Category: Books

Who's Next? and Step-by-Step Drawing Activity Pack Review

8/29/2016

Who's Next? and Step-by-Step Drawing Activity Pack Review
By: Molly

As the days cool at the beach and there are less beach friends my kids like to have something else to do there. Today we brought the Step-by-Step Drawing Activity Pack, paper and markers; my kids and the other 3 and 5 year olds had a great time drawing. We have also brought books to read including Who's Next which the kids all enjoyed.

Who's Next (https://w4728.myubam.com/p/5916/whos-next) is a great interactive book for kids 3-6 years old. The illustrations are vibrant and detailed. On each page a creature is introduced and then based on a piece of the next creature the child is asked to guess which one is next. Also each page spread asks which creature left. This book is great for working on observation skills and I would highly recommend it.

Step-by-Step Drawing Activity Pack (https://w4728.myubam.com/p/5034/step-by-step-drawing-activity-pack) Includes 4 books including Step-by-Step Drawing Book, Step-by-Step Drawing Animals, Step-by-Step Drawing People and My Drawing Book these books are great for kids age four through adult. Each of the first three books has step by step directions (no reading necessary) how to draw 12 things in each book including dragons, flowers, pirates, castles and cars plus a place to practice. The last book is blank for making your own pictures. Since getting these books my daughter's drawing skills have amazed me. At $14.99 this book set is an excellent deal.

What books do you like to take out with you?

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/

Keeping Kids Occupied

7/11/2016

Keeping Kids Occupied
By Molly

Trying to get work done as a stay at home mom in the summer is not an easy task. As many of you may know back in November I became an independent consultant with Usborne Books & More and now I am a Team Leader as well as an Educational Consultant. Up until the end of June I could usually get 30 minutes of uninterrupted work done while my 5 year was at school and my three year old played or if necessary watched a video and then get my other stuff done here and there. But now that my daughter is home I don’t have a chunk of uninterrupted time so I feel like I only start things and never finish them leaving even more work to be done. With new book titles being released July first (Wahoo) I need to find time to book some New Title Parties and keep business rolling plus plan for the Fall when both kids will be in school!
Enter Busy Bags… I was first introduced to the concept of busy bags (or boxes) when I was expecting my second child and was looking for things my daughter then 22 months could do while I was nursing the baby. Busy Bags are great because they can be tailored for different ages and easily store and pull out when you need them. When my kids were younger I participated in and organized Busy Bag and craft exchanges which is a great way to get lots of busy bags or crafts while only having to make X number of the same thing yourself: it is also more cost effective. Pinterest is a great source of busy bag ideas (find me on Pinterest Molly Hubner). Some of my favorite Busy Bags I have made (will include pictures below) are Build a Cupcake, Decorate a Gingerbread Man, Feed the Tennis Ball, Paint Strip cutting (no picture), Sorting Puffballs, Make Your Own Puzzle, Card Making, for older kids fuse bead sort and making and if you have some time on your hands an Alphabet Box (check out Pinterest for this).

Fuse Beads

Decorate a Gingerbread Man

Build a Cupcake

Card Making

Feed the Tennis Ball

Make or Decorate Your
Own Puzzle

Sorting Puffballs

If you are looking for quick busy bags to make get 8 big ziplocks in one bag put paper fold in half and crayons, in the second stamps (self inking is best) and paper, third beads and string, fourth stickers and envelopes, fifth a coloring book and “special markers”, sixth bag order Generic Men People Minifigures Toy (I got mine at Amazon) and have the kids assemble them then play with them 7th bag buy cheap kids bandaids and print out pictures of your child's favorite characters and the 8th bag a set of wipe clean cards on a ring or an Activity Pack.

Now when I am trying to finish a task or project I don’t have to stop everything to set up a project or activity I can just have the kids go grab a bag of their choice and have them work on it. Now does this work every time no but at least it gets me a little more time some of the time...
Do you have a favorite busy bag? How do you get work done while the kids are around?

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/

Scholastic Summer Reading Tour Aims To Engage Young Readers

7/11/2016

Scholastic Summer Reading Tour Aims To Engage Young Readers
By: Amy

Cape Cod Moms was recently offered an opportunity to visit one of the local legs of a summer reading tour that visited Cape Cod.

The goal of the tour is to make reading come alive. Today with the current technology, publishers, authors, illustrators must compete and find new ways to make reading fun and engaging. And engaging literacy activities is what we found at the Scholastic Summer Reading Book Tour that visited Eight Cousins.

This was a first year project for Scholastic and their two RV’s visited over 25 cities across the United States. Lucky for us, they chose Cape Cod as one of their destination points.

There were opportunities for interviews and autographs with local New England authors which was such a treat for the kids to meet the faces behind some of their favorite books and stories!

There was also some character meet and greets with Clifford the Big Red Dog and Geronimo Stilton, both of which were a hit with the kids, a prize wheel and an animated photo station with options of Clifford or Slappy from Goosebumps.

There were also fun games and tables with face painting, baked goods, reading contracts for cash, and an interactive Star Wars fingerprint center which they allowed kids to try to make their own Yoda. I thought this was a great way of having kids interact with literacy type activities and getting them excited about reading instead of a Pokemon game ;-)

We were invited to come on board the RV and chat a little more about the Book Tour. Inside the RV we were given the opportunity to scope out the table which the authors on the tour had signed along the way. Check out some of these names! Can you match authors with their popular books?

I bet most of our moms can pick out one particular author’s signature who was a blast from the past from our childhood. Having grown up reading the many of the Goosebumps stories I was more than excited to have a chance to pose with Slappy!

Overall we thought the Scholastic Summer Reading Tour was a fantastic way to encourage more reading and literacy activities in a day and age where authors are now competing against the constant onslaught of technology which gives instant gratification. I hope they continue with this tour every year and are able to reach more kids and families across the country to encourage reading and demonstrate just how important and engaging literacy really is. I also love how the local bookstores along the tour are getting involved with this and hope to see more engaging activities like this for our community in the future!

A Tale of Two Beast Review and Animal Adventures at the Snow Library

5/30/2016

A Tale of Two Beast Review and Animal Adventures at the Snow Library
By: Molly

A Tale of Two Beast written and illustrated by Fiona Roberton is a wonderful story of seeing an event from two sides. The first story is told from the little girl’s perspective and is titled The Strange Beast. Her story begins as she is walking through the deep dark wood from grandmas house she spies a small beast hang upside down from a tree and it seems to be upset. So the little girls rescues him by taking him home and cares for him HOW she thinks is best for the little beast. The beast’s side of the story is titled The Terrible Beast. This story starts with the beast hang from his favorite tree quietly happily singing when out of nowhere he is captured, taken away from his home and made to do things he didn’t like. In the end the girl and beast learn how to understand each other and that neither one is terrible or strange and in seeing this how to have fun together. The Kane Miller website has some great activities to go along with the book.

On Saturday the kids and I went to see Animal Adventures at the Snow Library in Orleans. The Animal Adventures employees brought 10 animals and for each animal the presentation followed the same format; give the animals name, facts about the animals while they let the kids see/touch the animal and then take questions. Today they brought a ferret, armadillo, Blue Tongued Skink, Jungle Carpet Python, Chinchilla, Alligator Snapping Turtle, American Alligator, Kangaroo, and Coati.The program was well organized and the kids were engaged and found in very exciting and interesting. I would highly recommend it if a local organization has Animal Adventure to go or to check out the Family Zoo and Rescue Center in Bolton, MA.

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

Chesterton’s Winter Rescue Review and Interview with Dean Coe Plus the Story Behind the Story

4/25/2016

Chesterton’s Winter Rescue Review and Interview with Dean Coe Plus the Story Behind the Story
By: Molly

Chesterton’s Winter Rescue is written by Dean Coe and Illustrated by Sasha Rudyakov and Robyn Whaples. Dean lives in Sandwich, MA and is a nature enthusiast. Both illustrators are college students and Sandwich natives. Chesterton’s Winter Rescue is the fourth of the Chesterton stories. It is the story of a weasel who one cold winter helps to save two puffins who have been blown inland by a Nor’easter. I really enjoyed the rich descriptive language and how the illustrations complement this rich language. The story also has lots of information about weasels, puffins, and other Cape Cod creature intertwined in it. This book would be great for classroom use as well; enhanced by in the back of the book there are facts about the creatures in the book, a glossary, and questions that really get kids thinking. The book ends “How can YOU help wildlife this winter?”. My son’s (3 years old) favorite part was when the otter caught the fish for the puffins and my daughter’s (5 years old) was when the puffins eat the fish. The Chesterton books can be ordered online at https://deancoebooks.com/books/ or bought at some local shops including Titcombs Book Store.

Interview with Dean Coe:
Me: When did you start writing?
Dean: My first book, Chesterton Keeps His Town Jumping was published in June of 2014. After writing 3-4 stories about Chesterton and reading them to my Beta group, my grandchildren, I decided to select one and publish it. Simultaneously, Sandwich MA was celebrating its 350th Anniversary. The setting I would choose would be the famous Sandwich boardwalk, designated by National Geographic as one of the top 10 boardwalks in the US in 2012. (Note; In 1990, after the Perfect Storm, the boardwalk, established in 1875, had been destroyed by the now famous Nor’easter. I founded and chaired the Boardwalk Reconstruction Committee leading a community rebuilding effort.) The story was adapted to the 350th anniversary. It is all about community and families and focuses on the favorite summer past time of jumping off the boardwalk into Mill Creek at high tide, a rite of passage for Sandwich kids. Chesterton Keeps His Town Jumping was in the top 20 Best Books of the Year at Titcombs, Book Shop in 2014.

Me: Why write children's books?
Dean: Young minds are precious and the nourishment that is derived from a parent reading to and with a child is like no other. To be in a position, as a children’s author, to be the conduit to that experience is priceless.

Me: Why a weasel?
Dean: Read the story behind the story. It all started with a walk in the forest with my granddaughter when we saw an intriguing little creature that captured my imagination.

Me: I really like how you intertwined fact within the story. What made you do this?
Dean: The books are nature books. Each introduces some basic nature awareness through the eyes and habits of a good ‘natured' weasel. (Book two-Chesterton Saves The Whale is actually based on a true story when I encountered a pilot whale while kayaking in Mill Creek. The story has a happy ending which differs from the true story.) Each book has a running glossary of terms allowing children or parents to gain further knowledge about the environment of the story. As seen on the back cover, each also has the endorsement of a professional in the subject matter.

Me: Do you plan to write more stories about Chesterton?
Dean: A very timely question? Yes but….when I decided to publish the first book I broke from tradition in a huge way. Since I was writing for kids, why not get kids to illustrate the stories? After consulting with elementary teachers and librarians, I decided to try and find a high school artist who had the potential to illustrate a book. I wound up with two illustrator friends, one who handled the characters and the other the backgrounds and color selections. They are now in college and I am waiting to hear from them as to there availability this summer. I am also working on a mid-grade mystery which will not be part of the series.

Me: Anything else you would like to tell me about?
Dean: The books are available in book stores and in many retail locations on the Cape, and at The Thornton Burgess Society and Greenbriar Nature Center in Sandwich, at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster and The MA Audubon Center in Wellfleet. Bulk orders and custom signed copies are available at deancoebooks.com. Many are sold through my school visits and writing workshops for elementary schools. Custom signing orders can be arranged by emailing me at dean@deancoe.com.

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
When author, Dean Coe, and his granddaughter Ashlan were walking in Shawme Forest, Sandwich, Massachusetts, they met a small creature that scooted across the trail in front of them. Having easily eluded some barking dogs in pursuit, the winsome character stood momentarily and almost appeared to invite the two to join in the fun. The brief encounter became the impetus for Coe’s Chesterton stories about a spirited, ever- curious, good-natured Cape Cod weasel.
The first adventure, Chesterton Keeps His Town Jumping, is about being brave. When jumping off the Sandwich boardwalk bridge, a 150-year-old rite of passage becomes a political issue, Chesterton and Sandwich kids of all ages rally and create a rising tide of opposition to a ‘no-jumping‘ mandate. It’s a fanciful story about community and doing the right thing.
The second adventure, Chesterton Saves The Whale, is based on a true story, but with a surprise ending, about a stranded pilot whale discovered by the author while kayaking in Sandwich’s Old Harbor.

Chesterton’s Scary Breakfast is a fun tale in which Chesterton’s spontaneous, whimsical and questionable decision creates an adventure for more than just Chesterton’s Winter Rescue introduces readers to the plight of our wildlife in the grips of a severe Cape Cod winter. Chesterton encounters two strange visitors, a couple of puffins, who have been blown to shore in a harsh Nor’easter. With the help of Cousin Otter, he manages to provide shelter and care to the homeless creatures.

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 https://w4728.myubam.com or contact me at mollyhubner@gmail.com .

Nibbles the Book Monster Book Review and Activities

3/28/2016

Nibbles the Book Monster Book Review and Activities
By: Molly

Nibbles the Book Monster written and illustrated by Emma Yarlett is brand new book for 3-8 year olds. Nibbles is this adorable yellow ball with arms, legs and horns coming out of the ball who likes to nibble things. He will nibble anything but his favorite thing to nibble is books! In the story Nibbles munches through different fairy tales including Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood and in doing so he changes the fairy tale. The illustrations are quite elaborate with lots of thing to look and find including the running away Nibbles on one of the pages. Because of the way the book was written with Nibbles influencing other fairy tales the book is well loved by many age groups including me. The book also has various sized text, flaps and cutouts which pull in and engage the reader even more. Nibbles has quickly become a favorite book in my house with me and my three and five year old kids.

Follow Up activities:

Reread the book:
*Stop on the second page ask what else Nibbles might nibble though?
*On the 6th page find Nibbles, snakes, a bunny, a ladybug, worms, tentacles, a mermaid tail, arms, a flower, footprints, a plant, The Gruffalo book, Press Here book, Meg and Mog book, The Jolly Postman book and The Very Hungry Caterpillar book.
*After you finish the book asks how Nibbles changed the fairy tales.

Craft project:

Get white sheets of paper, a piece of cardstock, stapler, scissors, markers or crayons, old catalogs or ads with books in them and a glue stick.
Draw a about 2” by 2” Nibbles on the cardstock and cut him out (see picture)
Using the white paper make your own Nibbles book by drawing on the white paper, pasting book pictures on and adding words (if you want) then cut holes in the pages where Nibbles nibbled through (make sure the holes are big enough for Nibbles to fit through).
Staple the book together and read or look at the book together.

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 https://w4728.myubam.com or contact me at mollyhubner@gmail.com .

Dario and the Whale Review and Interview with Cheryl Lawton Malone

3/21/2016

Dario and the Whale Review and Interview with Cheryl Lawton Malone
By: Molly

Dario and the Whale by Cheryl Lawton Malone is a brand new children’s book that takes place on Cape Cod. It is the story of a migrant boy Dario and a right whale who become friends. Dario comes to the Cape not knowing anyone and he does not speak English; the feeling of not belonging is something most can relate to. The story reads like a song making the repetitive simple text soothing. The use Portuguese words in the story is a nice touch. The beautiful illustrations are calming, deep and rich which enhances the story being told. As a fellow Cape Cod lover this book makes me wish for warmer days and to drive to the National Seashore with the kids to look for whales!

Interview with Cheryl author of Dario and the Whale
Before Cheryl started her writing career she was a lawyer for 20 years. Then about 10 years ago she left the legal world and enrolled in a MFA at Lesley University. After finishing her program at Lesley she had the pleasure of spending a month at the Norman Mailer Writers Colony in Provincetown, MA. It was during her time in Provincetown the inspiration for Dario and the Whale occurred.

The inspiration for Dario and the Whale happened one early morning in April when Cheryl and her dog were out for a walk on Race Point Beach. A Right whale appeared 15 feet from the shore head out of the water Cheryl stared at the whale month wide open and her dog barked. The barking caused the whale to lift itself further out of the water it’s big eyes connecting with Cheryl stare frozen in that moment. It was that connection with a whale that the story of Dario and the Whale originated from.

Cheryl knew that she wanted her book to end with that connection of a child with a whale and from there she worked backward to create a story. She wanted the story to read in verse and have the parallels of the seasonal whale migrating and thus an immigrant boy. A Brazilian boy made sense as there are lots of Brazilian immigrants in the cape today but it also ties in with the Portuguese fishermen. The name Dario came from a little boy Cheryl had the opportunity to meet while she was volunteering as a tutor in Boston.

In addition to two picture books Cheryl is working on getting published and a middle grade novel in verse about a girl and a wolf she is writing she also teaches writing seminars. For more about Cheryl and Dario and the Whale you can visit her website and her book can be ordered online at most large book retailers as well as purchased locally at Eight Cousins Books, Brewster Bookstore or a local Barnes and Nobles . Hopeful Cheryl will be doing some events on the Cape this summer. Until then definitely pick up a copy of Dario and the Whale.

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 https://w4728.myubam.com or contact me at mollyhubner@gmail.com .

I'm A Hungry Dinosaur Book Review

2/22/2016

I’m a Hungry Dinosaur Review
By: Molly

I’m a Hungry Dinosaur by Janeen Brian and illustrated by Ann James is a fun loving book for 2-5 year olds. The rhyming playful text pulls the reader in and the addition of bold colorful words “SHAKE, STIR, MIX, BAKE…. This little dinosaur just loves cake” makes young children chant along. The illustrations are intriguing too Ann James made the pictures using magic pencil, chocolate icing, sprinkles, flour, cocoa and watercolors. My kids (3 and 5) love listening to the book and chanting along again and again. Plus the pages are a thinker laminated paper with rounded corners perfect for younger children’s hands.

Activities to do with the book:

Before reading: look at the covers of book with the child ask them what they see and what do they think the book is about.

As you read: talk and ask the child about the pictures, what might happen next and encourage them to read or chant along.

After reading the book: ask the child about the book and what their favorite part was.

Follow up activities:
*Reread the book and encourage more chanting and reading along
*Bake a cake together let the child help measure the ingredients
*Talk about the rhyming words in the book and create a list of more rhyming words
*Finger paint with chocolate pudding
* If your child enjoyed this book checkout I’m a Dirty Dinosaur

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 https://w4728.myubam.com or contact me at mollyhubner@gmail.com .

Kooky Crumbs Review

2/15/2016

By: Molly

Kooky Crumbs
Poems in Praise of Dizzy Days

Kooky Crumbs by J. Patrick Lewis illustrated by Mary Uhles is a silly book of poems for all ages. The style and length of these goofy poems vary page to page but all are about obscure holidays across the year. Whether it is Potato day or Vinegar day being celebrated there is plenty of fun to go around. What other crazy holidays can you find and write a poem about?

Here is a list of all the days in the book and an activity suggestion for each!

Funny Holiday dates for 2016

Hat Day 1/15
Activity: make a fun hat

Weatherperson’s Day 2/5
Activity: write your own weather forecast

Inventors' Day 2/11
Activity: make your own invention

Telecommunications Day 5/17
Activity: explore the history of ways to communicate to others far away

Pancake Day 2/9
Activity: have a pancake party

Cereal Day 3/7
Activity: make cereal necklaces

Math Day 10/14
Activity: make your own math challenges up and read This is not a Math Book

Telephone Day 4/25
Activity: call someone who you don’t usually call

Zipper Day 4/29
Activity: make a list of all the things zippers are used for

Change a Light Day 10/4
Activity: design your own lamp

Make a Dream Day 1/13
Activity: talk about or make a list of your dreams

Sunscreen Day 5/27
Activity: Summer is coming design your own sunscreen Ad

Pencil Day 3/30
Activity: decorate pencils

Ride the Wind Day 8/23
Activity: make kites

UFO Day 7/2
Activity: write an UFO story

Smoke and Mirrors Day 3/29
Activity: be silly and read I’m a Dirty Dinosaur

Hot Dog Day 7/23
Activity: make hot dogs for dinner

Look Alike Day 4/20
Activity: dress up like each other

Happiness Happens Day 8/8
Activity: do something special for a friend or family member

Potato Day 8/19
Activity: go to the store and look at all the different potatoes then choose some for dinner

Hug A Greeting Card Writer Day 9/18
Activity: make your own greeting cards and read Cuddle Bear

DNA Day 4/25
Activity: talk about DNA

Vegetarian Day 10/1
Activity: prepare a vegetarian meal

Older Person Day 10/1
Activity: read Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge

Card Playing Day 12/28
Activity: play a card game

Vinegar Day 11/1
Activity: make an explosion with vinegar and baking soda

Toilet Day 11/19
Activity: research toilets from around the world

Epitaph Day 11/2
Activity: write your own Epitaph

Sportsmanship Day 3/1
Activity: read Billie B., The Soccer Star or Hey Jack! The Winning Goal

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 https://w4728.myubam.com or contact me at mollyhubner@gmail.com.

Cape Cod Memory Makers Are the Perfect Way to Celebrate Literacy on Cape Cod!

5/9/2014

Cape Cod Children’s Writers of Falmouth, led by Joan Walsh, presents parents and grandparents with three interactive picture books, Cape Cod Memory Makers Explore the Town of Falmouth, Cape Cod Memory Makers Explore the Town of Sandwich, and Cape Cod Memory Makers Explore the Town of Chatham, by Joan Walsh and Anne Sessions Barber.
Each book in the series takes children, who love to explore, write, draw, and scrapbook, to special places unique to Falmouth, Sandwich, and Chatham. Writing and scrapbooking space is provided within each book. Twins, Amy and Josh take turns sharing their adventures at every location, and they invite children to become official Memory Makers. All illustrations are original water color paintings.

Books one may be purchased at Eight Cousins Books in Falmouth, book two at Titcomb's Bookshop in Sandwich, and book three in the series may be purchased at Where the Sidewalk Ends. Each of the stores are happy to send copies if you are unable to shop in person.

Our goal is to promote the arts on Cape Cod, family travel, and towns that feature unique, independent book stores. Please peek at our Cape Cod Children’s Writers website athttp://www.capecodchildrenswriters.com

Sincerely,
Joan Walsh

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