Kohl’s Shares the Love This Holiday Season

November 10, 2011
goodreadswithronna
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Kohl’s Cares Books and Plush Toys Spark Kids’ Imaginations While Supporting Health and Education Initiatives

At this time every year I look forward to moving the clocks back, getting my down comforter out from storage and seeing what wonderful books Kohl’s will be offering in their Kohl’s Cares program. Seriously, where can you find $5 brand new books and plush toys to fill stockings and children’s hearts? With these great values, don’t just buy for the family! Now through December stock up on your holiday presents and you’ll be ahead of the game.

Take advantage today of this inspiring collection of gifts that doesn’t break the bank. Through the generous Kohl’s Cares cause merchandise program you can get both quality books to entertain your kids while helping improve the lives of other children nationwide. This season Kohl’s is featuring best-selling author Nancy Tillman’s books The Spirit of Christmas, On the Night You Were Born, Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You and It’s Time to Sleep, My Love along with adorable coordinating plush toy, for just $5 each through the Kohl’s Cares cause merchandise program.

For just $5 each you can feel good about staying on your budget and giving back. Kohl’s donates 100 percent of the net profit to children’s health and education initiatives nationwide.

In addition, Kohl’s is offering Good Housekeeping’s cookbook, A Very Merry Christmas Cookook. You can also purchase Have Yourself A Merry Little Country Christmas CD featuring tunes by popular country artists. What better way to get into the holiday mood than baking delicious treats with some spirited country music playing in the background?

Wishing you a joyous holiday season. Just remember to spread the love around!

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Dogs Love Books, Too!

Today Debbie Glade reviews a book for children and their pups.

As an author who has visited many schools and libraries, I have encountered the wonderful world of Reading Dogs. “What’s that?” you say. Well, a Reading Dog is a specially trained service canine that sits and listens as a young child reads him a book. It has been proven that children who are hesitant to read aloud or who are struggling with reading at the proper level, improve their literacy skills when they read aloud to a Reading Dog. It is really quite a special sight to see a child sitting on the floor alongside a gentle pup, that is listening to the story and not getting frustrated with any mistakes the child is making. Many schools and libraries offer this service, if you are interested.

The Bedtime Book for Dogs ($15.99, Hachette Book Group, Ages 4 and up) by Bruce Littlefield is a perfect story for a young child to read to a dog. The story is about an unnamed dog who takes a walk to the park without his owner, only to discover that it is not much fun to be in the park all alone. The prose in the book are very basic, the illustrations by Paul S. Heath are vibrant and the story is adorable. All children who love dogs or have one of their own, would surely enjoy reading The Bedtime Book for Dogs – just before they go to sleep, of course.

You can preview the book online by clicking here.

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Happy National Young Readers Day!

National Young Readers Day, the second Tuesday in November, was created in 1989 by Pizza Hut and the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. What a special day it is! This annual event is an important reminder to all children that reading provides us with knowledge, entertainment, happiness and success.

Any event that promotes literacy is a wonderful thing! So sit down with your child and a good book (you discovered right here on Good Reads with Ronna!) and celebrate National Young Readers Day together. The more you read together, the more your child will love to read.

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Making Math Fun for Wee Readers

It’s never too soon to introduce math to your children, and it’s never too early to read them a book, so why not combine the two? Today Debbie Glade reviews two books for early readers with cheerful illustrations and clever prose.

Let’s Count Goats ($16.99, Beach Lane Books by Simon and Schuster, Ages 2-6), written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Jan Thomas, introduces the youngest of readers to the world of math. The book features many different goats doing different things and welcomes the reader to count the creatures on the pages. The illustrations are cartoon-like and quite adorable, and the colors are vibrant and inviting. The book works because it is fun and teaches simple math so subtly that the children reading it will not think they are being hit over the head with a math lesson. Parents will enjoy reading this to their children, who are too young to read themselves.

Another book that uses animals to teach math is Double Play: Monkeying Around with Addition ($15.99, Tricycle Press, Ages 4 and up) by Betsy Franco (who has penned more than 80 books) and illustrated by Doug Cushman (who has illustrated more than 100 books). Using simple rhyming verse, this book focuses on recess play-time to introduce simple math equations to the reader. What I like about the book is that children can easily count the number of animals in each picture while looking at the basic math equations on the page. The watercolor illustrations are colorful and appealing and invite the child to relate well to the joys of play-time while learning simple math.

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My Favorite Book Contest from First 5 LA

Be a Reader & Be a Winner!

Ready. Set. Grow! is First 5 LA’s family resource website for parents with young children offering fun and safe ways for children to be healthy, safe and ready to learn.

This November, First 5 LA is encouraging a love of literacy with its annual Read early, Read ALOUD! campaign. This year’s slogan is “My Favorite Book.” Read here about the contest they will be running all month long with book giveaways and a grand prize. Visit their website by clicking here or head over to their Facebook page now by clicking here.

Contest Rules: Contest begins today, Monday, Nov. 7, 2011. All entries must be received by noon on Dec. 5, 2011. A winner will be selected randomly from the entries and notified the afternoon of Monday, December 12, 2011. Multiple entries allowed. Previous winners are ineligible to win subsequent prizes. Prizes are non-transferable. There may be no cash or other substitutions of prizes by winner. Qualified winners will receive prizes within four to six weeks after they are notified of their winnings, unless otherwise specified. Only Los Angeles County residents are eligible to win.
To enter, you must “Like” Ready, Set, Grow on Facebook and/or Follow Ready, Set, Grow on Twitter and post a Tweet with the contest hashtag: #myfavbook You can enter multiple times by both following on Twitter and tweeting the hashtag #myfavbook AND filling out the survey at: http://www.readysetgrowla.org/contest/
Prizes: Each person from this site that enters the contest is eligible to receive a bookmark with early reading tips, but you must write a comment below and indicate you have entered the contest already. One person who enters from Good Reads With Ronna (randomly selected) will win two books (The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle & Read to Your Bunny by Rosemary Wells) and a bookmark with early reading tips but you must write a comment below indicating that you have entered at the link supplied here. The grand prize winner will receive a library of 50 books (including a selection of Scholastic titles) and a tip sheet bookmark.

Check out the family-friendly Ready. Set. Grow! website. Re-vamped, it contains literacy features for both kids and parents including:

Literacy tips appropriate for each age group: 0-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-24 months, 24-36 months, and preschool
Suggested reading lists for each age group, with descriptions of each book
Literacy-themed blog posts
A schedule of story time events at L.A. County libraries
Low-cost book suggestions
Literacy-themed book list for parents

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Please Sir, I Want More

Debbie Glade reviews a very special middle grade book today.

Candlewick Press publishes a series of phenomenal historical notebooks through its Templar Books imprint. I had the pleasure of reviewing Charles Darwin and the Beagle Adventure a while back, and today I am reviewing Charles Dickens: England’s Most Captivating Storyteller by Catherine Wells-Cole ($19.99, Templar Books, Ages 8-12) with a great deal of awe.

I must begin by saying that titles such as these are reason enough to keep printing books the old-fashioned way. The sturdy, meaty volumes are superior in quality in every way. There are envelopes to opens, flaps to flip, sidebars to read and gloriously detailed old-world illustrations to study. The experience a middle grade reader (or middle aged reader, like yours truly) gets from holding this physical book and savoring its contents simply cannot be obtained on a computer. And no one can talk me into believing it can.

As an English major myself who once visited Dickens’ home in England and who played the small role of Charlotte at age 10, in the play Oliver Twist, I can totally appreciate learning about the author’s life and struggles and how that inspired his writing. Dickens is known for his portrayals of difficult Victorian family life, and writes with a great deal of honesty and insight. His writing was so prolific, that at one time, he was considered the most successful novelist in the world. He often worked on numerous novels at a time.

Several fulfilling hours are needed to read Charles Dickens: England’s Most Captivating Storyteller, open all the letters and flaps and delight in all the tidbits and illustrations. Readers will discover facts about Dicken’s: family life; rise to fame; education; interest in writing about crime; fixation on workhouses; orphan characters; settings for his books; interest in changing industry and technology; love of theater; Christmas themes; social life, visits to America and his legacy.

Did you know that Charles Dickens had 10 children with his wife, Catherine, but that they separated in 1858? Separation was practically unheard of during the Victorian era.

This biography celebrates the bicentennial of Dickens’ birth. And with the holidays coming up, I cannot think of a better gift for a middle grade reader or any child who enjoys reading, writing or history. I only wish books like these were available when I was growing up. This one is indeed a keeper.

CHARLES DICKENS: ENGLAND’S MOST CAPTIVATING STORYTELLER. Text & design copyright © 2011 by The Templar Company Limited. Illustrations copyright © 2011 by Ian Andrew, Caroline Anstey, Nick Spender and Diz Wallis. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.

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Hogwash

Hogwash ($16.99, Little, Brown, ages 4-8) written by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Jim McMullan, is reviewed by Lindy Michaels.

Okay, fine, I’ll admit that Farmer was just a tad obsessive when it came to wanting the animals on his farm neat and clean and tidy. But don’t we all want our children to be presentable at all times? And so…

“One warm day in early May,

Farmer had a plan,

to spring-clean all his animals

till each was spic ’n’ span…”

Ah, how I love a rhyming children’s book. Now, everything went dandily along, as Farmer scrubbed the cats, the dogs, the horses, ducks and cows. And then… and then, it was time to suds up the… HOGS! Well, this was easier said than done, to say the least.

“They all dug in and made mud pies.

They had a mud-ball war.

They splished and splashed and hammed it up,

More filthy than before.”

Hey, such is the piggy way. And no matter how hard Farmer tried to get those hogs clean, he failed each time. But give up? Never! He finally filled his crop dust plane with water and shampoo, hoping to douse them with suds from high above, but, oh, no! “The engine sputtered. Just my luck, the farmer muttered…” And then he crashed right into the middle of a giant, humongous mud puddle.

Was Farmer hog tied by this mucky, slushy, gooey, grubby experience? Did this clean freak need psychotherapy to resolve his deep seeded hatred of mud and muck? Let me just say this. If ya can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! A little dirt never hurt anyone. So the moral of this pig tale is… it’s time you all go a little hog wild with your kids. Believe me, they’ll love you for it!

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In Search of Hugs

Hugs from Pearl ($14.99, HarperCollins Children’s Books, ages 3 and up) will put a smile on your child’s face as well as yours. Author/illustrator Paul Schmid set out to reach the highest level of adorableness with this picture book, and he did it quite well. The story and the illustrations are simple in a most wonderful way.

Pearl is a child who loves to give hugs. I suppose this is a good time to mention that Pearl is a porcupine, so you can just imagine the challenges she has finding others who want to hug her back. But Pearl is very resourceful and figures out a most clever way to solve her problem. Okay, now you’re intrigued. So was I!

Of course, I’m not going to tell you what the solution is. You’ve got to read the book yourself. So go ahead and get this book today. I guarantee you’ll get a hug from your child after reading it.

Today’s picture book was reviewed by Debbie Glade.

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Shel Silverstein’s The Missing Piece

Today’s review of a “Lindy just loves it” book, is The Missing Piece, by none other than regular contributor Lindy Michaels.

Of course, most of us know of the late Shel Silverstein’s classic, The Giving Tree, but The Missing Piece ($16.99, HarperCollins, all ages) is my favorite of his books. Now who of us doesn’t go through our lives, at one time or another, feeling like we are, indeed, missing something within ourselves?

“It was missing a piece. And it was not happy…”

IT, is a pac-manish (for lack of a better word)-looking creature who is on a quest. And it was exactly because of its missing piece that it could not roll along the path of life very quickly, which gave it time to… “talk to a worm or smell a flower…” always singing, “Oh, I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece. I’m looking for my missin’ piece. Hi-dee-ho, here I go, lookin’ for my missin’ piece.” But all the while it desperately tried to fit different size pieces into itself so that it would feel complete. So that it would feel whole.

But it was not to be. One piece was too big, one too small, one too short, one too long. And then one day, a wonderful thing happened. It found that one special piece that fit absolutely perfectly. “And away it rolled and because it was now complete, it rolled faster and faster. So fast that it could not stop to talk to a worm or smell a flower…” It couldn’t even sing, any longer, since the piece fit so tightly. And so after much inner deliberation, “…it stopped rolling and set the piece down gently, and slowly rolled away.”

What a beautiful message this book imparts to children and adults alike. We think we are lacking somehow, so we go to great lengths to fill ourselves up, only to find that by filling what we think is a void within us, we end up losing the very things that are most important to us. A lesson for the ages, I do believe. Now my friends… go outside and talk to a worm!

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Spooky, Creepy and Oh So Fun!

Happy Happy Halloween!

On this Halloween day, Debbie Glade reviews two very special Harper Collins books, sure to send chills up your spine and put a child-like grin on your face.

After reading The 13 Nights of Halloween ($16.99, Harper Books, Ages 4-8), it was no surprise for me that first-time author Guy Vasilovich has a rich background in animation and comic strip creation. The illustrations are spooktacular, combining the charm you’d expect from a young children’s book with the dark shadows and glowing colors that really bring Halloween to life. It reminds me a bit of a Tim Burton movie. The story is set to The 12 Days of Christmas type verse, but with a Halloween theme, of course. “…4 icky eyeballs, 3 baseball bats, a 2-headed snake and a bright shiny skeleton key.” I love, love the way this book looks, and you will too!

Another spooky book that offers superior illustrations is Hampire! ($16.99, Harper Books, Ages 4-8) written by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and illustrated by award-winning artist, Howard Fine. As you can tell by the book’s cover, Hampire is, well, a big, fat pig! He lives on a farm with many other animals, and one moonlit night he leaves his pen, growling and howling and saying, “I need to sink my fangs in food!” Naturally this frightens all the other animals on the farm, who try desperately to run away, fearing the giant pig will eat them alive. But what Hampire really wants is not what they think. The story is cleverly written in verse, you are sure to enjoy. I cannot say enough about the marvelous illustrations. Oh how they bring this cute story to life!

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Halloween Books, Bones & Boo!

If you are in need of some good, ghoulish tales tonight and tomorrow, take a look at this roundup of recommended reads.

Sally’s Bones by MacKenzie Cadenhead ($6.99, Sourcebooks, ages 9-12)
Substitute Creacher by Chris Gall ($16.99, Little, Brown, ages 4-8)
Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters: A Lullaby by Jane Yolen with illustrations by Kelly Murphy
Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas ($9.99, HarperCollins, ages 2-5)
What’s in the Witch’s Kitchen by Nick Sharratt ($12.99, Candlewick Press, ages 3 and up)
The Monstrous Book of Monsters by Libby Hamilton with illustrations by Jonny Duddle and Aleksei Bitskoff ($17,99, Templar Books, ages 5-8)

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Essential Wilderness Survival for Kids

Just by looking at the compact size of the book, I instantly knew that Survivor Kid: A Practical Guide to Wilderness Survival ($12.95, Chicago Review Press, Ages 9-12) was a genuine how-to guide for kids. Author Denise Long, a former search and rescue volunteer, teaches survival classes for children. She has taken her vast knowledge and condensed it into this wonderful 222-page guidebook to help children learn basic survival tactics, should they ever find themselves in a bind.

The chapters of the book include topics such as What to Do if You Get Lost, Building a Shelter, Finding Water, Finding Food, Avoiding Dangerous Animals and more. There are simple line illustrations to complement the copy. I like the way the author gives explicit, understandable advice without talking down to the reader. “The most important things you can do to stay safe are actually very easy. First, tell someone where you are going, whom you are going with, and what time you’ll be back.” That’s practical advice we can all use!

Young adventurers will learn how to build a variety of shelters using items found in nature, such as digging a trench, as well as using a tarp, backpack and other camping equipment. They will know what to do if someone in their group gets injured, how to find water if they should run out, and how to learn to navigate in unfamiliar territory. The tips in the book are specific, helpful and oh, so important. In addition, the reading is really quite entertaining.

In this age of constant communication – laptops, cell phones, iPads – we tend to get farther away from nature, relying upon technology to get us through our lives. Yet it seems that nearly every day we hear about a child (with no cell phone service or internet connection) who is missing in the woods or mountains after separating from an adventure group. If all kids (and adults too!) read Survivor Kid, perhaps there would be more happy endings to adventures gone bad. With the holidays coming up, this book would be a perfect gift for the young explorer in your life to read before an adventure trip and to take along on their next journey – with all the other survival essentials.

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Close Encounters Cecil Castellucci Style

A Profound Story of Pain, Alienation and Planetary Travel

YA author Cecil Castellucci has the rare ability to say so very much to so very many with so few words. In her latest novel, First Day on Earth ($17.99, Scholastic, ages 12-18), I read in amazement how she painted such a moving and complete picture in prose of Mal, the main character in just 150 pages.

The story introduces Mal Leighter, an insightful yet lonely and hurting high school student who rescues animals and has two friends. Mal’s mom is an alcoholic (he takes care of her) and his dad ditched the family years before. While Mal feels disconnected from the other students at his school it doesn’t just stem from his troubled home life. Not long after his father departed, Mal was abducted by aliens and wishes they would return for him. In Rocket Man Elton John sang “It’s lonely out in space,” but Mal doesn’t mind and is willing to take that risk. Anything has to be better than his pain-filled time on Earth. When he becomes friends with Hooper at his abductee support group, he thinks he’s found his ticket to ride, that is if Hooper will take him. Hooper claims to be an alien but Mal thinks the guy might just be crazy. Either way, their friendship blossoms and together they learn what home means to different people.

What sets this book apart from so many other middle grade novels is the depth of emotion conveyed so succinctly that any more words or chapters would have been superfluous. Some chapters, like #26, “I want to be taken away from here,” and #32 “Why is the hardest question in the world to answer,” consist of only one line. Simple yet powerful. The characters of Posey, Mal’s classmate whose overtures of friendship he continually rejects, her mom the vet, Dr. Manitsky and Darwyn, a tag-along whose past continues to haunt his present, drew me into the story and kept me turning the pages. I read the book in two sittings and while immensely satisfied, I really did not want the book to end. It truly was out-of-this-world and I’d encourage kids to consider this for one of their book club’s selections.

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2012 JFK Profile in Courage National Essay Contest

2012 JFK Profile in Courage National Essay Contest Accepting Submissions from U.S. High School Students

— First Place Winner to Receive $10,000 Prize —

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation announced yesterday that the national John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest, with a first place prize totaling $10,000, is now open and accepting submissions from U.S. high school students. The deadline for entries is Saturday, January 7, 2012. Click here for registration and submission info.

Students and teachers may access the contest’s website by visiting the Profile in Courage Essay Contest at www.jfklibrary.org. There you’ll find helpful tips for writing the essay.

The annual Profile in Courage Essay Contest invites students from across the nation to write an essay describing an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official who served during or after 1956. The essay contest is sponsored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and generously supported by John Hancock Financial.

The contest is a companion program of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award™, named for President Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage, which recounts the stories of eight senators who risked their careers by taking principled stands for unpopular positions.

The winner of this competitive annual contest will be awarded a $5,000 cash prize and an additional $5,000 to grow in a John Hancock Freedom 529 College Savings Plan. The student’s nominating teacher is awarded a John F. Kennedy Public Service Grant in the amount of $500 to be applied toward school projects involving student leadership and civic engagement. The essay contest winner and nominating teacher will also receive an expense paid round-trip to Boston, where they will be honored by Caroline Kennedy at the annual John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award ceremony in May of 2012. A second place winner receives $1,000 and up to five finalists each receive $500.

“This national essay contest fittingly honors President Kennedy, who believed deeply in the power of the individual and the promise of our nation’s young people,” said Tom McNaught, Executive Director of the Kennedy Library Foundation. “It is gratifying to see how readily students today can identify and understand acts of political courage and their importance in our democratic society, as well as the role courage plays in today’s political climate.”

“As we mark the 50^th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s presidency and we approach the 150^th anniversary of John Hancock Financial in 2012, there is no better time for America’s youth to deepen their appreciation of politics and history by participating in the Profile in Courage Essay Contest,” said Carol Fulp, Senior Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Brand Initiatives for John Hancock Financial. “This national high school competition is a reflection of John Hancock’s commitment to education, literacy and civic involvement.”

Last year, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation received 2,002 essays from high school students in fifty states and American citizens studying in Guam, Canada and France.

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation is a private, non-profit organization that provides financial support, staffing, and creative resources for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, a presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. The Kennedy Library Foundation and the Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum seek to promote, through educational and community programs, a greater appreciation and understanding of American politics, history, and culture, the process of governing and the importance of public service. For more information about the Kennedy Library Foundation and the Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, visit www.jfklibrary.org.

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Your Own Customized Bookstore

Find Me Just The Right Book Please

What a terrific idea! After running a bookstore in Connecticut for around 20 years, book lover Roxanne J. Coady conceived a cool concept to meld new technology with good old fashioned reading. Using JUST THE RIGHT BOOK, subscribers get personalized books delivered to them based on a profile they have carefully completed. Much like a dating service, JUST THE RIGHT BOOK is convinced they will be able to line you up with something that will suit your taste and keep you interested, and they guarantee it. How convenient, too! With independent bookstores and individualized attention disappearing daily, it’s refreshing to find a company committed to serving you and putting your reading needs first. Plus, your books are delivered to your doorstep. And gifts are wrapped and shipped in a gift box making a subscription a super surprise for the lucky recipient.

The team of experts at JUST THE RIGHT BOOK live and breathe books so combined, their knowledge and love of literature brings a wealth of experience to your bookshelves. Whether you are seeking a book subscription as a gift or prefer to keep JUST THE RIGHT BOOK for yourself, you will find they have the ideal subscription plan at an affordable price. From birth to adult, all ages are catered to with plans that span from four books a year to one monthly.