Mama Bzz: books for 4's

Showing posts with label books for 4's. Show all posts

Friday, October 30, 2009

Review and Giveaway! Rattlesnake Rules by Conrad J. Storad

Melissa J's Thoughts:

"A nake! A nake!"

These are my daughter's excited words when we opened our package with Rattlesnake Rules
in it. The cover immediately captured her attention. Her 2 year old attention stayed, even after we opened the book. She turned the pages eagerly and kept pointing things out to me.

Conrad J. Storad is no stranger to writing educational book for children that are also fun. With books like, Desert Night Shift(A Pack Rat Story), Life in the Slow Lane: A Desert Tortoise Tale, Lizards for Lunch: A Roadrunner's Tale, and Don't Ever Cross That Road! An Armadillo Story, he has one of a kind books for children which both entertain and teach.

I'm not quite sure how he did it, but Conrad brought rattlesnakes into a personableness that made me think that maybe they aren't all that bad. . . until of course, he added the necessary rules of warning into his story line! Still, it's balanced so well, that instead of kids becoming absolutely terrified of rattlesnakes, they will develop a healthy respect for them.

One of the things I really appreciated about this book, is the fact that there is more than a story contained within it. Conrad inserts sections into the back that any Mama who reads to her children in the hopes of teaching them, will love. He looks at rattlesnake myths (you can not tell how old a rattlesnake is based on the number of rattles) and provides a rattlesnake based vocabulary for children to work on.

Taking this even further, Conrad then provides curriculum ideas that parents can implement into their children's schooling and/or homework.

With a retail value of $16.95, this book is worth every penny invested. It's a 3-in-1 deal -- story, science lesson, and curriculum guide. As a homeschooling Mama, I look forward to adding Conrad's books to our homeschooling library as our science years progress.

NOTE: This book is on sale for $12.88 right now with Five Star Publications, due to their 24th anniversary special.

Mel's Thoughts:

We sat down today to read a book together called Rattlesnake Rules by Conrad J. Storad. As I started to open it, Jaden was pointing at the cover, saying, "Naaa, Naaa...." He said another word, not completely yet, but it's closer!:)

Anway, Rattlesnake Rules is a children's book that uses rhyme and a creative tactic to teach your children about rattlesnakes and their characteristics, as well, as the dangers. The pages are full of colorful illustrations, drawn by Nathaniel P. Jensen, that grabbed at my children's attention. I honestly cringe anytime I see a snake; I'm talking cringe, duck, and run here. I can't stand snakes....they give me the willies. Ever since I almost grabbed a snake while gathering eggs as a teenager, I just have a healthy fear of snakes. But, the snakes in this book were actually kinda cute, from a mama's perspective. Conrad uses fiction to implement the non-fiction parts of the book into the story. A storyline with a family of snakes delves into their world and how they live and why they shake their rattle, how they eat, etc. They have certain rules they live by. He then delves into the rules for humans when we are out walking. These rules help to determine when it's time to turn around and how we can be safe.

At the end of the book are a few educational sections that could easily be used to supplement a science course on snakes. There are Rattlesnake Fast Facts, Rattlesnake Fun Facts (for instance, did you know that, "Arizona has 13 species of rattlesnakes"?), Rattlesnake Mysteries, Rattlesnake Myths vs. Facts, Words to Learn, and a Rattlesnake Rules Curriculum Guide. As a homeschooling mom, I was very impressed with the Curriculum Guide because it offers different activities to go along with the book and to further education about rattlesnakes. It has discussion ideas and hands-on activities that your young students can do, including making their own rattle. The activities are designed to help your children learn different aspects of a snake's life, such as molting, or shedding of their skin, for instance. There are also research topics to explore even more. It's very interesting.

Rattlesnake Rules normally sells for $16.95, but is on sale for $12.88 right now with Five Star Publications, due to their 24th anniversary special. It is a hard back book that comes with a colorful dustjacket. I would highly recommend it as a supplement to any reptile study. I know my kids would too.:)

(Disclosure: We were provided with this free book by Five Star Publications and Conrad J. Storad, in association with MamaBuzz.)

We have 2 copies of this book to give away. Simply leave a comment - with your email - and you will be entered into our giveaway drawing. Giveaway ends on November 7th, with the winner announced on November 9th.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Sleepy Sun By Mari Hanson

(Disclosure: We were provided with this free product by Mari Hanson.)

Mel's Thoughts:

We recently had the opportunity to review Mari Hanson's book, Sleepy Sun.

Mari was gracious to let us in on this opportunity.

I read this book to my boys last night....it's a very short, sweet, simple story. Basically, Mari has taken the sun and made it into the main character of the story. The story winds through all the things that the sun might see in a days' time, from the desert to the mountains to your own backyard, showing how many places the sun has visited or shined upon for that day. The story tries to carry the imagination to places, both far and near.

At the end of the story, the sun is very sleepy, which helps the story wind down, as a bedtime story really should do. The language of the book gives it an imaginative, child-like feel, and the illustrations are just beautiful. Kathleen M. Hanson is the illustrator, and the pictures have almost an Impressionistic feel to them. They are very colorful and imaginative, making them very pleasing to my own and my children's eyes.

Whether you read the story to your children at bedtime, or you simply look through the pictures in the book together(which sometimes works better for me with Jaden, seeing as he's a very busy toddler), this is such an adorable story to have on the shelf. It's thin and easy to handle when you have multiple children hanging on you to listen to the story.:) It is priced at $14.99 on Amazon. You can also read more about it on Mari Hanson's site.

Melissa J's Thoughts:

As soon as we took Mari Hanson's best seller, Sleepy Sun, out of the package, my 23 month old daughter was putting it in my face saying, "ead Mama. ead!" She was immediately attracted to the bright pictures and just as quickly became engrossed in the rhythmic feel of the reading.

The pictures are bright and captivating. The colors are brilliant and vivid, which is part of what makes this book so intriguing for all ages.

I thought the concept of the book was charming. It was about a day in the life of the sun. . . . where the sun shone, who the sun warmed, and why the sun is ready for bed. It's a perfect, end-of-the-day story and has quickly become a bedtime classic in our house!

My only down note on the books, is the price. While the book is delightful and captivating, I'm not sure I would spend that much on the book for younger children, simply because they have the potential to destroy books quickly. $14.99 means nothing to toddler hands.

That being said, the book is appealing, not only to toddlers, but also to older children (my daycare kids enjoyed it as well) and for that age group, it is worth the price.

Thank you Mari, for the chance to review your book!

Reviewers, please post up your reviews here, by using Mr. Linky. Please post only your original review post link. Thank you!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

* Kumon First Steps Series *

* This review done by Melissa J *

Kumon First Step Series

As a homeschooling Mama and a child-care provider, I am always on the look out for activities for toddlers.

Fun that holds their attention is necessary. Teaching skills is an added bonus. Kumon Publishing provides me with both, with their First Steps Series, geared towards children 2 to 5 years of age.

There are several books in the series, each helping young children to develop fine motor control skills through activities such as coloring, folding, pasting, and cutting. Each workbook retails at $5.95, which to me, even on a tight budget, it a great price for the number of worksheets I get with each book!

The entire series is as follows:

Let's Color!

and More Let's Color!

Let's Fold!

and More Let's Fold!

Let's Sticker & Paste!

and More Lets Sticker and Paste!

Let's Cut Paper!

and More Lets Cut Paper!

This is a series that thrills me as a Mama and delights my daughter and day care kids even more! Thank you Kumon for delivering such great products.

To see more of the broad selection of resources that Kumon offers, visit their website.