Creative Family Fun

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Books for Kids

Go Outside: Take Story Time Outside

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Story time definitely doesn’t have to be an indoor-only activity.We take books outside all of the time.

When the weather is nice, it’s so relaxing to take a few books outside and enjoy a few good stories while soaking up the sunshine and fresh air.

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Outdoor story time doesn’t require a lot of work.

Just grab a book and walk outside.

We often read books in the backyard. You can take them to the park or beside a pond.

We’ve read books about dandelions while sitting in a clump of dandelions. We’ve read about trees while sitting under a tree and we’ve read about picnics after enjoying our own picnic.

But your books don’t always have to follow a theme.

We enjoy reading anything and everything outside.

Take story time outside and maybe you’ll start a new habit when your kids become readers themselves.

Is there anything better than sitting outside enjoying a good book? Nope! It doesn’t get better than that!

Do you like to take story time outside?

Story Time: Books About Russia

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Exploring a different country can be as easy as picking up a book. For our recent exploration of Russia, we found many fun books about the country, the culture, and the folklore. Here are a few of our favorites.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Russia (True Books: Countries) is a great book for a quick overview of the country. It touches on the culture, people, geography, and history in an easy-to-understand format. It’s a good choice for introducing a young child to a new country.

 

The Matryoshka doll is an easily recognized Russian toy. This sweet story, The Littlest Matryoshka by Corinne Demas Bliss, tells the story of a set of dolls that get separated after they end up in a toy store in America.

The Gigantic Turnip
is a Russian folktale that has been retold time and time again. The Gigantic Turnip by Aleksie Tolstoy and Niamh Sharkey is a fun retelling of this story with bright, vivid illustrations perfect for even the youngest kids.
 
 

Clay Boy by Mirra Ginsburg is another retelling of a classic Russian folktale. It’s fast-paced and fun. This one is better suited for ages 4 and up.

 

Patricia Polacco often draws on her Russian heritage when writing and illustrating her popular children’s books. In Luba and the Wren, she tells a version of The Fisherman and His Wife that would be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

Do you have any book recommendations for learning about Russia?

10 Ways to Have Fun With Dr. Seuss

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Since Dr. Seuss’s birthday is tomorrow (March, 2nd), I couldn’t think of any better topic for my “10 Ways” series this week. But, unfortunately, we haven’t done any Dr. Seuss activities. So, I asked some of my favorite blogger if they wanted to share. And, wow, do I ever have some good stuff to show you!

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

1. Celebrate movement with The Foot Book! Join Reading Confetti as they cut out footprints and jumped, ran, and had loads of fun.

2. Read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish with Toddler Approved. Then have fun graphing goldfish, balancing fish on a dish, and even playing Ring the Gack!

3. Create with The Shape of Me and Other Stuff. Kitchen Counter Chronicles made beautiful shadow puppets to go along with the book.

(via Kitchen Counter Chronicles)

4. Celebrate one of the characters in The Cat In the Hat by making fish in a fish bowl along with Mama Mia’s Heart2Heart.

5. Join Putti Prapancha and have some messy fun by making some Oobleck from Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

6. Have a Lorax sandwich while reading the book, The Lorax, with JDaniel4’s Mom.

(via JDaniel4’s Mom)

7. Get artistic with Green Eggs and Ham. Classified: Mom shows you how to make Sam I Am with hand and foot prints!

8. Get a little silly with The Cat In the Hat while making Thing 1 and Thing 2 craft stick puppets like ours here.

9. Make some pretty socks for Fox in Socks! Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas shows you how.

(via Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas)

10. Play a game with Dr. Seuss’s ABC book. Kitchen Counter Chronicles played a fun ABC scavenger hunt based on the book.

What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

10 Ways to Bring a Book to Life

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We love books in our house.

We love to read them, look at the pictures, listen to them, and many times fall asleep with them.

We also love to do crafts and activities based on some of our favorite books.

Here are 10 fun ways to have fun with books!

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1. Use props. You can use dolls or stuffed animals to help you tell a story. Story boards and flannel boards are also popular props for story telling. Check out this story board example from Rockabye Butterfly for the book Going On a Bear Hunt.

2. Do an art project in the style of the illustrator. There is such beautiful art work in picture books. Get lost in the art work and try to create your own illustrations. We tried to emulate the artwork in the book The Little House.

3. Dress up like a character and act out the book.

4. Use dramatic voices when reading aloud. Don’t be shy! Give that monster a deep, gruff voice or the mouse a squeaky voice. Your kids will love it!

5. Get crafty! Do a craft project based on one of your favorite books. We made paper princesses based on the book The Paper Princess and also collages based on the book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.

6. Have a theme day. Do crafts, activities and even have snacks that relate to a specific book. Mommy and Me Book Club is full of ideas that can be incorporated into a theme day. One of my favorites is their recent post about the book The Three Little Kittens.

7. Make up a new story with your favorite book characters. What kind of adventures did Little Red Riding Hood have when she went to town, instead of to her Grandmother’s house? Or, tell about the adventures Mary and Laura may have had on a picnic out on the prairie. Let your imagination run wild.

8. Use puppets to tell the story. Make Do & Friend shows you how to make adorable Three Little Pigs Puppets. They’d be perfect for storytelling!

9. Play! Creative Connections for Kids read the book Little Blue Truck and made masking tape roads to play with. What a fun way to interact with a book!

(via Creative Connections for Kids)

10. Have a meal or a snack based on a book. Green Eggs and Ham is always a popular choice. Annie’s Eats made green deviled eggs and ham sliders to celebrate the book.

*Bonus Activity: Go to a story time. Most local libraries offer a story time each week and some even offer an evening story time. Go, discover new books, and enjoy!

What do you like to do to bring a book to life?

Loving Literature: Snow Books

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To go along with our snow sensory bin and our snowy snowman craft, we’ve been reading a lot of books about winter and snow.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

We’ve been enjoying all the stories in Jan Brett’s Snowy Treasury. It contains some of her “snowy” best stories, The Gingerbread Baby, The Mitten, The Hat, and The Three Snow Bears. If I’m not reading the stories, Lizzie is thumbing through the book enjoying the pictures.

Snow by Uri Shulevitz is a beautifully illustrated book about a snowy day that starts our one snow flake at a time. It’s lyrical and calm and a perfect book to illustrate the peacefulness of a snowy day.

We’ve been reading a lot of Cynthia Rylant books lately, and Snow is fast becoming another favorite. It’s the perfect book to curl up with on a snowy day. What do you like to do in the snow? Playing, exploring, or curling up inside and staying warm. Cynthia Rylant will take you through the perfection of a snowy day.

These are some of the snow books we’ve been enjoying lately. Do you have a favorite book about snow?