Tag Archives: Reading Week

Book Giveaway: One Gorilla

20 Apr
A beautifully written and illustrated story, with an excellent message for children

A beautifully written and illustrated story, with an excellent message for children.

Exciting news on this Monday afternoon!

Joy Dey, author of “One Gorilla,” which I reviewed on my blog just last week, has offered a book to give away to one lucky Whole Bag of Chips reader!!

How great is that? So great!

Thanks to Joy, one lucky reader’s name will be drawn from all of those who post a comment here on this post telling me why they’d like to win their very own copy of the book.

I will run this giveaway from today until Sunday, April 26 and announce the winner next Monday, April 27.

Be sure to leave your comment in the comments section below in order to be eligible for the giveaway!

Book Review: One Gorilla

14 Apr
A beautifully written and illustrated story, with an excellent message for children

A beautifully written and illustrated story, with an excellent message for children.

As a blogger and someone who loves to read, I am lucky to have many opportunities to review books. This week I am focusing on several of the books that have been sent to me over the past few months for review.

The first book I’ve chosen to review is “One Gorilla,” written by Joy Dey and illustrated by artist Nikki Johnson.

This is a beautiful story with amazing artwork to accompany it. When my daughters first saw the artwork on the cover, they commented that it reminded them of author and artist Eric Carle’s work, and I agreed with them. It’s stunning.

Each page inside is just as beautifully done as the cover with the art spanning across two pages at times, and it is evident by the flow and design of the book, that the Dey/Johnson team have a close-working relationship. This is their third collaboration. Their other books are, “Nightlight,” and “Agate.” Both are award-winning publications. Dey and Johnson are notable individually as well, having received awards for their past works, and their talents shine through in “One Gorilla.”

However, it’s not just the artwork that makes this book. It is the storyline and the message for children that is embedded throughout.

My kids were intrigued by the fact that the colorful letters on each page spelled out a word each time.

My kids were intrigued by the fact that the colorful letters on each page spelled out a word each time.

I know as a parent, that oftentimes the drama of social interactions at school and in other similar arenas can be stressful as kids try to work things out and get along, and mediate the interactions of their peers as well. There are many times when our kids need to make good choices, and they need to know what those choices should be. This book provides a perfect jump start for kicking off some of those conversations.

We often try to encourage our children to be that one person who can make the difference, and “One Gorilla” drives that message home as the gorilla has an opportunity to make a better choice and make a big difference for the jungle.

You can find out more about “One Gorilla” and SWAK (Sit With A Kid) Publishing at SitWithAKid.com, as well as on Facebook, Twitter and the Sitwithakid.com blog. SWAK Publishing can be reached at 877-370-6102.

The book is available for purchase for $17.95. To purchase the book, contact Partners Book Distributing, Ingram and Baker & Taylor. For more information contact Partners Publishers Group 800-336-3137.

 

It’s Reading Week!

13 Apr
A great book for adults and kids alike, about the love of reading.

A great book for adults and kids alike, about the love of reading.

Hooray! It’s Reading Week!
Actually, it’s Reading Month!! There are so many schools here that spread their Reading Weeks over the month of April, that we celebrate reading all month long.

As an education reporter, I am blessed because I get to hear authors speak, storytellers perform, guest readers read, and my favorite of all: I get to BE a guest reader and read to classrooms all around our city and neighboring cities.

I have the best job ever.

Last I saw Katie Latimer, one of my all-time favorite storytellers, and today, I get to see Len Cabral, a storyteller that Latimer has said inspired her as well. I remember hearing him perform even when I was a child. Additionally, I also got to hear one of my daughter’s favorite authors speak to students last Thursday, Marc Tyler Nobleman, about two non-fiction children’s books he wrote about the true stories behind the creators of Batman and Superman, “The Creators of Superman” and “Bill the Boy Wonder.” Amazing, amazing stuff.

Today I share with you a great book for readers young and old that was given to me last year at a Scholastic celebration of reading by one of the northeast reps for Scholastic, Jacqueline Dodge. The book is called “Open a World of Possible” and it’s essays written by people who are well-known, or not so well-known and they all tell their stories of reading: why they love it, how they learned to read, who inspired their love of reading, and more. It’s a book you can open to almost any page, read a bit, and close it, returning later on to open up to a different page and read some more.

It’s fascinating to read accounts that are similar to your own story, or vastly different. And yet, we all share one thing in common: a love of reading.

As a parent who loves reading, I’ve encouraged the habit in my children as well, taking them to story time at our library from when they were just toddlers. We could get lost in a library or a bookstore. We participate in summer reading challenges, reading week challenges and we have tracked our summer reading just within our own family in the past. It’s a wonderful passion to have and to foster in our kids. As the book above says, reading does in fact open up a whole world of possibilities for our children.

This week I will be sharing with you some books that I’ve been reading for review. I love to read and I don’t post book reviews often enough, but it’s something I’m working hard at this year. This week is the perfect opportunity to share some great books with you, starting right now.

Enjoy your day and pick up a book, even if you only read a page or two!