Stella, Star of the Sea by Marie-Louise Gay – Read Share Celebrate Day 23

Now how could I have known that when I picked his book for day 23 of our Picture Book Month Project that the weather outside would be VERY rainy, windy and generally miserable.

Enter selection 23….Stella, Star of the Sea by Marie Louise Gay.

This book is also available in French

“Where do starfish come from?” asked Sam.

“From the sky,” answered Stella. “Starfish are shooting stars that fell in love with the sea.”

“Weren’t the stars afraid of drowning?” asked Sam.

“No,” said Stella. “They all learned how to swim.”
― Marie-Louise Gay, Stella, Star of the Sea

Winner of the Ruth Schwartz Award

Stella and her little brother are spending the day at the sea. Stella has been to the sea before and knows all its secrets, but Sam has many questions: “Does a catfish purr? Does a seahorse gallop?” Stella has an answer for them all. The only thing she isn’t sure of, and neither are we, is whether Sam will ever come into the water.

Exquisite, evocative watercolors bring a diaphanous day at the beach alive in this perfect summer story. Gently humorous, Stella, Star of the Sea also captures the relationship between an older sister and her baby brother — a responsibility that can be both lots of fun and very trying.

Series Title: Stella and Sam

• 32 Pages
• ISBN 9780888993373
• Reading age from 2 to 5

Source – http://houseofanansi.com/products/stella-star-of-the-sea

This book was also named to the Today’s Parent 100 Best Canadian Kids’ Books of All Time [ http://www.todaysparent.com/family/activities/top-100-canadian-kids-books/image/4/ ]

If you LOVED this book as much as we did ( it really made us want to be at the beach and play with the sand and in the water) you might want to check out the other Stella & Sam books.

Stella series

• Stella, Star of the Sea (1999)
• Stella, Queen of the Snow (2000)
• Stella, Fairy of the Forest (2002)
• Stella, Princess of the Sky (2004)
• When Stella Was Very, Very, Small (2009)
• Read Me A Story, Stella (2013)

Sam series

Sam is Stella’s younger brother

• Good Morning, Sam (2003)
• Good Night, Sam (2003)
• What Are You Doing, Sam? (2006)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Louise_Gay

 

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Once we were done reading our book, and building a ‘sandcastle’…it was time to colour.  Family Junior has some great colouring sheets available on their website. [ http://www.familyjr.ca/en/stella-and-sam/colouring-and-create/ ]

Here are the direct link to 3 colouring sheets (Stella, Sam & Fred)

1. http://www.familyjr.ca/en/stella-and-sam/colouring-and-create/Stella.pdf
2. http://www.familyjr.ca/en/stella-and-sam/colouring-and-create/Sam.pdf
3. http://www.familyjr.ca/en/stella-and-sam/colouring-and-create/Fred.pdf

 

We found this song on YouTube, and really wanted to share it.  We LOVE the beach, and today the weather is very dreary, so this ‘music video’ perked us up.  Hope it does that to you as well.

 

 

This song is featured on Juno Award winning The Stella and Sam Album, Featuring Emilie Mover! http://cdbaby.com/cd/emiliemover1

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About the Author –

Marie-Louise Gay is a world-renowned author and illustrator of children’s books. She has won many prestigious awards, including two Governor General’s awards, the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award, the Vicky Metcalf Award and the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. She has also been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Her books have been translated into more than fifteen languages and are loved by children all over the world. She lives in Montreal.

Source – http://houseofanansi.com/products/stella-star-of-the-sea

For more information on her other books, events, etc you can go to her website, http://marielouisegay.com/

Today we will leave you with an recording of Marie-Louise Gay on TeachingBooks.net, where she talked about Stella & Sam and how she came to create these characters.  Hope you enjoy.

<a href=”http://www.teachingbooks.net/qltoubx”>TeachingBooks.net Book Reading | Stella, Star of the Sea</a>

If you have any favorite Marie-Louise Gay books please share them with us in the comments section below.

UPDATED -The Most Magnificient Thing by Ashley Spires – Day 22 Read Share Celebrate

**December 12, 2015-This Post has been UPDATED (scroll down to the bottom), with pictures and our thoughts on the book**

 

This might actually be one of my favorite books on our Read Share Celebrate Calendar, and we haven’t even actually read it.  ( Like a few of the other books we are waiting for our turn to borrow the book at our local library )

However, after watching several read aloud’s on YouTube I feel like we have read the book, and it is AWESOME!!!

Day 22 – The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires has created a charming picture book about an unnamed girl and her very best friend, who happens to be a dog. The girl has a wonderful idea. “She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right.For the early grades’ exploration of character education, this funny book offers a perfect example of the rewards of perseverance and creativity. The girl’s frustration and anger are vividly depicted in the detailed art, and the story offers good options for dealing honestly with these feelings, while at the same time reassuring children that it’s okay to make mistakes. The clever use of verbs in groups of threes is both fun and functional, offering opportunities for wonderful vocabulary enrichment. The girl doesn’t just “make” her magnificent thing — she “tinkers and hammers and measures,” she “smoothes and wrenches and fiddles,” she “twists and tweaks and fastens.” These precise action words are likely to fire up the imaginations of youngsters eager to create their own inventions and is a great tie-in to learning about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

978-1-55453-704-4 | Apr 1, 2014

Grades: PreSchool To 2 / Ages: 3 to 7

Source -http://www.kidscanpress.com/products/most-magnificent-thing

If you have seen any of my past posts, you might have seen a couple stop motion animated films by students at Elmwood School in Ottawa.  Guess what….they have a film done for this book too!!!  Hurray!!!!

This book I feel is very inspiring.  We can all learn from this book.

#makesomething

To be creative. 

To have fun. 

To try something new.

To be brave.

To be YOU!!

….

For more ‘Book hacking‘ ideas . . . http://www.kidscanpress.com/makesomething/Book-Hack.html

Now I could probably go on  and on and on, because there is SO MUCH GREAT stuff out there for this book.  But I will try to stop for now…..at least until we get a chance to read it for ourselves.

Can’t forget for our friends looking for great French books, this one has been translated.  Quel Genie!

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About the Author –

Ashley Spires grew up in a little town on the coast of B.C. called Tsawwassen with two parents, an older sister, eight cats, a dog and the occasional newt. For a while she thought that animation was her future, but then photography caught her eye, which led her to bookmaking courses. These classes opened her eyes to the world of illustration and she never looked back. Delighted that there was, in fact, a career that allowed her to remain in her pajamas, hang out with her cats and be productive at the same time, illustration is the perfect job for her. Ashley spent time living in Toronto and Saskatoon before returning to her home turf of Delta, BC where she now resides with three cats, a dog and her extremely patient fella.Like Binky, Ashley does not take kindly to insects, though she rarely eats them. She has ingested a number of bugs accidentally during her frequent jogs and bike rides, but trust me, she didn’t enjoy it.

Source -http://www.kidscanpress.com/creators/ashley-spires/680

For more information on Ashley, her illustrations, her other books you can find all that and more information here….

http://www.ashleyspires.com/

http://www.kidscanpress.com/makesomething/index.html

https://www.pinterest.com/ralford/ashley-spires-kaelyns-book-club/

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So as you can see from the photos, our turn finally came up for this book at our local library.  And it definitely did NOT disappoint. We were both so excited to finally hold the book in our hands, that we had to read it as soon as we checked it out from the library.  (It was also in the bedtime story mix last night! So I would say this book is a Winner in our house!!)

We have the book for another couple weeks, and I am sure we will read it several more times before we have to return to the library.  A GREAT little book, with a great message of trying things, not giving up, friendship and problem solving.  We also think the words used in the book ( “tinkering, hammering, twisting, fiddling, gluing, paining….”) are so much fun.  We really had a great time reading this book together.

Sunday Selections – November 29, 2015

How did we get to Sunday again?

Well anyhow, time to take a look at the New York Times Best Sellers Children’s Picture Book List….

http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/picture-books/list.html

A few books have swapped spots, but nothing NEW on this weeks list. Here’s the Top 3

1.The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers

2.The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers

3.The Little Snowplow by Lora Koehler & Jake Parker

So because there is nothing new on this weeks list, I took a look back a year ago to see what was on the list.

http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2014-11-30/picture-books/list.html

As we head into the last full week of November, we have chosen to share The Animals’ Santa by Jan Brett (a year ago this book was #7 on the NY Times Best Sellers Children’s Picture Book List.  It’s also a book we received as a gift last Christmas, and love reading it!!!!)

About The Animals’ Santa

When Big Snowshoe tells Little Snow that the animals’ Santa is coming with presents for everyone, Little Snow wants to know who he is. The animals say they have never seen him.  Maybe he’s a badger, a moose, a polar bear, or a wolf, they tell him.  But this spunky little rabbit thinks they are just fooling him.

On Christmas Eve, Big Snowshoe finds a way to see the animals’ Santa when a Snowy Owl in a red cap swoops down with a pack full of presents.  Never again will an excited Little Snow doubt that there is an animals’ Santa.

Hardcover
Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Oct 21, 2014 | 32 Pages | 3-5 years | ISBN 9780399257841

Source -http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/310948/the-animals-santa-by-jan-brett-illustrated-by-jan-brett/9780399257841/

I’ll leave you with this Read Aloud by Arwen Sharp, https://youtu.be/KF3k5OkBVRQ

We hope this book becomes part of your Holiday Season Book Selection. Happy Sunday!

Chicken, Pig, Cow by Ruth Ohi – Read Share Celebrate Day 20

So on top of the Picture Book Pile today is…

Chicken, Pig, Cow by Ruth Ohi

Pig, Chicken and Cow love the warm and cozy barn Girl made for them out of Popsicle® sticks. Even though Girl forgot to make a door, the three toy animals think their home is perfect. The only thing that isn’t perfect is Dog. He lives outside, but his drool makes it feel as if it’s raining in the barn.

One day, Pig and Chicken decide to go exploring, leaving Cow behind. Before long, Cow hears a drooly, snorty sort of sound, followed by a crash as the barn tips over. Dog is very big, and Cow is terrified—but she really has nothing to fear. All Dog wants to do is play, as Pig and Chicken discover during a daring rescue. Dog becomes a friend. Best of all, now that two sticks have been knocked free, their barn is indeed perfect—front door and all.

With her trademark economy of words and expressive characters, Ruth Ohi has created a refreshing, toddler-friendly story about making friends.

• First and Best List, Toronto Public Library
• Best Books for Family Literacy, Pennsylvania Center for the Book Best Bets List
• Ontario Library Association Great Books
• Canadian Toy Testing Council 100 Best Canadian Kids’ Books [ http://www.thestar.com/life/parent/2009/11/16/toytesting_council_names_top_picks_for_2010.html ]
  
• Today’s Parent Magazine New York City Reads 365 List Best Books for Kids & Teens
• Canadian Children’s Book Centre Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards finalist

Interest Age 2 – 5 ( Grade PreK – K )
9 x 9, 32 Pages, 2008

Guided Reading Level:
Fountas and Pinnell I

Picture Book

Themes
friendship; animals; problem solving; community

Source -http://www.annickpress.com/Chicken-Pig-Cow

Needless to say this book is a big hit in the house.  Even with ‘the Dog‘!!  We now have the other Chicken, Pig, Cow books on our list for our next library visit!

Other books in the Chicken, Pig, Cow series include:

Chicken, Pig, Cow and the Class Pet

Chicken, Pig, Cow and the Purple Problem

Chicken, Pig, Cow Horse Around

Chicken, Pig, Cow On the Move

Chicken, Pig, Cow’s First Fight

This video with Ruth Ohi talks about Chicken, Pig, Cow and the Purple Problem, but it’s interesting to hear her talk about Chicken, Pig, Cow and who they are as characters.  We also really enjoyed watching her draw at the end.

 

 

Hopefully you are like us, and you like to do some fun crafty activities, Ruth has a Pinterest Board connected to Chicken, Pig, Cow.  You can find it here…

Kaelyn’s Book Club also has Ruth Ohi board with some great Chicken, Pig, Cow activities and some Pins related to a few of her other books.

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About Ruth Ohi

Ruth is the illustrator of over 50 books (17 of which she is also the author). She has had the great pleasure of illustrating for authors such as, Hazel Hutchins and Sharon Jennings.  Ruth lives with her family in Toronto, Canada and is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design. Ruth’s books have been shortlisted for awards such as the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book, Mr. Christie, Shining Willow, Rainforest of Reading and Blue Spruce.  They have been selected for the NYC READS365, Pennsylvania Centre for the Book’s “Baker’s Dozen”, the Canadian Toy Testing Council’s “Great Books”, the Ontario Library Association’s “Best Bets”, Canadian Children’s Book Centre “Best Books” and the Toronto Public Library’s “First & Best”.  Ruth’s latest books include “Kenta and the Big Wave” (Annick Press) and “Fox and Squirrel Make a Friend” (Scholastic Canada). Ruth’s newest book, “Scribble” (Scholastic Canada) will be released Spring 2016. http://www.RuthOhi.com

Check out her website, http://www.ruthohi.com for much more information on her books, activities, and her upcoming events.

Must run, we have a colouring date with Chicken, Pig and Cow!!!

Enjoy!  and if you have a moment, tell us how you like this book, or any other book by Ruth Ohi.

 

 

 

Words on Wednesday – November 18

Well I just love this poster from Kids Can Press, so decided it would be our Words on Wednesday Pick.  Enjoy….and To the Library!

A bit about the book…

 

For more information, http://www.kidscanpress.com/products/tea-party-woods

If you Happen to Have a Dinosaur by Linda Bailey and Colin Jack – Read Share Celebrate Day 18

Our 18th Selection on the Read Share Celebrate – Picture Book Month list is…..

If You Happen To Have A Dinosaur by Linda Bailey and Illustrated by Colin Jack.

French Title, Si Jamais Tu Avais Un Dinosaure…

ABOUT THIS BOOK

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If you happen to have a dinosaur, lying around your living room, and you don’t know what to do with it … why don’t you use it as a can opener? It will make a terrific nutcracker too! There are oodles of uses for a dinosaur — from a fine umbrella to an excellent kite and a dandy pillow, not to mention a reliable burglar alarm and the perfect excuse to forget your homework. This delightfully absurd exploration of the domestic uses of dinosaurs — and the things dinos just aren’t good for at all — is guaranteed to tickle funny bones and spark imaginations. If you read carefully, you’ll learn how to make your dinosaur last a very long time.

Imprint:Tundra Books
Format: Hardcover
Pub Date: May 2014
Age: 3-7 years
Trim Size: 10-1/2 x 10-1/2
# of Pages: 40 pages
ISBN: 978-1-77049-568-5 (1-77049-568-1)

Source -http://www.tundrabooks.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781770495685

Now this is not my favorite YouTube Read Aloud I have found in the last couple weeks, but you do get to hear the story, so here we go…..

 

Besides it being Day 18 for our Picture Book Month Project, it was also Book Club Monthly Meet-Up day.  So we took our Read Aloud on the road, and added it into our books read during Book Club.

We’ve read this book a few times, and everytime we  do get quite a kick out of the illustrations and some of the things these dinosaurs are doing.  Babysitting dinosaurs…..ummmmm….still not sure that there is a good one for that, but ok!

About the Author –

Award-winning author LINDA BAILEY has written more than twenty books for children in a number of different genres, including the best-selling Stanley-the-dog series, The Farm Team, the Stevie Diamond Mysteries, the Good Times Travel Agency series, and most recently, Toads on Toast, also illustrated by Colin Jack. Known for her wonderful sense of humor, evident in almost all her stories, Linda has garnered a long list of honors in both Canada and the United States such as the Ontario Blue Spruce Award, the Atlantic Provinces Hackmatack Award, the Arthur Ellis Award (Crime Writers of Canada), the California Young Reader Medal, and the Georgia Storybook Award.

Source – http://www.tundrabooks.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=978177049568

For more information on Linda Bailey and her other books, check out her website, http://www.lindabaileybooks.com/home.html

About the Illustrator

COLIN JACK is the incredibly talented illustrator of several books for children including the Galaxy Zack series, Toads on Toast and 1 Zany Zoo. He also works as a story artist and character designer at Dreamworks, and has been involved in such productions as Hotel Transylvania, Grossology and Ed, Edd n Eddy.

Source – http://www.tundrabooks.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=978177049568

Colin also has a great blog, http://jackomtablet.blogspot.ca/ and Tumblr page, http://colinjack.tumblr.com/ where you can check out some of his other illustrations.

Let us know what you think of If You Happen To Have A Dinosaur…

A Cat in a Kayak by Maria Coffey, Eugenie Fernandes – Read Share Celebrate Day 16

Welcome to Day 16 of Picture Book Month.

**Sorry I am finding myself a bit behind on my selected 30 days of books.  Running after a 2 year old doesn`t always allow for enough time in the day to get done everything that I have been wanting to do.  Don`t worry we will get through all 30 books.  Can`t wait to keep sharing**

Our Selection today is A Cat in a Kayak by Maria Coffey, and Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandez.

We really have enjoyed reading this story about a cat who goes to live with a man, and then the house is filled with other `creatures.`  There is a lot of this story that makes it very easy to relate to.

When Victor takes in Teelo the cat, the feline isn’t thrilled about the voyage across the harbor. After all, a cat in a kayak is like a fish out of water. But when they arrive at the little house on Cloud Island, Teelo discovers it’s the perfect place for a calm-loving cat. Perfect, that is, until Teelo’s spot by the stove is usurped by some chickens. Worse, his cozy cushion is eaten when Terry the terrier moves in. Even the roof isn’t safe — Victor’s new parrot can .y up there with ease.

Suddenly a cat in a kayak seems a decent idea…until Victor paddles out to Thunder Rock, a voyage of walloping waves, screeching seabirds, and overexcited orcas. Upon returning home, Teelo decides the crowded little house is the perfect place for him after all.

This charming tale reminds us that things could always be worse. Set amid vibrant coastal landscapes, and crawling with friendly critters of all kinds, it’s easy to see why A Cat in a Kayak has become a family favorite.

I guess she needed to have some of her kitties around her when she read this book today.

About the Author –

Maria Coffey

When growing up in Wolverhampton, England, Maria Coffey’s favorite books were Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series. Desperate to have adventures of her own, she and a few friends formed a Famous Four club. They spent hours dreaming about wild escapades, but it was a few years before her life began to get really exciting.

While studying for a degree in geography at the University of Liverpool, she would spend summer vacations traveling and working abroad, in Greece, Italy, Israel, Morocco, France, Sweden and Russia. After graduating, Maria went to South America for a year, taught English as a Foreign Language in Peru, and traveled through Bolivia, Argentina and Patagonia.

Eventually, Maria returned to England and settled into a teaching job for a while. Looking for a change, Maria moved to Canada, gave up teaching and began writing. Then she met her future husband, Dag. With Dag, Maria began having adventures that the Famous Five would have been proud of.

Maria’s first children’s book, A Cat in a Kayak (originally published in 1998 and reissued in 2005), is the tale of Teelo the Cat, who finds a kayak-accessible home on Cloud Island. A Seal in the Family (1999), Teelo’s next adventure, recounts what happens when he finds an abandoned seal pup on the shores of Cloud Island. The third title in the adventures of Teelo, A Cat Adrift (2002), tells of Teelo’s rescue from the stormy ocean by a young girl and her grandfather in their wooden sailboat.

Maria has written articles for the Globe and Mail, the New York Times, Outdoors Illustrated, The Guardian and Sea Kayaker Magazine. Maria lives in Nanaimo, B.C., with Dag where they run guided trips to exciting places around the world, through their company Hidden Places.

Source – annickpress.com

About the Illustrator – Eugenie Fernandes

My world is yellow and blue and green. I grew up on the beach. I painted with my father — comic-book illustrator Creig Flessel. We made up stories sitting on the front porch. Birds flew down from the sky and sat on my shoulder. Cats purred. Frogs hopped. I have always lived on islands …a house on Long Island, an apartment on Manhattan Island, a thatch hut on an island in the middle of the South Pacific, and now … I live and work in a little house … on a little island … in a little lake in southern Ontario. Summer and winter …starting at the crack of dawn, I paint every day. Sometimes, I write stories. Sometimes, I sell the stories. Then I paint again … I paint my stories … I paint other people’s stories. Sometimes, I paint paintings for myself … abstract paintings … big … free … Sunshine fills my studio.I am surrounded by water and birds and trees.My world is yellow and blue and green. Eugenie graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 1965. Her paintings from Earth Magic and One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference are at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art.

Source – kidscanpress.com

We originally found out about this book when I asked the members of Kaelyn`s Book Club if they had any favorite Picture Books.  Sandra had mentioned this book.  She even had a personal connection, Teelo the cat came to live with her for a time.  So after hearing this story we were eager to read this book.  It didn`t disappoint.  We have read it a few times, and enjoyed it every time we have read it.  The book does seem to get longer each time as we add our own sound effects into it.

Enjoy!

Juba This, Juba That by Helaine Becker, Illustrated by Ron Lightburn – Picture Book Month, Day 6, English Selection

Welcome to Day 6 of READ SHARE CELEBRATE.

Today we have 2 different book choices.  One English, One French.

Juba This, Juba That by Helaine Becker and Illustrated by Ron Lightburn

Vite, Vite Benjamin! de Paulette Bourgeois et Brenda Clark ( https://kaelynsbookclub.wordpress.com/2015/11/06/vite-vite-benjamin-de-paulette-bourgeois-et-brenda-clark-lire-partage-celebrer-6-jours-selection-francaise/ )

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So our first encounter with this book, was actually a visit to Oaklawn Farm Zoo in Aylesford, NS.  The Annapolis Valley Regional Library [ http://www.valleylibrary.ca/ ] had installed a Story Walk, and this book was selected book.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/YB69sfklqiw“>http://

Even our #avrlchirpy got into the spirit and followed along.  [ NOTE: Chirpy was another AVRL program this past summer, connected with the TD Summer Reading Club. Make sure you check your local library next summer to see if they are participating in the Summer Reading Club.  We had A LOT of Family fun with this program ]

ABOUT THIS BOOK

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Traditional “juba” rhythms have a long history. They originated in Nigeria as hand-clapping games. People who were brought to the New World as slaves fought hard to keep their culture alive against terrible odds. They transformed “juba” rhythms into work songs that were passed down orally.

Juba This, Juba That is based on one of the most popular songs. With its strong beat and read-along repetition, it will delight small children. Along with all the fun there’s also fascinating history and concepts including opposites and prepositions. Children will have fun discovering the story told in the art about a boy named Juba who follows a mysterious yellow cat on a magical, middle-of-the night adventure that leaves them both happy and ready for slumber.

Imprint: Tundra Books
Format: Hardcover
Pub Date: September 2011
Age: 2-5 years
Trim Size: 8 x 10
# of Pages: 24 pages
ISBN: 978-0-88776-975-7 (0-88776-975-6)

Source – http://www.tundrabooks.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780887769757

If you are interested in more information on the Juba Dance, check out this Wikipedia link, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juba_dance

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About Helaine Becker –

Helaine Becker is an award-winning writer of books for children. She has written over 60 books, including the best-selling picture book, A Porcupine in a Pine Tree, the Looney Bay All-Stars series; popular non-fiction, including Zoobots, Alphabest and The Quiz Book for Girls; and novels including Gottika, Dirk Daring, Secret Agent, and How to Survive Absolutely Anything.

 

She also writes for children’s magazines and for kids television. She has written four seasons of Dr. Greenie’s Mad Lab, a segment on Planet Echo, an environmental science show airing on APTN , and is hard at work on several other TV projects.

 

Helaine is ia popular presenter and performer at schools across Canada and the US. She was selected  to tour three times for Canadian Children’s Book Week. She went to Yukon in 2006 and Nunavut in 2008, and Manitoba in 2014. She has presented at the Orange County (California) Children’s Festival, the Festival of Women Writers, Frye Fest, Weaving Words, and other major venues. She presents to kids AND to writers, teaching writing skills re: fiction, non-fiction, verse and the business side of writing.

 

Both an American and Canadian citizen, Ms. Becker attended high school in New York and graduated cum laude from Duke University in another century. She is married, with two sons, and is an active swimmer, runner, cyclist, and compulsive read-aholic.  She has an orange belt in karate and is contemplating going for her grapefruit belt.

 

Helaine loves bright shiny colorful things, especially happy faces and flowers. She is crazy about fluffy dogs, coral reefs,  ice cream and color-changing nailpolish.

Source – http://www.helainebecker.com/index.html

About Ron Lightburn –

Ron Lightburn was born in 1954 in Cobourg, Ontario. In 1958 his family moved to British Columbia where Ron attended school in West Vancouver and Chemainus. He completed his secondary education in Calgary, Alberta and then attended the Alberta College of Art from 1973 – 75. Following a move to Victoria, B.C. in 1975 he began his illustration career with work for a variety of advertising, editorial and government clients. In 1984 he won the Western Magazine Award for Illustration.

His career as a children’s book illustrator was launched with his Governor General’s Award-winning artwork for Waiting for the Whales in 1991. Since then he has won several other awards and has become internationally renowned for his visual storytelling skills and range of illustration styles, from the touching realism of How Smudge Came to the exuberant whimsy of Pumpkin People. His picture books have been published in seven countries and six languages with total sales of over 600,000 copies. He has given illustration presentations and workshops to audiences of all ages in Canada from Victoria to St. John’s. During the past thirty years his artwork has graced the covers of over sixty books and has been featured in magazines, calendars, posters and advertisements across North America. His client list includes the Province of Nova Scotia, the Town of Kentville, the Province of British Columbia, Aliant, McDonald’s Restaurants, The Walt Disney Company, CP Hotels, Heritage Canada Foundation and General Foods. His artwork has been recognized and exhibited by The Society of Illustrators in New York and is included in the permanent collections of Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books in Toronto and the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy in Toronto. In 2005 his paintings for A Poppy Is to Remember were selected to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in the Library and Archives Canada publication Read Up On It.

A resident of Nova Scotia since 1997, Ron lives in the beautiful Annapolis Valley with his partner Sandra.

Source – http://www.bookcentre.ca/directory/ron_lightburn_1

You can also find out more about Ron, and his other projects at his website, http://thelightburns.com/

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I’ll leave you today with this link I found while doing some research on this book, http://www.music2spark.com/2014/02/06/singable-book-juba-this-juba-that/.  It’s great to see how to get, especially the wee ones, engaged in this type of book by using music.  Or you can go directly to the video, from Music 2 Spark here, http://www.music2spark.com/2014/02/06/singable-book-juba-this-juba-that/

Enjoy, we have had a great time with this book.

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Mabel Murple by Sheree Fitch, Illustrated by Sydney Smith– Picture Book Month, Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of READ SHARE CELEBRATION.  Today we are Celebrating Nova Scotia Author Sheree Fitch.

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• Today’s English Selection is Mable Murple, Illustrated by Sydney Smith.

• And the French Selection is Bisous Bisous Bebe-O!, Illustrated by HildaRose, translated by Jo-Anne Elder [ Board book * 12 pages; 5.50 x 5.50 inches; 9781551096971; NB0830; Publisher: Nimbus Publishing ]
  

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I would love to say that we have known of Sheree Fitch forever, but we actually just discovered her, and her zany poems.  However since we read Mabel Murple for the first time we were immediately HOOKED.  ( NOTE: IF/WHEN you do read Mabel Murple for the first time…..TAKE IT SLLLLOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!  Those tongue twisters are dangerous!!!  lol )

Now for anyone who is familiar with Sheree’s other works, you may already be familiar with the character Mabel Murple….like we discovered while reading Toes in My Nose tonight before bed.

The year 2012 marked the 25th anniversary of Sheree Fitch’s first poetry collection, Toes in My Nose. It launched her career as one of Canada’s best nonsense poets, on par, or even better than, Dennis Lee. Now reissued by Nimbus Publishing and newly illustrated by Sydney Smith, a new generation of children can enjoy Fitch’s unique brand of whimsy and wordplay. 

Here’s a poem featuring one of her beloved characters:

Mabel Murple’s house was purple
So was Mabel’s hair
Mabel Murple’s cat was purple
Purple everywhere.

Mabel Murple’s bike was purple
So were Mabel’s ears
And when Mabel Murple cried
She cried terrible purple tears.

Source – http://inquisitive-kids.blogspot.ca/2013/01/poet-and-storyteller-sheree-fitch.html

The Mabel Murple book was originally published in 1995 and illustrated by Maryann Kovalski.[ Toronto, Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-25480-6 ]  This version of Mabel Murple won the Ann-Connor Brimmer Award (Best Book by an Atlantic Author), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Connor_Brimer_Award

A little girl is quietly soaking in the tub when she asks herself, “What if…There was a purple planet / With purple people in it / Would those purple people play / Whatever purple way they wanted?” So begins this rollicking romp through the zany land of purple, where Mabel Murple (who else?) rides a purple motorbike, skis down purple slopes, and rests in a purple bed. The cartoon-like illustrations, drawn with a predominantly purple palate, explode across the page with humour and vitality. They are a perfect complement to the spunky, quirky verse which is used to tell the story. This is a delightful picture book — not to be missed.

Source – http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/read-up-on-it/015020-6014-e.html

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25 years later (2010) Mabel Murple was back in print, this time being published by Nimbus Publishing,and Illustrated by Sydney Smith.  [ Age Range: 4 – 8 years; Hardcover: 24 pages; Publisher: Nimbus (Oct. 8 2010); Language: English;ISBN-10: 1551097885; ISBN-13: 978-1551097886 ]

Description

What if there was a purple planet with purple people on it? Sheree Fitch answers this question with a zany tongue-twister of a poem featuring Mabel Murple, a daredevil who rides a purple motorbike through purple puddles, skis on purple snow, and on her pancakes pours maple syrup.

With a rich and vivid purple palette, Sydney Smith’s brand-new illustrations reflect the wild joy in this classic poem. Originally published in 1995, Mabel Murple won the Ann Connor Brimer award for children’s literature.

Source – http://www.nimbus.ca/Mabel-Murple-pb-P58.aspx

In 2011 this new version of Mabel Murple won the Halifax’s Mayor Award for Illustration

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About Sheree Fitch –

Sheree Fitch’s first two books, Toes in My Nose (1987) and Sleeping Dragons All Around (1989), launched her career as a poet, rhymster, and a “kind of Canadian female Dr. Seuss.” Fitch has won almost every major award for Canadian children’s literature since then, including the 2000 Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work Inspirational to Canadian Children. She has over twenty-five books to her credit, including her bestselling and critically praised adult novel, Kiss the Joy As It Flies (2008). Fitch’s home base is the East Coast of Canada.

 – Source – http://www.nimbus.ca/cw_contributorinfo.aspx?ContribID=2298&Name=Sheree+Fitch

But I also Love how Sheree describes herself on her own website,

I’m a writer, reciter, a speaker, a teacher, a sister, a daughter, a mother, a wife.
A listener, a seeker, a maker of nonsense, a reader, a leader, a lipslippery fool.
A doctor, a walker, a talk-talk-talk- talker, a giggle-glad Oma, an odd sort of soul.

Yearner and learner
An ever beginner!
Hope is my teacher
Life is my school.

I write books for all ages, speak, give workshops on creativity, literacy education, children’s and women’s issues, storytelling and narrative. I’ve published books in all genres. I also mentor/guide writers one on one—sometimes for free, sometimes for a fee. I’ve lived in New Brunswick, on Chocolate Lake, Nova Scotia, in Washington D. C. We now live in Pictou County, Nova Scotia on the hobby farm Happy Doodle Do. My posts on this site are riffs—what’s most on my mind. I hope you take a look, and in the words of Willam Blake: Kiss the Joy as it Flies.

Source – http://www.shereefitch.com/

For more information on Sheree and her other Books/Projects check out, http://www.shereefitch.com/

About Sydney Smith –

Sydney Smith was born in rural Nova Scotia, and has been drawing since an early age. Since graduating from NSCAD University, he has illustrated multiple children’s books, including the wordless picture book Sidewalk Flowers, and he has received awards for his illustrations, including the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration. He now lives in Toronto and works in a shared studio space in Chinatown where he eats too many banh mi sandwiches and goes to the library or the Art Gallery of Ontario on his breaks.

Source – http://groundwoodbooks.com/sidewalk-flowers-a-love-letter-to-toronto-from-illustrator-sydney-smith/

You can also check out Sydney’s website at, http://sydneydraws.tumblr.com/

We hope you enjoy Mabel Murple as much as we do!!!

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We are very excited that Mabel Murple is also the November Book Selection for Kaelyn’s Book Club.  So check back as we announce our Book Club gathering, and help us share this fun book with your Family, Friends and of course your Wee Ones!!!

For much more on Sheree Fitch, check out my Pinterest Board….https://www.pinterest.com/ralford/sheree-fitch-cdn-kaelyns-book-club/

lire, partage, celebrer – en francais

For everyone who saw our post yesterday about READ SHARE CELEBRATE, 30 Days of AMAZING CANADIAN Children’s Picture Books, here is the French version.

Our household is not a French one.  So when I put out a request for people’s favorite CANADIAN Children’s authors someone had given a name of a French author.  So the wheels started turning, about turning the idea (because it was just an idea at the time for this Picture Book Month celebration) into a French version as well.

Let’s just say it was a challenge for me, but an incredibly fun one, and very educational about where to look for French books, and also interesting to see the slight variations of the illustrations, and book titles because of translation.

Please enjoy.  I hope if you are a French household that I have been able to do this justice.  I did have some help with the Translation, so that was fabulous.  ( Thank you Veronique. )

I’ll also do my best to add the French book into our Daily blog post starting the beginning of November.