What do your children do most of the day? Do they watch TV or play video games? Are they inside more than they are outside? I encourage my children to play outside. I go outside and play with them. I restrict their total screen time to 2 hours a day because I prefer them to play. I also read every day to my kids. I like books that help reinforce lessons I’m trying to teach them.  The sing-song story, “When the Squirrel Sings” by Shana Hollowell illustrated by Jennifer Finch is a story that does reinforce a lesson I want to teach. This book encourages children to get outside and play.

In the narrative, a squirrel encourages children to play outside telling them it sees them and is happy watching. The story proceeds to a song done by the squirrel and other woodland creatures. The song also encourages children to play outside and observe the wonders of nature.

The story is very simply written in a sing-song rhyming style. Young ears will appreciate the rhymes and the entertaining backyard creatures, but the real value for parents is the opportunity to reinforce the joy of being outside. I would encourage parents to read this to their children and encourage kids to get outside to play and explore nature.

Author Bio

Shana Hollowell is a public health professional that grew up in Windsor, Virginia. She enjoys writing stories for her 2-year-old and 2-month-old. She lives in Suffolk, Virginia with her husband, 2 babies, 4 cats, 31 koi fish and hundreds of bonsai trees.

For more information visit

http://www.shanahollowell.com

But the book on Amazon

What potential do we hope our daughters reach? As a father of two daughters, I don’t want my daughters potential limited by others or their own perceived limitations. I know my daughters are intelligent and gifted. I want them to discover their talents and become the best they can be.

I Can’t Do That, Yet by Esther Pia Cordova, illustrated by Maima W Adiputr is a book that encourages girls to reach their potential. Enna is a girl, who says “I can’t do that” when asked to read. She then has a dream in which she sees a potential self as someone who can solve a server issue. As an IT developer myself, I can appreciate this example and is one which my daughters can relate to. She then sees other potential future selves. When she wakes she changes her phrase to “I can’t do that, YET.”

I recommend this book to any parent or caretaker of young girls. I appreciate books like this that teach valuable, important lessons to our kids.

Author Bio:

When Esther was 7 years old she had a phase during which she refused to do her homework alone. She thought she couldn’t do it. This is far too often what we tell ourselves, even as adults. Recently, Ester attended a coding bootcamp. The experience was the most challenging thing she had ever done, but that is where she learned about the growth mindset and the powerful word YET. It’s such a simple but important concept. Esther wanted to share this discovery with kids everywhere and help parents to embrace the growth mindset as well. She believes that this simple concept will help children overcome their fears and strive to learn as much as they can in life. She wants people to stop saying “I can’t do that,” and start saying “I can’t do that, YET!”

For more information go to

http://powerofyet.com

https://www.facebook.com/powerofyet/

How many times as parents have we heard, “Where is my _____? I can’t find my ___.” It is a major tragedy for a little child when they can’t find a toy they want. It is worse when it is that special toy that goes with them everywhere. For my daughter is her blue dog. If we can’t find that little-stuffed toy, her little world is in crisis. She can’t go to bed without it.
I’m trying to teach my daughter the importance of putting away her toys. If she had a place for each toy and each toy was in its place, nothing would be lost. Of course, that never happens which is why things go missing.
As a parent, I know I need ways to reinforce this lesson. The worst time to do it is in those panic moments when the precious item is lost. I’m thankful for cartoons like “Hello Kitty.” In one episode, Kitty loses her precious toy and must clean her room to find it. That is a good opportunity to enforce and teach the lesson of cleaning the bedroom and putting away toys.
Another good way to teach is through the stories we read. I’m always thankful for books that teach lessons I want my children to learn. The Underground Toy Society Helps Beary Bear by Jessica D. Adams is such a book. Beary the Bear is lost. Beary is that precious toy of Janelle. Beary is not found until Jenelle cleans her room. Reading this story to kids gives a great opportunity to ask questions to teach lessons such as cleaning one’s room. Any children can relate to a lost toy. Parents can ask questions such as “How does Jenelle feel?” to help the child empathize. Parents can ask “What did Jenelle have to do to find the bear? Could she have found it sooner?”
I would recommend this book as a means to teach and reinforce the lesson of cleaning one’s room. It would make a good bedtime story.

Author Bio:

Jessica grew up in Catawissa, Pennsylvania. She attended Southern Columbia Area High School. After high school, she attended Bloomsburg University for two years, and then Thomas Jefferson University for two years. She graduated with honors with a degree in Occupational Therapy.
She still lives in PA with her husband, Greg, and two daughters. Her daughters are the inspiration for her books, and they help with the illustrations in most of the picture books about The Underground Toy Society.

For more information go to

https://onesweetday48.wixsite.com/undergroundtoysociet

https://www.facebook.com/theundergroundtoysociety/

What is one of the best ways to teach? It is to do what I just did: ask a question. When we ask a question, we invite our student to think. We are not asking to memorize facts, but rather to draw upon facts and experience to reach a conclusion. This is especially true for teaching values. While the best way to teach values is to model the value, it should be supplemented and enforced in other ways. I’m an advocate of reading to children AND asking them questions to teach valuable lessons. The story There’s Something Pokey in my Shoe by Kelly Jean Lietaeret provides us with an opportunity for both. Not only does the story have a lesson, but the author also provides questions to ask to enforce the lesson.
Little Lizzie has something stuck in her shoe. She has plans with her family to bike and hike in the woods. Something in her shoe requires her to pause her plan to figure out what’s poking her. To make matters worse, she’s also lost her earring. Rather than whine and complain as many children would do, she makes the mature decision to solve the problem. It means delaying her fun to take off shoes and socks.
This wonderfully illustrated story is told from Lizzie’s perspective in a fun sing-song rhyme. I think young kids will enjoy the rhymes and the simple story. All kids can relate to having something pokey in their shoe. I know my little daughters often get wood chips, rocks, and sand in their shoes. They must delay their fun while Daddy removes the irritating items.
The best part of this books is the questions at the end. This gives parents a wonderful opportunity to discuss the valuable lessons of the simple story. I would recommend not only using these questions but ask some of your own from your child’s experience. I would ask, “How do you feel when you have wood chips in your shoe?”
I recommend this book to any parent, grandparent or caregiver of young children.

Author Bio:

Kelly Jean is a mom of 4 with a degree in Early Childhood Education. Married for 20+ years to my Prince Charming. Loves hot coffee, loud music, and fuzzy socks. This is her second book released. Her first book, I Wish I Was Big, was released in October, 2014.

For more info go to

http://www.wordlove.org

https://www.facebook.com/booksandblessings/

From the Author:

This little book has a big lesson. We all encounter problems every day, but do we handle them the correct way? The book contains discussion questions in the back that encourage starting with a story and ending with a conversation. There is also a word scramble and word search containing key vocabulary from the book.

Jesus taught us to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute you. Luke 6:27. It is a principle I want to practice and teach my children to practice. I hope I model that for my children and I hope I can point them to other models. The book Diesel the Body Guard: No Bullies Allowed! by Cindy L. Shirley gives me an example.

Delilah and Lilly are bullied and teased by Richard and his brother Jimmy. Diesel, Deliah’s pet rooster, protects them. The boys are humbled and offer their apologies and friendship. Both Delilah and Lily agree to “love their enemies.” Diesel is a little more apprehensive but is won over by a large tasty worm.

This book presents a wonderful opportunity to discuss subjects like bullying and loving those who hurt you. It’s comical and will likely make children laugh but the lessons to be gleaned are very serious. I would recommend this book as a means to teach and discuss these important life lessons.

Author Bio

Cindy L. Shirley grew up in a small town in Cherokee County, Georgia. She is a wife, mother of two, and grandmother of one amazing granddaughter. She loves working with children and has tons of hilarious stories to share. “So many heartfelt conversations and silly experiences took place during my time working as an ASP teacher. Kids just want to feel acknowledged and share their day with someone”. It was during her time working with students that Cindy decided to pursue a business in entertaining children. Mrs. Shirley founded “Let’s Pretend Parties” in 2006 and continues to work with children of all ages as a party planner and hostess to this day. She is involved with annual community and family events throughout both Cobb and Cherokee county school systems. These activities, along with personal experiences, are the basis for her upcoming children’s books: “Diesel the Body Guard; No Bullies Allowed!”, “Doodle and the Magic Christmas Float”, “Mom, Where Did You Go?”, and her new series, “The Fabulous Life of Minnie the Sassy Chick”. These stories are based on real characters from Cindy’s family, as well as her childhood experiences. Her creative and fun-filled story lines were written to bring a smile to children’s faces. When asked about becoming a new author, Cindy said “I will consider this new adventure to be a huge success if I can just make children laugh.”

For more information visit

https://www.facebook.com/letspretendpublishing

Problem-solving is an important skill to learn. It takes persistence to keep trying. It is a skill I want my children to learn. I don’t want them to give up just because they don’t succeed the first time or the next or the next.

It is helpful to present examples of not quitting to my kids. The Beetle and the Berry by Eve Heidi Bine-Stock gives me such an example. It’s a simple story of a beetle finding a berry and trying to push it home. The berry is very large and gets stuck on a thorn. At first, the Beetle cannot move the berry when it gets stuck no matter how hard he pushes. Eventually, he figures out to push it from the other direction. He doesn’t quit and he solves his problem.

I know my daughter gets frustrated sometimes putting together puzzles. She gets mad and wants to quit especially if a piece comes loose from the puzzle when she tries to add another piece. I think reading a book like The Beetle and the Berry will help her. It gives an example of not quitting. My daughter already imitates fictional characters like Peppa Pig and Daniel Tiger. As a parent, I want good examples for her to follow. This book provides me with one.

I recommend this book to parents of young children. I think it is very valuable to discuss the lessons of problem solving and persistence.

Author Bio

Eve Heidi Bine-Stock is Award-winning children’s book writer. Award-winning self-publisher. Growing up, whenever Eve Heidi Bine-Stock asked her mom what a word meant, the answer was always, “Look it up.” That was the start of Eve’s love of words and books.

For her 13th birthday, Eve’s older brother Neil gave the budding writer a huge dictionary of her own with the inscription, “May your blessings be as numerous as the words in this book.” And they have been.

At age 13, Eve Heidi Bine-Stock began her publishing career by creating a girls’ magazine.

In her 20s, Eve received a Master’s Degree in Library Science (books!) and worked toward a Ph.D. in Visual Literacy (picture books!).

For more information go to

http://www.eveheidiwrites.com/

http://www.facebook.com/eve.binestock

As a parent of 2, I want to teach my kids to be responsible. They need to learn to take care of things in their possession. I also want them to help each other and others. I want to be an example to them and show them other examples. One source of examples is the characters in books they read. The fictional characters Carly and Riley in the book The Fabulous Life of Minnie the Sassy Chick: The Egg-Staordinary Egg by Cindy L. Shirley illustrated by Cleoward Sy gives me good examples.
Carly and Riley are sisters. They find an unusual egg while playing in their tree house one day. They decide with their mother’s permission to care for the egg. They have different ways of caring for the egg but successfully care for the egg until it hatches.
Children need good examples of responsibility even if the characters are fictional. Children will want to follow examples they see in books or watch on TV. I’m thankful for good examples. I would recommend this book for parents wanting to teach responsibility to children.

Author Bio:

Cindy L. Shirley grew up in a small town in Cherokee County, Georgia. She is a wife, mother of two, and grandmother of one amazing granddaughter. She loves working with children and has tons of hilarious stories to share. “So many heartfelt conversations and silly experiences took place during my time working as an ASP teacher. Kids just want to feel acknowledged and share their day with someone”. It was during her time working with students that Cindy decided to pursue a business in entertaining children. Mrs. Shirley founded “Let’s Pretend Parties” in 2006 and continues to work with children of all ages as a party planner and hostess to this day. She is involved with annual community and family events throughout both Cobb and Cherokee county school systems. These activities, along with personal experiences, are the basis for her upcoming children’s books: “Diesel the Body Guard; No Bullies Allowed!”, “Doodle and the Magic Christmas Float”, “Mom, Where Did You Go?”, and her new series, “The Fabulous Life of Minnie the Sassy Chick”. These stories are based on real characters from Cindy’s family, as well as her childhood experiences. Her creative and fun-filled story lines were written to bring a smile to children’s faces. When asked about becoming a new author, Cindy said “I will consider this new adventure to be a huge success if I can just make children laugh.”

For more information go to
https//:www.facebook.com/letspretendpublishing

I have two daughters. One is 3 and the other only 18 months. As young as they are, they are best friends. They do fight often especially over toys, but they both love each other too.

As I read Not Again! The Adventures of Breanna and Allyson by Sarah Hays, I thought of my own children even though Breanna and Allyson are older than my kids. Breanna is the older sister. As the older child, she has more skills and abilities than her younger sister Allyson. Breanna must show lots of patience and understanding when her younger sister creates problems.

I think children with siblings will relate to Breana and Allyson. I also think it is a wonderful opportunity to discuss character lessons. Parents’ could ask about feelings presented in the book and get children to think about their own feelings. Parents’ could ask about helping a younger sibling.
I want to teach my children how to deal with negative emotions such as anger and frustration. I want to teach them patience and to share. I think this book will be a helpful tool to assist me to do that. I would recommend it to parents who have children with siblings.

Author Bio:

Sarah Hays is a teacher residing in the central Texas area. She lives with her husband Rusty and two young daughters: Breanna and Allyson. Her interests include reading mystery novels, writing, and spending time with her family. “Not Again! The Adventures of Breanna and Allyson,” is her first children’s book and she is excited to share it with you!

For more information:

https://www.facebook.com/sarahjoannehays

https://sarahjhays.wixsite.com/mysite