Review & Giveaway: How to Speak Animal by Aubre Andrus & Gabby Wild

Series: National Geographic Kids How to Speak
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: National Geographic Partners, LLC
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 16th, 2022
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Bookshop.org | Google Books | 
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Learn about the secret language of wild animals in this exciting and informative guide from the experts who brought you How to Speak Cat and How to Speak Dog.

We know animals can’t speak and express themselves in the same way as humans … but even the smallest and quietest animals have incredible ways of communicating with each other. With wildlife veterinarian expert Dr. Gabby Wild as a guide, How to Speak Animal helps kids understand how animals communicate through sound, body language, and behavior. It’s full of expert insights and real-life stories of humans exploring ways to “talk” to animals, from teaching great apes sign language to speaking “dolphin.” Packed with super-engaging animal photography that helps illustrate key concepts, this fascinating bookprofiles more than 60 different creatures—from birds to mammals to reptiles and more—and their amazing ways of communicating with each other.

If you’ve ever wondered why gorillas beat their chests and make hooting noises, what it means when chameleons change color, or why some elephants twist their trunks together, this is the book for you!

Complete your collection with:
How to Speak Dog
How to Speak Cat
Fetch! A How to Speak Dog Training Guide
Pounce! A How to Speak Cat Training Guide

Review & Giveaway: The Hair Book by LaTonya Yvette, Illustrated by Amanda Jane Jones

Publisher: Union Square Kids

Source: pr firm in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: May 3rd, 2022

Formats Available: Hardcover, Board book, Ebook
Buying Links: Amazon*  | BookShop.org | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | 
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from PR Firm:

With bold, colorful graphics and poetic rhyme, this is a stunning tribute to every kind of hair, perfect for fans of Hair Love.

Covered hair, Bun Hair, Party Hair… No matter your hair—YOU are welcome anywhere!

Author and lifestyle blogger, LaTonya Yvette makes her children’s book debut with a must-have gift purchase for any occasion alongside art from award-winning illustrator Amanda Jane Jones.

Review:
“Striking spreads include bold and eye-catching colors that celebrate the diversity of beauty.” — School Library Journal, Starred review

Make Every Child a Reader this #GivingTuesday, November 28th

Last week I shared a post about First Book and Chronicle Books donating books to children this holiday season. Today I want to share how you can help children get books via another organization, Every Child a Reader.

Every Child A Reader is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading in children and teens across America. They support all those who inspire children and teens to enjoy reading— parents, educators, librarians and booksellers across America — year-round as well as through their popular and long-running national programs which include Children's Book Week (every year I review only children's books on the blog during that week), Children's & Teen Choice Book Awards, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, the Reading Without Walls Challenge, and the Anna Dewdney Read Together Award. Every Child A Reader works to connect young children and teens with books that they love and create lifelong readers. They aim to give children books that reflect their world.

Every Child A Reader reaches out to schools, libraries, and communities across the US. Every little bit of support helps in furthering their mission and reaching children in all walks of life.

Want to help? Donate directly, any time during the year and not just at the holidays, at http://everychildareader.net/donate/ Then spread the word and share this campaign with your friends, family, and colleagues. Use #GivingTuesday and #MakeEveryChildaReader in your social media posts and link to the url: http://everychildareader.net/donate/

Every little bit will help, and a donation of $20 will help:

Ship children's books to a health clinic (Every child who comes in for a check-up gets a free book from Every Child a Reader)

Print and mail  word puzzles and draw-your-own story pages to 10 rural and urban schools and libraries across America.

Produce online and downloadable voting ballots for our 4 book prizes, the only national awards voting on only by kids and teens. 

BUY A BOOK, GIVE A BOOK Campaign Update:

I got an email from Chronicle Books concerning their campaign -

This weekend, for every book you buy on our website, we'll donate three to a child in need through our non-profit partner First Book.

And don't forget our Friends + Family sale, get 35% off with free ground shipping on everything with code GIVEBOOKS

Now, go share your love of books with a child! 

Bea Reviews The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Publisher: Kids Can Press 
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: April 1st, 2014

Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires has created a charming picture book about an unnamed girl and her very best friend, who happens to be a dog. The girl has a wonderful idea. She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!? But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right.

For the early grades' exploration of character education, this funny book offers a perfect example of the rewards of perseverance and creativity. The girl's frustration and anger are vividly depicted in the detailed art, and the story offers good options for dealing honestly with these feelings, while at the same time reassuring children that it's okay to make mistakes. The clever use of verbs in groups of threes is both fun and functional, offering opportunities for wonderful vocabulary enrichment. The girl doesn't just make her magnificent thing --- "she tinkers and hammers and measures, she smoothes and wrenches and fiddles, she twists and tweaks and fastens." These precise action words are likely to fire up the imaginations of youngsters eager to create their own inventions and is a great tie-in to learning about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Buy A Book, Give A Book - Pledge to Give Books

For the fifth year, Chronicle Books is running their Buy A Book, Give A Book campaign in conjunction with First Book. It's simple: Use the hashtag #GiveBooks on social media to share your pledge that you are giving a book; each use counts as a new book in the hands of a child so share as many times as you want. For every pledge, Chronicle Books will donate a book to First Book (up to 30,000 books).

And for the first time ever, every order you place on chroniclebooks.com will be matched with a donation to First Book. To get started, take 35% off (that's their best discount of the year) with the code GIVEBOOKS.

If you're reading my blog, you're a reader, you appreciate books. How about sharing your love of reading with a child? Millions of children lack access to age-appropriate reading material and educational resources. As a teacher and a reader, that saddens me. Books are important for learning, for dreaming, for traveling without ever leaving home, for giving hope and inspiration. This campaign is a simple way to help combat the lack of books. So please, go, buy a book, and donate a book. Want more info? Go here. And come back some time during the next few months and share what book you gave.

Calling All Readers and Authors: Help A School, Donate Books!

 

This article about a school library has been all over my Facebook feed this week and I decided to share on here for those of you who may not have seen it.

There's a school in Nevada that hasn't had a working library for about a decade; they haven't had any new books for eight years. None. Not one. I have a hard time fathoming that. I was fortunate with my school libraries and am fortunate now with my local libraries. They had/have budget issues but there are always new materials. Now, this school's library is being restarted and they need books, movies, and music. From the article -

We need racially diverse books. We need graphic novels. We need women’s studies. We need science. We need series. We need film. We need comics. We need music. We need biographies of important people. Looking for Young Adult. Classics. We want zines! Contemporary. Poetry. Everything that would make a difference in a young person’s life. Writers send us YOUR BOOK.

They have an Amazon wish list, or you can send them something that you think will spark a teen's mind, have relevance to them. It can be brand new or a gently loved item from your own collection. Please, nothing in poor shape. Don't send them your trash.

I've gone through my collection of unsolicited YA review books and will be shipping them out, probably on Monday. Want to save some money on shipping and you're in the US? Check out the postal service's media mail option. It's how I send books. It can take several weeks to ship but it can be significantly cheaper than shipping first class.

Also, I love that the students have a say in the new library and are an active part of designing the space. How awesome is that? Their input is wanted and solicited and they'll be more invested in using and taking care of the space. Just wonderful. <3

ETA: All the information you need about the school and donating can be found in the original article, here.

A final word from the article -

So here’s what I’m asking. Will you donate a book? A real book. Something literary or fun—something that speaks to your truth, their truths. Something that teaches them something about the world. Makes them feel less alone?

I’m not asking for money. I’m asking for you to send a new book or film or cd to us to help us build a library we can be proud of. Just one book.

Jax Reviews The Road to Nyn by Brian Michaud & A Giveaway

Publisher: Self published
Format Read: e-book
Source: From author in exchange for honest review
Release Date: November 2013
Buying Links: Amazon* 
* affiliate link; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb:

In a land where magic is outlawed, a young boy is living a double life. Although Kay is training to be a knight, he has been secretly studying the forbidden ways of magic with Alamin, a powerful but eccentric wizard.

After passing of the Trial of the Rings and being raised to squirehood, Kay has decided to tell Alamin that he is going to leave his magical studies behind. And why not? Kay hasn’t ever cast a spell without something going seriously wrong–like the random appearance of frogs or hungry wolves–besides, Kay could be banished from the kingdom just for associating with Alamin.

Kay’s plans are quickly obliterated when a horde of goblins attacks his village and captures his family and friends. Now, with his home lying in ruins, everything has changed. Along with Alamin and Felix, a self-serving kleptomaniac sprite, Kay embarks on an adventure that takes him across the Kingdom of Gaspar and into the dark and treacherous caves of the Goblin Realm. What Kay doesn’t realize is that his journey is leading him on a collision course with the Lord of Nyn – a being so powerful that none dare face him...not even Alamin himself!

Children's Book Week Kid Lit Giveaway Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Children's Book Week Kid Lit Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews. I'm a toddler and pre-school teacher, an avid reader, a children's advocate, a reviewer, and an editor. I believe in reading, love reading, and think everyone could enjoy it, if they had the right book or reading material.

This Holiday, I Pledge to Give Books

I am always happy to give books as gifts and the holidays are no exception. Thanks to Read Now Sleep Later for the heads up about this book donation campaign. Anything that involves children and books is right up my alley and I think that First Book does wonderful work.

Chronicle Books and First Book have teamed up this holiday season to give books to children. Share your love of reading, support your local book store, and help promote literacy! For every #GiveBooks tweet, pin, and online signature, Chronicle Books will donate a book to a child in need through First Book. The goal is to donate 10,000 books by December 15. I've signed the pledge, pinned about the campaign, tweeted, and shared on facebook. What will YOU do?

This holiday, I pledge to GiveBooks! Take the @ChronicleBooks @FirstBook pledge at http://ow.ly/ptMuP or RT to be counted! #GiveBooks

Want to purchase books from Chronicle Books? Use discount code GIVEBOOKS to get 30% off and free ground shipping - http://www.chroniclebooks.com/

You can also donate to First Book.

Related articles

• This Holiday, I Pledge to Give Books (chroniclebooks.com)
• This Holiday Pledge to give BOOKS! (tapestry193.com)
• Holiday Gift Guide: MyChronicleBooks Personalized Books #Giveaway #giftguide (ahensnest.com)
• Chronicle Books Holds Bake Sale for Typhoon Haiyan Relief (mediabistro.com)
• Give Thanks, Give Books: An Interview with Illustrator Gemma Correll (chroniclebooks.com)

First Book and Their Big Give Campaign for Children

It's holiday season; last month there was Diwali and this month there's Hannukah and Christmas, oh and winter solstice. The month of January has Kwanzaa and undoubtedly I've missed some. What all these holidays have in common is the tradition of giving; giving your time, your money or an actual physical present. It's also a time of year when many, many organizations of all varieties seek your money.

First Book is no different; they always need money so that they can provide low-cost or free books to children in need. Since I work with young children and I am an avid reader, this organization seems tailor-made for my support. I'm getting ahead of myself; here's some basic info about First Books from the Groupon page:

First Book is a nonprofit that aims to empower children from low-income families in the United States and Canada by improving their reading skills and subsequently their academic success and quality of education by increasing their access to books and educational resources. The organization connects classrooms and programs serving children with brand new books through its First Book Marketplace, where it sells new books online to community programs and schools at a reduced cost, and through the First Book National Book Bank, a clearinghouse for en masse donations from publishers. Since 1992, First Book has distributed more than 100 million books and educational resources in partnership with a network of more than 35,000 schools and programs across North America. After receiving books from First Book, children read more at home and overcome a pervasive barrier to success.

First Book has partnered up with Groupon, the social coupon site, to make it easy for people to donate money to buy books. Please, take a minute, share your love of book and donate to help a child out and make them happy. Thank you. <3