Happy Thursday Everyone!!

We are sunny and cold today and the snow was pretty but I believe it will all be gone by tomorrow.  We will have weather in the 50's tomorrow.  I am happy about that.

It is 9 days till Valentine's Day now.  I made valentines yesterday for the Children's hospital in our city.  I will send them out tomorrow.  I loved making them and I hope the children will enjoy them.  It would be a great project for a classroom to do or an at home project.  My students and I used to do it when I was teaching.  They loved making valentines and so do I.

Today I have a wonderful book to share with you and I hope you will share it with a child in the next few days.

I Love You More

by

Laura Duksta

I Love You More is a children's picture book that generates the conversation of Love.  The story of I Love You More is expressed through a conversation between a mother and her son but could be applied to all relationships. It is a great book to share with a child. The book starts with a little boy walking outdoors with his mother one day.  He asks her the question,"Mommy, just how much do you love me?"  His mother smiles and says, "I love you higher than the highest bird ever flew, I love you taller than the highest tree ever grew, I love you longer than the longest path ever wound."  She continues with several more illustrations of her love for her son. When she finishes her son wraps his arms around her and says, "know what mommy?.... I Love You More!!!" Then the book  flips and the mommy asks the little boy the same question, "So how much do you love me?  The little boy replies, "I love you quieter than the quietest caterpillar ever creeped." The boy continues to give  examples until the end when his Mommy says, " I love you more."

What a wonderful  book with great illustrations that children will absolutely love.  Please check it out at your local library and share it with a child you love this Valentine's season.

Happy Reading!!! See you soon!!

Hello     Friends!!!

Well, unfortunately Phil saw his shadow yesterday so 6 more weeks of winter but I am  excited because there 44 days till the first of spring. But tomorrow we are in a winter advisory where I live.  So I am enjoying the  50 degree weather today.

Also, I am excited because this is the month of one of my favorite holidays.  I love Valentine's Day!! I have loved it since I was a child and my daughter and I are making valentines for our local children's hospital.  I love making them and all my students loved doing it too.  Today I was reading a book from the library about how it came about that we celebrate Valentine's Day.  I learned several things I did not know.  I was thinking this would be a good book to share with a child about why we celebrate.  So I hope you and your child will enjoy it as you think about making or buying Valentines for your Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day

by

Dana Meachen Rau

This is a true book or nonfiction book.    I enjoyed the part about the legends of St. Valentine and how the day became known as Valentine's Day.  I also found it quite interesting the things that women did in olden times to find a sweetheart.  Do you know who is credited with sending the first valentine to someone?  It was a Frenchman named Duke Charles of Orleans. He was a prisoner in the Tower of London in 1415.  The Duke wrote many love letters and poems to his wife.  In them, he often mentioned St. Valentine. In Europe in the 1600's people began sending each other valentines that they made themselves. They attached ribbons, bows, and lace to decorate them.  Also, Esther Howland was the first person to create valentines in the United States and sell them.  Did you know that February 14 is one of the busiest holidays for the post office?  More than one billion valentine's are sent each year.

What a really interesting book!!

I hope you will share it with a child so they will understand why we give each other beautiful Valentines.

Hope you will enjoy reading this book and making some Valentines with your child or grandchild.

Happy Reading!!!!!

Hello Friends!!!

How are you this Saturday?  I hope all of you are well and enjoying good weather.  The weather has changed here in the midwest.  We are back to winter.  It is 39 degrees today and raining and chance of snow tomorrow.  So I will enjoy some hot tea and my blanket and think of warmer days this spring.  Oh Yes, 48 days till spring!!!!

This is a great day for some hot cocoa or hot tea and a good book.  I thought I would share five books with you that I love to read over and over. I hope you will enjoy some reading this weekend and reading to or with a child can make so much difference in their reading ability and most children love that time with a parent or grandparent.  Reading can take you many places in your life and who doesn't want their child to experience that.  So start reading to them early in life and keep it up as long as you can especially in the elementary school years. So check out my blog for some ideas for the children and other reading blogs for more ideas.

Enjoy your weekend and see you Monday.

Gone With the Wind

by 

Margaret Mitchell

Love Letters

by 

Debbie Macomber

Little House on the Prairie

by

Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Mitten

by

Jan Brett

Pride and Predujuice

by

Jane Austen

I hope you will share in the comments on this blog your favorite books.  I hope you have an enjoyable weekend and may I suggest  reading a good book. :)

Happy Reading!!!

Hello Friends!

How is everyone today?  It is 70 degrees here at my home today.  When I was out earlier I saw people in shorts, no coats,and even someone in flip flops. :) It really isn't January weather here in the midwest.   I will not complain though because I really enjoyed being out with no coat and gloves.  It was an excellent day.

I do remember though that it is winter so it can change at anytime. So I enjoy it everyday. It is warm like spring this January.

Today I would encourage you to read a good book with a child today.  You know most children love to hear their parents or grandparents read to them. It always helps them to become better readers when they go off to school or if they are already in school it helps them then too.  Also, it is great if you have a young reader for you to listen to them read. Practice makes perfect is true with reading too.  So check out a good book and read or listen to a good book this evening. :)
Please check out my January postings for this year and last year for some really good books to enjoy this winter day.  See you again on Friday with a new book for winter.
Happy Reading!!!!

Happy Monday Friends!!!

How is your day going? It is very beautiful outside here today.  It is 60 degrees and the sun is shining through my windows as I write and listen to the Johann Strass Orchestra and Andre Rieu.

Today I am having a hard time  thinking of winter as the weather is so beautiful here and I hope the storm in the Northeast will not be to bad for the folks living there.

Today I want to share a children's book  about a cute teddy bear and a winter day.  I hope you will share it with a sweet child this cute book.

Snowbear's Winter Day

by

Dorothea DePrisco

It is snowing and Snowbear calls for his forest friends.  Penguin and Fox found their friend, Snowbear. They said,"Bunny made a strawberry pie, let's run over there." The friends all run over to Bunny's cozy home and Fox knocks on the door  and says, "Bunny, are you home?" Bunny answers the door and they all have some strawberry pie and then decide to go to the pond to skate and play.  They go ice skating and Penguin builds a snow castle.  The friends make snow angels and have sled races.  It is a wonderful fun day in the snow and then they all head back on sleds to Bunny's house to snuggle in a blanket and watch the beautiful snow falling out the window.

This book would be for young children and they will love the illustrations of the animals and the snow. It would be nice to snuggle with a child under a blanket and have hot chocolate while you read this cute winter book about Bear and his friends.

Happy Reading!!!

Hope you enjoy the book and if you have snow I hope you enjoy it too!!!

Happy Sunday My Friends

How is everyone this Sunday?  It is raining here at my home today and I am drinking some hot green tea and thinking about what I would like for lunch. I am also listening to Andre Rieu playing the violin.  It is amazing and very uplifting.  I wish I had learned to play the violin.  I love being able to play the piano but I truly love to listen to the violin. I believe that music and reading are my great loves. What do you love ?  What do you like to do?
My favorites are playing the piano, listening to music, singing, reading, and enjoying the beauty of this earth.  I hope you will share with me some of your favorites in the comment section of this blog.

See you Monday with a new book for you to check out.

I hope each of you have a wonderful day.  ENJOY ONE OF YOUR FAVORITES!!!!!

These are some of the things I love !!

Hello My Friends!!!

How is your day going?  Is it snowing in your neck of the woods?  It is 42 here today and cloudy but no snow and it doesn't  look like any next week either but I am not complaining.  We are having great weather for January in the midwest. I am reading some good books this week though.  I just read two great children's books today that I haven't read before.  I thought I would share one today and one tomorrow or Saturday.

 What are you reading this week?  Please share in the comments section below something you are enjoying reading.  I would love to hear from you.

I know if you have children or grandchildren that you have had the talk about sharing with them.  Sharing is a concept that some children are great with and some never seem to learn the lesson well.  The book I am going to share today is about sharing and would be a great book for young children.  It has great illustrations too.  I hope you will share it with a child. :)

Little Snowman Stan

Can't We Share?

by

Guido Van Genechten

Little Snowman Stan lives in Freezeland with all the snowmen.   There is always snow and it is cold in Freezeland.  All the snowmen in Freezeland do wear hats of all shapes and sizes.  Snowman Stan has a beautiful blue plaid hat on his head. One day there arrives in Freezeland a snowman with a bare head.  Little Stan asks the snowman where his hat is.  Dimitri, the snowman says on his way to Freezeland there was a big snowstorm and he lost his hat and he looked for hours and never found it.  Little Stan feels bad for Dimitri so he tells him that he can wear his hat for a couple of days.  Dimitri is so happy and thanks him.

One day Little Stan realizes that Dimitri has had his blue plaid hat for 10 days so he goes to ask Dimitri if he can have his hat back.  Dimitri doesn't want to give it back to Little Stan.  So Little Stan goes away and cries. Little Stan goes to talk Alfred about his hat and what he should to.  Little Stan tells Alfred about what happened to his blue plaid hat.  Alfred calls all the snowmen together and tells them about Little Stan's hat and asks them what they think could be done so Little Stan could have a hat too. There are many responses but no one says what Alfred hoped they would say.  The Little Stan says, "We can share my hat."

Read the book and find out how they decide to share the hats for the snowmen in Freezeland.

This is a wonderful book about sharing with great illustrated snowmen.  What child doesn't love snowmen?  This is a great book to share with a child about sharing.

Check out the books that Guido Van Genechten has written for children.  The author is from Holland.

These two are really cute books.