Tag: toddler books

Visiting the Big Guy

by disneywonderlandgazette, posted in christmas, family fun, Toddler, Uncategorized

Where we live we are very lucky because we have an active community that does a lot for children in the area.

One such place that always hosts great events is the Uniontown Public Library. Not only is it a wonderful place that offers a wide selection of books for adults and children, they also hold story times, a summer reading program and, what we experienced most recently, a special Christmas party.

This past Saturday we had a chance to attend the party for the first time and I have to say Lily had a wonderful time.

The festivities kicked off with a short play, “The Life and Time of Santa Claus” presented by Stage Right, an acting school for kids in Greensburg.

The play told the story about how Santa Claus became the person that we all know and love today.

The kids did a wonderful job and really entertained the kids.

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Lily did a good job sitting with the other kids. However, she did get a little nervous and wanted to come back and sit with us.

After their performance, the cast sat on the floor and invited the kids to come up and meet them. Lily was so excited that she got to give a high-five to Mrs. Claus.

Then the kids were invited to do a holiday themed craft.

Each child received a picture of Santa’s sleigh on a snowy wonderland and they were given stickers to use to decorate the picture.

If there are stickers involved, we are there. Lily absolutely loves stickers and she really enjoyed doing the craft.

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If there are stickers, we are there.

While we were completing our picture the announcement was made that Santa was there and he was ready to meet with the children.

I was really proud of Lily she did a great job meeting him and telling him what she wanted for Christmas (a Paw Patrol playset) and wasn’t really nervous. I think introducing her to a lot of characters at Disney really helped.

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We enjoyed meeting Santa. We also received a candy cane and got to pick out a book. We we over the moon about both.

And the perfect ending to any event is cake.

Lily informed me that her favorite snack is cake and she loved having her piece before we headed out to do more Christmas shopping.

We can’t thank the Uniontown Public Library enough for putting on such a wonderful event. (I was also told that the Greek Catholic Union, which I have a life insurance policy through, paid for the performance from Stage Right. So thank you to them.)

Do you participate in any special holiday events in your community? Leave your comments below.

Read All About It

by disneywonderlandgazette, posted in Books for Toddlers, Disney, Family Vacation, Pittsburgh, Toddler, Uncategorized

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.

BREAKING NEWS

by disneywonderlandgazette, posted in Books for Toddlers, Disney, Family Vacation, Pittsburgh, Toddler, Toddler Travel, Uncategorized, Walt Disney World

 

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Official “Mousekatots” cover. (Art created by Theme Park Press.)

 

A little over a year ago, while stuck in traffic, Kevin and I were listening to a Disney themed Podcast.

The guest on the show was talking about how they wrote a book about Disney through a company called Theme Park Press. I sat there, while getting frustrated with the traffic, and thought that I could do that. I could write a book about Walt Disney World.

I then decided to combine my two loves, Walt Disney World and my daughter, and contacted the publisher at Theme Park Press.

And now about a year later, the rest they say is history!

Now I am super excited to say that “Mousekatots,” your official guide on how to do your Walt Disney World vacation with minimal meltdowns, is officially on sale!

Available in both Kindle and paperback, “Mousekatots,” leads you through every step on planning a memorable Walt Disney World vacation with your toddler.

How to get groceries and diapers to your hotel without a car? We have you covered. What important trick will make getting your toddler dressed in the morning a flash? We have the answer! What do you do if your child gets separated in the parks? Read inside “Mousekatots!”

“Mousekatots” also has all the height information, breakdown of all the attractions and menus for all the restaurants in the park.

So, if you want to make your vacation smoother and really have the opportunity to have everything planned so you can relax and enjoy watching your little Mousekatot in the parks, then please consider picking up your copy of “Mousekatot” today.

Your support would be appreciated in helping me make our dreams come true!

Read All About It

by disneywonderlandgazette, posted in Books for Toddlers, Disney, Toddler, Uncategorized, Walt Disney World

Each night before we tuck our little Mousekatot in bed we read a picture book and then tuck her in bed and read a chapter from a longer book while the lights are out. (Kindles are great for this.)

Disney has its own imprint for books with the publishing house that also works with Hyperion.

Here are a few of our favorite books from this publishing company. Most of these can be found online or at your local library.

The Kingdom Keepers series

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Photo courtesy of Disney Publishing Worldwide

This is one of our favorite series to read. The book follows a group of kids that were hired by Walt Disney World to become interactive, hologram tour guides for the Magic Kingdom. However, when the kids start crossing over to the Magic Kingdom at night while they are sleeping they start to become threated by the evil queen, Malificent.

The series features seven books and two spin off series.

These are books that are chapter books and would be good for middle-school students to read on their own. However, Lily really liked listening to a few chapters at night.

Five Minute Story Books

Photos courtesy of Disney Publishing Worldwide

These 5 minute story books are a big hit with Lily. She has a few favorite stories from the books.

When we went on a Halloween cruise with Disney Cruise line a few years ago, we brought the “5 Minute Spooky Stories” book with us and asked the characters to sign it when we met them. Even though the book is a little heavy, it makes a great place to have the characters’ autographs that can be passed down to generations.

“Cupcake” by Charise Mericle Harper

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Photo courtesy of Amazon

 

Yesterday, we checked this book out of our local library and read it to Lily that night. I have never heard her laugh so hard at a book!

The story is about a vanilla cupcake and a birthday candle that don’t feel like they are special enough. However, they learn an important message at the end … well, sort of.

The bright colors and short story make it a hit with Mousekatots!

“Dinosaur vs. The Potty” by Bob Shea

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Photo courtesy of Disney Publishing

Potty training has become a huge challenge in our house. Even though we are taking a short break from this task, to save our sanity, we still enjoy reading the book.

It is a nice sturdy board book that would be great to read while your little one is using the potty.

It provides a little bit of laughter to an otherwise difficult task.

No matter what books you choose to read to your little Mousekatot, the important thing is that you are reading to your child.

The greatest gift you can give to them in a wonderful imagination!

What is your favorite book to read with your little tot? Leave your comments below.