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By Mom Unplugged, September 19, 2007 9:25 pm

I can’t write this one as a traditional “review” since it is a bit premature. I only just heard about this book today, and obviously have not yet read it.

On NPR this morning, there was an interview with Laurie David and Cambria Gordon, the authors of The Down-to-Earth Guide To Global Warming. The authors are apparently the producers of Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

This book is a guide to global warming aimed at children (according to Amazon, ages 9-12). The NPR interview says the book features kid-friendly science to explain the phenomenon, and has ideas for what kids can do to help combating global warming.

Ms. David and Ms. Gordon explain that they are attempting to reach children while they are young, and create a shift in their consciousness. They want to teach children to think about how their daily activities affect global warming. They give the example of going to the mall and coming home with five different plastic (petroleum-based) bags. Why not take a reusable canvas bag to the mall?

Water bottles are another example of the change in thinking that the authors hope to pass along to young readers. According to the authors, 2.5 million water bottles PER HOUR go in the trash. Why not carry your own refillable water bottle? (For more on bottled water, please check out my post “Unplug Your Water“).

They also suggest starting a “Green Team” at school to reduce school lunch waste or enact a “no-idle” rule in the drop-off lane.

This book relies on the power of “kids with a cause.” No one will be more likely to reprimand parents on their choice of paper towels or light bulbs than an informed child. So…beware! If you have your children read this book, be prepared to hear criticism of your personal habits until you make them “greener!”

Hear the interview here (3 minutes, 42 seconds).

Comments (2)

By Mom Unplugged, September 19, 2007 6:41 pm

This one is truly silly fun. Don’t buy it if you are looking for something profound. Don’t buy it if you want something educational. Do buy it if you want you kids to have a good silly laugh! Or simply check it out of the library of course.

We were kindly given the hardcover version of this book as a hand-me-down this summer, and it has been a huge hit.

Zachary Zebra and Orfo the Orangutan love underwear. They wear underwear of all different colors, prints and styles…sometimes all at once. Gloomy Bismark the Buffalo doesn’t like underwear,and not many other animals like him (even the flies stay away). Zachary helps Bismark laugh for the first time by daring him to say the word underwear ten times without laughing. You can guess the rest I am sure.

What child under the age of seven can resist laughing at jokes about bodily functions or underwear? Well, thankfully there is no bodily function humor here, but the underwear joke is a big hit with my two oldest kids. The illustrations are marvelous too!

I guarantee that the six and under set will find this one hilarious. The paperback is eligible for the 4-for-3 promotion at Amazon.

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By Mom Unplugged, September 11, 2007 8:33 pm

My children and I just adore the sweet tale of how a stray cat makes himself a part of a lonely lady’s life. The illustrations are as delightful as the story.

I like to consider this book both a story book and a find-it book because in every two page spread, the kitty is hiding somewhere in the room. This adds a little element of fun to a nice bedtime read.

It seems that Amazon might be doing away with Where Is That Cat?. I don’t know if it has gone out of print or if it is just harder to find. My advice: grab this one while you still can! Also try shopping around: Ebay and Half.com are good sources for hard to find books at reasonable prices.

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By Mom Unplugged, August 31, 2007 8:02 am

One of the wonderful things about living in the Southwestern US is that there is a whole unique genre of regional literature, including children’s literature. There are not many other parts of the United States that come to mind with such a strong regional literary presence.

After finding my review of their book Baby Animals of the Southwest, publisher Rising Moon (Northland Publishing) asked me if I would be interested in reading and reviewing other books. I am very interested in Southwestern and multicultural children’s literature and I loved the idea of helping support a local publisher (Northland was based in Flagstaff, Arizona, not far from me).

Unfortunately, I heard on the news last night that Northland has just been purchased by a large East Coast publisher and has already closed its doors (which explains the lack of response when I requested some high resolution images of the book to add to this post).

Just when I was feeling like a “cool blogger” for having been asked to write a book review, “my publisher” goes out of business! Maybe I should have written my review sooner?? Oh well. They were kind enough to send me the book, and it is a great book, so I will write the review anyhow!

I was interested in Southwestern bedtime stories, so they kindly sent me Bedtime in the Southwest, by Mona Hodgson, illustrated by Renee Graef.

The southwestern animals in this story resist bedtime in ways that all parents will recognize (bouncing on the bed, ignoring Mama, begging for juice, etc,)… but at the end, the animals demonstrate the proper way to go to bed “scoot into bed and snuggle in tight, and offer big hugs and then say goodnight.”

The text is very simple so that it will appeal to younger children. The illustrations are humorous and very cute and depict such animals as prong-horned antelope, skunks, hummingbirds, and coyotes for example.

I gave this book the test of all my children (ages 7, 5, and 19 months). They all enjoyed it, but my 19 month-old actually made me read it twice more. She loved the story and for some reason, she found the skunk page absolutely fascinating!

If you are looking for an unusual, quality children’s bedtime story with cute art, give Bedtime in the Southwest a try. This might be a really fun one to read to a reluctant sleeper too!

Comments (2)

By Mom Unplugged, August 30, 2007 11:11 am

Yes, I have stumbled upon yet another art book full of really great art activity ideas that I will never have time to do with my children. Big sigh.

The Usborne Book of Art Ideas is a cute miniature (5″x7″) hardcover book packed with neat projects that are very handily arranged by medium (watercolor paints, inks, and chalk pastels for example). The photographs are bright and very appealing (very much like those in the DK Publishing books if you are familiar with those).

Here are some photos of the inside:

This book seemed like an Amazon bargain to me at only $7.95 for a hardcover with tons of ideas (over 200, the cover claims). Plus it is eligible for Amazon’s 4-for-3 Promotion.

The ideas are very original and doable with things that most families have on hand. A few that struck me as interesting are:

- Glue pictures (creating a raised pattern or drawing using Elmer’s-type white glue)

- Blow paintings (using a straw to blow paint around on paper to create spiky shapes)

- Pulled cardboard prints (using thick cardboard to spread paint on paper)

- Cracked wax effect (creating a crackle appearance using crayons and paint)

There are also tips for working with each different medium as well as technical hints such as painting perspective, painting skies, etc.

This book is also full of useful odd bits of information. Did you know that “If you sprinkle salt onto watercolor paint, the salt soaks up the color, and leaves a grainy effect when it dries” (p.58). This makes sense now that I think about it, but it never would have occurred to me before I read this.

I would try out these ideas with my 5 and 7 year-old, but for the under-4 set, many of them might be too complex or messy. Imagine a 3 year-old blowing paint, the image is not a pretty one! A few of the ideas might be easily adapted to younger children though, so if you are interested, check it out of the library and take a look.

There is also an interesting-sounding large Usborne book called The Usborne Complete Book of Art Ideas. According to an Amazon reviewer, it is apparently a compilation of this little book, plus two other Usborne titles: The Usborne Book of Art Skills and The Usborne Book of Art Projects (Art Ideas). This might be a good one to look at too if you think you might also buy the other books in the series.

The Usborne Book of Art Ideas inspires me to drop my laundry basket and sit down to do some art. In fact, I think I shall!

Also take a look at these: