Reviews of the Week 10/31

Happy Halloween! Hope your holiday is going well. I'm keeping up with my totally unintentional "ghost" theme in my reviews this month with my final October review including the new middle-grade novel, Ghost by Jason Reynolds. Yeah, you're right, it's not actually that spooky or ghost-related at all...but hey, the title worked for my needs. Also, apparently I was in a "yellow cover" sort of mood:

  

22 Awesome Children's Book Character Costumes

You've probably already figured out what costume you'll wear for Halloween this year, but I still want to highlight some of the most awesome literary costumes I've seen. Heck, wear these anytime! Dr. Seuss Day, World Book Day, book reports...any book-themed event, really.

1. The Man in the Yellow Hat from Curious George (Haute Apple Pie)

Reviews of the Week 10/24

Sometimes I feel like a bit of an idiot. Like when I ask for comments on a blog post as a way to enter a certain giveaway and then forget that I had turned off the comments option. And then no one told me until like a week later. Ha! Well, live and learn, right? Perhaps I was distracted by the awesome reads this week. I finally have a five-star again! And technically, one is written for adults, but it's got such a great story (that is also cleaner than most YAs) that I'm sharing it here. Plus, it carries the ghost theme that I've had the past few weeks (i.e. Raina's Telgemeier's newest and Jonathan Stroud's newest). Enjoy!

  

15 Extension Activities for Mother Bruce

Welcome back to my new series of posts highlighting some of my very favorite, favorite books and the supplementary games, songs, and activities you could use with them. This could be useful for library programs, home schooling, or (of course) to just have fun with your kids! The first book I did was What This Story Needs is a Pig in a Wig, and now I'll share ideas for...

I adore Ryan T. Higgins' book, Mother Bruce. You can see my original review back here. Basically, I love it because of the humor. So. Funny. But really, it's also the illustrations, the great story, and the ever lovable grumpy bear named Bruce. Also of note, the sequel, Hotel Bruce just came out this week! And I'm doing a giveaway for the book, so head on over to this post if you want a chance to win. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here are some activities that will appeal to the books target audience, kids aged 3 - 7 or there's about.

1.  Hibernation craft—What does "hibernate" mean? Bruce would much prefer to sleep. Do some research as to why, and try out this adorable hibernation craft (from Courtney Ward's Lesson Plans).

Hotel Bruce Book Birthday and Prize Pack GIVEAWAY!

Minor update: For anyone that is checking back because they wondered "what the heck" when entering the giveaway. Initially I had the option for commenting on the blog post as another entry into the giveaway and only now just realized that I had turned off the commenting option on my blog posts... Everyone has their dumb moments, right? So now that option is completely off the books; sincerest apologies for the confusion. The giveaway will keep going as planned!

My favorite lovably grumpy bear is here! Yep, Hotel Bruce is on sale today and I hope you are all excited about it. If you haven't already got yourself a copy, I guess I can forgive you, because you are in the right place. Thanks to Disney-Hyperion, I have a prize pack to share with you that includes a copy of the book AND a pretty dang cute "Wipe Your Paws" welcome mat. Oh, yeah! Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. If you still have no idea what I'm talking about, check out my review of the book back here, and then read on, MacDuff!

Reviews of the Week 10/17

Yeah, I had Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier last week, and now I'm back with even more terrifying ghosts: the newest Lockwood & Co. book! Oh man, so good, so worth the wait...

  

Fun Friday: Grammar Jokes

I love reading books, but man, if I ever had to write one, I think my editor would have a fit. I'm notoriously bad with grammar, as many may be able to tell by reading my posts. Verbally, it's even worse, such as the time I asked my brother, "Is these my bees?" Yeah, long story *shudder*. He still won't let me live it down. BUT. That all being said, I still love grammar jokes. Go figure.

So enjoy this little break on your Friday to enjoy some funnies.

15 Extension Activities for What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig

I'm going to try out a new series of posts highlighting some of my very favorite, favorite books and the supplementary games, songs, and activities you could use with them. This could be useful for library programs, home schooling, or (of course) to just have fun with your kids! So, without further ado...

I adore Emma Virjan's book, What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig. You can see my original review for it back here, but basically, the humor is spot on and the text is perfect for beginning readers. Aimed at kids from preschool to about first or second grade, these activities will help make the book that much more fun to read!

Reviews of the Week 10/10

My fravorite read this week? Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeier. Perfect, short, sweet read that can get you in the right mood for Halloween! I'd add it to my ghost-story book list and middle-grade spooky book list for sure.

  

Halloween Library Display and Book List

Halloween in the library! We always had a big party and storytime in my library with all sorts of treats, costumes, and (of course) the best stories. But to encourage excitement before the holiday itself, check out this display idea: "'Witch' book will put you under its spell?"

Reviews of the Week 10/3

Oh, sweet October. So excited for fall! And, not only that, we have another book birthday to celebrate this week! I rather enjoyed Gertie's Leap to Greatness, which comes out today. Also, Hockey fans will appreciate this new book from Sports Illustrated to introduce the game to young fans. And Kate DiCamillo's newest Tale From Deckawoo Drive did not disappoint!

  

Dive! Blog Tour: Five Tips for Novice and Aspiring Nonfiction Writers by Deborah Hopkinson

It's blog tour time. You guys, I'm so excited for today's post. This is the first time I've ever had a guest post and who better to be the star writer than Deborah Hopkinson!