Free Children's Book and Poster Give-A-Way!

In order to win a free Sunny's Adventures mystery book and autographed poster, click on the link at the very bottom of this post and participate in a fun contest sponsored by Gina Turner (A Wrestling Addicted Mommy's Blog). All you have to do is answer one trivia question pertaining to the Sunny's Adventures web-site (http://www.sunnysadventures.com/) and that's it!

Sunny's Adventures has been getting some wonderful feedback from parents, children, teachers, and book reviewers alike. So look out for Sunny's Adventures #2 in this series really soon - Sunny and her friends will continue their adventures once again!

Here is what one of many Amazon reviewers had to say:

"A Wonderful Book for Children, July 14, 2008
By Heather:
(Greensboro, PA USA) - My daughter who is eight, absolutely loved Sunny's Adventures. Her favorite story was the one about the missing doll. She is always losing her dolls and stuffed animals so she could relate to the way the characters in the story were feeling. Leketha Marie Johnson did an excellent job writing a book that will keep children entertained from start to finish. My daughter has read the book twice already. She is hoping there will be more Sunny's Adventures books real soon."

FREE NEWSLETTER:

For a free newsletter with 10 sure fire things you can start doing today to get your children to become natural book lovers and readers, log onto http://www.sunnysadventures.com/ and sign up in one quick step - just input your email address for a quick delivery to your inbox. There's also a free coloring contest with wonderful prizes and free bookmarks being given away just for kids participation. Happy reading!

Click here and enter to win a free Sunny's Adventures book today! http://lyricandariasmom.blogspot.com/2008/07/mystery-for-all-ages.html

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New Children's Book - Sunny's Adventures Just Released!

Sunny's Adventures - Fun Mysteries Solved is finally here! This is a great children's book that was written by Leketha Marie Johnson and illustrated with delightful pictures by Shawn McCann. This story is sure to engage your child's critical thinking skills as they help solve mysteries right along with the main character Sunny. They'll help figure out who stole the missing pie, who took the class turtle, locate a disappearing puppy, find a lost doll, and uncover the findings of a diamond ring! Buy your copy today at http://sunnysadventures.com/! Also, make sure your child enters the Sunny's Adventures coloring contest for some great prizes. And for parents, make sure you sign up for your free newsletter with a lot of important information for kids!

Excerpts from the book:

Chapter 1: "It's going to be a good day today," Sunny said as she sat at the kitchen counter helping her grandmother make her delicious double-layer lemon cake. It was Sunny's favorite dessert in the whole wide world. Her grandmother put just enough lemon juice and powdered sugar in it to make the moist treat melt right in your mouth.

Chapter 2: "Okay students, let's all settle down and sit in your seats as I have some very important information to discuss with you," their teacher Mrs. Peabody instructed. Everyone found their seats and immediately got quiet so they could hear what their teacher had to say.

"It appears we have a problem, class. Our pet turtle Wilma has disappeared from our classroom."

Chapter 3: Sunny had so much fun helping her mom to make their apple streusel blueberry pie. The blueberries were the secret ingredients Grandma had added in this year. They had already taste-tested it at home and it was an absolutely a winner as far as Sunny was concerned.

Chapter 4: All of the students scurried around trying to quickly get their personal toys left on the bench so they could hurry up and get in line. As everyone formed two lines, one for boys and one for girls, a student named Tara shrilled loudly, "Oh no, my doll is missing! Where is she?"

Chapter 5: Sunny said carefully, "Mom, I have to do some school research regarding the history of diamonds. Can I look at your wedding ring for a minute please? It will help me with my paper." That was pretty clever, Sunny happily thought to herself. She'll never suspect a thing.

Buy your copy of Sunny's Adventures today at http://sunnysadventures.com/!

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St. Patrick's Day Fun, Spring Time Activities, & Easter Celebration

St. Patrick's Day is Monday of this week and I found a great web-site that caters specifically to children and fun holidays such as this one. Log onto http://holidays.kaboose.com/saint-patricks-day/ and let your children enjoy the St. Patrick's day themed crafts and games. They can make Leprechaun hats, and get some fun recipe ideas for the whole family. It gives the history of this Irish celebrated holiday and much more. Of course, I can't move on without taking the opportunity to highlight a book special for the occasion.

Check out Hooray for St. Patrick's Day by Joan Holub and Paul Meisel which is a lift the flap interactive fun read.

Fun Spring Time Activities For Kids

This is the best week of fun for kids as it not only marks the St. Patrick's Day holiday but it marks the first day of Spring on March 20th. I love this season so much with all of the bright colored flowers and wonderful weather, that I had to include it as part of the Sunny's Adventures mystery story (to be released at the end of the month). The main character Sunny loves Spring and helping her mom to plant beautiful flowers in their garden bed. She even uncovers a mystery in that very garden! Again, log onto the same site as above but a different link at http://resources.kaboose.com/games/spring-online-games.html for some fun Spring time activities for the little ones. There's too many activities to list here but they will have fun as they can play everything online.

Older children already know how to play outside and appreciate the wonders of Spring. However, to share the beauty with smaller children, pick up the new board book Ready For Spring by Marthe Jocelyn which highlights colors and textures of clothes worn during a particular season.

Easter Season is Here

What a busy week it is! Easter is this week too which follows on the heals of Good Friday. Again, this web-site is awesome for children as it covers every holiday there is. Once again, check out http://funschool.kaboose.com/fun-blaster/easter/index.html for fun Easter activities, games, and puzzles on and off-line. This time I'd like to recommend a DVD because my daughter is such a big fan of VeggieTales - An Easter Carol by Dan Anderson and others. These are Christian videos of wonderful little live vegetables that always teach a wholesome message in every show. I love them and kids adore them too!

Sunny's Adventure's, a children's mystery book is coming at the end of the month - stay tuned!

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Home School Rights in Jeopardy, 9 & 7 Year Old Book Authors, Free Printables, & Books About Blind Children

Per the LA Times (http://latimes.com/california) on February 28th, the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that parents must have a teaching credential to home school. Governor Arnold Schwarzeneger has since called for the reversal of this ruling which has many parents fearful of what this sort of decision will mean for their rights to teach their children. I do not home school but I do believe that parents rights should be protected in being able to do so if they chose to go this route. Hopefully, whatever happens moving forward is favorable for both students and parents as education is the primary concern here. For parents that do home school, or if you're interested in more information about it, check out one site at http://homeschool.com/.


9 & 7 Year Old Book Authors of My Grandma's Backyard

Do your children have dreams that they would like to fulfill when they grow up such as being a writer, artist, humanitarian, etc? Well, it's never too early to start working towards those goals. Just ask Miles and William Rabun who are brothers and the authors of My Grandma's Backyard (http://www.mygrandmasbackyard.com/). The two young brothers are only 9 and 7 years old and wrote this book inspired by their real life experiences in their grandmother's backyard. They've won some awards for their work and have been instrumental in inspiring many other young children to start reading and writing for sheer enjoyment. Truly inspirational!


Free Printables For Kids

FREE! This is the word that always works for me. If you're looking for some fun, free, and educational games and activities that your children can download, check out http://printables4kids.com/. Your kids can choose a theme they want to work on such as Easter, a birthday, Christmas, preschool fun, Mother's Day, and so much more. It has puzzles, crafts, and games that your little one's will enjoy.


Books About Visually Impaired (Blind) Children

Sunny's Adventure's, a children's mystery book will be released in the next month. And one of the things I know I want to do is have Sunny's Adventures available in braille format for blind children. I believe that whether a child is blind or hearing impaired, they should have every opportunity to be able to access children's books too. For books geared towards the experiences of blind children, you can check out: http://www.blindchildrensfund.org/products/characters_blind.asp as there are some really great stories available that even children who can see would enjoy as well.

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NBA Star Ricky Pierce Publishes a New Children's Book, & Children's Health Improved With Breakfast

Bouncing Billy: A Learning Adventure by NBA Star Ricky Pierce

Retired NBA basketball star Ricky Pierce just came out with a new children's book called Bouncing Billy: A Learning Adventure (http://www.bouncingbilly.com/). This book has an important message of acceptance, encourages a love for reading, and promotes sports and health awareness. It's not just a book, but offers a whole program which you can check out at the above site - very inspirational for little ones.


Eating Breakfast Helps Promote Creativity in Children

Per Medical News Today (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/98898.php), children should eat breakfast each morning before going off to school as it increases their creativity and concentration in class. I believe this to be true as I survive on coffee early in the morning but soon mid day, my body tells me it requires more fuel than just caffeine. Because of this, more schools are starting to serve breakfast to help fuel kid's energy and brain function. Over all awareness of good health and eating is good to start employing at any age. Check out Carol Goodrow's site at http://www.kidsrunning.com/ as she has some very cool children's books and journal's that kid's can log their personal eating and exercise habits in.

Sunny's Adventures by Leketha Marie Johnson coming soon - stay tuned!

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Children's Podcast Night Time Story, Personalized Kid's Book, & a Must Read For Black History Month

I've previously written about the fact that children obviously can fall in love with story books in several different ways. Author Mark Linder has created a free audio podcast of the first chapter of his debut book which centers around a character by the name of A Man in the Can at http://bedtimestoriesmykidslove.podshow.com/. Improving literacy has to start by introducing books as a natural entertainment and listening to audio versions as well as reading the print versions is one way to achieve this. I liked the bed time story and think kids will enjoy it as well.

A Wonderful Personalized Children's Story Book

I found the most adorable web-site for kids at http://www.custommadeforkids.com/. This site personalizes a storybook for your child called The First Adventures of Incredible You. I've seen books similiar to this before, however what stands out about this one is that it's not just personalized with your child's name. The story also includes the names of their friends, family, hobbies, pets, and more. It's for age groups 0 - 8 and makes for a great gift for any child. It gives you a free 3 page preview and tour to show you how the book will look.


One Million Men & Me by Kelly Starling Lyons - A Must Read for Black History Month

Black History month is coming to an end this week, but it's never too late to celebrate. So in honor of black history month, I'd like to highlight a wonderful children's book called One Million Men & Me by author Kelly Starling Lyons (http://kellystarlinglyons.com/). I bought this book for my 1st grader for Christmas last year and she thought this book was a real delight. It tells a true story about the One Million Man March from a little girl's perspective and it has vibrant, rich illustrations which go along with the story. A true must read!


Update: Sunny's Adventures, a Children's Mystery Book by Leketha Marie Johnson is coming soon - stay tuned!

The story of Sunny's Adventures will allow your child to help the main character, junior detective Sunny to solve lot's of fun mysteries. Who took the missing pie? What happened to the class turtle? Your little one's will have a great time as they help crack five fun filled cases wide open!

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Children's Web-site, Barack Obama Writing a Children's Book, Coretta Scott King Book Awards

Visit http://www.icdlbooks.org/ (International Children's Library) if you would like to check out one of the largest online sources for children's literature. Per http://boston.com/, this free nonprofit site was created in order to fight illiteracy and also to help promote tolerance of other cultures. I can't say enough about this cute sight that easily let's your children choose the language they want to read in (there's 16 language picks in total). Kids can choose the stories based on their age groups and it's super easy to navigate through.

Barack Obama Writing a Children's Book

Barack Obama really is a man of many talents. Per http://usatoday.com/, the presidential candidate has a contract with Random House for two more books and one of them is for children. He wrote a book in 2006 titled The Audacity of Hope which is currently #11 on USA Today's Bestselling list. I can imagine that the children's book would be inspiring on all levels since this is the type of man he portrays himself to be. Can't wait to read it!

Black History Month Celebration - Corretta Scott King Book Awards

The winners of the Corretta Scott King book awards were released early this year for 2008 - view them at: www.ala.org/ala/emiert/corettascottkingbookaward/corettascott.cfm. This award system was created in 1970 in honor of Coretta Scott King and it highlights the best books written and illustrated by African American talents. It's Black History month so what a great time to share some of these wonderful books with all children.

http://sunnysadventures.com/ - COMING SOON!

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