Read All About it: July Book Picks

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We are little late with this month’s book picks. But, as I say better late than never.

For us, we really look forward to the summer reading program at our local library. We have been attending special shows featuring magicians, acting troupes and much more.

We also still visit the library every other Friday to pick out new books to enjoy during story time.

Here are some of our favorite library book picks for this month.

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“Vanishing Valentines: Scooby-Doo Picture Clue Book”

We love getting these Scooby-Doo Picture Clue Books from our library. They have the regular story but instead of some of the words they have a picture. For example, instead of the word “Scooby-Doo” they just have his picture. We love this because the parents can read the words and our little one can say what the picture is.

If you own the book, there are flashcards of the picture words that are used in the back of the book that you can cut out.

The story is pretty short and cute and it is perfect for any Scooby fans out there.

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“A Day at the Fire Station” by Richard Scarry

I think it is important to introduce your kids to the classics. In my opinion Richard Scarry and his busy world is a classic.

The illustrations are great and it gives an in-depth look at a fire station, which is something that kids around preschool age are pretty interested in to begin with.

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“The Noisy Paint Box” by Barbara Rosenstock and Mary GrandPre

This was my favorite book of the bunch. Not only was it colorful with beautiful illustrations but it told the story of the abstract artist Vasya Kadinsky.

The story was really easy to identify with about a young boy who could see color when he heard different sounds like instruments at an opera. While he was forced into painting more realistic art he fought against it and painted what he wanted to paint and what made him happy.

I love that they made a book about an artist that was easy accessible to children.

In the back there are some examples of his work and it was fun to have Lily pick out her favorite painting, which was “Two Ovals.”

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“How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth” by Michelle Robison and Illustrated by Kate Hindley

This was a really sweet story about a little girl who wanted to wash her woolly mammoth. (Surprising I know!)

It is really great for little ones because it helps teach them sequencing and even cause and effect on a certain level.

A fun accompanying activity might be to ask your little one to talk about the steps they would take to wash their imaginary pet and then to draw a picture of the process or one of the steps of the process.

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“Pipsqueaks!: Maze Day A Book of Beginning Mazes”

Ever since Lily was a little baby she would watch “Baby Maze” on Baby First TV and she loved it.

This book features a bunch of different types of mazes that are not just your typical “labyrinthine maze.”

The illustrations are so cute and it is fun to try and see what all the mice are up to in the illustrations.

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“Players in Pigtales” by Shana Corey and Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon

Any fans of the 1990s film “A League of Their Own” would love this book that follows the character of Katie Casey who wants to grow up and play baseball. She is told over and over that girls can’t do that until they start the women’s professional baseball leagues during World War II.

It is a wonderful story, not just for girls, but for everyone that loves baseball and is interested in learning more about this unique section of women’s sports history.

Tara’s Books of the Month

I don’t have any photos that I took of my book picks because most of them were read through my Kindle.

Catching Big Fish

“Catching the Big Fish” by David Lynch

I love David Lynch. “Twin Peaks” is my favorite series of all time and “Mullholand Drive” is one of my favorite movies.

This book talks a lot about Lynch’s beliefs in transcendental mediation and how it affects his every day life, how it drives his creativity and also stories about the various films and “Twin Peaks.”

I can’t recommend this book enough. There are a lot of chapters but they are all super short.

You don’t need to necessarily be a fan of Lynch. You can really get a lot from it if you want to develop your creativity.

Milk and Honey

“Milk and Honey” by Rupi Kaur

It has been a long time since I read a book of poetry. After seeing it on the top 10 bestsellers I had to check it out.

The poems are very personal and share a lot about the author’s personal life including childhood abuse, her current relationships and finding herself.

Some of the poems at the beginning were uncomfortable to read, but later the poems were beautiful and really touching.

 

“The Lumberjanes”

I have never read a graphic novel before. But, since our library card includes membership to the ebook, television, movie, music and graphic novel renting site Hoopla, I thought I would give one a shot.

After a lot of research, I found the “Lumberjanes” series.

It is about a group of girls who are at summer camp when all these strange things start to happen. It reminds me of the Disney series “Gravity Falls” which I also love.

I read the first two volumes as ebooks and I had to request the third volume from the library in physical form because they didn’t have an electronic version.

 

That wraps up our books picks for this month (better late then never). Have you and your Mousekatots read any good books lately?

Also, here is a video showcasing Lily’s favorite book from this month:

 

 

June Book Bag

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Even though it might be time for kiddeos to be putting away their school books and learning might be far from one’s mind, it still doesn’t mean that you remove reading from your routine.

Here are a few of our selections for the first month of summer reading.

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This really funny book is about two chopsticks who are inserparable until one day the one has a break. This results in the one needing to rest so it can get better and be useable again.

While the one chopstick is resting the other one goes on adventures and learns that sometimes it is OK to be on your own.

Full of wonderful puns and kitchen humor, this book is a fun read for both kids and adults.

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Because our little Mousekatot is going to be taking some dance classes this summer, I wanted to introduce her to the art of dance through a fun book.

The Angelina series has been around for awhile, and has even spawned a series that is currently available on Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant video.

The series involves a sweet little mouse named Angelina that takes ballet lessons and the different mice that dance with her and the various life lessons they learn.

I high recommend this book as well as any others in the series.

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This is our second round for “Oh No, Little Dragon.” Lily absolutely loves the story about this little dragon whose spark goes out when he swallows water during a bath. While he tries everything to get it back it comes from a very sweet source.

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Mo Willems is one of our favorite authors. (We are obsessed with the “Elephant and Piggie” series.) When I saw this at the library I had to pick it up.

This rhyming tale is about little Nanette who gets a very important job of bringing home a baguette for her mom. When the temptation of the tasty baguette gets to be too much what will Nanette do?

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Peppa Pig and her family go camping in this book.

Not only do they have the most magical camper that also turns into a boat, but they also spend time sleeping under the stars and doing all sorts of other fun camping activates.

Since we just went camping a few weeks ago, Lily has been very interested in the subject.

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I am all about books that help little girls learn about their full potential.

This is one of those books. It talks about a young Ada that is different because she wants to learn more about why things are the way they are, which can sometimes be a challenge to her parents.

In the end everyone figures out how to embrace their own true self.

Recently, we had checked out “Carnival of the Animals” from our local library.

It came with a CD that Lily loved to listen to while figuring out which animals were represented by which instrument.

Because she liked it we bought her a copy of that book as well as two other ones that have CDs with them.

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I like to pretend that I am going to read a book. So this time I really wanted to read “And Then There Were None.” So far, so good.

Do you have any books that you like to read during the summer months. Leave a comment below.

What’s in the Bag

There is nothing better than when it is cold and snowy outside to sit and cuddled together and read a good book.

Even though we haven’t had a lot of snowy weather and cold temperatures, it has been cloudy and rainy, so we have read quite a few books in addition to our nightly bedtime stories.

Here is our:

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I have been alternating between two different books this month.

The first book, I probably mentioned in a previous post, is the “The Epcot Explorer’s Encyclopedia.”

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It is really good. It tells both about the past attractions and also previous versions of current attractions. If you are a fan of “Horizons” and “World of Motion,”  then you will want to check it out.

Did you know that there were a lot more attractions planned for World Showcase that are actually there today?

The other book, that I just got this week, is all about the Danish art of coziness called Hygge (pronounced Hoo-ga).

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Hygge is really popular right now. It is all about surrounding yourself with the simple pleasures in life like candles, warm drinks and close friends.

The books talks about what the secret to good Hygge is, how it can improve your happiness and how to bring it into your own home.

I am going to do a more in-depth book review and talk about Hygge in a future blog entry.

Since we just got over the flu at our house (which was not a fun experience) I have been a little leery to go back to the library because of all the germs.

So we have been dipping into our books that are collections of stories.

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For Lily’s birthday this year, we bough this book “Five Minute Snuggle Stories.”

It is really sweet Disney themed stories that leave you feeling all cozy inside.

Lily loves what she calls “short books.” These are the beginning to read books that offer different steps on the reading process.

These two have been our current favorites. I think it is because she is obsessed with Dory and loves to watch “Zootopia.”

What winter wouldn’t be complete without “The Snowy Day?”

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This classic book just automatically puts you in the middle of a snowy day by just reading the book. You can almost feel the crunching of the snow under your feet.

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Every night after Lily goes to bed after her story, we read a chapter from a longer novel each night. The lights are turned off and I use a book light as she lays in bed and tries to drift off to sleep.

This month we are reading “The Land of Stories” that was written by Chris Colfer, of “Glee” fame.

The story is about two twins who fall into a book that was read to them when they were younger and must go on a quest to return home.

So far, it is really good and the world building is extensive.

For awhile, Barnes and Nobel was running a special that is was $4.95 when you bought another book from the children’s section.

What books are you and your Mousekatots reading this month? Leave your comments below.

Read All About It

Twitter is great!

I had no idea that yesterday was National Book Lovers Day until I saw that it was trending on the social media site.

Even though I feel like I am a day late and a dollar short, I wanted to share what is on our Mousekatot Bookshelf in honor of yesterday.

We are a big book family. We really like to go to the bookstore and we visit the library about twice a week.

Recently, Lily has been all about the Gerald and Piggy books by Mo Williams. I have never heard her giggle so much!

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Our library book selection for the week

I can’t tell you how much we love our local library. They have wonderful summer reading events and toddler story times. We would have spent so much money on books if it weren’t for our public library.

Another thing I like about our library is that I can share books with our Mousekatot that I loved reading as a child.

Tonight we read, “Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog” by Mo Williams and Lily really laughed a lot.

I try to sneak a little bit of reading time before bed (I usually only get a couple of pages in when I start to fall asleep.) But, my favorite thing to do is to have a cup of tea with a good book.

Here is what is on my reading list now.

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Tea and Books

 

 

So far, “Pirate Latitudes” has been a little bit of a let down. I’m about five pages in and I have yet to really have any major interaction with pirates. (There will be pirates in your pirates book, right?”)

“Simple Abundance” is nice especially when I am having a rough day. It is meant to be read everyday, but that doesn’t always happen.

“A Discovery of Witches” has been a little bit of a slow burn.

I have been holding off reading “Welcome to Night Vale” because I want to make sure it doesn’t have any spoilers for the podcast since I am way behind in the episodes.

In honor of National Book Lover Day (yesterday) show your love of books buy purchasing a copy of “Mousekatots” available through Theme Park Press or Amazon.com.

Have you read any good books lately? Leave it in the comments below.

Crazy Weekend for the Mousekatot Family

It has been a long and crazy weekend for the Mousekatot family, that is why you haven’t seen much here.

Having a nice long weekend, with both Friday and Monday off from work, lead to a four day weekend full of fun and also some unfortunate stuff too.

Friday

On Friday we were able to spend a wonderful evening with family at our annual Cousin Reunion.

We were able to visit with cousins from all over the country and our kiddos were able to spend time together, too.

There was a lot of laughing, playing and eating of Slovak foods.

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Third and first generation cousins.

 

Saturday

Saturdays are always super important to the three of us so we always try and do something fun and exciting. We refer to it as “Adventure Saturday.”

This past Saturday we decided to check out this huge book sale that a chain of used bookstores was having.

It was awesome! There were audio books, paperbacks, records, DVDs, CDs and anything you could think of.

The best part was nothing was over $2.

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The huge turnout at the book sale.

There were a lot of different books and we were able to get a bunch of books for our Mousekatot, a few DVDs including seasons one and three (couldn’t find season two) of “Arrested Development” and some other books for us.

We also went to Gander Mountain to check out and see what they had for sale. We lucked out because we found Columbia sandals for $21 that were originally $61! We are now ready to tackle Walt Disney World this year with super comfortable shoes. Once we get back I will do a review and let you know how thy worked out.

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Lily loved riding in the car at Gander Mountain. (Excuse the blurriness. My iPhone is struggling.)

Since both Kev and I are vegetarians (I try to eat vegan when I can) one of our favorite places to eat is called Mad Mex.

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Coloring our cat picture.

 

Mad Mex is part of a local restaurant chain that has a lot of Tex-Mex food options for both omnivores and veggies. All of their options can be made vegetarian with either all veggies or swap in tofu. They also offer vegan cheese and sour cream to make the meal completely vegan.

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Tofu taco with vegan sour cream.

I concluded our wonderful Saturday by starting to read one of the books that I picked up at the book sale. I am only a few chapters in and it seems like it is going to be a pretty good book.

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Sunday

Sunday was a nice lazy day that included swimming at our in-laws, eating pizza and getting ready to take on the new week.

Monday

This is the day our hot water heater rusted and the bottom fell out and water was all over. We tried to get a hot water heater from a big box store and they miscommunicated and we wouldn’t be able to get it installed that day. Luckily, we found someone that could that day and it ended up working out. I am so thankful for having hot water.

So that was pretty much how the weekend shook out. Despite the hot water heater and also the fact that it looks like my iPhone is losing battery power like crazy, I had a great weekend.

 

Do you did anything exciting this weekend? Leave your comments below.

Tot Tips: Toddler Book Organization

If you are anything like us, there is never enough space in the house for everything.

One area of our Mousekatot’s room that was giving us particular trouble was her bookshelf.

Everything was scattered all over the place. Books were mingling with toys, pages were bent and everything would fall off the shelf if you tried to take one book out.

For me, the best way to organize everything is to put it in bins.

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I love bins. I even use them in our fridge.

 

We went to our local Dollar Tree and purchased six, soft-sided bins and two tubs to put toys in. (I also had two plastic bins leftover from a previous organizing project.)

I started by taking all of the books off the shelves and organizing them into different categories such as holiday books, Christmas/winter books, Dolly Parton Imagination Library books, etc.

Once I had them in the piles I used the scan feature that comes with the Goodreads app. (If you don’t have a Goodreads account you should sign up for free. It is a website that allows you to review books and create different “shelves” for your books like “to read,”” tear jerkers,” etc.)

The scan feature from this app allows you to scan the barcode of the book and place it on the shelf. For each one of the book boxes I created its own shelf that included the category of the books that were in the box. The only problem with Goodreads is that it doesn’t recognize all barcodes so some of the books will not show up on the “shelf.”

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Sample of one of the “shelves” on our Goodread’s list.

 

What I plan to do, and I haven’t yet, is to print out the “bookshelf lists” and put them in a binder to easily find a particular book.

So that Lily would be able to find which bin a book is in, I added a cute “Finding Dory” sticker to the front of each box.

For example, if she wants to look at “Goodnight Moon” I can tell her it is in the Hank box and she can easily find it.

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A view of our board book box. Including books that were gnawed on by teeny, tiny baby teeth.

 

So far it seems like the system is really working out. (I forgot to take a before picture to show how bad it really was, but just take my word for it. It was really bad.)

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Finished Product.

 

Do you have any projects that you are interested in tacking this summer? Leave a comment below.