Talking about children's books and films. Useful information for parents.
05 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 7+ Tags: adventure, castle, fairies, Fairy Tale, Magic, monsters, ogres, prince, Princess, royalty, violence
GREENAWAY MEDAL WINNER – 1982
Sleeping Beauty and Other Favourite Fairy Tales
Angela Carter, translation
Michael Foreman, illustrations
Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1982
128 pp. – 12 stories
Age: 7 +
Interests: fairy tales, adventure, magic, princesses, princes, castles, ogres
02 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Just Fun Stuff, Parenting, Technology
Here’s a grab bag of recommended sites for the technologically inclined parent and child.
Some really interesting sites here on the American Library Association recommended websites for kids.
The Commonsense Media site covers a lot of ground, but I’ve just been checking out (and appreciating) its great listing of apps, complete with reviews, that is searchable by genre, age level, etc. Get the low-down on some of those ultra-popular games and find out if they are really age appropriate for your child…
Math Topics, Grade 1 to Adult – Here’s one that a friend recommended for math practice, with topics well organized, and linked so you can do them in a logical order. From the main page, click on Practice and you will see this chart of topics. (Site also has videos on many topics for adults as well. As the website says, its goal is to provide a “A free world-class education for anyone anywhere.”)
Preschool and up, all topics – I’ve never plugged this website on this blog (that I can remember), but it’s been my favourite of the many we’ve checked out since my daughter first went online. Poisson Rouge is a non-profit educational site that is beautifully intuitive to navigate, has alphabets and vocabulary in several languages, as well as all kinds of learning games and entertaining animations and puzzles. I always loved it because she didn’t have to know how to read to explore it, and there are tons of surprises and oddities woven into the site. The games are lovely and stress-free (no points to earn, no high scores, no obsessive replaying). PLUS the art, music, and sound effects are beautiful and well-done. There’s something interesting here for any age of child. Some website games really wind kids up – I find this site to be more hypnotically transfixing…
Peep and the Big Wide WorldPreschool Science and Math – If you’ve seen this PBS show you’ll know it covers basic science topics for the very young and inquisitive. The site has very simple games and is quite entertaining.
01 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Advertising and Consumerism, Infant Learning - 1st Three Years, Issues, Just Fun Stuff, Parenting
The next time you are tempted by expensive toys for toddlers (especially those posh developmental toys!), here’s an excellent reminder of the beauty of simple pleasures:
“Remember these 4 words and you’ll always have Things to Do with a Toddler”
Keep it simple!
29 May 2012 Leave a comment
in Advertising and Consumerism, Issues, Parenting, Television Tags: food
From the Hospital for Sick Children’s website, “More TV Means More Junk Food”.
Even if you don’t believe in the pervasive influence of advertising on our thought processes, you can’t deny that if your child doesn’t even know that a particular product exists… he/she won’t pester you for it!
p.s. Another vital factor in the equation is the influence of parental example – I sure wish I was a better model of healthy eating! (Oh Cheezies, how I adore you…)
22 May 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 9+ Tags: airplanes, autobiography, biography, British history, country life, England, history, nonfiction, war
GREENAWAY MEDAL WINNER – 1989
by Michael Foreman
Pavilion Books, 1989
92 pp.
Age: 9+
Interests: history, war, World War II, autobiography, England, airplanes
Next (also by Foreman): War Games: Village Green to No Man’s Land, After the War Was Over
Related Movies: Hope and Glory
21 May 2012 1 Comment
in Books, books 2+ Tags: animals, bears, bedtime, night, single parent
GREENAWAY MEDAL WINNER – 1988
Martin Waddell, text
Barbara Firth, illustrations
Candlewick Press, 1988
30 pp.
Age: 2+
Interests: bears, night, bedtime, dark, fears, single parent
21 May 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 6+ Tags: cats, cities, crime, detective, dogs, family, fashion, mystery, strong girls, travel
by Chris Riddell
Macmillan, 2007
171 pp.
Age: 6+
Reading Level: 8+
Interests: mysteries, adventure, travel, strong heroines, fashion, clever plans and maps
Next: Ottoline At Sea, Ottoline Goes to School
18 May 2012 Leave a comment
Hello friends, sorry for the lack of posts but apparently when my house is turned upside down so is my life and everything I love to do gets put on hold… which includes writing! I’m glad to say though that the worst seems to be over with and I will happily putter along writing as much as I am able until the next big upheaval in July (a cross-country move, nothing serious).
18 May 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 3+ Tags: animals, grandparents, nature, ocean, whales
GREENAWAY MEDAL WINNER – 1990
Dyan Sheldon, text
Gary Blythe, illustrations
Hutchinson Children’s Books, 1990
24 pp.
Age: 3 +
Interests: whales, ocean, grandparents, animals, nature
Rarest Kind of Best 
“Every child is a scientist.”
29 May 2012 Leave a comment
by Kim in Commentary, Parenting Tags: science, scientists
Here’s a wonderful perspective on children and science from astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson:
I can’t think of any more human activity than conducting science experiments. Think about it — what do kids do? … They’re turning over rocks, they’re plucking petals off a rose — they’re exploring their environment through experimentation. That’s what we do as human beings, and we do that more thoroughly and better than any other species on Earth that we have yet encountered… We explore our environment more than we are compelled to utter poetry when we’re toddlers — we start doing that later. Before that happens, every child is a scientist. And so when I think of science, I think of a truly human activity — something fundamental to our DNA, something that drives curiosity.
(courtesy of brainpickings.org )