Earth Day Book Review and Giveaway!

In honor of Earth Day (April 22), we picked out a fun book to read to celebrate.  We picked Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel.

The premise of the book is a town covered in trash and other gross stuff when Michael Recycle crashes into town superhero style to change their ways.  He teaches the townspeople about the importance of recycling ("...before all your trash reaches up to the moon!") and teaches them what they can recycle.  The text and photos also indirectly refer to having rain barrels and gardening - other eco-friendly practices.

What I thought about the book:  Overall, I enjoyed this book.  It is definitely aimed at younger children (I estimate ages 4-6) as it introduces the concept of recycling, but doesn't go into great detail about the benefits and just briefly mentions the types of things you can recycle.  I also kind of wish it addressed reusing, but I guess that's a whole other book.  ;-)

What Jack thought about the book:  Overall, Jack enjoyed the book.  He said his favorite part was when Michael Recycle crashed into the town dump...headfirst and with a colander on his head.  :-)  He also liked the last few pages where the author discusses other common eco-friendly practices (using less water, reducing paper usage, composting, etc.) and we were able to have a nice conversation about which of those things we already do and which we could do next.

What Colin thought about the book:  Colin was not super interested in this book until we got to the page where the townspeople had a celebration of their newfound eco-friendliness and "covered the town with green toilet paper".  I thought that part was odd (condoning decorating with dyed paper products), but they did mention that when they were done the rolled up the paper to use again.  Anyway, Colin asked me to read that part at least five times before I was able to move on with the book and he was still talking about it two pages later.

You could buy this book, but wouldn't it be more fun to win it?  Enter the giveaway via Rafflecopter below for your chance to win this book!

Consignment Sale!

Hitting up a local consignment sale tomorrow - very excited!  Books aren't the first priority, but you better believe I won't pass up a great deal.  :-)

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?

The obsession with dinosaurs continues...

Today we read one of the books that was included in our Blue Bag from the library, How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night by Jane Yolen.

The premise of the story is several pages of different dinosaurs displaying bedtime stalling behavior (demanding a piggyback, moaning & crying, stomping their feet, etc.) and the author asking, "does a dinosaur..."?  And answering, "no, a dinosaur...(gives a kiss, turns out the light, etc.).

A dramatic dinosaur

What I thought about the book:  Overall, I loved the premise of the book.  The author shows many of the common stall tactics that can make bedtime a challenge for moms and dads and shows how the dinosaurs don't do those, but instead they do things to make bedtime go much more smoothly.  The photos are large and engaging.  I loved that the dinosaur names are somewhere on each page (sometimes on their bed or their rug or wall) - inevitably Colin is going to ask me the name of the dinosaur and I'm not going to know.  I better get it right because he's going to remember when he asks me again!

What Jack thought about the book:  Jack enjoyed listening to the story, but really it is below his interest level.  He's not into dinosaurs like Colin is and the overall subject matter is just a little young for him.  He loves to listen to almost any story though and he loves when Colin likes something so he was a good sport.  :-)

What Colin thought about the book:  Colin loved it!  He loved the large, bright illustrations of the dinosaurs "being naughty" - it cracked him up.  He also tends to love sing-songy books and this fits the bill.

This book is part of a whole series of "How do Dinosaurs...".  After reading this one, I will definitely check out other dinosaur books by Jane Yolen especially if Colin's dinosaur obsession continues.

You can likely find this book at your local library or on Amazon for anywhere between 22 cents and approx. $10.

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The Blue Bag

Maybe this is common at everyone's library, but I've never seen it before and I'm so excited that I have to share!

Our library has these book kits called "Story Express Kits" that are basically multi-media collections that revolve around a single theme.  They consist of several books, a music CD, a DVD and toys or action figures.  All of the items are neatly contained in this handy blue bag, complete with a laminated card listing the bag's inventory.

I chose the dinosaur themed bag this time due to Colin's still rampant love of dinosaurs (just recently he told me he wants to name his baby sister "diplodocus").  I really wish I had the camera handy when the boys opened the bag because their faces were priceless!  Who knew a bag from the library could thrill them this much?  The dinosaur bag contains:

• How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?
• Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp
• Dinosaur Roar!
• Dinosaur! (couldn't find a link for this one)
• Dinosaur Bones
• Ten Little Dinosaurs
• Wee Sing Dinosaurs (music CD)
• Dinosaur (DVD)
• a Allosaurus
• a Parasaurolophus
• a Styacosaurus

The boys were totally thrilled that there were toys in the bag.  We had to break out the dinosaurs and put in the DVD immediately, while they also thumbed through the books.  We'll be reading and posting reviews of the books all this week.

As previously mentioned, the library has several Story Express Kit themes to choose from.  I stopped at dinosaurs, but I also saw "colors", "alphabet" and "cars".  I'll have to pay more attention next time and note what the other themes were.

The way the process works is that the library keeps a binder of laminated cards that describe the theme and contents and when you find one you like, you take the card to the circulation desk and exchange it for the bag.  A great thing about this process is that you know when you choose a theme card that it is actually available since they keep that card out of the binder until the bag is returned.  No last minute disappointment!

I look forward to reading these books to the kids this week and even listening to the dinosaur songs on our daily commute to school.  The only challenge thus far has been making sure that the "library dinosaurs" go back to sleep in the blue bag when they are done playing with them.  I'm paranoid that we are going to lose them and I'm going to have to buy the library new ones!

I imagine ours is not the only library with these story kits - I highly recommend that you ask about it next time you go to your local library.  If you do, let me know.  I'd love to hear about it!