Eraselet Review & Giveaway, 4/15, US

Review & Giveaway

Eraselet
Eraselets are awesome! Everyone in our social network including ourselves and our kids think that these are such an amazing invention. Eraselets are the new must have accessory. Not only are they super for kids - adults can wear/use these too. Our kids change their colour to match their outfit (or not) and I have my "wild" Eraselet on at all times (Kim, the owner,  sent me a special Eraselet to represent my "wild" side - A tiger--Thanks Kim--I will treasu)

What is an Eraselet, you ask? Well, it's a bracelet that erases. They are convenient, fun, and practical. They come in various colours, and styles. They work very well, just as well as any other eraser I've used. So now, why would I go and buy an eraser I have to look for? I wouldn't, because I have an Eraselet.

The Eraselet was invented by Bryan Ricci after his 3 daughters kept loosing their erasers. Eraselets are a fun, fashionable and functional school supply that give kids a new way to keep up with their erasers. Eraselets are made in the USA and give 10% of their net proceeds to Erase World Hunger, a non-profit started by Brian & Kimberly Ricci to help feed orphans around the world.

Eraselet Fun Facts

• They are made in the United States 
• Eraselets can be custom made (would make a great item for fundraisers, business promo's, and even birthday party treats)
• Free Shipping - That itself is amazing - Everyone loves free shipping
• 10% of Eraselets net profits go to help Erace World Hunger
• You can find Eraselets various Dollar General Market Stores for only $1
• Lifeway Christian Stores carry Scripture Eraselets in packs of 6                             

Naner Bananer is on Facebook! Add her as a friend, you won't regret it! She keeps everyone up to speed on what's going on at Eraselet HQ!

You can also "Like" Eraselet on Facebook - to be even more on top of the wonderful work this company does!

Let's help this awesome company Get On The Shelf at Walmart - Vote for them HERE

Please take the time to visit Erase World Hunger and see what these good people are doing for the world. I truly appreciate that they are doing this, and I am sure you will too!

Check out some awesome interviews with the Ricci's:

• Living Best Life Interview with the Ricci's - This is a heart warming story, hearing from the whole family. Bryan tells his story and how he wound up homeless at the age of 15. 
• News Channel 5 talks to Bryan at about how hope could help erase homelessness.
• These are truly amazing people. They are mentors, and absolutely inspiring. I wish them nothing but the best in the years to come. I am truly blessed to have had the opportunity to work with such a wonderful family. 

Can't wait to stock up on your own Eraselets for your kids, fundraisers, or parties? Visit the Eraselet website and get your order in today! They start at only $1 each with a minimum order of 3 Eraselets and FREE shipping.

The beautiful Ricci Family - The creators of Eraselet

MomGoesWild would like to thank my bloggy friends for helping me promote this review and giveaway. Take some time and show them some love.

• Mommy and Baby Reviews and Giveaways
• Crafty Kate Going Crazy
• Kathleen's BlogSpot
• OnlyGreen - Michelle Smith
• From Dominique Desk
• Freebies with Attitude
• Good Steward Savers
• The Dapper School House 
• Free Social 2011 
• Mom Blog Society 
• Route 249 
• Jackies Reviews 
• Bodhi's Mews 
• Classic Children's Books 
• Coupon Free Stuff
• Pink Mama's Place

(I received the products mentioned above for free from Eraselet to use to write my review of this product. I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers)

Would you like to win your own retail package of Eraselets? Thanks to Kim & Bryan Ricci, the owners of Eraselet, we are giving away one retail package of your choice.  Enter on the Rafflecopter below!  Good luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spring Reading for Kids!

Oh..... 

The weather outside is so beautiful

and the swing is so delightful

and since we've no place to go....

Let Us Read,  Let Us Read,  Let Us Read, !

Oh NO! It's Raining!

It doesn't show signs of stopping,

And Mom's brought corn she popped,

We snuggle up close for a little Fairy School

Let Us Read, Let Us Read, Let Us Read!

 

When we're all finally snuggled up tight

Dad'll read a scary story or two

full of enchanted castles and deep dark forests

from Illustrated Grimm's Fairy Tales book!

 

At Bedtime I'll hide under the covers,

and read The Phantom Mudder

filling my mind with lots of adventure

to keep me company all night long!

Ok, I'm definitely NOT a poet. I was going to try to change the lyrics of Let It Snow to Let Us Read and include mentions of some of the great spring reads available for kids & to give you FUN ideas for Easter Basket fillers.... But, well, there it is..... Let Us Read, Let Us Read, Let Us Read!

A few others you'll enjoy too! (Click on the picture for more information!)

    

Closing THIS Wednesday! 3/30

It's NOT to late to order your books for Easter Baskets! Did you know you can fill those baskets with TREATS that are GOOD for your children ~ things don't break and fall apart 24 hours after your kids play with them? The Northwest Preschool Bookfair closes on Wednesday 3/30 and you'll have the books in time for Easter (in the continental states & HI/AK only please - I've never shipped to HI & AK so I don't know shipping times for there or for the APO's.)

If you'd like to order to help out the preschool & order books for Easter (or anytime), click the "Enter Here" button:

Spring into Books Hop & Giveaway!

Welcome to the Spring into Books Hop hosted by eReading on the Cheap and Beck Valley Books. The hop lasts from March 20 - March 31st at 11:59 PM EST. Each blog participating has at least a $10 book related Prize.

War of the Seasons

Book 1: The Human

by Janine K Spendlove
ISBN: 978-0983656708
Age 15 to adult
Purchase: $14.99 (paperback)
                 $4.99 (kindle)


About the book:
The Human is the story of a 17 year old girl, Story, who finds herself in a strange world after falling during a spelunking accident. Drawn deeper and deeper into this new world as she searches for a way home, Story finds herself at the center of an ancient feud between the elf and fairy races who are struggling for dominance. This is a tale of love and self-discovery and coming to terms with a terrible loss.

Eirnin's silver eyes, now showing hints of bright yellow, widened in astonishment as he stared, transfixed, at the red blood dripping from the wound on Story's foot.

"What are you?"

A simple question with a not-so-simple answer for 17 year old Story, who finds herself, a lone human, thrust in the middle of a war between creatures she once thought only existed in faerie tales.

My thoughts:
To be honest, I didn't expect to read this book yet. I'm about 2 months behind on my reading (actually about 6 weeks, maybe) and I certainly didn't expect to read this in one night - it's 363 pages long! But well, I received this package in the mail and thought I'd read the first paragraph and get an idea what's it about and I got hooked!!

This is the story of a 17 year old girl named "Story". She's angry, furious at the world, thinking about quitting school and missing the direction and stability her father gave her before his and Story's younger siblings were killed in a car accident. She decides to go caving with a friend - the only one that has stood behind her - and ends up falling into another world.

Ailionora is a world of elves (now you know why I was hooked), faeries, gnome's and sirens (dryads). The faeries are bad and there is a war between them and the elves who have lost their immorality and are dying off. The faeries however are immortal also and like to create mischief especially against the other citizens of Ailionora ~ but with "wards" or spells they can be held off so they can't hurt others and are forced to leave others alone.

In The Human, Story is the tool that the elves can use to remove the curse of mortality. The scales are turned and the war begins.

I do want to caution you about only letting older kids read this book. It's not the violence and I didn't notice any bad language in the book - but there is some heavy petting and certain thoughts rolling through Story's mind and you can guess what those are. There is no action though - so if your younger kids 13+ do pick up the book don't panic. This is definitely a book for older teens and adults.

I am very much looking forward to reading Book 2 The Half Blood. The final draft is in the final stages and we can look forward to this new installment in War of the Seasons. I did ask the author how long this series is going to be and she thinks it will be a trilogy with several short stories throughout. So you can expect to enjoy this series for a while. =D

Read an excerpt.

Order The Human by clicking here. It's available as a paperback, Kindle, Nook and as an iBook.

You can also read: The Girl which is the story of Story's father. Do keep in mind that this book is for adults only. Click here to order for $9.94 Click here to read a sample of the book.

Be sure to visit the other blogs in the blog hop - there are 93 of them! You'll find a little something for everyone... Kids, Adults, Dark, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction and more! The linky is under the rafflecopter form. Good Luck!

Follow the author:

 

WIN IT!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Family fun from SimpleKids.net

I just found out that I am going to be at the Cinco de Mayo Family Festival in May and am trying to come up with a fun idea for a craft. Not sure what I'm going to be able to do - but I do LUV this idea. I just think it will take to long and where would I dry their pictures?

This art idea is from SimpleKids.net - it would be fun to do at home too!
(Click here for the complete article)

Any piece of your child’s artwork can be turned into a bookmark masterpiece. Process-style art – finger painting, bubble-wrap printing, or crayon scribbling – makes especially colorful and striking bookmarks. Here’s one of our favorite art projects, that also happens to make beautiful bookmarks:

Watercolor & Salt Painting

My girls recently collaborated on a watercolor painting. They started with wet paper, then added swirls, puddles, and dots of bright watercolors. When they were finished painting, they sprinkled salt over the entire paper. As the salt dries, it soaks up some of the watercolor, leaving interesting and unique designs. My 9-year-old calls this “a masterpiece in minutes!”     

Photo by Amy Anderson

When the painting was dry, we brushed off the salt and cut our painting into bookmarks. We had plenty to keep, and a few to share, too.

I’m happy to say that we now have a stash of bookmarks in the living room, as well as more in our bedrooms. I love sitting down in the evening, opening my book, and seeing one of my girls’ mini masterpieces holding my place.

Happy crafting & reading!

Day 5 Classic Reading for Kids ~ Beady Bear

This is a nice long article - but what a treat! My favorite childhood book to review & giveaway ...... and a special announcement I get to share with you!

 

Beady Bear

by Don Freeman

ISBN: 978-0140501971

$6.99, Age 3+

About the book:

A toy bear goes off to a cave to live as a real bear should, only to find he needs something more to be truly happy. 

My thoughts:

I have saved my favorite childhood book for last. Beady Bear is the story of a little wind up bear owned by Thayer. One day he decides it's time he lives like other bears do and he trots (or winds) his way to a cave where he discovers he needs light and a pillow to be truly happy not realizing it's actually Thayer that he needs. 

Beady arrives at his cave to discover that it's dark and he decides he needs a light to make it more comfortable and welcoming. So he goes back home to get a flashlight and when he gets back to the cave and tries to get comfortable he discovers that the ground is hard and not so very comfortable so he returns back to the house to get his pillow. When he arrives back at the cave he tries to get comfortable but then his spring winds down and he has to lay there and listen to the noises in the cave..... What's that noise? Is it the original inhabitants of the cave? No, it's Thayer come to rescue him and wind him back up again!

 

Beady Bear was written and illustrated by Don Freeman the author of the wonderful Corduroy series. Don Freeman was the author & illustrator of many popular books other than the Corduroy books. He won a Caldecott Honor for the book Fly High, Fly Low and co-wrote several books with his wife including Chuggy and the Blue Caboose and Pet of the Met. 

The illustrations in Beady Bear were originally drawn by pencil and the detail and the shading in the book really make the story stand out. The original of the book was also hand colored by Lydia Freeman (Don's wife). I remember really studying and talking about those pictures with Dad and I think it's part of what made this one of my very favorite books as a little girl.

Did you know?

• "Freeman did not start out to be a children's author & illustrator, although by the age of 7 he knew he wanted, above all, to be an artist more than anything. Working with crayolas and whatever drawing paper he could get his hands on, the young Freeman began sketching a perceptive view of the world around him." by Michael Gabriel (1995) from donfreeman.info
• He began his illustration career by sketching his impressions of the Broadway shows for the New York Times and The Herald Tribune. 
• He is also known as a graphic artist who vividly portrayed the street life and theater world of New York City in the 1930’s and 40’s. 
• He wrote graphic novels for adults. Great Shakes is based on the idea of Shakespeare in modern day Hollywood after a producer makes a deal to have Shakespeare write a modern day screenplay - but it doesn't quite go as planned. 

 

• Don co-wrote several books with his wife beginning with Chuggy & the Blue Caboose and Pet of the Met. Chuggy is the story of a little blue Caboose that sat near their house and Don sat down one day to sketch it out. They ended up collaborating on a story of the adventures of Chuggy which was the first book they wrote together. 
• Lydia (Don's wife) was a renowned oil and watercolor artist in her own right - you can see many of her works on her website @ LydiaFreeman.net. She also illustrated 2 children's books: Onion Journey by Julia Cunningham & Wind in My Hand by hanako Fukuda. She also tried her hand at writing Haiku over the years and during the last 2-3 years of her life she would doodle her feelings and those drawings and haikus were combined into a book called "Flowers of unknown origins ~ Dance of the Forbidden Vegetables"

Tell him today

your love.

He may not be here tomorrow

and eternity is not far away.

.
For more information about Don Freeman, please visit:

www.donfreeman.info ~ you can see many of the other books he & Lydia wrote, teaching tools, hear and read some of Don's lectures, read articles about the author and also see a list of other books that weren't published. Some of those books Roy has been working on to complete and get published.

Both websites DonFreeman.info and LydiaFreeman.net are packed full of information about the very interesting and productive lives that Don & Lydia lived.

 

One of the biggest honors I have as a blogger is to share BIG NEWS with you! Recently a long lost sequel to Beady Bear turned up in the garage of an old neighbor of Don's and Roy has been kind enough to share the book with me. He is in the process of finding a publisher for Beady's Pillow & I have directed him to Kane Miller & Usborne Books to meet with them in Bologna at the Children's Book Festival. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Beady's Pillow will soon be in an Usborne Books catalog!

So here is a "SNEAK PREVIEW" of 

Beady's Pillow

by Don Freeman

Unpublished so far

About the book:

At the end of Beady Bear we discover that Beady has left his pillow behind in the cave and Thayer has decided to go and get it for his little friend in the sequel. When Thayer doesn't come back Beady decides to go and rescue him and return with both Thayer and his pillow. Now remember he is a "wind up" toy - so will he be able to find Thayer before his spring winds down?

Roy was kind enough to forward a very rough copy of Beady's Pillow for me to read along with the original drawings and text including cross outs and Don's thoughts throughout the story which was a real treat. I've never seen a book in this stage of the writing process and it was neat to see some of the thought process an author goes through. I so wish I could share the book with you - but I promised to keep it all for myself (LOL) and I promise you that I will let you know as soon as the sequel is published! 

Don has already put together an iPad 1 and 2 version of Beady's Pillow although I don't believe he has published himself yet. I know that he is hoping to have a publisher pick it up - hopefully I will have good news for you soon and Beady's Pillow will be published in the near future.


(Due to the length of this post - I will post some fun ideas for families to do at a later date - art, writing, language ideas.)

BUY IT!

You can purchase your own copy of Beady Bear and other Don Freeman books on Amazon. Click here to order Beady Bear for $6.99. It's currently on special - buy 4 for 3 - details are on the Amazon page for the promotion.

WIN It!  

I will be giving away a copy of Beady Bear in the prize package for Classic Reading for Kids. I have extended the date for the giveaway (due to my getting caught up in my latest book fair) and it will close officially on Monday night. Will YOU be the winner?

Click the button to enter the contest

~ Note - ends this Monday @ 10 pm ~

What I heard today:

Gave my daughter's friend the complete set of Oliver Moon books for his birthday - his name is Oliver, he's from England, and he had a magician for his party - how perfect was that?!! Here is the message that I got from his mother today when I asked if they'd started to read them yet:

"He absolutely loves oliver moon! We have to read them everyday and he even asked to learn to write moon, so he could read oliver moon. I can't tell you how well they have gone down. Thank you so much." (FYI, Olly is 5).

Too Cute!

Classic Reading for Kids 2012 - bonus days!

 

I have a bookfair starting today and need to take a couple days off for set up and working with the teachers and parents to get it going. So, I'm going to take Thursday/Friday off and do my last days review & giveaway tomorrow. Hope ya don't mind.

Thursday/Friday only, I am offering 25 FREE points in the Classic Reading 4 Kids Pack of Books.  There are a few rules though:

• you MUST follow this blog on Linky Followers (on the sidebar)
• you MUST do the mandatory entries or the FREEBIE entry won't open up for you.
• The daily question is going to be closed off. But you do need to TWEET out the giveaway as a mandatory entry in order to access the FREEBIE entry.

Note: the FREEBIE question is listed as : Leave A Blog Post Comment - it's a simple comment not much work other than to type a sentence or two. =D

Click on the GREEN button to enter:

Day 4 Classic Reading for Kids ~ A Kiss For Little Bear

Classic Reading for Kids is an annual event hosted by myself and Ella of MyMcBooks.wordpress.com where we focus on Classic Reading for Kids and then we GIVE THEM AWAY! 

Today and each day this week I will be focusing on my favorite books for the Preschool Age Group and on Saturday - I will be giving them ALL away to ONE LUCKY winner! Is that winner going to be you? You'll find out on Saturday!

To enter the giveaway this week you must return to my blog each day where I will post the answer to that day's entry. To receive your entry that day you will need that answer. Ella will be featuring 5 books on her blog too and doing a giveaway there as well. So, you have 2 chances to WIN big this week!

Little Bear
by Elsa Holmelund Minarik
ISBN: 978-0064440042
$3.95 Paperback or $7.04 for the Boxed Set


About the Book:
Meet Little Bear, a friend to millions of children. And meet Mother Bear, who is there whenever Little Bear needs her. When it is cold and snowy outside, she finds just the right outfit for Little Bear to play in. When he goes to the moon, she has a hot lunch waiting for him on his return. At night she helps him get to sleep. And, of course, she never forgets his birthday!


My Thoughts:
I still remember sitting with Dad reading this book. It's one of 3 books I remember reading as a preschooler. Our time together was very limited and the only time I ever had anyone read to me was at bedtime. Our ritual was Little Bear one night. Beady Bear another night and The Night Before Christmas which the poor guy had memorized. Oh yeah, there were a few Dr Seuss' too (Dad HATED Dr Seuss!).  


Written by Elsa Holmelund Minarik when she decided that her daughter didn't have enough books to read (just what all parents should do - write books FOR your children!). Little Bear is the first of 4 books about the adventures of a little bear. Little Bear uses his imagination to go to the moon, uses his initiative to make a birthday soup for himself and entertains his guests when they turn up. And that's ALL in Book 1!. 


Little Bear was the first book in the "I Can Read" series that has been around since 1954 and since then Little Bear has continued to be a favorite among children and a book parents love to share with their kids. Little Bear is a great book for beginning readers and for "listeners" as well. The text is large and the words are simple, with very little rhyming (not intentionally anyway) and the subject is interesting enough to keep kids attention. And best of all, for children ages 4-8, your child will connect and bond with a little bear who seems like them - except he has paws and fur all over his body!

The Little Bear Series:

    

About the author:
Else Holmelund Minarik was born in Denmark in 1920 but came to the US at the age of 4. She found learning English very difficult and her father introduced her to cowboy movies and her mother took her to the playground to help her learn English as she learned to play with new friends. Else was gifted in telling stories in simple, captivating words and used that ability in writing over 20 books much of which is still in print.

Classic Reading for Kid's Giveaway:

It's Day 4 of the Classic Reading for Kid's Giveaway Event. I've officially changed the mandatory entry to today's question. Be sure to read this post to know the answer. 

On Sunday my drawing will include a copy of Little Bear which contains 3 stories: Little Bear, Snowy Day and Birthday Soup. Your child will love them as much as I did! =D

Click the button to enter the contest!

Day 3 Classic Reading for Kids ~ Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel

Classic Reading for Kids is an annual event hosted by myself and Ella of MyMcBooks.wordpress.com where we focus on Classic Reading for Kids and then we GIVE THEM AWAY! 

Today and each day this week I will be focusing on my favorite books for the Preschool Age Group and on Saturday - I will be giving them ALL away to ONE LUCKY winner! Is that winner going to be you? You'll find out on Saturday!

To enter the giveaway this week you must return to my blog each day where I will post the answer to that day's entry. To receive your entry that day you will need that answer. Ella will be featuring 5 books on her blog too and doing a giveaway there as well. So, you have 2 chances to WIN big this week!

Day 3 - Book Review & Giveaway

Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel

by Virginia Lee Burton

ISBN: 9780395169612

$8.79 (Book with CD), 

Mike Mulligan and 4 Classic Stories ($13.60)

About the Book:

Mike and his trusty steam shovel, Mary Anne, have a very important job. They dig deep canals for boats to travel through, cut mountain passes for trains and hollow out cellars for big city skyscrapers - the very symbol of modern industrial America. But with progress comes new machines and soon the inseparable duo are out of work. Mike believes Mary Anne can dig as much in a day as a hundred men can dig in a week and the two have one last chance to prove it and save Mary Anne from the scrap heap. What happens next in the small town of Popperville is a testament to their friendship, as well as old-fashioned hard work and ingenuity.

"Mike Mulligan had a steam shovel.

A beautiful red steam shovel."

My Thoughts:

This fun book was originally published in 1939 and has remained a favorite of boys and girls ever since. Originally written by the author for her 2 boys she incorporated many of the noises I'm sure she heard her children make. "Bing! Bang! Crash! Slam! describes the sound Mary Anne made when she worked faster and faster. When the fire department arrives you hear "Clang, Clang, Clang!" 

The begins by explaining what Mary Anne did as a steam shovel. She dug the canals for the big boats, she cut through the high mountains for the trains and "lowered the hills and straightened the curves". The illustrations are very descriptive and children can visualize what is happening just by looking at the pictures. In fact, the pictures are descriptive enough you really don't need words for this book!

One thing I really like about this book is the friendly competition between two groups of people. You have Mike and Mary Anne against a group of 100 men competing against each other to see who can dig the most. As time goes by you see those who feel that only NEW methods and tools are the way to go - but eventually these same people start to respect the effort and work that Mike and Mary Anne show (and do). 

See inside the book: Click Here

About the author: 
Virginia Lee Burton was the talented author and illustrator of some of the most enduring books ever written for children. The winner of the 1942 Caldecott Medal for The Little House, Burton's books include heroes and happy endings, lively illustrations, and a dash of nostalgia. She lived with her two sons, Aristides and Michael, and her husband George Demetrios, the sculptor, in a section of Gloucester, Massachusetts, called Folly Cove. Here she taught a class in design and from it emerged the Folly Cove designers, a group of internationally known professional artisans. (from Wikipedia)

To learn more about the book, other books the author wrote and find kid's activity pages go to: MikeMulligan.com. 

Classic Reading for Kid's Giveaway:

It's Day 2 of the Classic Reading for Kid's Giveaway Event. I've officially changed the mandatory entry to today's question. Be sure to read this post to know the answer. 

On Sunday my drawing will include the Mike Mulligan Travel Activity Kit (provided it's still available) ~ if the kit is sold I will send a copy of the book only. It includes: a CD with audio recordings of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Katy and the Big Snow, and Maybelle the Cable Car (more than an hour of listening time!), a paperback copy of the book, a 24 page activity book, crayons, postcards and 2 sheets of Mike Mulligan mini stickers!

:

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

Classic Reading for Kids is an annual event hosted by myself and Ella of MyMcBooks.wordpress.com where we focus on Classic Reading for Kids and then we GIVE THEM AWAY! 

Today and each day this week I will be focusing on my favorite books for the Preschool Age Group and on Saturday - I will be giving them ALL away to ONE LUCKY winner! Is that winner going to be you? You'll find out on Saturday!

To enter the giveaway this week you must return to my blog each day where I will post the answer to that day's entry. To receive your entry that day you will need that answer. Ella will be featuring 5 books on her blog too and doing a giveaway there as well. So, you have 2 chances to WIN big this week!

Day 2 - Book Review & Giveaway

Caps For Sale, A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business

by Esphyr Slobodkina

ISBN: 978-0064431439

$6.99, age 3+, 48 pages

About the book:

A cap peddler wakes from a nap to find all his caps are gone-a bunch of naughty monkeys have taken them up a tree. Angrily shaking his finger at the monkeys, the peddler demands his caps back, but the monkeys only shake their fingers and say "Tsz, tsz, tsz." No matter what the peddler does, the monkeys only imitate him. Finally, the peddler is so enraged he throws his cap on the ground-and all the monkeys follow suit!

My thoughts:

This is the timeless story of a peddler who carries all of his stock on his head until one day he falls asleep under a tree and when he wakes up all of his hats are gone (except his very own hat). Where did they go? How will he get them back? 

The illustrations in the book are simple, eye catching and will keep children involved in the story. The story itself with it's fun story and repetitive passages draw children and they will rapidly learn the story and read it along with you or on their own. It's an ideal story book for children to begin "reading" to themselves and younger siblings. 

Caps For Sale was written and first published in 1938 by Esphyr Slobodkina and is based on a Ukranian Folktale. Esphyr was born in the Siberian town of Chelyabinsk and grew up in China where she studied art and architecture. After immigrating to the US at age 29, she met Margaret Wise Brown and began a career in abstract art and also illustrated several of Margaret Wise Brown's books like The Little Fireman, Sleepy ABC's and the Big and Little Series as well many books she wrote (and co-wrote) over the years. So far 2,000,000+ copies of Caps For Sale have been sold over the decades and it ranks right up there with favorites like Good Night Moon.  

If you ever get a chance to visit Glen Head, Long Island, NY visit her mini museum to view more than 200 works of art, her handmade dolls and jewelry as well as Esphyr's complete collection of children's storybooks, including some of her original illustrations such as the collage illustration below. The Foundation provides children’s literacy activities, discussion groups, art tours, and interactive performances to school groups, senior organizations, and community groups.

SLOBODKINA FOUNDATION

Learn more about Esphyr Slobodkina on the http://slobodkinafoundation.org website. 

Fun Family Activities:

Original Collage Illustration
courtesy of the
slobodkinafoundation.org

1) Themetic unit for classrooms, homeschools or just for fun.

2) Make your own Collage of a scene from Caps For Sale. Use brown construction paper (cut out 'trunks' for younger kids). Let them paste it on white construction paper. Have small rectangles or cut out ovals to signify hats available for younger children to paste on their picture. Older children can cut out their own 'caps'. The shape of the "hat" isn't as important as encouraging children to express themselves and be creative.

3) Caps For Sale Lapbook and Activities (little poems, math and language activities) - note from me: I could see parts of the lapbook being made into a "felt or quiet type book". Just a thought.

 

Caps For Sale

FB Page

It's Day 2 of the Classic Reading for Kid's Giveaway Event. I've officially changed the mandatory entry to today's question. Be sure to read this post to know the answer.

                                                 

Classic Reading for Kids 2012 ~ Giveaway

Classic Reading for Kids is an annual event hosted by myself and Ella of MyMcBooks.wordpress.com where we focus on Classic Reading for Kids and then we'll GIVE THEM AWAY! 

Today and each day this week I will be focusing on my favorite books for the Preschool Age Group and on Saturday - I will be giving them all away to ONE LUCKY winner! Is that winner going to be you? You'll find out on Sunday!

  

 

How to WIN

Mandatory Entries....

1) You must like Classic Children's Books on Linky Followers. 
2) Do that particular day's entry - in order to get that entry you will need to return each day and get the answer to that day's entry from the post. The previous days entry will be closed so if you didn't get it then you'll be short that one chance.

Maximize your chances....

Tweet about the event.

Give ME a boost and like the post, 

Like this FB page and Share this post on your FB page. 

It's easy and I know you're going to LOVE the books I'm reviewing & giving away this week!  Ella's giveaway link is below the rafflecopter - it's a giveaway perfect for those Middle Grade readers. Here it is:

***Note: all entries that have been closed will be deleted if you click enter - please save me some work and DONT enter those. ***

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ella's Giveaway: MyMcBooks.wordpress.com

Be sure to check out Ella's 3 book giveaway and daily review - Click Here. Her event is ending on 3/14 so be sure to get in on the giveaway right away!

  

Her giveaways are great reads for the Middle Grade+ crowd:

Journey to the Center of the Earth (Jules Verne)

Last of the Mohicans (James Fenimore Cooper)

Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)