favourite truck books

10/9/2017

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Book cover for Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
Toddler matching truck shapes to shadows
Do you have a truck loving tyke in your house? Read on for a recap of our favourite truck related books and fun activities to help bring the books to life. They are all loaded on the website now for you to enjoy. We started with the now classic Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.​  We did some shadow shape matching, an invitation to play (wash any trucks lately?), made a yummy truck 'dirt' cake and worked on some initial sounds linked to truck names. 

Read more on the Goodnight, Goodnight ​activity page HERE.
Get your hands on this book here:
Book Depository
Truck themed book activity invitation to play
Book based truck cake
Book-based play learning letter sounds for trucks
Book cover of Little Excavator by Anna Dewdney
Truck themed sensory play
Little Excavator is brought to you buy the author of Llama, Llama, Red Pajama and is just as cheerful and wonderfully rhythmic. We did some sensory play with our little trucks and made some noise inspired by all the amazing sounds in this book. 

Read more on the activity page for the book HERE.
Get your hands on the book here:
Book Depository
Truck themed music making book activity
Truck themed book sensory play
Book cover for 20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street
Ordering toy trucks by size
This book was a library find that was a winner because of all the different trucks on its pages. Our activities included lining up our own trucks in order of size, practising some truck patterning and making truck parts out of play dough. 

Read about these activities in more detail on the book page HERE.
Get your hands on this book here:
Book Depository
Truck book math activity
Book activity using play dough and trucks
Book cover for My Truck is Stuck
Early STEM activity comparing heavy and light
Ever since finding this book, our play has been filled with shouts of, "My truck is stuck!". I think it is a new favourite. So of course we had to do some activities based on trucks that are stuck. Try out our early STEM task comparing heavy and light objects or our bone counting task for preschoolers. 

Read more about both HERE.
Get your hands on this book here:
Book Depository
Truck themed book STEM activity
Book activity preschool counting task
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    Hello! I'm Deb,

    a book-toting mother of two and an elementary (primary) school teacher. I love making stories engaging and interactive for kids. 

    I wanted to share all the fun we have in our house, so I started this blog and website.

    ​Read more here.

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