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Fall Picture Book Release Reviews By: Molly Just in time for the beginning of early holiday shopping Usborne and Kane Miller have released some fun new books. These new releases and lots of other great books can be found here.  Choose Your Own Journey by Susie Brooks and illustrated by Tracy Cottingham is an adventure book geared for child 3-7. At the beginning of the book the child gets to choose the BOAT, the TRAIN, the CAR or the BIKE and the follow adventure being that object and see where it will takes them. The text includes information about how the adventure would be experienced in each vehicle which gives the child an opportunity to experience the journey from different perspectives. The illustrations are detailed and include cutouts and path following to engage the reader even more through the tactile addition. With the books action based and onomatopoeic language the reader is drawn in and almost becomes part of the book. Choose Your Own Journey is a great book for language development, interactive reading and can be read again and again.  Counting Throughout the Day by Margaret Hamilton and illustrated by Anna Pignataro is a counting book geared at 3-6 year old. This book is not just another counting book with its beautiful soft illustrations and rhyming text. From “One cuddly teddy on a brand-new day.” right to the end with “Good night!” the counting from 1-12 then 20, hundreds, thousands, millions and back to one shining moon tells a story with details of counting throughout the day. This is a counting book which can be enjoyed by both child and adult day after day.
There are two new books being added to the Billie’s Adventures by Sally Rippin illustrated by Alisa Coburn; Billie’s Wild Jungle Adventure and Billie’s Yummy Bakery Adventure. Billie’s adventures are set in her preschool making them ideal for preschool and kindergarten aged children. In Billie’s Wild Jungle Adventure Billie and her best friend Jack are out in the school yard’s tire swing pretending to be monkeys and before you know it they’re on a jungle adventure. Billie’s Yummy Bakery Adventure starts with a cardboard box bakery and a friend who doesn’t want to play with others and after some help from the teacher and some team work a super bakery serving all the classrooms creatures is created. The use of speech bubbles, onomatopoeia, different text and size and imagination makes them great for read alouds and as a way to get kids to start writing their own stories. The illustrations are vibrant and detailed but at the same time simple as if a child could have drawn them from their own imagination. Billie’s Adventure books would be great for getting a child excited about school and for classroom use.  Another book that would be great for budding writers is Scribble & Author by Miri Leshem-Pelly. In this story there is Scribble who is a scribble it starts off “Hello, Scribble. I’m the author, and I’m here to help you create your journey. Let’s start at the beginning.”. With rough draft style illustration and Scribble using speech bubbles the author and Scribble walk their way through writing a story and in doing so create a funny book about how you write a story. This book would be a great introduction for 5-7 year olds who are learning how to write stories as well as just a funny book for kids 3-8 years old. What is your favorite picture book and why? Molly Hubner
Usborne Books & More Independent Educational Consultant I am always looking for people to join my Usborne team, host parties (Facebook or home), or just share these wonderful books! For more information visit my website or contact me at mollyhubner@gmail.com. Plus follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/mollyhubnersusbornebooks/
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 Surprise Ride is a monthly subscription box geared for kids five and up. It is meant to be used as part of a homeschooling unit or can be used to supplement your child's education at home. My six year old really enjoyed opening the box and trying the activities and materials. You can try it free here just like we did.
 The subscription is $24 month to month and if you get 6 or 12 months you save. Each month you receive a different themed box which has directions, two activities, a book, snack and some fun extras. This month’s theme was Birdsville. One activity was decorating a birdhouse all the supplies were included even a disposable apron; my six year old thought this was a great Sunday afternoon activity. The second activity was making seed balls which we did has a family activity. The kids loved getting their hands dirty by rolling the soil/clay mix into ball then sticking seed in/on them. We will put the seed balls outside after they dry and the kids are looking forward to them growing into wildflowers in the spring. Snack was a seed and dried fruit mix which was enjoyed. The book Blacky the Crow was a little old for my six year old to enjoy. A bird glider and whistle were the extra; I could have done without the whistle as it is very loud. My box came with a hand written thanks for ordering note and lots of interesting facts about birds. My kids enjoyed the box for an afternoon of fun and if I was homeschooling I could definitely see using the box each month as a starting point for a unit of study. Try Surprise Ride free today and let me know what you think! Molly Hubner
Usborne Books & More Independent Educational Consultant I am always looking for people to join my Usborne team, host parties (Facebook or home), or just share these wonderful books! For more information visit my website or contact me at mollyhubner@gmail.com. Plus follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/mollyhubnersusbornebooks/ Save $100 on family-friendly Hawaii vacations with Pleasant Holidays - USFG's new travel partner!10/22/2016  Save $100 on family-friendly Hawaii vacations with Pleasant Holidays - USFG's new travel partner!
We are so excited! We just learned that US Family Guide has partnered with Pleasant Holidays, a leading provider of package vacations. They're based in the U.S. and have great deals on family vacations worldwide - Hawaii, contiguous United States, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Costa Rica, Europe, Tahiti, Fiji and more. They can also book complete cruise vacations with airfare, onboard accommodations, and pre- and post-cruise hotel stays for vacations where everyone can relax and enjoy. Pleasant Holidays is new to US Family Guide, but has been partnering with hotels and resorts for more than 55 years to get great offers you cannot book anywhere else. When you're planning to explore close to home or farther afield, make them your one-stop-shop for everything you need: flights, accommodations, car rentals, ground transfers, exciting activities and tours, and travel protection coverage to protect your travel investment (because if parenthood has taught us one thing, it's to expect the unexpected). And unlike some other online travel providers, they have in-destination customer assistance should you need it. They've currently got a great deal on Hawaii vacations that saves you $100 per booking. Select from 26 hotels and resorts on the four most popular islands: Oahu, Maui, Kauai and island of Hawaii. Explore the exciting sights of Oahu, including world-famous Waikiki Beach and historic Pearl Harbor. Watch the sun rise from the slopes of a dormant volcano on Maui. Snorkel, hike, kayak, surf, experience Polynesian culture and more. This deal is valid on new vacations booked by 10/30/16 for select travel through 6/30/17 that include roundtrip airfare from the continental United States and a stay of five nights or longer at a participating hotel or resort. The $100 savings is per booking and taken at time of booking - no waiting! For more information or reservations visit www.PleasantHolidays.com, call 1-800-837-5154 or contact your travel agent. Be sure to keep an eye on my blog page. I'll be sharing more great deals for memorable family vacations from Pleasant Holidays soon! By Meghan(A mama that may get a little too excited about her costume every year)  Merchants and merry makers, acrobats and arrows, dragons and daredevils, faeries and fun - there is so much to see and do at King Richard's Faire! During the glorious weather last weekend, my family piled into the car and made the drive (less than an hour from the Lower Cape) to Carver to spend the day feasting, exploring, eating, drinking, cheering, jeering, and having an amazing time in the kingdom of Carvershire. There is an amazing array of vendors selling unique, handmade items that can rarely be found outside of a Renaissance Faire. So many fantastic choices can be overwhelming so before we even leave the car in the parking lot we go over our limits with the girls. Every year they are able to choose one souvenir (often they wait to pick at the very end of the day after seeing so many choices) and three rides/games each. This ensures that we have a good time while staying budget conscious, we've found that giving the girls these very clear guidelines before we even enter and then reminding them throughout our visit really cut down on the whining and asking for more, more, more. Though we do ALWAYS want more when we are there, it truly feels like we are in another world. There are so many fun rides and games to participate in. They all work only by man-power and gravity and are often historically accurate. It's fun to see the creativity that was used to build exciting, fun rides even so many centuries ago! The performers were amazing and the jousts exciting! This year my big girl got the chance to make music with two of the performers. It made her whole day! The entire cast does a fantastic job of interacting with visitors and bringing them into this alternative reality. It's clear why our visits fuel my children's imagination throughout the year and they wait with anticipation for our yearly visit!   This year we ran into friends at the Faire and the first thing my little one said was "I wish we could live at the Faire!" I love that they enjoy it so much and allow themselves to slip into this land of make believe. Growing up in a small town which is fairly homogeneous, I feel like it's really important to bring my kiddos to many different types of places, with many different types of people so that they will grow up knowing that there is a place for everyone. Even if you feel like you don't fit in where you are at the moment, just knowing that there is someplace out there where there are people like you can get you through trying times. For me that is the true magic of the Faire! This weekend, October 22nd and October 23rd, are the final weekend of this year's King Richard's Faire. I hope you go and enjoy it before the Faire closes its gates for the 2016 season. Go forth and be merry mamas!
Cape Cod Children’s Museum Celebrates Jumpstart’s Read for the Record® Day
Cape Cod Children’s Museum Unites with National Early Education Organization to Highlight the Importance of High-Quality Education for All Children Jumpstart, a national early education organization, will partner with Cape Cod Children’s Museum in Mashpee for the 11th anniversary of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, a national campaign that helps address the educational inequities that leave too many children unprepared for kindergarten. On October 27, 2016, children and adults will join forces for the world’s largest shared reading experience, known as Jumpstart’s Read for the Record. Since 2006, this 24-hour celebration has mobilized over 17 million people, and Jumpstart holds the world reading record for the most people reading the same book on the same day. This year’s official campaign book, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers), will not only inspire adults to read with children, but will also spur policymakers and organizations to take action towards transformative change in early education while putting books in the hands of more children across the country. A limited number of special paperback editions of The Bear Ate Your Sandwich will be available for purchase at Cape Cod Children’s Museum. By Pre-registering for the Museum’s Read for the Record event, you will have an exclusive opportunity to purchase a copy of The Bear Ate Your Sandwich for the special price of just $4.50. This exclusive price is available only the day of the event and only to those who Pre-register at www.CapeCodChildrensMuseum.org. Special editions feature reading tips, vocabulary words, reading comprehension questions, and conversation starters developed by Jumpstart’s team of early education experts. All proceeds help bring Jumpstart’s program to preschool children in under-resourced communities across the country. ABOUT JUMPSTART Jumpstart is a national early education organization working toward the day every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed. By participating in Jumpstart’s year-long program, children develop the language, literacy, and social-emotional skills they need to be ready for school, setting them on a path for lifelong success. Since 1993, Jumpstart has trained 45,000 college students and community volunteers to transform the lives of 95,000 preschool children nationwide. Learn more at jstart.org and follow us on Twitter at @Jumpstartkids. ABOUT THE BEAR ATE YOUR SANDWICH Julia Sarcone-Roach’s The Bear Ate Your Sandwich is the tale of a bear, lost in the city, who happens upon an unattended sandwich in the park. The bear’s journey from forest to city and back home again is full of happy accidents, funny encounters, and sensory delights. The story is so engrossing, that you will not see the surprise ending coming! "Giggle More, Worry Less: A Pediatrician's Thoughts for New Parents" Book Review & Giveaway10/19/2016 
"Giggle More, Worry Less: A Pediatrician's Thoughts for New Parents"
Book Review & Giveaway By: Amy In today’s society when we are all so connected, Dr. Gregory Parkinson, M.D., reminds us to let go and live. Live for those moments filled with happy memories and turn not so happy ones into more enjoyable ones. These are the moments our children will remember and pass along to the next generation. “Keep your eyes on the prize”. Throughout his book he gently reminds us who the Purple Hearts of Parenting are and of the “heroism in parents, especially mothers, which is badly unrecognized in our society.” Laughter, fun and giggling make life more enjoyable and are the best cure for sadness. Time is our most precious commodity. Our children crave moments filled with family and laughter. This is a precious gift. “Consumerism pushes us towards excess. Advertising exists for us to buy more. However, to buy more we need to work more, and to take part in more involved activities takes more time.” Dr. Parkinson nails it with this statement in his book. There is just not enough time for it all, so we need to spend our time on what is truly important and not worry and stress over the less important things. At the end of the day when we are long gone, no one will be talking about how: "she always had all her laundry done...", "her house was so clean all the time...", "she always had the latest toys and gadgets...". Instead people will say: "she was a good mother/friend/sister.....", "remember when mom would bake cookies with us or run around in the leaves and mud puddles?". The important memories will linger and the less important will be forgotten. He covers important topics such as time management reminding us after the day is broken down we are only left with 1/3 of the day showing us just how precious our time with our children truly is. He also goes over other key things important to child health: things to look for; when to listen to your gut as you learn about your child; preparing the nest-everything from genetics to choosing the right pediatrician (qualities to look for); breastfeeding and more. 
Dr. Parkinson breaks down and explains all possible situations in simple terms in order to prepare parents for both good things to come but also the possibilities and what it entails when there are obstacles to overcome such as child health problems, premature labor and more. His book is very open, straight forward and honest giving you the facts on it all and without judgement.
In today’s society women are given the impression that children, “spring from the womb, leap to the breast and live happily ever after.” This is a disservice. It is hard, it takes time and patience and it is a skill that must be taught. Personally with my first child it took at least two months post birth to even begin to master breastfeeding and that was only due to my support group at Falmouth Hospital, great lactation consultants, a supportive pediatrician and tremendous patience and hard work on my behalf. For me it was all worth it but I can remember the first few weeks feeling like a failure because I was struggling to feed my child when in reality it was a journey we had to work through and learn together. “Giggle More, Worry Less” is a perfect book for any parent and especially new ones. Dr. Parkinson does a fantastic job of covering all the important topics while showing us that we just need to relax and laugh (because what else can you do when your infant explosively poops on you while changing her?). Life is too short to worry about every single little thing that could go wrong. Just hold your children close and enjoy all those moments! We highly recommend picking up a copy of this book for yourself or a friend. You will not be disappointed and it will gently remind you to just enjoy each moment even when you feel overwhelmed. Giveaway: Win A Autographed Copy of:
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