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In the world of Jordan College at Oxford, Lyra Delaqua’s life is more than simple. She shares many adventures with her daemon Pantalaimon and her best friend Roger. She occasionally learns from the scholars, but only when she’s in the right mood. She’s neither a peasant nor a noble child.

However, this simplicity only lasts until she catches the Master of Jordan trying to poison her nobleman uncle, Lord Asriel. This sets off a series of events that wrenches Lyra from her careless life at Oxford.

Lord Asriel is the first to introduce the aspect of Dust to her, something that he believes can only be found in the north, the place she desires to go more than anywhere else on planet. Thoughts of the great, white north race through her mind on a daily basis. This could be her chance—to travel to the north with her scholarly uncle to help him discover this so called dust.

But events are set in place to keep this from happening. Children are disappearing from Oxford. No one knows where they go or what happens to them once they are gone. All they know is who is taking them—the Gobblers. But the gobblers are faceless, and day by day, more children and their daemons are disappearing from all over the world.

After Lyra’s uncle has departed for his journey into the north, Lyra is introduced to the charming and graceful Mrs. Coulter, who intrigues Lyra so that she agrees to go with Mrs. Coulter and her eerie golden monkey to become her assistant, learn the ways of traveling, and venture into the north.But before Lyra leaves Jordan College, she is called to the Master who gives her a curious device called an alethiometer—a truth measurer. He gives her no information—not how to read, nor why he is giving it to her. He only emphasizes the great need to keep it secret.

For the first few weeks with Mrs. Coulter, Lyra’s life is drastically improved. She dresses well, bathes frequently. She learns about geography, cartography, and every other “ography.” But dark secrets are soon revealed—secrets of Dust, something called the Oblation board, and possibly what is happening to the children snatched up by the Gobblers. Lyra escapes from Mrs. Coulter just barely, and on her journey to find truth and her friend Roger, she encounters and learns more than she could ever imagine including Lord Faa and Farder Coram of the water-bound gyptians, Lee Scoresby the hot air balloon pilot from Texas, Serafina Pekkala—queen of a tribe of witches–, and Iorek Byrnison, an exiled bear prince from Svalbard. Together this ragtag band of determined allies travel into the north, discover the secret of the Gobblers, and many more secrets that even the alethiometer kept hidden.

• Remote Islands in Norway
•              Scotland
•             Canada
•             Greenland
•             Finland
•             Iceland
•             Sweden

(and my Head Elf, Becky, tells me that Northern Minnesota should be added to this list!

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Do your young readers love nature and all of nature’s critters? Experience the magical story of a family of foxes that took up residence right in the front yard of the author and publisher, Valarie Budayr. The Fox Diaries: The Year the Foxes Came to our Garden offers an enthusiastically educational opportunity to observe this fox family grow and learn together.

From digging and hunting to playing and resting, this diary shares a rare glimpse into the private lives of Momma Rennie and her babies. Come watch as they navigate this wildly dangerous but still wonderful world. Great to share with your children or students, The Fox Diaries speaks to the importance of growing and learning both individually and as a family unit. It is a perfect book for story time or family sharing. Not only can you read about the daily rituals of this marvelous fox family, there is an information-packed resource section at the end of the book that includes lots of facts and even a few “fox movies” that you can enjoy with your family. Grab your copy of this beautiful and inspiring book HERE.

The post The Golden Compass Book Review and Activities for Young Readers appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

The post MKB Read Around the World Summer Reading Series: Stork by Wendy Delsol appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Today we are going on a journey to the Middle East. Often times what we hear coming out of the Middle East is violent. Today I would like to share an insightful book and a look into the everyday life of Israel/Palestine.

When I first read the book Habibi by Naomi Nye a few years back I thought it was one of the most wonderfully crafted an authentic stories presented on the region. I’m very biased as my husband is from Lebanon and we spend a lot of time with family in that region of the world. My children could relate to the story of Habibi on many levels. We’ve raised our children speaking Arabic just so they could communicate with their family overseas. Though language hasn’t been an issue , the adjustment to a new country always is.

Because all of us here have a first hand experience of the region, I wanted someone to read this book who hadn’t bee to the region and see what their experience with Habibi was. Today’s blog post is shared with us by our intern and crafter extraordinaire Hannah Rials.  Please enjoy our journey today and the rich cultures, diverse backgrounds, and traditions which live in the Middle East.

A Review

Habibi: (n.) “darling.” Arabic, a term of endearment in all countries.

Liyana’s just had her first ever kiss, and now her father announces that her family is moving to Jerusalem and he is returning. After years of living in America, Poppy is ready to return to his homeland and be reunited with his estranged family. So without any say from Liyana or her brother Rafik, the Abbouds pack up their house, manage an estate sale, and fly across the world to Jerusalem/Palestine, a country that is supposed to be improving, but is life really any better than it was when Poppy left?

Liyana feels lost in Jerusalem. Her very traditional family does not speak a word of English, so both she and they must be translated through Poppy. She knows no one here. Back in St. Louis, even the grocer knew her. Here, she’s just half and half—half American, half Arabic. She has no place, but as she comes to experience and explore Jerusalem and its inhabitants, she begins to find herself more at home, especially when she meets Omar, the handsome Jewish boy in the lamp store.

They form a friendship based on peace and the belief that the world can only get better when people change their views. If they continue to think in the same way that they always have, then things are always going to stay the same. All the adults who talk about change and peace do not seem to understand that.

Naomi Shihab Nye’s story shows a troubled country through a powerful, influential prospective—that of a child’s. Too often, adults overlook the simple solutions, the easy through process. They make everything complicated, when the solution might easily be changing your tune. National change does not happen without first a change in thought. All it takes is a friendship between a young, quirky Arabic girl and a peaceful Jewish boy in Jerusalem to start that change.

This story is beautifully woven. I learned so much about Jerusalem that I never knew. It seems like such a foreign place, so far away, but Nye creates a beautiful, endearing culture, despite the dangerous aspects. Liyana, the habibi of the family, is a wonderful inspiring character that is easy to connect to and offers a fresh prospective. I can’t wait to see what else Nye has created!

Somethings To Do

Make your Own Bedouin Drum at RhyhmWebccom

DCF 1.0

Make your Own Baba Ghannouj

Virtual Tours of Jerusalem:

Create your own Family Memories: Recently our entire family returned to my husband’s homeland of Lebanon and much fun was had, old memories were revisited and new ones were created.

At our favorite banyan tree at the American university of Beirut. The kids have played there for years.

This is of one of our favorite meals known as Lunch at Jido’s. Jido means grandfather. Every Saturday I would cook lunch for the family at Jido’s house. This year we had a Jido lunch at my sister in laws.

Lebanon Skies

Beach Fun

Food, Family and Laughter!

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End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale!!

Summer is slowly winding down and thoughts are turning to the upcoming school year and reads that will take us into (and through) the colder months ahead. Instead of being sad to see summer go, I choose to Celebrate! And what better way to do it than with an End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale. For two weeks only readers can get a great deal on two of my most popular books. But don’t delay; this super special sale ends August 14, 2015.!

First up The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired #homeschool. And for a limited time, this best-selling book by Donna Ashton, The Waldorf #Homeschool Handbook is now only $17.95 until August 14th, 2015 ! http://amzn.to/1OhTfoT

Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale until August 14th ! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX

Two great children’s books-Your choice, $17.95 each!

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: Habibi by Naomi Nye Book review appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Ohhhh, I have such wonderful Norse God and Viking-related book goodness going on this week! For those just tuning in, this week I have spent much time revisiting my Valli-the-Viking history with glorious books from assorted female authors. On Monday I jumped into the amazing book Runemarks from Joanne Harris and also a robust Book-Jumper Summer Reading: A Norse God and Viking Booklist!

Now it’s time to delve into another family favorite

The Sea of Trolls is the first volume of a fantasy trilogy by three-time Newbery Honors winning author, Nancy Farmer.

Jack was eleven when the Berserkers loomed out of the fog and nabbed him. “It seems that things are stirring across the water,” the Bard had warned. “Ships are being built, swords are being forged.”

“Is that bad?” Jack had asked, for his Saxon village had never before seen Berserkers.

“Of course. People don’t make ships and swords unless they intend to use them.”

The year is A.D. 793. In the next months, Jack and his little sister, Lucy, are enslaved by Olaf One-Brow and his fierce young shipmate, Thorgil. With a crow named Bold Heart for mysterious company, they are swept up into an adventure-quest in the spirit of The Lord of the Rings.

Award-winner Nancy Farmer has never told a richer, funnier tale, nor offered more timeless encouragement to young seekers than “Just say no to pillaging.”-Amazon

My View:

My family is made up of hearty Swedish Americans who come from solid Viking stock. We have always been fascinated by Viking lore and love studying and learning about the Vikings.

Reading The Sea of Trolls left us wanting to become Skalds, which is just another name for bard….which (in case you were wondering!) was a professional poet employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron’s ancestors and to praise the patron’s own activities. In a nutshell, we wanted to tell our stories through song and poems, learn to be one with nature, and who wouldn’t want to include a dragon or two?

Even though this book does deal with thought-provoking subject matter such as death, slavery, pillaging and magic. There are not gross or morbid details. This story wonderfully weaves the interactions of three very different cultures. It does so with a seamless blend of history, humor, and suspense.

In The Seas of Trolls the main character Jack is thrilled when the Bard takes notice of him. It’s a highly sought after opportunity to be the old man’s apprentice and learn the magic that this particular Bard possesses. But Jack’s life is suddenly thrown into chaos when a nightmare sends the Bard into insanity and a band a Berserkers attacks his village. Jack is captured along with his beloved sister Lucy. Jack knows he is now at the mercy of Olaf One-Brow.

This fantasy has such a rich texture and weaves history (Viking Berserkers, and the destruction of the Holy Isle) with legends (Jotunheim, trolls, Norse gods and Yggdrasil), and never makes you leave your belief that it could have happened just like this. The Bard has wonderful insight into nature and happiness which alone is worth reading this book. Jack himself also evolves wonderfully throughout the story and turns from an ordinary farm boy into a sensitive, intelligent bard.

Something To Do

Many times throughout the story Jack would play a game called “Wolf and Sheep” with Thorgil or others that they were spending time with. This is a very old Viking game originating in Iceland. It can be found throughout Scandinavia but also in England,Scotland, and Ireland.

Playing boards are either made out of clay,or cloth. We made a salt dough version which is fun and easy.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 cup cold water
In a large bowl, mix the salt and flour together. Add the 1/2 cup of water and stir until you have a dough. You might need to get your hands in there to complete making it into a round ball.

To make the board: Place a little flour on a cutting board. Take 2/3 rds of the dough and roll it out into a circle a 1/2 inch thick. With a marble or glass stone make marks in the dough for the game board. Three circles across and 7 circles down. For the horizontal rows do the same thing intersecting with the vertical lines.

Heat oven 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Place on parchment paper in the oven for two hours or until the dough is hard.

Any leftover dough place in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to be used later.

The Game:

• First we need to decide who will be the sheep and who will be the ram. The one whose first name is closest to the letter Z is the one who gets to pick which they would like to be Sheep or Wolf.
• The Sheep person always goes first. They move one step at a time. They can move forward,diagonally forward or sideways but never backwards.
• The wolf can go in any direction. If there is an empty hole in any direction around the lamb the wolf may skip over the lamb and take that playing piece off of the board. If the wolf can skip over many sheep in the same move it may do so, removing the lamb pieces off of the board.
• The lambs win by encircling the wolf so that he cannot move anywhere to take away the sheep pieces.
• The wolf wins if he has taken away all of the sheep pieces, or if he can get to one of the holes in the bottom row.

ONE MORE THING! Don’t forget to enter Jump Into a Book’s GIVEAWAY of Joanne Harris’ Runemark Trilogy series that includes:

• Runemarks
• Runelight
• The Gospel of Loki

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End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale!!

Summer is slowly winding down and thoughts are turning to the upcoming school year and reads that will take us into (and through) the colder months ahead. Instead of being sad to see summer go, I choose to Celebrate! And what better way to do it than with an End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale. For two weeks only readers can get a great deal on two of my most popular books. But don’t delay; this super special sale ends August 14, 2015.!

First up The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired #homeschool. And for a limited time, this best-selling book by Donna Ashton, The Waldorf #Homeschool Handbook is now only $17.95 until August 14th, 2015 ! http://amzn.to/1OhTfoT

Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale until August 14th ! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX

Two great children’s books-Your choice, $17.95 each!

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: Sea of Trolls Book Review appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

I hope all of you are enjoying summer and can you believe this is Week 10 of our Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series??!! What fun it has been!

I can share with you that I’m up to my eyeballs in Norse Mythology. The ever-talented Roscoe Welply and I are working on a new book from Audrey Press all about the Norse Gods. Some of you might not know this about me but my family comes from the Island of Gotland in the Baltic sea. There on this magical island is buried Thor,the hammer god himself. So I guess I can technically say that Thor is a part of my geneology.

Source

Runemarks by Joanne Harris is one of my son’s favorite reads. He has read it several times and has continued on with the series as well. He highly recommends it with five golden stars and thumbs up.

All of us know about the ancient Greek and Roman Gods. We read about their magical world both in school and for pleasure. But now a new realm of Gods has been introduced—the Norse Gods.

Maddy Smith is a unique, chaotic girl in a plain, orderly world. The age of the Æsir—Odin, Frigga, Thor, Tyr—is long gone. 500 years gone to be exact, after Ragnorak, the changing of the worlds. Now the Order rules, under the guidance of the Nameless, and anything seen as demonic or different is cleansed.

But in Maddy’s little town of Malbry she is no more than hated by the rest of her simple villagers. Until One Eye comes along. This mysterious traveller tells her stories of the old age and confirms that she does in fact have powers, powers of the Gods. But old One Eye only tells Maddy half-truths, only trains her in what she needs to know. She does not understand what is going on beneath the Middle World or what is happening at the End of the World where the Order congregates.

Life changes drastically for Maddy when One Eye sends her on a wild goose chase for something called “The Whisperer.” All she has to go on is that it will call to her and that it is very important that she trusts no one and bring the whisperer back to Maddy.

But forces are at work against Maddy and her old friend. The Order has now become suspicious of the town of Malbry and the paranormal activity occurring there. And One Eye’s old friend, Lucky, isn’t quite as dead as One Eye hoped he’d be.

In her journey through the tunnels of the underworld, Maddy uncovers the truth about her birth, her friends, and what is truly going on in the nine worlds. The Æsir are rising, but the Nameless has other plans for the nine worlds. After hearing the first prophecy in five hundred years, Maddy must figure out how to save her friend, herself, and the Nine Worlds from the Chaos that rests in the bottom of the world.

I know this summary is quite vague, but I do not want to give anything away. All the surprises that were around the corner in this book were so exciting to me that I’d hate to deprive you of such a feeling.

We have read books upon books upon books about the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. Well, Joanne Harris’s Runemarks is the start to the rise of the Norse gods. Well read in classical language and mythology, Runemarks is full of Norse history, but is also an exciting new tale to the old Gods. Her exciting tale of a nearly unknown world summits interest from the very beginning—from the curious Runemarks, to the alternative use of the word faerie, to these new, powerful Gods that we will soon get to know as well as we know Athena and Zeus. May the Greek Gods rest in peace, and may we welcome the Norse Gods with open arms! Be sure to finish out the series with Runelight and The Gospel of Loki.

Something to Do

1. Check out this complete list of Norse runes and their meanings HERE.

Interested in learning more about Norse mythology? Go HERE.

2. Even though in Runemarks, Thor has lost his hammer, we still know it exists. And he’ll need it back eventually so lets help him out by making our own Thor Hammer!

3. Idun is the goddess of healing. She heals the sick, wounded and dying, with her dried apples—the food of the gods. Make your own healing fruit!

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It’s the End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale!!

Summer is slowly winding down and thoughts are turning to the upcoming school year and reads that will take us into (and through) the colder months ahead. Instead of being sad to see summer go, I choose to Celebrate! And what better way to do it than with an End of Summer Audrey Press Book Sale. For two weeks only readers can get a great deal on two of my most popular books. But don’t delay; this super special sale ends August 14, 2015.!

First up The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired #homeschool. And for a limited time, this best-selling book by Donna Ashton, The Waldorf #Homeschool Handbook is now only $17.95 until August 14th, 2015 !

Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale until August 14th ! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX

Two great children’s books-Your choice, $17.95 each!

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: Exploring Norse Runemarks appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to Week 8 of The Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series!

This series is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of the books I am jumping into feature protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Bookjumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week we’re in the Redwood Forest and enjoying Northern California! We are so inspired by these incredible trees. They are the oldest, tallest trees on the planet. Some of them are 1000 years old. It’s been a huge challenge to save these glorious trees from the blade of the lumber companies. Muir woods it a save haven for the redwoods. It’s our hope that our booklist will inspire you as well to make a trip to visit these ancient giants and become active in saving them for future generations.

Enjoy!

RedWoods by Jason Chin

An ordinary train ride becomes and extraordinary trip to the great ancient forests.A subway trip is transformed when a young boy happens upon a book about redwood forests. As he reads the information unfolds, and with each new bit of knowledge, he travels–all the way to California to climb into the Redwood canopy. Crammed with interesting and accurate information about these great natural wonders.

The Tallest Tree by Robert Lieber (a board book produced by the Golden Gate National Park)

The Tree in the Ancient Forest by Carol Reed Jones

Science teachers and ecologically minded parents: this book is a delightful introduction to the habitat in and around old trees. As AAAS Science Books & Films says, “The science is accurate and the book painlessly teaches important ecological lessons.” From lowly fungi to majestic owls, the book connects the web of nature. Repetitive, cumulative verse–a poetic technique that children universally enjoy–aptly portrays the amazing ways in which the inhabitants of the forest depend upon one another for survival. Stunning illustrations by the renowned illustrator, Christopher Canyon, manage to be both magical and true to life. It includes a guide to the forest creatures and their interrelationships, and a concise explanation of an ancient forest.

Who Pooped in the Redwoods by Gary Robson

This edition of Who Pooped in the Park? follows Michael and Emily on a trip to Redwoods National and State Parks in California. Michael tries to deal with his fear of bears as Mom and Dad teach him and his sister about the wildlife in the area–without ever getting close enough to be scared. In their “close encounters of the poopy kind,” the family learns about a variety of animals, and readers will become familiar with their tracks and the droppings they leave behind (scats).

Operation Redwood By S. Terrell  French

“Sibley Carter is a moron and a world-class jerk,” reads Julian Carter-Li in an angry e-mail message meant for his greedy, high-powered uncle. The fateful message sets him on the course to stop an environmental crime! His uncle’s company plans to cut down some of the oldest California redwood trees, and it’s up to Julian and a ragtag group of friends to figure out a way to stop them. This thrilling, thoughtful debut novel shows the power of determined individuals, no matter what their age, to stand up to wrongdoing.

A Voice for the Redwoods by Loretta Halter

The Sacred Redwood Forest by Dror Shah Levi

It is a very beautifully illustrated children’s book describing the love, peace and contentment that can be experienced in an ancient old-growth forest. With faeries, nymphs, a Forest Goddess, an Ancient Magician, and other colorful characters, we learn through the eyes of a young girl, why these last remaining forests should be saved, and about the senseless destruction already wrought upon them.

The Ancient One by T.A. Barron

The Wild Trees by Richard Prestin

Redwood Trees by John Prevost

Provides basic information about the redwood, including its structure, economic uses, and the pests and diseases that affect it.

The Ever Living Tree: The Life and Times of a Coast Redwood byLinda Vieira

The Redwood Forest by Lisa Bullard

Have you ever seen a tree as wide as a house? What about one taller than a skyscraper? Get ready to explore the gigantic trees in the Redwood Forests! These amazing forests are located along the West Coast of the United States, from California to Oregon. Just how tall can a redwood tree grow? Read this book to find out!

What amazing redwood forest books have you read?

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Looking for better guide for successful homeschooling? The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook is a simple step-by-step guide to creating and understanding a Waldorf inspired homeschool plan. Within the pages of this comprehensive homeschooling guide, parents will find information, lesson plans, curriculum, helpful hints, behind the scenes reasons why, rhythm, rituals, helping you fit homeschooling into your life. Discover how to educate your children in a nurturing and creative environment.

Grab your copy HERE: The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired homeschool. http://amzn.to/1OhTfoT

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series-The Great Redwood Tree Booklist appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Today I make my way to revisit an old friend, the redwood trees of Northern California. In celebration of this very fun trip, I’m re-sharing an old Jump into a Book favorite about a great read called Operation Redwood.

This is one of our favorite books and every time we read it we feel that we want to go immediately to visit the redwood trees. Today we’ll be in the Muir Forest doing just that.

Enjoy!

Maybe it was the vivid memory of being a 7 year-old and being in a car that my father drove through the middle of a huge tree. Every time I hear the word “redwood” this memory comes immediately to mind. That’s exactly what happened in the bookstore as I saw Operation Redwood by S Terrell French,a new release on the counter at the bookstore.

I immediately purchased it, took it home, and started turning pages. This is a story that doesn’t disappoint. Twelve year-old Julian Carter-Li accidentally reads an email he shouldn’t be reading only to find himself in a fight to save an old growth stand of the oldest trees in the world; the Redwoods. The story unfolds with a great sense of discovery. The children discover themselves, their values, and their shared love of an old grove of trees which has become a part of their lives.

There are many twists and turns but ultimately it was the vision and spirit of team work that led this group of young people to a brilliant success. The message is loud and clear, anyone can make a difference.

One of the reasons the children felt so connected to this grove of trees was discovery and the sharing of their discoveries. Julian didn’t know that the redwoods were in trouble. He didn’t even know it was an issue. Robin, her sister,best friend had all shared countless memories in the old grove, as well as , two big brothers who had shared a secret treehouse. Only when their sisters reached a certain age would they be told the secret of how to get up the very tall tree and into the treehouse. Julian, together with his best friend Danny, discover how to stand up for what is truly important.

With that said, it is time for us to take a journey into the woods or forest and see what we can share.

Something To Do

Let’s play ‘Into the Forest”. Here’s how we play:

• Go as a family, or a group of friends.
• Bring along any or all of these items;a camera,journal,sketchbook,pencils, and crayons
• Once in the forest, set boundaries so that no one gets lost. Use the buddy system. No one is left alone.

Now we are ready for our Scavenger Hunt. Have a look at the lists below. See how many things you can find. Be sure to look, touch, smell,listen, and watch as much as you can. Please feel free to write down your discoveries,photograph them, or just sit in wonder of sharing such a grand experience.

Look  

Dead tree               Wild flowers           pine cone        Berries          Vine        Poison Ivy

Stream                    Creek                  grass                clover leaf    Moss       Pine tree

Seeds                      pods                    soil                  eroding soil  rock         mud

sand                        fern                 y shaped twig      Trash            acorn        nuts

pine needles          tree blossoms    hole in a tree        tree stump    pond         dark leaves

light leaves            small pebbles     unusual leaves      colored rocks  different shades of color

dew                   tree fungus           season changes     caterpillars       squirrels    bird

ants                    butterfly             snails                      beetles           feather      salamander

lizard                   ladybug               spider                     spider web      birds nest   insects

deer tracks          raccoon tracks      frog                     leaf eat by insect  proof of animals

proof of people

Listen to:

Leaves under your feet           wind in the trees         sound of a bee

birds singing                           crickets                      Water running

Noises in the forests               Wet mud                     rotten wood

Wind blowing                          rocks hitting water       rocks tumbling in water

Smell:

Pine tree        flowers            Mud        grass          water       fresh air         cedar tree

Watch and share:

Animals eating                   leaves falling to the ground      spider web being built

insect in a spider web         An ant moving something         Wind blowing in the leaves

fish jumping                       moving clouds                          sunlight coming through the trees

sunrise                               sunset                                      stars in the night sky

Lightning bugs                     reflections in water                  trail markers

animal homes                       shelters

After all of your discoveries today sit with your family or group and share all of the wonderful moments you felt, heard, touched and smelled. If you have some photos of your walk into the forest that you would like to share please do so here.

You can also download this list to take with or to create a checklist for your Into the Forest adventure.

For more information about the Redwood Forest and where you can see these trees of size of yourself have a look here:

• Big Basin Redwood State Park
• Muir Woods National Monument
• Humboldt Redwoods State Park
• Redwood National and State Parks

***
Looking for a unique way to keep your kids busy this summer…and engaged with nature? The At-Home Summer Nature Camp eCurriculum is available for sale!

This 8-week eCurriculum is packed with ideas and inspiration to keep kids engaged and happy all summer long. It offers 8 kid-approved themes with outdoor activities, indoor projects, arts & crafts, recipes, field trip ideas, book & media suggestions, and more. The curriculum, now available for download, is a full-color PDF that can be read on a computer screen or tablet, or printed out. Designed for children ages 5-11, it is fun and easily adaptable for all ages!

The At-Home Summer Nature Camp eGuide is packed with ideas & inspiration to keep your kids engaged all summer long. This unique eCurriculum is packed with ideas & inspiration from a group of creative “camp counselors.” Sign up, or get more details, HERE

The post Operation Redwood Revisited {Great Fiction Book for Kids!} appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Author Cornelia Funke is one of our favorites and this week we have been celebrating her Inkheart series and other books from her collection. Earlier this week we jumped into her book The Thief Lord and also a deeper look at her Inkheart series here.

I’m so happy to be giving away her Inkheart Trilogy to bring your summer days alive. These are 3 of our favorite books which have been read over and over again.

Inkheart

One cruel night, Meggie’s father reads aloud from a book called INKHEART– and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever.
This is INKHEART–a timeless tale about books, about imagination, about life. Dare to read it aloud.

Inkspell

The sequel to Inkheart.

Although a year has passed, not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of INKHEART, the book whose characters became real. But for Dustfinger, the fire-eater brought into being from words, the need to return to the tale has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller with the ability to read him back, Dustfinger leaves behind his young apprentice Farid and plunges into the medieval world of his past. Distraught, Farid goes in search of Meggie, and before long, both are caught inside the book, too. But the story is threatening to evolve in ways neither of them could ever have imagined.

Inkdeath

The conclusion to the trilogy.

The Adderhead–his immortality bound in a book by Meggie’s father, Mo–has ordered his henchmen to plunder the villages. The peasants’ only defense is a band of outlaws led by the Bluejay–Mo’s fictitious double, whose identity he has reluctantly adopted. But the Book of Immortality is unraveling, and the Adderhead again fears the White Women of Death. To bring the renegade Bluejay back to repair the book, the Adderhead kidnaps all the children in the kingdom, dooming them to slavery in his silver mines unless Mo surrenders. First Dustfinger, now Mo: Can anyone save this cursed story?

Giveaway Guidelines:

ONE winner will receive one copy of each book. Giveaway begins July 17th, 2015

• Prizing & samples  courtesy of Author of the above books
• Giveaway open to US addresses only
• ONE lucky winner will win one copy of each of the above books (Inkheart, Inkspell, Inkdeath)
• Residents of USA only please.
• Must be 18 years or older to enter
• One entry per household.
• Staff and family members of Audrey Press are not eligible.
• Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize
• Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter on July 26th, 2015

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Bookjumper Summer Inkheart Trilogy Giveaway appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to Week Seven of The Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series!

This series is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of the books I am jumping into feature protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Bookjumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week we are celebrating the writing of Cornelia Funke in her Inkheart series. A little while ago we jumped into another one of her splendid novels called The Thief Lord. Her writing style is so inventive. No one book matches another and each one is unique unto itself. If you’ve enjoyed Inkheart, I know you’ll enjoy this one too. Happy Reading

We’ve just finished a very adventurous read by Cornelia Funke called The Thief Lord. Set in Venice, Italy, this magical tale took us on a whirlwind visit to a mysterious and unknown destination.

From Goodreads:

Prosper and Bo are orphans on the run from their cruel aunt and uncle. The brothers decide to hide out in Venice, where they meet a mysterious character who calls himself the “Thief Lord.” Brilliant and charismatic, the Thief Lord leads a ring of street children who dabble in petty crimes. Prosper and Bo relish being part of this colorful new family. But the Thief Lord has secrets of his own. And soon the boys are thrust into circumstances that will lead them, and readers, to a fantastic, spellbinding conclusion.

This coming of age story places the idea of Identity smack dab in the middle of this adventure. Who are we? How does one see themselves and how are we perceived? What masks do we wear? And what dreams do we hope to fulfill. Our journey took us deeper into the ideas around family and friendship, loyalty and trust, adoption, Venice, Italy, and the mystery of Carnevale/ Carnival .

I highly suggest adding this wonderful book to your Book-Jumper Summer Reading booklist!

Reminder: Don’t forget about our Wildwood Chronicles 3-Book Giveaway that will be ending this week!! Head over to that post ASAP and get entered! Good Luck.

Somethings To Do :

 Venetian Masks : Make Your Own Venetian Mask

Carnevale/Carnival:

Discover Carnevale 2012

From the Author:

Visit Cornelia Funke’s website

Cornelia’s ABC’s: Happy browsing through Cornelia’s very personal dictionary. Find out astounding and amusing facts about her life and work. Our ABC will gradually grow, so drop in here now and then.

Cornelia’s List of books and audiobooks: All her books that have been translated into English so far. Here they are. Hopefully something for every taste.

Discover Italy:

Fun Facts About Italy. Bet You Didn’t Know from Life in Italy

Italy facts from Kids World Travel Guide

Speak Italian:

Basic Italian Phrases from Fodors Travel

Eat Like a Venetian

Ravioli

Pizza

Gelato

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I was given a copy of this book for this for review. The opinions expressed are purely my own.

Looking for a unique way to keep your kids busy this summer…and engaged with nature? The At-Home Summer Nature Camp eCurriculum is available for sale!

This 8-week eCurriculum is packed with ideas and inspiration to keep kids engaged and happy all summer long. It offers 8 kid-approved themes with outdoor activities, indoor projects, arts & crafts, recipes, field trip ideas, book & media suggestions, and more. The curriculum, now available for download, is a full-color PDF that can be read on a computer screen or tablet, or printed out. Designed for children ages 5-11, it is fun and easily-adaptable for all ages!

The At-Home Summer Nature Camp eGuide is packed with ideas & inspiration to keep your kids engaged all summer long. This unique eCurriculum is packed with ideas & inspiration from a group of creative “camp counselors.” Sign up, or get more details, HERE

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: The Thief Lord Book Review & Activities appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to Week Seven of The Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of the books I am jumping into feature protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Bookjumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

Today I am review and sharing the book Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.

The beauty of a book’s adventure is that you have to go no further than your couch to experience it. A good story can help you to escape, make you new friends, even give you a thrill or two. We love our books and the experiences they give us. But what if these stories become a reality? What if the villains that we love to read about come knocking on our door? How much do we love the adventure then?

Meggie and her father Mo Fulchart love books beyond what any one word can express. As a living, Mo is lovingly called a book doctor who cares for and fixes the discarded and dilapidated books, and he has passed along his love of books to his daughter. But there is more to Mo’s connection with books than meets the eye, even more than Meggie knows. Mo has the most magical voice that can pull characters out of their world and place them in ours. This “power” unfortunately leaves Meggie without a mother, Mo without a wife, and a few particularly nasty villains following Mo’s every step.

Another character from this world of villains comes knocking on Mo’s door one night, asking for a particular book and a particular favor that Meggie cannot decode. Warning of the danger of the mysterious “Capricorn,” Meggie, Mo, Dustfinger, and his pet marten Gwin take off to small village where Eleanor, Mo’s aunt-in-law lives. Eleanor’s vast library will be a good hiding place for Mo’s book and a nice cover for Meggie’s sudden absence in school.
This arrival sparks a domino effect of events that one cannot even imagine. Characters being read out of their worlds, Meggie being held hostage, Mo being threatened, escapes, new friends, self-involved authors, and a new ending to a story that was starting to look very dim.

This story illustrates the amazing power of the written word, since “Writing is a type of magic,” as Mo says. I have read many books in my time, and I started way before I read Inkheart in my sixth year of school. But Cornelia Funke’s powerful words made me want to create powerful words of my own. Her characters are so very real and her story so very vivid that for a week, I lived in the adventure of Inkheart right along with Meggie and Dustfinger and Mo. I got lost in the words, in a good way. This second reading, I stretched out my time with the story, thoroughly enjoying it again. And in ten more years, maybe I’ll pick it up again and rediscover its magic. Inkheart is a timeless tale that will never be forgotten.

*Be sure to finish the Inkheart tale with the rest of the trilogy: Inkspell and Inkdeath. You don’t want to miss out on the grand finale!

Somethings To Do

Lynne Farrell Stover has written a simply wonderful extension activity guide for Librarysparks. 

Inside this guide you will find very imaginative and inventive games that will bring this book wonderfully to life.

Round Table Card Game (Parts of a Book)

Decoding Famous Quotations

Also included in an extension activity using cryptography with the quotes.

Fantastic Heroes and Vile Villains 

Scholastic who actually owns the imprint which publishes author Cornelia Funke, has a great videos of Cornelia talking about what inspired her to write this series of books. You can view the whole video in its entirety or watch it in one of 8 sections. You choose which ones. These are really fantastic videos which give us a behind the scene look into the mind of the author.

Whole Video

Once you’re on the video page, if you look to the right hand side bar you’ll find the individual videos.

As in love with Cornelia Funke’s writing as we are we want you to discover other great reading adventures. Here’s a link to her full list of novels.

I was given a copy of this book for this for review. The opinions expressed are purely my own.

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Grab your copy HERE: The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired homeschool. http://amzn.to/1OhTfoT

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: Inkheart Book Review & Activity appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

This week we’ve been adventuring in Wildwood, the wonderful book series by Colin Meloy and wonderfully illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis. Carson has also illustrated The Mysterious Benedict Society series as well as a couple Lemony Snickett books and many many more. She is such a great talent!!!

Don’t forget to check out our Wildwood Chronicles 3-Book Giveaway before it ends on July 19th!

I found this fun post in our archives and thought it might be the perfect book plus activity which can help you get through the Impassable woods or any such life test that might come your way.

Happy Reading and Enjoy !!!

‘The Mysterious Benedict Society’ written by Trenton Lee Stewart and Illustrated by Carson Ellis.

What would you do if you were specially chosen to take a series of tests? These aren’t ordinary, usual tests, but the sort which tries to see how clever you are. What if you passed these exams and ended up becoming a spy which uses secret codes and messages? Such is the case with the four main characters of the book “The Mysterious Benedict Society.”

Reynard “Reynie” Muldoon, George “Sticky” Washington, Kate Wetherall, and Constance Contraire pass a series of tests advertised in the newspaper and meet Mr. Benedict, a man trying to stop something known as “The Thing to Come.” Mr. Benedict sends them to The Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened (L.I.V.E.), where they meet Ledroptha Curtain, a man trying to take over the world using subliminal messages through “The Whisperer”, a machine of his own design.

The group finds out that they must obtain the high rank of messenger to get closer to Mr. Curtain. The children carefully spy on Mr. Curtain, finally getting close enough to destroy the machine, but Mr. Curtain escapes. The story ends…….

You didn’t think I was going to give that away, now did you? It’s a great and wonderful read.

Something To Do

The kids communicate from L.I.V.E to Mr. Benedict via Morse code, use a walkie talkie, or flashlight. Be sure to have paper and pen handy to write down your message. We had so much fun with this using our walkie talkies across the lake from each other. We have also used flashlights from an upstairs window to communicate with the treehouse. Have fun.

Looking for a unique way to keep your kids busy this summer…and engaged with nature? The At-Home Summer Nature Camp eCurriculum is available for sale!

The post Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: The Mysterious Benedict Society Mystery Activity appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to our 6th week of the Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series. I can’t believe we’ve been reading and adventuring together for 6 whole weeks!!

If you are just tuning in you can find some great book review and activities here and here.

Today both intern Hannah and I have things to say about this week’s book Wildwood by Colin Meloy.

We started this as a read-aloud book, BUT I was quickly ditched to reading it all alone and silently. Why you ask? It’s not because the book isn’t good, it’s because it is so darn good that it had my children relating way too much to what was happening. You see I’m from Portland, Oregon and my sister lives in North Portland (North Wood) which if you look at the map below is just near the Wildwood. Yes friends, the Wildwood does exist and could very possibly be true. Maybe this book is just being disguised as fiction but is actually based on a true story. It could be. It was my non-commitment to the question, “Are you sure this is fiction?” (shrug)

That little shrug cleared the room and left me with hours of great reading. Hopefully they’ll come back to it one day…….

My advice is don’t leave this book or it’s sequels. Brilliant and clever writing in a world we completely relate to.

Have a look.

It was an ordinary day. Prue and her baby brother Mac are just out for a ride in the park, enjoying the wonderful Portand day. Then the most un-thought of event happens. A swarm of crows sweeps down on the playground, grabs Mac in their claws, and flies him away into the infamous forest that Portlanders know as the Impassable Wood.

Horror-stricken, Prue returns home and is able to convince her parents that their baby is fast asleep and ready for bed. While her parents sleep, Prue prepares herself to travel into the Impassable Wilderness to rescue her brother. She must. This is her fault after all.

So, prepared with a backpack of snacks, her bike, and a red wagon attached to the back, she ventures to the edge of the Impassable Wilderness. There she runs into a classmate, Curtis, a boy that she hasn’t been friends with in awhile. And when he discovers her plan, he insists on accompanying her, despite her objections.
No one ever goes into the Impassable Wilderness, and in just a few moments, they know why. Riding along the Long Road, they come into the path of coyotes. But not just any coyotes—coyote soldiers…talking coyote soldiers. And when they smell the scent of human, Prue and Curtis have to run. Except the coyote soldiers are faster. Curtis is taken to their mistress, the Dowager Governess, and now Prue must fend for herself.

She is sent all over the Impassable Wood, better known as the Wildwood to its inhabitants. She meets Robert, the postman of Southwood, travels through the Avian Principality into Southwood where she believes she will be helped. But Outsiders have never been able to breach the boundary, and Prue is considered a danger to the community.

Under the advisement of Owl Rex, the crowned prince of the Avian Principality, she realizes that her only hope is to travel to Northwood and ask for the help of the mystics. Except the Wildwood is no cakewalk. The wilderness throws tons of hurdles in Prue’s way, and she must fight through all these impediments to rescue her brother, be reunited with Curtis, and stop the evil that is plotting to taking over the Wildwood.

Thoughts From Hannah…..

Narnia is one of my favorite books, and in my eye,  Wildwood is revamped, yet different Narnia. Colin Meloy has spun a fabulously detailed story of a completely different world that is dangerous, exciting, and endearing. The characters are complex, and the world is beautiful. Wildwood teaches about family loyalty, bravery, finding your place in the world, and loving nature. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

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Somethings To Do

Wildwood is set in Portland Oregon. That’s why my family refers to this great series of books as “Oregon Reads”, more specifically “Portland Reads.” Being born and raised in Portland Oregon, our Something To Do section today could quickly get out of control. I’m trying my best to reign myself in. I could write a plethora of suggestions just for books alone, and then food, mixed with lots of adventure. But alas, I only have this little blog post. So here it goes……

Make Gorp

You can’t be from Portland and not share the ever-loving trail snack GORP !!!! I don’t even know how many pounds/kilos of this stuff I’ve eaten in my life or made for that matter.

Step this way for a taste of the most divine trail mix EVER!

Portland Summer Activities

Ok summer isn’t summer without these three things. Well actually, I have a lot more on my list but this is the BEST start.

1. Portland Rose Festival in June
2. Topdown Rooftop Cinema in July
3. Bridge Pedal in August

Travel Portland With Kids

For all of those things I just can’t leave off the list, I leave for you to discover on your own. I hope you find your way to Portland, Oregon one day. But first, start with the book The Wildwood!!!!

**Some of these links are affiliate links. Opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.

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Looking for a unique way to keep your kids busy this summer…and engaged with nature? The At-Home Summer Nature Camp eCurriculum is available for sale!

The post The Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: The Wildwood appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to WEEK 5 of my Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Book-jumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

If you’re just tuning in, there are some great summer reading booklists here and here.

Wangari Maathai is one of my favorite people. The first time I discovered her was through this beautiful picture book called Mama Miti. Since then I’ve had the occasion to read about her several times, follow her Nobel Peace Prize award, and watch her green movement progress. Earlier this year I wrote a review of another book entitled Wangari Maathai by Franck Prevost for Women’s History month. To her people she is known as Mother of the Trees. However you come to know Wangari Maathai, I’m quite certain that you will be inspired by her story and determination to save her country.

Donna Jo Napoli tells the inspiring story of Wangari Maathai, the woman who planted trees.

On the highlands of Africa,

Near the forests and plains and a hue salt lick,

Wangari was born. The face of

Mount Kenya smiled down on her.

People told stories of how in the old days

Sometimes the sun shone too bright too long,

And droughts came. Creatures suffered.

Plants wilted. People fought.

So men held ceremonies under the mugumo

The spreading sacred fig tree

And the skies blessed them with shimmering rains

 to slake their thirst and water their farms.

Village elders placed staffs from the

Thigi tree between angry men,

And enemies became friends

Wangari listened to these stories. That’s how she came to love and respect trees. Excerpt from the book Mama Miti.

She was the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace prize. In her own garden she planted trees to be able to have fruits, shade, and to refresh her spirit.  She was also a very wise and educated, being the first woman with a doctorate in Africa.  Other women would come to her with their problems.  Each time she would tell them how strong they were and then give them a tree seedling which would be the answer to their problem.

Seed by seed, woman by woman the Kenyan countryside was filled with trees. Kenya had been changed one tree at a time.

Donna Jo Napoli is a brillant storyteller who invites us to admire Wangari Maathai but also to follow her example and take action as “Keepers of the Earth.”

Honoring the women who saved their country by planting trees, Kadir Nelson’s stunning and colorful artwork brings the story to life with his multi-textured collages.

Something To Do:

It’s very simple …..let’s plant some trees. Each person on this planet needs 15 trees per year to have enough oxygen to live. A few years ago we planted a fruit orchard. By doing so we now are getting lovely fruits to eat from spring through fall. This year we will add to the orchard but we will also take part in planting in our greenbelt area here.

A group that absolutely supports planting trees is the Arbor Day Foundation. If you don’t have room to plant the trees yourself, have a fund-raiser and let people like this restore forests. Let me know what you are planting. I would love to see them.

**Some of these links are affiliate links. The opinions expressed are purely my own.

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The post The BookJumper Summer Reading Series: Mama Miti appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to the next installment of my Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Book-jumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week we’ve been celebrating the planet we live on, Earth. On Earth Day I created a very fun booklist which honors amazing people preserving and restoring areas on our planet as well as others reusing items to accomplish great feats.

Every library should have these inspiring stories from Wangari Mathai who planted an entire forest saving her country, to William Kamkwamba who created a windmill to end a drought in his town, to Isatou Ceesay who started with just one plastic bag. On this list you’ll also find entertaining chapter books with a environmentalist theme to them as well. Each person can contribute something.

One of the more amazing things about this booklist is that we’re giving it away. Have a look below and get inspired.

A Love the Earth Booklist

Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees by Franck Prevot, Illustrated by Aurelia Fronty

Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her efforts to lead women in a nonviolent struggle to bring peace and democracy to Africa through its reforestation. Her organization planted over thirty million trees in thirty years. This beautiful picture book tells the story of an amazing woman and an inspiring idea.
A book for young readers. It involves new kids, bullies, alligators, eco-warriors, pancakes, and pint-sized owls. A hilarious Floridian adventure!

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia

Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred.

The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them. Something had to change.

Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person’s actions really can make a difference in our world.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba’s tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season’s crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution. There, he came up with the idea that would change his family’s life forever: he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William’s windmill brought electricity to his home and helped his family pump the water they needed to farm the land.

Retold for a younger audience, this exciting memoir shows how, even in a desperate situation, one boy’s brilliant idea can light up the world. Complete with photographs, illustrations, and an epilogue that will bring readers up to date on William’s story, this is the perfect edition to read and share with the whole family.

SeedFolks by Paul Fleishman

A vacant lot looks like no place for a garden. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise.

Heroes of the Environment by Harriet Rohmer

This inspiring book presents the true stories of 12 people from across North America who have done great things for the environment. Heroes include a teenage girl who figured out how to remove an industrial pollutant from the Ohio River, a Mexican superstar wrestler who works to protect turtles and whales, and a teenage boy from Rhode Island who helped his community and his state develop effective e-waste recycling programs. Plenty of photographs and illustrations bring each compelling story vividly to life.

John Muir: My Life with Nature by Joseph Comell

Written mostly in the words of Muir, it brims with his spirit and adventures. The text was selected and retold by naturalist Joseph Cornell, author of Sharing Nature with Children, who is well known for his inspiring nature games. The result is a book with an aliveness, a presence of goodness, adventure, enthusiasm, and sensitive love of each animal and plant that will give young adults an experience of a true champion of nature. It is a book that expands your sense of hope, adventure, and awareness. Adults will be just as fond of this book as young readers. Cornell includes numerous explore more activities that help the reader to understand and appreciate the many wonderful qualities of Muir.

Wild Wings by Gill Lewis

This “vividly imagined and well-written novel” (Booklist, starred review) tells a gripping story about a boy from Scotland and a girl from West Africa who join together to save a migrating Osprey—and end up saving each other.

When Callum spots crazy Iona McNair on his family’s sprawling property, she’s catching a fish with her bare hands. She won’t share the fish, but does share something else: a secret. She’s discovered a rare endangered bird, an Osprey, and it’s clear to both her and Callum that if anyone finds out about the bird, it, and its species, is likely doomed. Poachers, egg thieves, and wild weather are just some of the threats, so Iona and Callum vow to keep track of the bird and check her migratory progress using the code a preservationist tagged on her ankle, no matter what.
But when one of them can no longer keep the promise, it’s up to the other to do it for them both. No matter what. Set against the dramatic landscapes of Scotland and West Africa, this is a story of unlikely friendships, the wonders of the wild—and the everyday leaps of faith that set our souls to flight.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

ONE winner will receive one copy of each of the books above. Giveaway begins July 1,2015

• Prizing & samples  courtesy of Authors of the above books
• Giveaway open to US addresses only
• ONE lucky winner will win one copy of each of the above books.
• Residents of USA only please.
• Must be 18 years or older to enter
• One entry per household.
• Staff and family members of Audrey Press are not eligible.
• Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize
• Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter on July 13th, 2015

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post A Love the Earth Booklist: Preserve,Restore, Reuse {Giveaway} appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

This week we’ve been celebrating author Michaela MacColl, her books and her recent release The Revelation of Louisa May based on authoress Louisa May Alcott. I have so many incredible memories of her book Little Women. When I finally arrived at Louisa Alcott’s home Orchard House with my own brood in tow, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

The first time I met Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy I was ten years old. Every Thursday I had a date with Marmee, I mean mom, as she stood there ironing. To make her arduous task go by faster, I read Little Women to her. Orchard House seemed the perfect setting to iron in and besides it was a family we felt we related to. Though 100 and some years had passed since Jo wrote plays for her sisters, our 1970’s/80’s household seemed to hold the same passions and desires. All we really needed was Laurie living next door and a mean old aunt who wanted us to read to her. Hey wasn’t I already reading to somebody? There you have it — I was one step closer to being Jo March.

(Here is where my mother would want me to point out that she wasn’t ironing her husband and children’s clothes. She was a wedding dress designer; she always steamed and pressed the wedding and bridesmaids’ dresses on Thursdays so they could be packed and delivered on Fridays.)

That summer of Little Women was packed gently away in the recesses of my mind until many years later when I was, yet again, utterly lost on the Boston highways and by-ways. After what seemed like endless driving, I found myself in the little town of Concord Massachusetts. Passing before us were colorful clapboard colonial houses boasting quaint little gardens. As the country road kept turning and winding, I couldn’t help muttering every two minutes to my son, “We are so lost. If it wasn’t so nice to look at I’d be worried.” Just after one of those mutterings and country road turns I saw a sign for “Orchard House.” Surely that couldn’t be my Orchard House, could it? I made a hasty right-hand turn into the parking lot, and sitting before me was the Orchard House of my imagination — just as I had left it.

“Let’s get out of the car,” I said to my son, gazing at the house.

“Mom, do you know where we are?”

“I think so.” I started walking up towards the house.

“Mom, where are we going? Do you know these people?”

“Yes,” Came my quick reply. “We’re visiting some old friends.”

“Mom, who lives here? I thought we were lost.”

“The Marches live here. My friend Jo March and her sisters live here.”

By this time we had come to the kitchen door.

I knocked and without waiting for a reply I entered. There to greet us was a very kind woman who, I might add, looked an awful lot like Marmee.

“Are you here for the tour?” she asked.

“Tour?” I questioned.

“Yes, you’re at Louisa May Alcott’s house, author of Little Women.”

From there we got a private tour into the world of Louisa May Alcott and an up-close visit into the life and times of this cherished author. During our visit to Orchard House seeds were planted, and I just had to discover what ideas were to unfold. We decided to stay in Concord, or stay “lost,” as my son likes to put it.

Over the next three days, we met her, her family, and neighbors, all contributors to American education, thought and literature.

Louisa May Alcott was the second daughter of Bronson and Abigail May Alcott. Born on the same day as her father, on November 29th, 1832. Louisa was raised along with her sisters Anna, Elizabeth, and May in a very unique family.

Louisa’s father Bronson Alcott, a transcendentalist and educator, believed that the key to social reform and spiritual growth was at home and in family life. He woke his family everyday at 5 am to run outdoors. They would finish with a cold morning bath before starting their daily studies and chores. He was a philosopher who loved public speaking and often would stand outside his house to discuss his ideas with passersby. Next door neighbor Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was a very solitary and private man, had a path built above his house in the forest which led around the Alcott home and came out on the other side so he could avoid meetings with Bronson Alcott.

Concord looked at the Alcott’s as an eccentric family. The Alcott family made many life choices which contributed to them standing out from the rest of their community.

Louisa and her sisters were home-schooled, taught by their father until 1848. He instilled in them the values of self-reliance, duty, charity, self-expression and sacrifice. Noticing how bright and curious Louisa was, Ralph Waldo Emerson, another neighbor, invited her to visit his library any time she wished. What followed was Mr. Emerson becoming her literature and philosophy teacher. They would spend hours together discussing literature, thought, poetry, rhetoric and the like. Another of Louisa’s teachers was naturalist and essayist Henry David Thoreau. Louisa and her sisters accompanied him often on his long nature walks. Along with the art of nature observation he taught them biology.

Though Louisa’s father was a very educated man, he brought in little income. Louisa, her mother, and her sisters had to hire themselves out to clean houses, take in laundry, and work as tutors in schools. Louisa had been writing poems and stories under a couple of pseudonyms. She started using her own name when she was hired to write children’s stories. At the age of 15 she decided that her family would no longer live in poverty. The first book she wrote was Flower Fables, which she wrote for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s daughter Ellen Hawthorne. She wrote Little Women in ten weeks and the sequel Little Men in another ten week session. Both books were written at Orchard House and while we were visiting there we saw the small desk by the window that Bronson Alcott made her. All of her children’s books have been continually published since the late 1800’s and translated into 50 languages.

Louisa was a very strong-willed woman. During the Civil War she worked as a nurse in Washington D.C. There she contracted typhoid fever and the mercury used to cure her ended up poisoning her. She suffered from chronic illness for the rest of her life.

Her family was staunchly abolitionist and housed slaves moving towards freedom. John Brown’s widow and children stayed with the Alcott’s for several weeks after the death of Mr. Brown.

Like many educated women of her time, Louisa was an advocate for women’s suffrage. She was the first woman registered to vote some 40 years before women had the right to vote in the United States. Louisa walked into a school board election and pounded on the table saying “I have the right to vote and you won’t stop me.” The election chair gave her a ballot and registered her to vote. Whether her vote counted or not, no one knows, but people actively speak about Louisa as the first woman to vote in the United States.

As in her book Little Women, Louisa’s sister Beth died from smallpox, which she contracted taking care of a poor immigrant family. Later her sister Amy moved to Europe to study painting at the Beaux Arts in Paris. Amy married a Swiss man and later died after giving birth to her daughter who they named after her sister Louisa (Lulu). Upon the insistence of her sister, Louisa took care of Lulu at Orchard House until she was ten years old and then sent her back to Switzerland. The eldest of the Alcott sisters, Anne, loved to act just like the older sister Meg in Little Women. As I was walking up Walden Street in Concord I noticed a little theater which I learned was founded by Anne Alcott. To this day plays are performed there seasonally and a production of Little Women is an annual event.

Louisa never married and wrote until the day she died at 55 years old. Just as she was born on the same day as her father, she died just two days after his death.

We paid a visit to the Sleepy Hollow cemetery. This lovely place was created by Ralph Waldo Emerson as a place of beauty for the citizens of Concord to come and reflect on nature, literature, music, poetry, and their loved ones. As they were in life, all of the above-mentioned people are neighbors in death as well. As we approached Louisa’s grave in her family plot we took part in the tradition of leaving a pen at the authoress’s grave, as well as a stone on Henry David Thoreau’s grave just nearby. Walking a few feet we also paid homage to Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Since returning from Concord we’ve started our own family journal practice. In the Alcott household, journals were meant to be shared. The Alcott family would write about the daily happenings in their lives, what books they were reading and the thoughts they inspired, political opinions, women’s suffrage, plays they were working on or had seen, walks and observations, poems they had written and poems to be shared. Anything at all that held their attention would be written in their journals. Each evening after dinner they sat around the table and read from their journals.

In our family we’ve taken to collecting not just snippets from our daily lives but to writing down poems we’ve discovered during the week. We also include riddles, jokes, favorite recipes, and this week’s favorite music. The family journal sits on the old radio by the kitchen table where everyone puts something daily into it. On Sunday dinner we read from our weekly family journal. It’s been fun to watch what catches the eye of my growing family and how we are creating this weekly testament about the lives we share together.

By getting lost on our way back to Boston, we ended up in another era of American thought, literature, and history. Unbeknownst to me, I had no idea that by discovering Louisa May Alcott an entire world of famous American transcendentalist would plant the seeds of inspiration. Over those few days we walked the path of Henry David Thoreau, saw the birth of our nation at Minute Man National Park, and embraced the world of 19th century America.

For further information about Orchard House, Louisa May Alcott, her books, and the time period she lived in , please look here.

P.S….Don’t forget to enter my Michaela MacColl Booklist Giveaway!

::::::::::::

Natural Nester

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The post Discovering Louisa May Alcott at Orchard House in Concord MA appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to the next installment of my Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Book-jumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week I’d like to focus on the wonderful author, Michaela MacColl. Michaela attended Vassar College and Yale University. She earned degrees in multi-disciplinary history. Unfortunately, it took her 20 years to realize that was her passion and begin writing historical fiction. Her favorite stories are the ones she finds about the childhood experiences of famous people. What happened that helped them to be great? Michaela has two daughters so she’s hoping to identify those moments firsthand. She and her family live in Connecticut, but she will travel at the drop of hat to do local research.

We’ve all heard of the beloved author Louisa May Alcott, but how many of you can say you really know her? I’ll bet more than you think, especially if you’ve entertained yourselves with the tales of the March Sisters in Little Women. But there was more to Louisa’s life than her three sisters and her sharp pen.

Hard times have befallen the Alcott family. Money is scarce since her transcendentalist father refuses to work for anyone but himself because of his morals. Because her husband will not sacrifice her morals, Marmee Alcott must leave her family in Concord so that she may support them with her own work, leaving Louisa in charge of the household, her younger sister, and her father. Oh, yes, and her family’s role in the Underground Railroad.

Just before Marmee leaves to start work, a runaway slave appears on the Alcott’s property in need of help and a place to hide until his family can reach him. Louisa is the find him, and she now feels a loyalty to him. But George Freedman does not just bring his family running after him. A literate slave, George has a high bounty on his head, and a certain dangerous slave catcher has come running after him, bringing trouble for everyone in Louisa’s circle of friends.

Mr. Finch, the slave catcher soon discovers everyone’s secrets including, Mr. Pryor, the Railroad Conductor, Henry David Thoreau, Mrs. Emerson, and even the Alcotts. So many people want him gone, so how can Louisa narrow the list of suspects when Mr. Finch turns up dead on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s property a few feet away from her injured father.

With the help of friends, family, and her own, sharp intellect, Louisa May must discover the truth behind Mr. Finch’s death to prove everyone else’s innocence. But in Concord, Massachusetts, everyone has secrets. How to tell the truth from the lies?

This is the second book of Michaela MacColl’s that I have had the pleasure of reading. This crafty novel is suspenseful, endearing, and altogether witty. I loved learning about the famous American author. Her family’s involvement in the Underground railroad was a surprise to me, but one that I find extremely interesting! This novel is filled with factual information about Louisa May Alcott’s life, with only a few fictional liberties taken by Ms. MacColl. If you are a fan of Little Women, you will love getting a look into the real March family!
Facts about Louisa May Alcott:

~Louisa had three sisters, all who had paralleling characters in her famous novel Little Women. Jo’s fiery character was based off herself.
~Even though her family was destitute growing up, Louisa became very wealthy as an adult, wealthy enough to send her youngest sister to Paris to study art.
~Louisa preferred to write more adult themes, rather than for children. The success of the novel based on her life and her family continued to surprise her all throughout her life.
~Like many women of this time and before, Louisa originally published her work under a man’s pseudonym. A compilation of stories from her time as a nurse during the Civil War was her first work published under her name.
~Louisa never married, but she raised her youngest sister’s daughter when she died a few weeks after the birth.
*All of these fascinating facts and more about Ms. Alcott’s life can be found in the Author’s Note.

Later this week I’ll be sharing with you our visit to Orchard House and the Alcott’s. While visiting Concord we soon learned how close all of these famous American authors and thinkers lived to each other. Nathaniel Hawthorne lived right next door to the Alcott’s. Louisa’s father Bronson Alcott use to stand out in front of the house near the street, catching anyone passing by into lengthy intense discussions. Nathaniel Hawthorne was a very shy and solitary man. He had a pathway put in above their houses on the ridge so he could avoid Branson Alcott and his intense conversations.

Something To Do

Investigate and learn about the Underground Railroad.

Underground Railroad in Concord MA.

Create a family Post Office-Here are some great ideas from the Pinterest Boards of one of my favorite bloggers; Growing Book by Book!

Louisa and her sisters had little personal mailboxes that they would leave notes for each other in. In little women, their neighbor Laurie would leave messages for them in a mailbox which was a very novel idea at the time. Why not have a little post office fun in your family. Here are some great ideas.

Read the book Little Women which is a fictionalized version of the Alcott family.
Do your young readers love nature and all of nature’s critters? Experience the magical story of a family of foxes that took up residence right in the front yard of the author and publisher, Valarie Budayr. The Fox Diaries: The Year the Foxes Came to our Garden offers an enthusiastically educational opportunity to observe this fox family grow and learn together.

From digging and hunting to playing and resting, this diary shares a rare glimpse into the private lives of Momma Rennie and her babies. Come watch as they navigate this wildly dangerous but still wonderful world. Great to share with your children or students, The Fox Diaries speaks to the importance of growing and learning both individually and as a family unit. It is a perfect book for story time or family sharing. Not only can you read about the daily rituals of this marvelous fox family, there is an information-packed resource section at the end of the book that includes lots of facts and even a few “fox movies” that you can enjoy with your family. Grab your copy of this beautiful and inspiring book HERE.

The post Michaela MacColl Week:: The Revelation of Louisa May appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to our third week of our Bookjumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer!

Our summer reading program will be a combination of some really neat things. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Book-jumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week I want to focus on the wonderful works of one of our favorite authors, Pam Munoz Ryan.

I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to share The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan with you. The Dreamer is an invitation into the imaginative world of Pablo Neruda. Pablo Neruda is one of my favorite poets !! The Dreamer has allowed me to share my love of this poet with my children as we wander through his world and life in Chile.

It is a tale of day-dreaming, gathering those little items which catch our eye, while guarding and savoring them into a collection of our childhood. Pam Munoz Ryan does an incredible job of weaving facts into an incredible story of magic, nostalgia, and intrigue. Pablo Neruda’s real name was Neftali Reyes. He had a very stern and unbearable father. Protecting him were his step-mother, uncle, and sister. Along with everyday situations in his household and school, we are invited on a wandering journeys to the rainforest where Neftali’s imagination is taken away by all of the fauna, insects, and animals which live in the forest.

Another trip takes us to the ocean where Neftali meets a librarian who gives him his hide-out for the summer. This turns into a spectacular adventure with his sister of trying to save a swan. Later Neftali learns of the movement to kick indigenous people out of their homeland from his uncle. As he grows, he takes up the cause to protect them. Making sure that he doesn’t seek the wrath of his father, he uses a pseudonym. His new last name Neruda was derived from a poet from Czechoslovakia.

One of the elements that makes this book such a treasure to read and hold are the simple but powerful illustrations of Peter Sis. His contributions to this magical story gives us a look into the world of a poet through the heart and eyes.

Equally as interesting is Pam Munoz Ryan’s telling of what inspired her to write this story. Also in the back are several beautifully selected poems of Pablo Neruda’s. This book is a poetic magical tale that is sure to inspire all of us to look at those simple things around us with the eye of a poet. Life is for living and experiencing and this book is an invitation to do just this.

Something To Do

A Word Box

In the story The Dreamer, Neftali Reyes loves to collect things. One of his most beloved collections are his words. Writing them on a piece of paper, folding it gently , and then placing it in his drawer; Neftali can return anytime he wants to and remember the words that caught his imagination. Let’s remember our friend Neftali by making a word box.

Supplies:

• One unfinished wood or paper mache box found in a craft store.
• Scrapbooking word stickers
• Mod Podge matt finish
• Brush
• Paper

Instructions:

1. Taking your wooden box and the word stickers, put words all over your box in a design of your choosing.
2. Once you’ve finished sticking your words on the box, brush Mod-Podge all over the words and let it dry.
3. You can use any kind of paper. We like to use paper with pretty colors on one side but white paper works just fine. Cut little pieces of paper that fit into your box. Start writing your favorite words down and saving them in your word box.

Beautiful Spanish Words

The Dreamer uses a beautiful mix of English and Spanish. I liked the way the Spanish was woven throughout the story without it being distracting. Each Spanish word followed with its English meaning. By using the Spanish language in this way, it brought the essence of Chile into the story.

Here’s a Spanish lexicon from The Dreamer. Be sure to write these words on colorful cards and put them into your word box.

• Adios:: Good-bye
• el viento:: the wind
• Porfa :: Please
• buena suerte:: good luck
• mapuche:: indigenous people in Aranucania
• Bravo:: Good Job
• la empanadas y el bistec:: Potato turnovers and steak
• Aqui Estoy:: I am here.
• El pan amasado:: Home made bread
• futbol:: soccer
• Amigo:: friend
• un escondite:: a hideout
• una chismosa:: a tattletale
• Amor:: Love

Poetry Explorations

In The Dreamer author Pam Munoz Ryan poses many questions to get us thinking in words. Let’s look at those questions and write a short poem about the Wind. Remember when Neftali’s hat and gloves gotten blown away by the wind. What do these questions inspire in you ?

1. What does the wind give ?
2. What does the wind take away?
3. Where is the storehouse of lost and found ?

Let’s experience Time through words. By answering the following questions you can experience time in a new way. Write a little poem about time.

1. What is the color of a minute? A month ? A Year ?

Reader’s Theater

A great way to instill active reading in our young readers is to practice in a Reader’s Theater setting. Set for four voices, author Pam Munoz Ryan has created this Reader’s Theater edition to her book The Dreamer.

I’d like to know…..

Have you read this book? If so, share your thoughts and comments below!

***Don’t forget! Our Pam Munoz Ryan Great book Giveaway has just begun! Be sure and pop by to enter-to-win SXI great books from this author!

Homeschooling can be complicated and frustrating, especially if you are overloaded with information. The good news is that you don’t have to figure it out alone. Donna Ashton’s The Waldorf Home School Handbook is a simple and step-by-step guide to creating and understanding a Waldorf-inspired homeschool plan. Within the pages of this all-in-one homeschooling guide parents will find information, samples of lesson plans and curriculum, helpful hints and the secrets behind the three Areas for Optimum Learning. Join Donna as she guides you through the Waldorf method and reveals how to educate your children in a nurturing and creative environment. Visit the Waldorf Homeschool Handbook info page HERE-The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired homeschool.

The post The Book-jumper Summer Reading Series: The Dreamer Book Review and Activity appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to our third week of our Bookjumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer!

Our summer reading program will be a combination of some really neat things. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Book-jumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week I want to focus on the wonderful works of one of our favorite authors, Pam Munoz Ryan.

When my intern Hannah and I were planning what books we’d jump into this summer, her eyes popped open and shouts of glee were heard after I asked, “What about Esperanza Rising?” According to Hannah it is one of her all time favorite books which she goes to again and again. I think we can say that Esperanza Rising is a close and dear friend to Hannah.

So thanks to that confession, Esperanza Rising made our summer reading list and our lovely Hannah Rials is sharing her views on one of her favorite reads……oh and by the way, mine too!

From Hannah……

Esperanza Ortega lives a live of privilege in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Her father owns El Rancho de las Rosas where he grows rows of roses and grapes. Esperanza is treated like a princess, with beautiful gifts, loving parents, loyal servants, and wonderful friends.

When bandits kill her father, her mother and her lives are uprooted. Her evil uncles wish to take over the ranch and her eldest uncle to marry her mother, Esperanza, Ramona, and their loyal servants are forced to flee Mexico, leaving an ill Abuelita to heal with her sisters at the convent. With all their papers in order, they sneak out of Aguascalientes by cover of darkness to travel into the United States for work.

Here, Esperanza discovers the hardships of life, responsibility, and so many other experiences that her life of privilege had shielded her from.

She, along with 5 other people, live in a two room cabin with no warm water in California. They work unreasonable hours, but they must work, or there will be no food on the table. Being only thirteen, Esperance lucks out of having real work, instead being charged with watching the babies and sweeping. That is, until her mother falls ill with Valley Fever.

Five months, Esperanza prays for her mother as she heals in the hospital. In less than a year, Esperanza has lost her father, had to leave her abuelita, watched her mother grow weaker, and begin to work with the rest of the women. To her, hope does not exist. Will the valleys, as abuelita says, ever turn into mountain tops?

Esperanza Rising has a special place in my heart. As a child, I read this book several times, and at the time, I was not sure why I was so connected to this novel, with a lifestyle that I could not relate to. It doesn’t matter that I cannot empathize with the situation because I love these characters. Esperanza is  alive—her temper, her kindness, her selfishness, her newly learned wisdom. All the characters are so alive, that I believe they are real. And that is what makes this story so amazing. Ms. Ryan based this story off of the life of her grandmother. To her, these are real people, and because of this truth of them, this idol to hold them up to, they are made all the more real for us. I love this book, because I am an only child, because I love my mother and my grandmother who smells like peppermint.
Ms. Ryan also offers interesting insight into the Mexican Repatriation in her Author’s note. This is one note that you don’t want to ignore.

Something To Do Book-Inspired Activities:
Rosehip Tea recipe (like Hortensia makes). Rose hips produce a mild, tangy, fruity tea. Use them solo or combined with a hint of fresh spearmint or peppermint leaves. Chilled and sweetened with stevia, the tea is a vitamin-rich, sugar-free alternative to fruit juices or Kool-Aid that is appealing to kids and adults alike. Grab the full process HERE.

Crochet a Shawl (like Abuelita). Hopeful Honey has great tips on Crochet for Beginners.

Yarn Dolls (for all of Isabel’s friends). Yarns are fun and easy to make (great project for kids!) Get the full tutorial at Little House Living.

What book-inspired fun will you do today

**Don’t Forget!!!! We have TWO wonderful book giveaways going on and ending SOON. Enter my giveaways here and here.…but don’t delay!

**some of these links are affiliate links

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Grab your copy HERE: The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook: The Simple Step-by-Step guide to creating a Waldorf-inspired homeschool. http://amzn.to/1OhTfoT

The post The Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: Esperanza Rising Book Review & Activity appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to the second week of Book Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer!

Our summer reading program will be a combination of some really neat things. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Bookjumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week I want to focus on the wonderful works of author Linda Sue Park. Earlier this week I shared some history about Linda Sue herself and reviewed her wonderful book A Long Walk to Water. We also have have a giveaway going on where one lucky winner will win FIVE Linda Sue Park books! More details HERE.

This week on Book-jumper Summer we’re celebrating the great works of one of my favorite authors Linda Sue Park. Project Mulberry is one of our favorite books. Anyone interested in growing silk worms? Have a look below to find out more about both the book Project Mulberry and the actual project. Enjoy !!

I was walking in the yard the other day and discovered that some how we have a volunteer mulberry tree. Well it’s just huge and it’s growing mulberries.

For someone who walks their yard everyday I don’t really know how I missed this but I did. As the family began picking Mulberries, we were reminded of the most incredible story about a mulberry leaf, silkworm project written by Linda Sue Park (author of The Single Shard) called, Project Mulberry.

Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park

240 pages for Grades 4-7

Julia, a 7th grader who has just moved to Plainfield Illinois with her family is coming to terms with her new home and school environments. From the moment they meet, Julia and Patrick become best friends. Needing a project to enter in the State Fair, they ask Julia’s mom , who suggests raising silkworms. Julia refuses this idea at first because she is wanting something a little more American. Julia’s parents are Korean and she feels very self conscious about her asian heritage. Julia doesn’t want to be identified or labeled by her culture.

Finally, Julia accepts the project and reluctantly takes on the responsibilities which are needed to complete the project. Each unfolding step into the world of silkworms helps Julia to embrace her heritage and value her friendship with Patrick even more.

Woven into the story are the themes of racism, nature’s cycles, life and death, folk art, family relations, self-acceptance and sustainable farming. At the end of each chapter Julia, the main character, has a discussion with the author Linda Sue Park about the direction the story should take. It opens the door to the inside world of the writer’s process.

Something To Do

As we stood under our mulberry tree remembering this great story, we decided right then and there that we had to grow our own silkworms. I must admit to you that we are at the beginning of this process and are waiting for our little silkworm eggs to arrive. We promise to keep you updated on our progress.

Would you like to join us in growing silk worms? Just leave a comment below and let us know if you will share this experience with us.

Here’s where you can order the silkworms:

The Carolina Company has a silkworm farm kit.

They also offer silkworm eggs and food.

A few weeks ago I saw the most interesting TED talk about what they are now using silk for. It’s amazing and is being used in ways one could not even imagine. It is taking science and technology to a new level. This is a great video for kids probably age 8 and older.

Looking for more ways to not only get your youngsters reading, but get them OUTSIDE as well? Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale for a limited time! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” More details HERE.

The post The Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series: Project Mulberry appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to the second week of Book Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer!

Our summer reading program will be a combination of some really neat things. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Bookjumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week I want to focus on the wonderful works of author Linda Sue Park.

A Long Walk to Water

The New York Times bestseller A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the “lost boys” of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya’s in an astonishing and moving way.

A Single Shard

In this Newbery Medal-winning book set in 12th century Korea, Tree-ear, a 13-year-old orphan, lives under a bridge in Ch’ulp’o, a potters’ village famed for delicate celadon ware. He has become fascinated with the potter’s craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday. When Min takes Tree-ear on as his helper, Tree-ear is elated — until he finds obstacles in his path: the backbreaking labor of digging and hauling clay, Min’s irascible temper, and his own ignorance. But Tree-ear is determined to prove himself — even if it means taking a long, solitary journey on foot to present Min’s work in the hope of a royal commission . . . even if it means arriving at the royal court with nothing to show but a single celadon shard.

When My Name Was Keoko

Sun-hee and her older brother, Tae-yul, live in Korea with their parents. Because Korea is under Japanese occupation, the children study Japanese and speak it at school. Their own language, their flag, the folktales Uncle tells them—even their names—are all part of the Korean culture that is now forbidden. When World War II comes to Korea, Sun-hee is surprised that the Japanese expect their Korean subjects to fight on their side. But the greatest shock of all comes when Tae-yul enlists in the Japanese army in an attempt to protect Uncle, who is suspected of aiding the Korean resistance. Sun-hee stays behind, entrusted with the life-and-death secrets of a family at war.

The Kite Fighters

In a riveting narrative set in fifteenth-century Korea, two brothers discover a shared passion for kites. Kee-sup can craft a kite unequaled in strength and beauty, but his younger brother, Young-sup, can fly a kite as if he controlled the wind itself. Their combined skills attract the notice of Korea’s young king, who chooses Young-sup to fly the royal kite in the New Year kite-flying competition–an honor that is also an awesome responsibility. Although tradition decrees, and the boys’ father insists, that the older brother represent the family, both brothers know that this time the family’s honor is best left in Young-sup’s hands. This touching and suspenseful story, filled with the authentic detail and flavor of traditional Korean kite fighting, brings a remarkable setting vividly to life. AUTHOR’S NOTE.

Project Mulberry

Julia Song and her friend Patrick want to team up to win a blue ribbon at the state fair, but they can’t agree on the perfect project. Then Julia’s mother suggests they raise silkworms as she did years ago in Korea. The optimistic twosome quickly realizes that raising silkworms is a lot tougher than they thought. And Julia never suspected that she’d be discussing the fate of her and Patrick’s project with Ms. Park, the author of this book!

**some of these links are affiliate links

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

ONE winner will receive a copy of A Long Walk To Water, A Single Shard, The Kite Fighters, Project Mulberry and When My Name Keoko.  Giveaway begins June 10th, 2015

• Prizing & samples  courtesy of Audrey Press
  
• Giveaway open to US addresses only
• ONE lucky winner will win one copy of each of the above books.
• Residents of USA only please.
• Must be 18 years or older to enter
• One entry per household.
• Staff and family members of Audrey Press are not eligible.
• Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize
• Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter on June 21st, 2015

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post The Book Jumper Summer Reading Series- Linda Sue Park Booklist Giveaway appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to the first week of The Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. We are already off to a running start with a great book review of A Year in the Secret Garden and a book giveaway as well!

Our summer reading program will be a combination of some really neat things. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Bookjumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

This week I want to take a look back to a wildly popular series I did earlier this Spring. Jump Into A Book readers loved it and I had a blast creating it as well. Every Wednesday readers could drop by here and find new and special happenings in the Secret Garden. There were crafts, great food, fun and laughter.

Here’s a recap of some of our more popular Secret Garden Wednesdays. These are too much fun not to read!

• Secret Garden Wednesday: Building a Bee Watering Hole
• Secret Garden Wednesday: Robin Cake
• Secret Garden Wednesday: Studying the Class of Hunger
• Secret Garden Wednesday: Planting Time
• Secret Garden Wednesday: Book-Inspired FUN
• Secret Garden Wednesday: Perfectly Good Porridge
• Secret Garden Wednesday: Garden in a Jar
• Secret Garden Wednesday: Rosapalooza
• Secret Garden Wednesday: Sticky Toffee Pudding
• Secret Garden Wednesday: Strawberry Fields Forever

Which of these Secret Garden Wednesdays were your favorite?

Intrigued by the book?

Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale for a limited time! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX

The post Let the Book Jumper Summer Reading Series BEGIN! Revisiting The Secret Garden appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome back!

As part of our Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series and Secret Garden week here at Jump into a Book we are giving away a Frances Hodgson Burnett Book Collection. The author of the Secret Garden penned over 40 books and we’re giving away some of her 4 most known and well loved classics plus a copy of our own A Year in the Secret Garden. It holds 12 months of wonderful activities, recipes,crafts, games,character and historical background information.

A Secret Garden Booklist Giveaway

The Secret Garden

A beautiful and timeless story about friendship, secrets, and the power of the human spirit, The Secret Garden tells the story of orphaned Mary Lennox, who is sent to live in her uncle’s house on the Yorkshire moors. With the tragic death of her uncle’s wife ten years earlier the house is an unhappy one. Miserable and lonely, Mary starts to explore the house’s gardens and soon discovers a key to the secret garden her uncle had sealed off. There she discovers a secret so important, so enchanting, that it will change her life forever.

A Little Princess

Alone in a new country, wealthy Sara Crewe tries to settle in and make friends at boarding school. But when she learns that she’ll never see her beloved father gain, her life is turned upside down. Transformed from princess to pauper, she must swap dancing lessons and luxury for hard work and a room in the attic. Will she find that kindness and generosity are all the riches she truly needs?

A little background information from Frances Hodgson Burnett herself:

THE WHOLE OF THE STORY

I do not know whether  people realize how much more than is ever written there really is in a story—how many parts of it are never told—how much more really happened than there is in the book one holds in one’s hand and pours over.

Stories are something like letters. When a letter is written, how often one remembers things omitted and says, “Ah, why did I not tell them that?” In writing a book one relates all that one remembers at the time, and if one told all that really happened perhaps the book would never end. Between the lines of every story there is another story, and that is one that is never heard and can only be guessed at by the people who are good at guessing. The person who writes the story may never know all of it, but sometimes he does and wishes he had the chance to begin again.

When I wrote the story of “Sara Crewe” I guessed that a great deal more had happened at Miss Minchin’s than I had time to find out just then. I knew, of course, that there must have been chapters full of things going on all the time; and when I began to make a play out of the book and called it “A Little Princess,” I discovered three acts full of things. What interested me most was that I found that there had been girls at the school whose names I had not even known before. There was a little girl whose name was Lottie, who was an amusing little person; there was a hungry scullery-maid who was Sara’s adoring friend; Ermengarde was much more entertaining than she had seemed at first; things happened in the garret which had never been hinted at in the book; and a certain gentleman whose name was Melchisedec was an intimate friend of Sara’s who should never have been left out of the story if he had only walked into it in time. He and Becky and Lottie lived at Miss Minchin’s, and I cannot understand why they did not mention themselves to me at first. They were as real as Sara, and it was careless of them not to come out of the story shadowland and say, “Here I am—tell about me.” But they did not—which was their fault and not mine. People who live in the story one is writing ought to come forward at the beginning and tap the writing person on the shoulder and say, “Hallo, what about me?” If they don’t, no one can be blamed but themselves and their slouching, idle ways.

After the play of “A Little Princess” was produced in New York, and so many children went to see it and liked Becky and Lottie and Melchisedec, my publishers asked[vii] me if I could not write Sara’s story over again and put into it all the things and people who had been left out before, and so I have done it; and when I began I found there were actually pages and pages of things which had happened that had never been put even into the play, so in this new “Little Princess” I have put all I have been able to discover.

Little Lord Fauntleroy

“But only be good, dear, only be brave, only be kind and true always, and then you will never hurt any one, so long as you live, and you may help many, and the big world may be better because my little child was born. And that is best of all, Ceddie, — it is better than everything else, that the world should be a little better because a man has lived — even ever so little better, dearest.”

Frances Hodgson Burnett’s conviction that love conquers all is memorably embodied in this classic rags-to-riches tale of an American boy who is transported from the mean streets of nineteenth-century New York to the splendor of his titled grandfather’s English manor; A Year in the Secret Garden

A Year in the Secret Garden

Valarie Budayr and Marilyn Scott-Waters have co-created A Year in the Secret Garden to introduce the beloved children’s classic, The Secret Garden to a new generation of families.

This guide uses over two hundred full color illustrations and photos to bring the magical story to life, with fascinating historical information, monthly gardening activities, easy-to-make recipes, and step-by-step crafts, designed to enchant readers of all ages. Each month your family will unlock the mysteries of a Secret Garden character, as well as have fun together creating the original crafts and activities based on the book.

Giveaway! One Lucky Winner will win ALL FOUR BOOKS!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

ONE winner will receive a copy of each of the fours books.  Giveaway begins June 5th, 2015 and end June 21st.

• Prizing & samples  courtesy of Authors of the above books
• Giveaway open to US addresses only
• ONE lucky winner will win one copy of each of the above books (A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Little Lord Falteroy and A Year in the Secret Garden).
• Residents of USA only please.
• Must be 18 years or older to enter
• One entry per household.
• Staff and family members of Audrey Press are not eligible.
• Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize
• Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter on June 22nd

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Can’t wait? Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together.  Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!”

The post The Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series and a Secret Garden Booklist Giveaway appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

Welcome to the first week of Book Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer!

Our summer reading program will be a combination of some really neat things. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Bookjumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!

“Where you tend a rose, my lad, a thistle cannot grow.”

We here at Jump Into a Book are jumping into a new area that we have yet to explore: we are reviewing The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Obviously, we know everything there is to know about our beloved classic children’s book. However, we realized that while we have written a whole novel jumping into The Secret Garden, we have yet to actually review it. So here we go!

From the Desk of Hannah Rials

Mary Lennox is an unpleasant, ugly, selfish child who is disliked by everyone who has come into contact with her. Her lifestyle in India has made her a spoiled child ready to order everyone around and have her way absolutely. When her absentee mother and father and the rest of her Indian household are all killed by an outbreak of cholera, she is sent to live with her hunchbacked, mysterious uncle in the moors at Misselthwaite Manor. Her uncle’s English household is appalled at her lack of manners and her inability to care for herself. They cannot see past her yellow, ugly manner. She has no appetite; she at first despises the moor and the English people who serve her and do not understand her way of living.

However, the more time she spends at the Manor, the more she listens to her maid Martha’s stories, the more she transforms. Her discovery of her uncle’s secret garden, locked away with a buried key, shows her the beauty of life. She becomes kind and gentle, aided by her belief in magic and her interactions with Martha’s brother Dickon, the charmer of all animals.

Misselthwaite is just an odd place. There is magic and there is mystery. When Mary begins to hear mysterious crying in the middle of the night, and after never quite receiving a straight answer from anyone in the household, she, and her complete lack of respect for authority, decided to explore the manor and discover the other secret of Misselthwaite–Master Craven’s son, Colin Craven, the diagnosed invalid who is most certainly going to die. Plagued by chronic hypochondria, Colin is an absolutely insufferable child who commands that everyone obey his every command since he is eventually going to die, whether from a crooked back, an outbreak of some disease, or his own thought. Once Mary and he discover each other, the rest of the household realize that the two cousins are kindred souls. She is the only one stubborn and selfish enough to let his own selfishness bounce off of her. Only she can calm him when he bursts into one of his fits or tell him when he is being ridiculous. Soon, Mary begins to trust her young cousin with her most precious secret: the secret garden.

With the help of Mary, Dickon, Ben Weatherstaff, and all of the creatures of the garden, Colin begins to come alive during his time in the garden. His epiphany gives him determination to live so that, when his father returns, he can show him that he is not an invalid. He is in fact, a young, healthy boy who is going to be an athlete and a scientific discoverer…a scientist who believes in the power of magic most certainly. In the secret garden, he learns to walk, run, plant, exercise, and love life.
The secret garden is a magical place where dead things come alive–plants, animals, an even small, unpleasant children.

I must admit, even though I helped with the creation of A Year In the Secret Garden, I had never actually read a full copy of The Secret Garden, only the abridged version from Great Illustrated Classic when I was a very little girl. I must say, reading it as an adult, I LOVED it! This is a beautiful story with wonderful ideas that all children should be taught. Now that I’ve started gardening in my own garden, I was able to appreciate the amazing magic of the secret garden. If this book somehow managed to slip through your reading repertoire as a child, as it did in mine, go back and read it. I think this would be a marvelous story to read aloud with your kids too. You just can’t ignore Mary Lennox and Colin Craven. They will not allow it!

Interesting Facts about Frances Hodgson Burnett:

• After her father died when she was young, her mother moved their family from Manchester England to Knoxville, Tennesse, a short drive from JIAB’s home base.
• Frances began writing stories when she was a young child, however, her mother forced her to burn her stories before they moved to the United States.
• Frances’ adult home in England was named Great Maytham Hall.
• She too had a passion for gardening like her young characters in The Secret Garden.
• Spiritualism and Christian Science became a major aspect of her life after her oldest son died. She worked these ideas in the novel through Colin’s power of positive thinking.
• Throughout her writing career, Frances wrote 124 novels.

A Look At author Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Home in England

Here’s an excerpt from a great article on the topic written by Into The Book:

Mrs. Burnett apparently got the idea for the book while staying at the home between 1898 and 1907. She spent hours wandering through the gardens and observing its inhabitants. The little red robin that shows Mary Lennox the way to the hidden garden door actually appeared in real-life to Frances who found a hidden door of her own, giving her the idea for the story! (I’d like to meet this clever robin!) Read the rest of this interesting story HERE.

What was YOUR favorite part of the classic The Secret Garden? Have you read A Year In the Secret Garden yet? If so, what has been your favorite activity thus far? Please share in the comment box below!

Enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden! A Year in the Secret Garden is a delightful children’s book with over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. AND, it’s on sale for a limited time! Grab your copy ASAP and “meet me in the garden!” Grab this book on Amazon  http://amzn.to/1DTVnuX

The post School is OUT…Let the Book Jumper Summer Reading Series BEGIN appeared first on Jump Into A Book.