Dolphins at Daybreak by Mary Pope Osborne

Dolphins at Daybreak

Magic Tree House #9

by Mary Pope Osborne

In the ninth installment of the Magic Tree House series, Jack and Annie are sitting out on a new adventure, to become Master Librarians. In order to do this, they must prove their ability to do research, in the form of solving riddles. They must solve four riddles, the first being this:

Rough and gray as rock,
I'm plain as plain can be.

But hidden deep inside

There's great beauty in me.

What am I?

As Jack and Annie find themselves in the middle of the ocean, within a mini - sub, they encounter a giant octopus, a very hungry shark and two beautiful dolphins. As they race to save themselves from becoming shark bait, Jack and Annie learn great new things about the ocean and the life it holds. With a cracking mini - sub, will the kids make it back on land before it's too late and will they be able to follow the clues to solve the riddle?

Dolphins at Daybreak is another hit for my six year old! We read it in two nights and enjoyed every moment of it. Again, I cannot stress how wonderful this series is and how much we anticipate each upcoming book!

*67 pgs

Book Giveaway!

Ok, I have been wanting to try this out for a while, but just wasn't sure how to go about it. So, I am just going to dive on in. I am going to have my very first book giveaway.

The book is one that I reviewed a while back A Day With No Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch. It's a wonderful book, so please be sure to check out the review. To enter, just post a comment letting me know and if you post a link on your site about the contest, you will get your name entered twice (please post your link in the comments letting me know that you posted on your site).

The winner will be drawn July 22nd. You can also find this contest on my Cafe of Dreams blog.

Spray Bottle Fun

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I posted this on my other blog: Cafe of Dreams and that is what actually gave me the idea to add the activity posts to this blog.
With the weather being so insanely crazy and the heat and humidity upon us, water seems to be the ultimate pleasure. With us (myself and 6 year old and nearly 2 year old) simple plastic spray bottles hold much fun! At .98 a bottle, how can you go wrong?! In the summer, we fill our spray bottles with water and go crazy - squirting one another to bring about squeals and belly deep laughter. The kids also love to go and squirt anything and everything around the yard - "cleaning" their toys, playhouse, swing set, etc. I'm telling you, this can keep them busy for over an hour at a time - which means blissful peace for mom (or dad), lol!
When simply squirting water becomes tiresome, simply add a bit of tempera paint, bring out sheets of paper and watch the masterpieces develop before your eyes!
In the winter time, for those that live where snow graces us, adding food coloring to the water in the squirt bottles allows for some great and awesomely fun snow painting! I'm not sure who has more fun with this - myself or the kids, lol!
If anyone else has other ideas and ways to use squirt bottles, I would love to hear them and post them for everyone to read!!
Have a happy and squirty day!

Great Kid Fun!

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I am going to try something a bit new on this blog. Along with my Children's book reviews, I am going to add some fun activities and website info that have great ideas for fun learning. I stumble across some really great sites, every now and then, and thought it would be fun to share. I will post as a regular post as well as a running list on the sidebar. Hope everyone finds some new and fun ideas. Also, I would love to hear from others as to activities they enjoy with their kids and great websites for children as well!

Bunny Fun by Sarah Weeks

Bunny Fun

by Sarah Weeks

illustrated by Sam Williams

It's a rainy day and Little Bunny cannot go out to play. What wonders can Little Bunny find inside - there's Mama's shoes, Papa's news, dribbling and scribbling, chit chat and zip, zoom, vroom. So many fun things to find. Soon the rain ends and Little Bunny can go out to play - can you guess what Little Bunny finds?

With bright, vivid illustrations and delightfully fun rhyming text, Bunny Fun is sure to be a huge hit. Tons of smile and lots of fun for parents to read to their little ones - many times over.

*40 pgs*

baby-preschool age

Happy 4th of July!

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Duck Soup by Jackie Urbanovic

Duck Soup

by Jackie Urbanovic

There once was a duck named Max, an aspiring chef of soups. Previously, Max had made such culinary "concoctions" as Fish Soup with Curry and Pickled Lemon, Cracker Barrel Cheese and Marshmallow Soup, and Squash Gumbo.

One day, Max decided to make a masterpiece of soup, but discovers that he is missing an herb to bring his dish to perfection. While out in the garden, Max's friends come by. While they discover and empty kitchen, they find a pot bubbling away on the stove. What follows can only be described as a hilarious and fun treat. With bright eye-catching illustrations and gloriously fun text, Duck Soup is sure to be a hit with young and old alike!

*32 pgs*

ages 4 - 8