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7 kids books about pumpkins!

October 31, 2017 ashley donati
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I love pumpkins!  The plant nursery down the road from me sells all manner of seasonal squash from itty-bitty baby orange pumpkins to the whopper that I bought this year - a 40 pound giant white pumpkin.  Every year when the nursery man starts stacking up corn stalks and hay bales, I know that it is almost pumpkin time!  

Have you carved your jack-o-lantern yet?  It stays pretty warm and humid here in October, so we don't carve ours until the week of Halloween so that it doesn't get all moldy before the big night.  Do you go all out with a carving kit and fancy designs or keep it simple?  We usually keep it simple with the traditional triangle eyes and snaggle-tooth grin.  Here are seven of our favorite pumpkin books.

The Roll-Away Pumpkin
By Junia Wonders
Buy on Amazon
Pumpkin Soup
By Helen Cooper
Buy on Amazon
The Pumpkin Book
By Gail Gibbons
Buy on Amazon
The Ugly Pumpkin
By Dave Horowitz
Buy on Amazon
Big Pumpkin
By Erica Silverman, S.D. Schindler
Buy on Amazon
It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse! (If You Give...)
By Laura Numeroff
Buy on Amazon
Pumpkin Town! Or, Nothing Is Better and Worse Than Pumpkins
By Katie McKy
Buy on Amazon
Tags kids book list, kids pumpkin, kids books pumpkin, halloween books, halloween kids, reading for kids, picture books, kids book review
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instant halloween: 2 super quick costumes and an easy-peasy treat!

October 24, 2017 ashley donati

Are you pressed for time?  (Who me?  Yes, you.)  Halloween is such a fantastic holiday, but it seems like the entire month of October is packed with this class party, and that neighborhood party, and before we know it, our heads are spinning!  If you need quick holiday projects, you've come to the right place!  We have whipped up two book-inspired Halloween costumes and a tasty treat that can be made with one quick trip to the store or maybe even with things you have around your home right now.  Let's do this! 

Ghostly Treat Pops! 

You can turn quick-to-make rice krispie treats into these adorably yummy treats.  

Here's what you need: 

  • 6 crisped rice cereal
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • one 10 oz. bag marshmallows
  • white chocolate morsels
  • mini chocolate chips
  • regular sized chocolate chips
  • pop sticks
  1. Melt marshmallows and butter together in a large pan.  (Choose a pan that's bigger than you think you need because once you add the cereal, you need a lot of room to stir.)
  2. Once everything is melted, add the cereal, and stir, stir, stir!  
  3. Pour cereal mixture into a greased baking pan.  Press it down flat to fill the pan. (If the mixture sticks to your hands, and it will, wet your hands before you start pressing.)
  4. Once the treats have cooled completely, cut into squares.  Add the sticks.
  5. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in short bursts, stirring after each round.
  6. Dip the treats in the white chocolate only about one third of the way down.  Press two mini chocolate eyes and one larger chip for a mouth.  Do this before the white chocolate cools. 
  7. Let them cool and harden.  Eat! 

Continuing our instant Halloween, we've got two costumes.  First up, Chicka Chicka Boom!  We love this classic book about the whole alphabet climbing up a coconut tree before tumbling down, and we've recreated that coconut tree with its letters climbing up.  

What You'll need: 

  • brown t-shirt
  • construction paper in the following colors: green, brown, assorted colors for the letters
  • safety pins 
  • stapler and staples
  1. I created the headdress to look like the top of a coconut tree by creating a green band.  I attached four green strips to the band, and then, I cut notches into the strips to give it a feathered, palm tree look. 
  2. I crumpled brown paper into balls to look like coconuts and stapled them to the band.
  3. I cut out letters and safety pinned them to the brown shirt in a way that made them look like they were "climbing" up. 
  4. That's it.  Boom goes the dynamite.  You're ready for your Halloween party! 

Next up, we have Dr. Seuss's Lorax.  The Lorax is a creature that stands up for the environment, especially the trees, and he spends his story protecting his world from those who want to destroy nature.  This Lorax costume is so simple and cute.  

Here's what you need: 

  • orange knit cap
  • orange sweatshirt
  • sunglasses
  • fake yellow fur or yellow felt
  1. Cut the yellow fur or felt into the shape of a mustache and attach it to the sunglasses with hot glue.
  2. That's it.  Seriously.  That's it.  

Happy, happy Halloween!  Be safe and have fun! 

Tags kids book, halloween kids, easy halloween kids, easy kids costumes, halloween treats quick
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6 of the best witch books!

October 17, 2016 ashley donati
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Hi there, my kids-book-loving peeps!  How was your weekend?  We took the kids camping on Saturday, and it just so happened to have been the night of the Hunter's Supermoon!  It was special to see the moon at its biggest and brightest while sitting in a dark forest with no other competing lights.  

Today we are talking witches!  I have always had a soft spot in my heart for witches and wizards whether in novels and picture books or movies like Harry Potter and my personal guilty pleasure The Worst Witch (If you haven't seen this 1980s classic, do yourself a favor and watch it.  Four words: Tim Curry Hearthrob wizard.)  Here are six of my all time favorite witch books for this spooky season.  Are any of your faves missing from the list?  Let me know in the comments! 

The Witches
By Roald Dahl
Buy on Amazon
Room on the Broom
By Julia Donaldson
Buy on Amazon
Only a Witch Can Fly
By Alison McGhee
Buy on Amazon
The Lunch Witch #1
By Deb Lucke
Buy on Amazon
The Witch With The Glitch (The Lost Bookshop)
By Adam Maxwell
Buy on Amazon
Winda the Witch: Tales of the Spooky Folk (A Scary Middle-Grade Halloween Fairy Tale Kids Book for Girls and Boys)
By J.K. Campbell
Buy on Amazon
Tags kids books, picture book list, witches, witch kids book, reading for klds, reading for kids, kids book review, halloween kids, halloween books
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instant halloween: pete the cat costume in 5 minutes with 5 items or less!

October 6, 2016 ashley donati

How many times have my kids reminded me right before bedtime, "Oh, Mom, I need to wear a costume to school tomorrow."  And then I panic as I drive to the closest big box store and scramble to put something together.  Well, scramble no more!  In the weeks leading up to trick-or-treating time, we are sharing easy-peasy book character costumes that can be whipped up super-fast with simple items that can be found in most stores or online.  

Today's costume is Pete the Cat!  We love the Pete the Cat book series so much. He is beloved by my four year old as I am willing to be many, many four year olds out there.  His look is easily created with a blue sweatshirt with a yellow shirt layered over it.  I created several construction paper buttons for his shirt.

I used blue construction paper to make a headband with two triangle cat ears glued to it.  The jumbo sunglasses recreate Pete's signature big yellow eyes.  

This costume would be great not just for Halloween but for book character themed school dress up days, book themed birthday parties, or just Pete the Cat fans for fun! Thanks for reading today!  Happy Almost-Weekend Day! 

Tags kids books, reading for kids, halloween kids, pete the cat costume, easy kids costumes
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9 books about monsters!

October 3, 2016 ashley donati
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Hi there and welcome to the first Monday in October!  Woohoo!  October is the best, and we are kicking off our favorite month with a book list with a spooky theme - monsters!  

Here are nine of the best books about there for ghouls, goblins, and creatures from the dark side.  Enjoy! 

Will Shortz Presents The Monster Book of Sudoku for Kids: 150 Fun Puzzles
St. Martin's Griffin
Buy on Amazon
I Need My Monster
By Amanda Noll
Buy on Amazon
Playtime with Monster
By Michael Yu
Buy on Amazon
Monster Park!
By Annie Bach
Buy on Amazon
Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich
By Adam Rex
Buy on Amazon
Monster Trouble!
By Lane Fredrickson
Buy on Amazon
Frankenstein
By Rick Walton
Buy on Amazon
Books for Kids: Where's My Monster!!! (Kids Books, Children's Book, Bedtime Story for Kids age 2-5, Beginner Readers, Early Readers, Halloween stories
By J. Ryan
Buy on Amazon
Peek-a-Boo Monsters (Charles Reasoner Peek-a-Boo Books)
By Charles Reasoner
Buy on Amazon
Tags halloween kids, halloween picture books, monster kids books, kids book list, reading for kids, picture books, story time kids, frankestein
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