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Book Review and Author Interviews, Fun for kids, Promoting Literacy, Summer reading

Four Mermaid Picture Books and an Extension Craft Idea

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Directions: Let your imagination take over and create a crown, necklace, ring, or bracelet. String beads, glue feathers, find some sticky foamies and have fun! We used a glue gun for the feathers. This is a great craft to practice patterns!

Here is a fun photo of my daughter and a few friends who helped me create my samples. Notice that mermaids come in all sizes!

Check out this Mermaid Pinterest Board for more mermaid craft ideas and mermaid snack ideas.

And now for some mermaid books! Drumroll please….

Part-time Mermaid by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Cambria Evans celebrates the imagination and imaginative play! Pretending to be mermaids was always a very popular playtime event for my daughters when they were young. The book is told in first person and the reader experiences the adventure of a little girl who becomes a mermaid at night. She pets the otters, explores a sunken pirate ship, and even encounters a sea witch while attending the Midsummer Sea Festival.

How to Meet a Mermaid by Sue Fliess and illustrated by Simona Sanfilippo is a charming book that invites playtime fun. The author takes you through a progression of ideas of how you might meet a mermaid. One of the suggestions is to have a crown she can wear. In the back of the book there are directions for making a mermaid crown (I based my crown and jewelry craft off of this idea). There are also directions for going on a field trip to the beach, and even the suggestion of cleaning up the beach by throwing away any litter you may encounter.

The Ocean Calls– This is a beautiful book by Tinal Cho and illustrated by Jess X Snow. It is the beautiful story of a girl who has a grandmother that shows her how to be a “haenyeo” which is like a treasure-hunting mermaid. The back matter explains and gives quotes from authentic present-day Korean haenyeo divers. The beauty of the artwork drew me in and the story captured my heart. Love this book!

The Little Mermaid-by Jerry Pinkney. Melody wants to explore and find out what is above the surface of the water, and she really wants to be friends with a little girl she spies on the shore. She trades her voice for legs. Don’t you love variations of familiar stories? The stunning artwork will keep you mesmerized for a long time.

Book Review and Author Interviews, Instagram Round Ups, Parent and Child Connection, Promoting Literacy, Summer reading

Instagram Book Review Round-Up #3

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This Round-up features main characters that are African American. You will love these books! If you would like a sneak peek inside to view more pages, go to my Instagram and find the corresponding tile.

Snow Globe Wishes–By Erin Dealey and illustrated by Claire Shorrock What a delightful rhyming winter book! I love the line about “grabbing hands with neighbors, strangers, sisters, brothers.” My heart resonated with the final page spread–Peace on Earth!

The Little Mermaid–by Jerry Pinkney. Do you love different variations of familiar stories? In this version the little mermaid makes friends with another girl instead of falling in love. I found the artwork to be very mesmerizing…so much beauty to take in on every page.

Cannonball–by Sacha Cotter and illustrated by Josh Morgan. I love how this book can say so much with so few words. May we all overcome our fears and find our courage to “cannonball” like the sweet main character in this simple but profound story.

Early Sunday Morning— by Denene Miller and illustrated by Vanessa Brantly Newton. I loved this sweet story about overcoming the fear of singing in front of others. The vibrant illustrations make the pages come alive. Spoiler alert: I loved it when her dad did end up coming to hear her sing at the end of the book.

I Am Every Good Thing I loved the positive messages, strong metaphors, and stunning artwork in this picture book by Derrick D. Barnes and illustrated by Gordon James. These are a few of the phrases that resonated with me. “I am every good thing that makes the world go round–you know like gravity.” “I am one eye open, one eye closed, peeking through a telescope.” “I am a cool breeze.” “I am a roaring flame of creativity.” “I am two bounces and a front flip off the diving board.” I am that smile forming on your face right now.” I am a highlight reel of magnificence.” “I am tight hugs.” “I am a force of nature. A miracle. A blessing.” Powerful writing!! I highly recommend!

Superhero Grandma–by Timothy Knapman and illustrated by Joe Berger This picture book has charming and playful images will make you smile and want to celebrate your own grandma. I loved the illustrations and how they showed this grandma really involved in her grandchildren’s lives. She was playful and fun, just the way I want to be as a grandma some day!

Book Review and Author Interviews, Fun for kids, Instagram Round Ups, Parent and Child Connection, Promoting Literacy, Summer reading

Instagram Book Review Round-Up #2

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I’ve been posting a lot of new content on Instagram–you can find me @mindybakerbooks, but I wanted to have a way to share it on the blog, too!

Here is my second ROUND-UP!

Remember, for a sneak peek inside all of these books…check out the individual posts on my Instagram page @mindybakerbooks. I usually share a few photo spreads from the books I review.

Here are 6 more books that I have reviewed in the past few months! Enjoy!

How to Build an Orchestra –Want to pass on your love of music to your children? This is a book you should try! Written by Mary Auld and illustrated by Elisa Paganeli, each page spread is full of fascinating details and treasures to discover. It comes wth a QR code to unlock so that your child can listen to the sounds of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Rare and Blue–Finding Nature’s Treasures Blue just happens to be one of my FAVORITE colors…so it was really fun to find this uniquely structured “spring” picture book highlighting different hues of blue. Written by Constance VanHoven and illustrated by Alan Marks, each page spread gives facts that highlight a specific creature in nature. Turquoise, cerulean, iridescent…what’s your favorite shade?

A Gift From Abuela–Abuela is saving her pesos to buy Nina a gift, but circumstances make that impossible. Written by author/illustrator Cecilia Ruiz, this is a book that reminds us that time together is the most precious gift of all.

Can I Be Your Dog by Troy Cummings is a picture book treasure. The text is all in letters from a puppy who writes to different people in the neighborhood trying to find his owner “match.” One by one they all reject him until at last the mail carrier adopts him.

C.R. Mudgeon –Every once in a while you find a sweet story that you just LOVE 100%. For me, this picture book by Leslie Muir, illustrated by Julian Hector, is just that. I loved this sweet-and-stuck-in-his-ways hedgehog from the first time I read his name and saw his cuteness on the front cover. The clever details of characterization make this book stand out above the others. The story is how a neighbor named Paprika moves next door and challenges C.R. to “spice” up his life. It is a wonderful friendship story with lots of embedded lessons. One important one is that even when someone is different than us, we should give him/her a chance.

Silent Music–by James Rumford. I think kids will connect with Ali, the main character of this book. He loves soccer, music, and the art of writing calligraphy. He compares writing the Arabic words to a soccer player running down the field. His hero is Yakut, a famous calligrapher from Baghdad, who wrote in ancient times of war. Ali writes calligraphy in modern times and longs for peace. Like Ali, I also long for peace. I loved the culture-filled images in this beautiful picture book featuring the Arabic language and the city of Baghdad.

Which of these books have your read? Which of these books would you like to read?

In case you didn’t know…summer is a great time to read!

***If you haven’t heard, I’ve teamed up with some author friends (Laura Sassi, Tina Cho, and Rebecca Gomez) to create a new website! We are hosting summer reading challenges and you are officially invited to join us! The website is called www.readdiscussdo.com. Stop on by and see the latest news! (So far eating ice cream and playing in dirt have been involved!…Aren’t you glad I didn’t say playing in ice-cream and eating dirt??? Ha ha!)

Book Review and Author Interviews, Instagram Round Ups, Parent and Child Connection

Instagram Book Review Round-Up #1

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I’ve been posting a lot of new content on Instagram–you can find me @mindybakerbooks, but I wanted to have a way to share it on the blog, too!

So I created this ROUND-UP!

I plan to create more Round-Ups in the weeks to come.

For a sneak peek inside all of these books…check out the individual posts on my Instagram page @mindybakerbooks. I usually share a few photo spreads from the books I review.

Here are 6 books that I have reviewed in the past few months! Enjoy!

Instagram Book Review Round-Up

El amor es bondadoso by Laura Sassi and illustrated by Lison Chaperon–Little Owl wants to by Grammy some chocolates but ends up discovering what love is really about as in the Scripture 1 Corinthians 13. It really is a charming book! ¡Es un libro tan dulce y precioso…perfecto para niños que hablan español! **I recently went to a Zoom writer’s workshop hosted by Write2Ignite and Laura Sassi was the presenter. I won this book as a prize!! Woo hoo! It is available in Spanish or English (Love is Kind)

Firebird by Misty Copeland–I love the beautiful example of mentoring and being a role model in this gorgeous picture by Misty Copeland and illustrated by Christopher Myers. The illustrations capture the elegance and beauty of dance and the text shows the importance of dedication and hard work! You will be inspired…I know I was! It even made me spin and twirl a few times 🙂 But also it made me think of the children in my life that I want to cheer on to greatness!

Honeybee by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Eric Rohmann–Looking for a great non-fiction summer picture book? Try this title! The stunning illustrations will draw you in and the masterfully written text will keep you reading and learning because it is full of interesting information about– you guessed it– honeybees!

Song of the Old City by Anna Pellicioli and illustrated by Merve Atligan is a delight! Think “circular story” like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie but with an Istanbul flavor that is dripping with fun cultural details that will whisk the reader to a far off land!

Rock by Rock–The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand by Jennifer Bradbury and illustrated by Sam Broughton is a true story of a man from Chandigarh, India who created a hidden art garden from the bits and bangles he collected on the city streets. Although Nek is no longer alive, his beautiful creation exists today and has become one of India’s treasures. I love the illustration style!I think this is a fascinating true story that can spark your child’s imagination. What could they create from the recycle bin? Why not gather some bits and bangles and create a masterpiece together–Nek Chand style!

Learn Arabic Words by MJ York–I love languages. One of my daughter’s just graduated with a minor in Middle Eastern studies and has learned to speak Arabic. Although I am normally drawn to Spanish materials, I thought this would be a fun way to connect with her and expand my horizons. When my kids were young, I found that they absorbed new language words so easily! Picture dictionaries like this one are a great way to infuse a little bit of new language into your family’s vocabulary and can spark great cultural conversations!

If you read these titles, let me know what you think of them!! Happy reading!!