by Stacy Mannion on March 31, 2009
Due to technical difficulties that plagued the blog all week last week, I have chosen to reissue last weeks articles. The good news is that we have moved to a different server and everything APPEARS to be fixed! Thanks for bearing with me and we will now resume our regularly scheduled content! ~Stacy
Book Info
Author: Stella Blackstone
Illustrator: Giovanni Manna
Pages: 32 Pages
Publisher/Date: Barefoot Books, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-84686-336-3
Ages: Read Alone: 4-7
Read Together: All Ages
Summary
You and Me is a simple lap book that artistically introduces children to opposites. A little boy and girl use their imaginations and “pretend” themselves to be animals, objects, actions and moods.
My Opinion
I cannot talk about what makes You and Me a great book for young children without talking about the illustrations. In fact, the illustrations tell the story by themselves independent on the text. The style of artwork reminded me immediately of the work of Mary Engelbriet. The artist prepared the illustrations in china ink. Each illustration mirrors the text but also adds to it. For instance, “You’re a tiger” and “I’m a bear” shows the little girl as a tiger and the little boy as a bear. It goes further by showing the tiger in a jungle setting while the bear is portrayed in a woodland environment.
I have found the exterior of each picture to be particularly charming as they extending the story further. In the spread “You’re moving” and “I’m Still” the outer frame of the picture shows objects that are about movement and things that stand still. These a great for making You and Me “conversational” and enhances the way kids can interact with the story.
Final Review
You and Me is a beautifully illustrated lap book that kids would enjoy reading over and over because they may notice new things each time. I would recommend this sturdy book for children 2-6. It would make a good beginner reader book for kindergarten kids. Toddlers and preschoolers would also enjoy the pictures and it would be a good book to learn pre reading skills like identifying objects.
Up tomorrow:
Menu Planning
by Stacy Mannion on March 29, 2009
Due to technical difficulties that plagued the blog all week last week, I have chosen to reissue last weeks articles. The good news is that we have moved to a different server and everything APPEARS to be fixed! Thanks for bearing with me and we will now resume our regularly scheduled content! ~Stacy
Monday-Healthy Snack Foods
Tuesday-Book Review: You and Me
Wednesday-Menu Planning Part 1: Why Would You Want to Plan a Family Menu?
Thursday-Parent Profile: Meet Kristine Benham
Friday-Toolbox:Skill Building at Home
Saturday-Weekend Chat: How Do You Get Involved in Your Community?
And now for some pictures! We attended a birthday party last weekend at a bounce house party place. Here are some photos from the boxing ring.
My son, Sean, wearing oversized boxing gloves.
Daddy and Sean boxing. It looks like Daddy is going to win this round!
My boys all tuckered out after some intense boxing! Aren’t they cute?!?
by Stacy Mannion on March 17, 2009
Book Info
Author: Margaret Read MacDonald
Illustrator: Sophie Fatus
Sung by: Bob King
Pages: 32 Pages
Publisher, Date: Barefoot Books, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-84686-290-8
Ages: Read Alone: 4-7
Read Together:0-4
Summary
The farmyard Jamboree, a whimsical fable based on Chilean and Latin American folklore, is a rhythmic story narrated by a young boy who gradually acquires a flock of farm animals. From a clucking red hen who gives him a chick to a mooing brown cow who gives him a calf, the little Chilean boy gains 16 farmyard pets in this cumulative story. This book, which is part of the PBS Parents Collection, is accompanied with an audio CD containing the story sung as a catchy folk music tune.
My Opinion
The progression of this tale brings a nice blend of repetition and learning concepts. Each animal that is introduced is accompanied by a unique animal sound, a color (ie. barking black dog), and the name of the baby animal associated with it. The farmyard animals are counted by two’s all the way up to sixteen. The vibrant illustrations were done using a combination of acrylic and pastels. They mirror the folk art theme and tie in well with the text.
I read the book before I played the included audio CD and thought to myself, “That was a cute story.” When I played the music along with reading the story, I was tapping my foot and singing along to the song. `The song is simple enough to memorize for times when the CD is not handy. You can download the guitar score by visiting <>Barefoot Books Website.
Final Review
Based on the exceptional illustrations and welcoming repetition that this story holds, I would recommend this story for children 3-7. Children younger than 3 or with short attention spans may find this story a tad long to read all the way through, but would enjoy the illustrations and parents could “shorten” it by eliminating some of the repetition. Children this age would also like the song, with or without the book.
Would you like a free copy of this book? Enter my free book giveaway!
Up tommorrow:
Selecting a Babysitter you Can Trust
by Stacy Mannion on March 17, 2009
To celebrate the launch of Parenting Tips Daily I am giving away a free copy of The Farmyard Jamboree! This delightful children’s book was provided courtesy of Barefoot Books.
Click here to read my full review.
You have 3 chances to win
Entry #1 Leave me a comment answering this question:
What is you favorite farmyard animal?
Entry #2 Subscribe to my RSS feed. After you have subscribed, leave me a comment stating “I’ve Subscribed”.
Entry #3 Tweet or Blog about this giveaway. After you have done so, leave a comment stating “I tweeted this Giveaway” or “I blogged this Giveaway”.
This giveaway will end Sunday, March 22 at 12:01 am Pacific Time has been extended to Monday, March 23 at 12:01am Pacific due to blog complications. The winner will be “drawn” using a random number generator from Random.org and will be announced Monday March 23rd.
Up tommorrow:
Selecting a Babysitter you Can Trust
by Stacy Mannion on March 13, 2009
As my launch week approaches I wanted to share with you some of the topics that you can expect to read on this blog:
Blog News-General Updates and News
Community-Parent Profiles highlighting interesting parents
Eating Well-Tips for creating healthy meals
Education & Safety-Ideas to enhance learning and keep your child safe
Family-A variety of issues that affect the family
Freebies-Periodic Giveaways
Get Organized-Creative ideas to get organized
Home is Where the Heart Is-Tips for making your house a home
Money Matters-Budgeting and ways to save money
Parenting-From discipline to Bedtiime routines, parenting tips to keep you sane.
Reviews-Books, Music, Movies and More, I will review something new weekly
Self Care-Tips for taking better care of yourself, so you can take care of your family
