ReaderKidZ Holiday Countdown – Day 5

Posted on 12/06/2011

Author Leda Schubert talks about her new picture book THE PRINCESS OF BORSCHT, illustrated by Bonnie Christensen. (Roaring Brook 2011)

The idea for “The Princess of Borscht” came almost ten years ago. As I recall it now, my husband said something like this: “Someone should write a book about borscht.”  Sounded like a good idea to me. But what was the actual story? A book about borscht cannot be a book about dogs, and books about dogs are the most fun to write. Why? Because they are about dogs.

Borscht is soup made from beets, which are yummy purple vegetables that taste sweet when they’re garden-fresh. (I cannot, however, grow beets in my garden; I plant them and they disappear.)  I have made borscht many times, which is a brave thing to do. Why? Because beets stain everything they come in contact with. The sink, clothes, pots, fingers, the wall, the countertop, etc. In fact, Bonnie Christensen, esteemed illustrator, made borscht and threw it about her kitchen to get an idea of what the droplets might look like. Big mistake. Readers, do not let this unpleasant fact deter you from borscht. Everything washes out, really!

To celebrate the publication of “The Princess of Borscht”, I am happy to give away a few copies. If you would like a chance to get one, go to www.ledaschubert.com and click on the link that says “CONTACT.” Please use the subject line “ReaderKidZ” and send a thought about borscht, or even a recipe. I might post recipes on my website. Winners chosen at random.

ReaderKidZ Holiday Countdown – Day 4

Posted on 12/05/2011

Want a chance to win a copy of this wonderfully crafted book featuring one of the most tenacious, charming, and mystifying birds on the planet? Not only is  Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas packed with fascinating hummingbird facts and folklore, the illustrations are sensational! Not your everyday, run-of-the-mill illustrations, mind you. No way. They’re photographs of fabulous fiber art….quilts, made by Jeanette’s friend Adrienne Yorinks. In fact, Wayne Moss, Vice President of the National Audubon Society says, “Like hummingbird plumage, Adrienne’s quilts shimmer and seem to change color when viewed from different angles. They suggest movement and playfulness. Most of all I love her quilts because, like the hummingbirds depicted in them, they are beautiful.”

Don’t hesitate one minute. Sign up for a chance to win a copy of this magnificently crafted book, the perfect holiday gift sure to be enjoyed for years to come. Good luck!

Simply access author Jeanette Larson’s website by clicking HERE or email her at larsonlibrary at yahoo dot com for a chance to win a copy of Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas. When contacting the author, please put READERKIDZ GIVEAWAY in the email heading, and we’ll respond to you just as soon as we can.

** Congrats to Cheryl P. – winner of Jeanette Larson’s beautiful book!

ReaderKidZ Holiday Countdown – Day 3

Posted on

PRINCESS POSEY AND THE NEXT-DOOR DOG by Stephanie Greene, illustrated by Stephanie Roth Sisson

I’m excited to share Princess Posey as today’s ReaderKidZ Holiday Countdown selection. It’s a wonderful new early chapter series that I and the other primary teachers at my school have loved reading with our students.  The situations Posey finds herself in and the ways she solves her problems ring true and leave readers knowing that, just as Posey has, they too can tackle just about anything.

In the third book, Posey and her friends are writing pet stories to share with the class, but Posey doesn’t have a pet. She wants a real live dog and when a new neighbor moves in next-door, Posey gets her hopes up. Maybe she can write about the next-door dog!

Before long, Posey’s excitement turns to worry. The next-door dog has a giant-sized bark and ever since the long-ago scary day when a dog jumped on her, Posey hasn’t gotten over her lingering fear.

Dressed in a pink tutu and her magic veil, Princess Posey is determined to meet the next-door dog and face her worst fears. All by herself.

Today, 10 readers will have the chance to win their very own copy of PRINCESS POSEY AND THE NEXT DOOR DOG. All you have to do is email Stephanie HERE or contact her at stephanie dot greene dot books at gmail dot com. Please write “ReaderKidZ give-away” in the subject line and include the name of the person you’d like Stephanie to sign the book for in the body of the email, plus your mailing address. Happy Holidays!

December Holiday Countdown – Day 2

Posted on 12/02/2011

WE ARE ALL BORN FREE: THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN PICTURES is a magical book that effectively introduces to children the concept that everyone on this planet, wherever we live, whoever we are, everyone has rights that should never be taken away. Illustrations are by artists from many different countries who have co-operated with Amnesty International, UK, to create this book.

Who would ever think that a picture book of Human Rights could be engaging, even riveting, for both child and adult reader?  Not I.  I opened WE ARE ALL BORN FREE with skepticism.  I was moved to smiles, tears, and shaking my head sometimes in sorrow, sometimes with laughter.  I was inspired to think about other children in this world and to long for peace and justice for all people.

My gift to you is this suggestion.  Each remaining day in December read one page. Sit down with a child. Study the illustration made by the artist. Read the simple paraphrase of one article out loud.  Talk about what it means, for example, to have a home, to have a country that is home.  Talk about what it means to have the right to read, to be healthy, to live with respect.

My other gift? I would like to give you a copy.  Please send an email to me HERE with “BORN FREE – ReaderKidZ Giveaway” in the subject line. Be sure to include your mailing address and hopefully I will draw your name for one of the ten copies!*

Congrats to the lucky 23 who won copies of BORN FREE.  Winners have been contacted and their books will arrive shortly! Stop by ReaderKidZ again each day next week to learn about more giveaways.

A very happy and book-filled holiday season to all!

Welcome to ReaderKidZ December 2011 Holiday Countdown!

Posted on 11/30/2011

I recently met a 93-year-old woman who’d been a chemist all her life. I asked her why she’d done that work in her life and she said, “My father bought me a chemistry set when I was eleven and I was hooked.”

Books do that, too. They hook children with their magic and ideas and excitement and humor and adventure and, yes, sometimes their sadness. The younger a child is when they’re first hooked by a book, the better. Books as presents are key. A book can be clutched to one’s chest, and ferried away to a secret place, where they can be read in peace and quiet, and the imagination is free to roam and soar.

This month on ReaderKidZ, some authors we know are giving away copies of their wonderful books. We hope that the people who win them will pass them along to a child somewhere who will curl up in a quiet place at the end of a busy, exciting day, and take one more step on the path to a life of reading.

Our first give-away book sings. Literally. ~ Stephanie Greene

It’s no wonder why Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and the New York Times Book Review are raving about this fascinating story, because in the 1960’s, when Las Vegas jazz super stars Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn teamed up to put their hip slant on the high-brow symphonic rendition of the Nutcracker Suite, timeless Tchaikovsky became one cool cat.

Written by accomplished musicologist Anna Harwell Celenza and illustrated by awarding-winning Don Tate, the jazzy-jump-jiving Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite is sure to be this holiday season’s cat’s meow. And you have a chance to win an iTunes card and a signed copy of the book, which includes a CD recording of Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite, by entering our toot-toot-tootie-toot Happy Holiday giveaway.

Click HERE to contact Don via his website. Include READERKIDZ GIVEAWAY in the email subject line, and we’ll take care of the rest.

*** Congrats to JAN SONNEMAIR, winner of Don Tate’s newest book, DUKE ELLINGTON’S NUTCRACKER SUITE. Enjoy!

What Sisters Do Best/What Brothers Do Best by Laura Numeroff

Posted on 11/29/2011

Want to hear about the family that inspired Laura Numeroff ‘s  latest delightful flip book, What Sisters Do Best/What Brothers Do Best?

Want to learn about making a jelly omelet or parents who taught folk-dancing in the basement? How about the joys of having a stamp-collecting father’s help in compiling an impressive personal collection of horse stamps.

Desire to learn about the loving family that serves as inspiration for Laura’s delightful work? If so, click HERE and enjoy a heart-warming YouTube interview with the author.

Clementine and the Family Meeting by Sarah Pennypacker

Posted on 11/27/2011

Click HERE to access an in-depth Teacher Guide, packed with a variety of entertaining and educational lessons and activities such as wonderful writing prompts, word games, and fascinating graphic organizers – all created to encourage the child reader to express her inner Clementine.

The Quick Write topics are wonderfully child-centered. For example, the young reader is encouraged to write about weird things that she is afraid of and tell how she learned to conquer them. Or create crazy names for average things, written in different voices, or to express various times that her feelings were all out of whack. On the guide is a graphic organizer in which the child is asked to list things that grown-ups think are funny compared to things that kids think are funny. Oh, to be a child again.

And, to top it off, this guide features a song with lyrics describing Sarah Pennypacker’s beloved Clementine, sung to the original Clementine, written in 1880. Click HERE for the original lyrics.