Posts Tagged ‘4’

New York Times best-selling authors Karen Tack and Alan Richardson of Hello, Cupcake! and What’s New, Cupcake? are back and this time, it’s not just cupcakes. Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh, My! includes some surprising and spectacular projects that turn pound cakes, cookies, pies, cheesecake, and Jell-O, into entertaining desserts.

As you’re busy planning Valentine’s Day treats for your loved ones, you might be inspired to prepare something a bit more unique this year with chapters that include: build a pet, make ‘em laugh, animal planet, guys and dolls, life of the party, and holidazed.

If you’d love to meet the authors and watch them work their magic with high heeled cupcakes and more, join them for an event in at Sur La Table, NYC on Feb. 15th (click here for more information).

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Enjoy some classic snow stories with your children this holiday season with newly released anniversary editions.

The Snowy Day: 50th Anniversary Edition by Ezra Jack Keats

In his 1962 Caldecott Medal winning book, Ezra Jack Keats introduced us to a little boy named Peter who would forever change the face of children’s literature. Fifty years have passed and the snow day adventure with bold color and imagery continue to capture the imagination of children today. It is a beautiful oversized edition with eight pages of bonus material.

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Henry the Explorer by Mark Taylor and Illustrations by Graham Booth

Mark Taylor wrote many books for young people and those following the adventures of a boy Henry and his dog Angus are remembered childhood favorites. First published in 1967, Henry the Explorer shows us a boy inspired by an exciting book as he traipses out in the world the day after a blizzard. It is hard work, but boy and dog have come prepared.

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Let it snow.

Chances are, you’ve just about had it with the constant dinging of holiday music that seems to come from every conceivable speaker this time of year. Your kids, however, are probably bouncing right along with Rudolph and Bing, loving the familiar tunes. Children seem to have that internal music gene where they are naturally drawn to it.

Start a new family tradition in the New Year by bringing more music into your home. If you’re not exactly musical, All Together Singing in the Kitchen: Creative Ways to Make and Listen to Music as a Family is a great place to start. The authors, Katryna and Nerissa Nields, are sisters and folk singers who provide a CD of 30 songs, popular lyrics, games, and much more in their new book.

As Dan Zanes points out in the foreward, “The music that we make with our young people will have a positive impact on their lives and shape their world forever. Music making is proven to be a tremendous help in the socialization process; it provides a way for people of different cultural vantage points to find common ground; it stimulates the brain and helps establish the pathways that are crucial for learning during all stages of life; and, let’s not forget, music is wildly enjoyable.”

Works for us, pass the tamborine.

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So many great new titles to share with you this year to help your family celebrate the holiday season. Remarkable illustrations grace these thoughtful tales - some new and others treasured classics worthy of these unique renditions. Enjoy the story of the first Rockefeller Center tree, a “Captain Santa” who delivered Christmas trees across Lake Michigan, intricately-cut paper illustrations of the traditional nativity story, new characters from Olivier Dunrea, and much more.

Lighthouse Christmas by Toni Buzzeo and Illustrations by Nancy Carpenter (Ages 5-8)

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A Christmas Tree for Pyn by Olivier Dunrea (Ages 3-8)

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The Carpenter’s Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree by David Rubel and Illustrated by Jim LaMarche (Ages 5-8)

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The Twelve Days of Christmas by Laurel Long (Ages 3-5)

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The Christmas Tree Ship by Carol Crane and Illustrated by Chris Ellison (Ages 6-10)

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Mary Engelbreit’s Nutcracker (All Ages)

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The Story of Christmas from the King James Bible and Illustrations by Pamela Dalton

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Chanukah Lights by Michael J. Rosen and Illustrated by Robert Sabuda (Ages 5 and up)

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Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah by Olga Ivanov and Illustrated by Aleksey Ivanov

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Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade could easily become a new holiday classic. It comes to us from Melissa Sweet, the dynamic artist and winner of a Caldecott Honor for A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant.

Balloons over Broadway introduces young readers to Tony Sarg, the man resonsible for the “upside-down puppets” that we all know and love in the Thanksgiving Day Parade. He was a resourceful boy who was able to carry his passionate ways through to adulthood and create something extraordinary and memorable. Melissa Sweet’s unique collage and puppet work brings this bit of Thanksgiving history to life in a whole new way that will also not soon be forgotten.

A very happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday to all.

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Everybody’s talking about it. Lack of manners.

And by everybody, I mean The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The Atlantic Monthly summarizes the chat with their aptly titled article “The Reason Kids These Days are a Bunch of Impolite Brats.”

Uh-oh. That’s not our kid…right?

Many reasons were given, and no one should be surprised that “Bad Parenting” was listed among them. Your own charming little Olivia is of course perfectly behaved, but just in case you want to stay on top of her manners through the years, a little refresher couldn’t hurt.

365 Manners Kids Should Know: Games, Activities, and Other Fun Ways to Help Children and Teens Learn Etiquette by Sheryl Eberly offers parents a way to handle the situation with a one-manner-a-day format. Parents can learn what behaviors are appropriate for their child by age with examples of what should be expected of them:

A three-year-old should:

- Establish eye contact when speaking to another.
- Say hello.
- Wash hands before and after a meal.
- Stay seated during the meal.
- Use utensils at the table.
- Say “please” and “thank you.”

There are useful activities that teach families how to establish behavior at home and then transfer it out into the world.

“No one wants to be clueless. As confidence grows, so does your child’s ability to forget about himself and develop happy relationships.” Sheryl Eberly

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The book 642 Things to Draw is so deceptively simple that when you pick it up for the first time, you might wonder why? Why when I have a blank notebook and a bunch of broken crayons right here in my purse for my children, why would I want a book that gives them drawing space with a suggestion above of what to draw? Because you probably won’t think to ask them to draw a wasp, a top hat, a kiss, a bully.

642 Things to Draw is kinda like a psychological test. How will your child draw laughter? It’s kinda like a thing to keep the kids quiet (anyone can draw an egg). And it’s kinda like a cool thing to pass back and forth between everyone as the table, as they all take a stab at drawing a rolling pin.

642 Things to Draw, $17

Happy Halloween!

For all you moms and dads out there, if you’re planning on attending grown-up festivities this year, there are some costume considerations. If you’re looking for a unique disguise, we hear from TIME that you should steer clear of the Pregnant Beyonce, Gaddafi, Kate Middleton, or Protestor ensemble. And secondly, if you live on the East Coast, make sure all costumes are equipped with snow gear!

The kids are undoubtedly focused on treat consumption and parades, but some themed books can be a great way to balance out their partying with some quiet time. We’ve compiled our favorite new Halloween books for the year and in it you’ll find brave little girls, graveyard dogs, vampire-kids, goblins, and the always popular Edgar Allan Poe. Wishing everyone a fun and safe Halloween!

Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe by Scott Gustafson (Young Adult)

Most adults are familiar with the eerie works of Edgar Allan Poe and this time of year his works seems to be especially apropos. If your child enjoys the fright and chill of the Halloween season, this tale of the great writer in his youth will pique his or her interest. “To truly unravel that life of mystery and imagination, we have to start at the beginning, when the man was just a boy, and when Edgar was called Eddie. For before Poe became the Master of the Macabre, it seemed that the Macabre was master of him.”

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Emmy and the Rats in the Belfry by Lynne Jonell and Illustrated by Jonathan Bean (Ages 9 and up)
If you don’t know Emmy yet, she is the charming but unnatural little protagonist who can talk to rats. In this third book of the acclaimed Emmy series, she thought her life was going to take a turn toward normal but veers dramatically off in the direction of revenge and fur.

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Frangoline and the Midnight Dream by Clemency Pearce and Illustrated by Rebecca Elliott (Ages 4-8)
What happens to sweet little girls in the deepest dark of night? If they are Frangoline they escape and awake all creates of the night, ignoring the moon’s plea to return to bed. She’s scared of nothing as she tromps through the woods and old churchyard, but will something finally make her wish for home?

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Bone Dog by Eric Rohmann (Ages 4-8)
This brand new story from Caldecott Medal winner, Eric Rohmann, brings a new twist to the boy and his dog story. When Sam’s beloved dog Ella dies, he is not feeling in the Halloween spirit. The spooky night wraps around him with danger and he needs help. His trusted old friend returns to his side in this sweet, but spooky tale.

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Gibbus Moony Wants to Bite You! by Leslie Muir and Illustrated by Jen Corace (Ages 4-8)
Jen Corace’s illustrations are back and this time, with a bite (we loved her work with Mathilda and the Orange Balloon, Little Pea, and Little Oink!) It’s the first children’s book for painter and poet Leslie Muir, and she spins a tempting little tale of a vampire learning not to bite, “We’re fruit suckers, my boy,” said Grandpa Waxing Moony, “and proud of it.”

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Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane Illustrated by Jane Manning (Ages 3-7)
Trudge your way through the forest home of Mommy Monster and her little monster one to the beat of the beloved nursery rhyme “Over in the Meadow.” They find ghosts who scare, zombie who stare, werewolves who roar, and many, many, more.

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You may know popular science writer Jena Pincott because of her book, Do Gentlemen Really Prefer Blondes? which has now been translated into 17 languages. Her accessible style of offering us scientific information about love and sexual attraction appears on her blogs for The Huffington Post and Psychology Today. In just the past week alone, she reports on: men’s pregnancy symptoms, sexual attractiveness during pregnancy, and how we appeal to others by a line in our eyes.

We’re thrilled that she’s reporting on pregnancy in a fascinating new way with her new book, Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? The Surprising Science of Pregnancy. It has received a Kirkus starred review and digs into questions like:

- Do skinny chicks have more daughters?
- Why is hubby getting sick and chubby?
- Could sex prevent miscarriage?
- Is there a purpose to painful birth?

“A pregnant woman has more power than she realizes. Our ancestors believed that what we think, eat, and otherwise experience in pregnancy influences the baby in the womb - and there’s increasing evidence it’s true.” Jena Pincott

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In the past couple of weeks we’ve been excited to be share fantastic books from some of the most beloved children’s authors (see: The Artist and Follow that Peach) and now Dr. Seuss rounds out the trifecta.

We all have our favorite of the Seuss characters: Horton, Sam I Am, The Cat in the Hat, or everyone’s favorite holiday villan - The Grinch. Few children’s writers have created a collection of children’s stories (over 60 books!) as rich and gleaming with imagination as Mr. Theodor Geisel.

And now, we are gifted with the “lost stories” with the help of Seuss scholar and collector Charles D. Cohen. The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories by Dr. Seuss are a collection of stories originally published in magazines between 1948 and 1959. Mr. Cohen traces the history of these stories, and explores these stories’ themes that also show through in better-known Seuss stories.

“Who finds this rare box will be lucky, indeed,
For inside this box is a Bippolo Seed!
Plant it and wish! And then count to three!
Whatever you wish for, what it be
Will sprout and grow out of a Bippolo Tree!”

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