August 31 – National Trail Mix Day

About the Holiday

Going out for a hike or just a day of doing errand? Then you’ll want to take along a snack to keep you going. Trail mix is just the thing! With its combination of nutritional value—quick energy from dried fruit or granola and more long-lasting energy from nuts—and its ability to be carried easily, trail mix is a perfect take along! Little ones can also enjoy their own versions of trail mix made with their favorite cereal and nutritious finger foods. Why not plan an outing with your kids, some trail mix, and a great book—like today’s!

Adventures with Barefoot Critters: An ABC Book

By Teagan White

The barefoot critters—two foxes, a squirrel, a deer, and a triceratops—love to go on adventures! Adventures that will take them through the alphabet. First, little deer and Squirrel must build a bridge over the frozen stream to get to the Foxes’ house. Oh dear! It seems one little fox has a cold. Happily, he has a mouse friend to bring him hot chocolate with marshmallows.

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It’s fun to “play dress-up at home…or on Halloween!” And the stream is the perfect place to “float boats” in the fall. In spring lying on the grass is nice. Of course, the barefoot critters can always find places to jump, no matter what season it is. Making music to dance to with friends is a happy way to spend an afternoon and finding “treasure by the ocean” is always exciting.

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The barefoot critters love camping—whether it’s indoors, where they “create a quilt fort” or outside, where they can “roast marshmallows!” In the old tree, Fox and Triceratops have built a treehouse! Perhaps the friend who has “come for a visit” will play in it too. Rainy days are wonderful for feeding the ducklings and fishing—as long as Fox and Triceratops don’t forget their umbrella. But what is mouse to do when even though one little fox is wearing his yellow rain jacket, he and his sister track mud all over the newly washed floor?

After all of these wonderful adventures, what will the barefoot creatures do next? “Catch some z’s! Zzzzzz”

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As snug as fuzzy socks on a cold day and as sweet as just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies, Teagan White’s Adventures with Barefoot Critters is a heartwarming snuggle up book to share with little ones. The Fox brother and sister, Deer, Squirrel, and endearingly anachronistic Triceratops are adorable companions on the journey through the alphabet. Cozy colors and richly detailed illustrations are tiny treasures that young readers and adults alike will have fun exploring together. Careful observers will enjoy the amusing arc involving Triceratops and his own adventure to find the Middle Jurassic. A little mouse, a playful snowflake-eating frog, and other woodland creatures will delight little ones as the friends spend the seasons together.

Not only for learning letters and new words, but for sharing lots of smiles, Adventures with Barefoot Critters: An ABC Book would make a much-loved baby gift or addition to home and classroom libraries.

Ages Preschool and up

Tundra Books, 2018 | ISBN 978-1101919132 (Board Book)

A Hardcover edition for ages 4 to 8 with rhyming verses is also available | ISBN 978-1770496248

Discover more about Teagan White, her books, and her art, visit her website.

National Trail Mix Day Activity

Kids’ Trail Mix Recipe

Kids will love putting together and eating this healthy and easy-to-make trail mix from Fit WebMD Jr. that they can take along to school, after-school activities, and play dates. To learn more about this recipe visit Fit WebMD Jr.

Ingredients

2 cups low-sugar, whole-grain cereal
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried fruit, like cranberries, apricots, apples, or papaya
1 cup nuts, like walnuts, almonds, or pistachios
1 cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Big bowl
Small zip-top bags

How to Make Trail Mix

Wash your hands
Put all of the food in the bowl
Mix it up with your hands
Put 2 handfuls of your trail mix in a zip-top bag
Keep putting trail mix in bags until the bowl is empty Trail Mix Is Healthy for You

Why Trail Mix is Healthy for You

Whole grains in the cereal give you energy to run and play.
Fruits have vitamins that help your eyes and skin.
Nuts have protein that helps make your muscles strong.
Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds give you fiber that helps you poop.
Dark chocolate may be good for your heart.

For Parents

Trail mix is a fun snack that offers satisfying crunch and sweetness with more nutrients than snacks like cookies or chips. You may even be able to introduce your child to a new food by mixing it in with others that she likes. This recipe is best for kids ages 4 and older, because some ingredients may be a choking hazard for younger children.

Although you could store your trail mix in a large air-tight container, making snack bags is fun and they are more convenient for kids (or parents on the go) to grab. Pre-packaged snack bags also make it harder for kids to eat too much. Remember to let your child’s handfuls determine the portion size. You should be able to make at least 2 dozen snack bags from this recipe.

Little kids can pour ingredients you have measured from cups or bowls into the big bowl. Older kids can measure the ingredients by themselves.

Cereals that are O-shaped or squares or clusters will stand up to handling better than flakes, which can easily turn into crumbs. For better nutrition, look for a cereal whose label says less than 8 grams of sugar and at least 5 grams of fiber per serving. While you’re checking labels, avoid dried fruits with a sugar coating, which adds empty calories and will cause an energy spike and crash.

**You can find Adventures with Barefoot Critters at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

August 30 – Frankenstein Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Today’s holiday celebrates the birth of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who in 1818 at the age of 18, penned one of the most influential books of all time. Considered the first modern science fiction novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus incorporates elements of horror, psychology, love, abandonment, and acceptance. These themes and Shelley’s enthralling storytelling created a book that is always current. During this 200^th anniversary year of the publishing of classic novel, discover (or rediscover) the spellbinding thrill of reading Frankenstein.

Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein

Written by Linda Bailey | Illustrated by Júlia Sardà

Mary was a dreamer. She liked to spend time alone, thinking and imagining “things that never were.” Mary called these daydreams “‘castles in the air.’” Mary loved to write stories too, but her daydreams were even more thrilling. When Mary wanted to read and dream, she went to the graveyard and sat next to her mother’s grave. Mary’s mother had died when Mary was only 11 days old.

While Mary loved her father, she didn’t like the way he punished her. Mary didn’t like his new wife, either. Mary’s father is friends with many famous people, and he invites them to visit. One night “a writer named Samuel Taylor Coleridge recites a strange, eerie poem—The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. Mary loves such poems.” Even though she was supposed to be in bed, she hid and listened, shivering “with fear at the spine-tingling tale of a ship full of ghosts.” Forever after, Mary remembered that night and that poem.

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Image copyright Júlia Sardà, 2018, text copyright Linda Bailey, 2018. Courtesy of Tundra Books.

By the time Mary was fourteen, she was unhappy at home and causing trouble. One night, when she was sixteen, she and her stepsister, Claire, ran away with a “brilliant, young poet” named Percy Bysshe Shelley. They traveled through Europe, one day finding themselves outside a “ruined castle. It’s called Castle Frankenstein. Such an interesting name! Does it stick in Mary’s mind?”

Eighteen months later, the three traveled to Switzerland, where they became friends with Lord Byron—the most famous poet in the world. One night as torrential storms crashed around Lord Byron’s house, he read ghost stories from Fantasmagoriana. After reading, Byron challenged his friends, who also included a doctor named John Polidori, to write a ghost story. Eighteen-year-old Mary, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Polidori accepted the challenge. But Mary could not think of a good story idea.

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Image copyright Júlia Sardà, 2018, text copyright Linda Bailey, 2018. Courtesy of Tundra Books.

Soon, Shelley and Polidori gave up on their ghost stories, but their talk of new scientific experiments excited Mary. “Electricity can make the muscles of a dead frog twitch. Could it bring a dead creature to life? The idea is both thrilling and frightening.” The idea captured Mary, but instead of a frog, she imagined “a hideous monster, made of dead body parts, stretched out—and coming to life!” Mary suddenly realized she had the idea for her ghost story.

It took nine months for Mary to finish her story. When it was published, some people thought it had been written by Percy Bysshe Shelley—they didn’t “believe young Mary could have done it! How could a girl like her come up with such a story?” But she was a writer, assembling bits and pieces, ideas, and scientific changes in her imagination until they turned into the book Frankenstein. In the two-hundred years since the novel was first published, the story has become a classic. It has sparked movies, inspired other writers, and become a favorite all around the world.

An extensive Author’s Note about Mary Shelley, her life, and inspiration as well as Linda Bailey’s thoughts on the story behind Frankenstein follows the text. A full-page portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and a list of sources rounds out the informative backmatter.

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Image copyright Júlia Sardà, 2018, text copyright Linda Bailey, 2018. Courtesy of Tundra Books.

With atmospheric and riveting details, Linda Bailey captures the life of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and the influences on her imagination that resulted in Frankenstein. Bailey’s use of the present tense is inspired as it reflects the continued currency of the novel while encouraging today’s readers to embrace their “castles in the air.” Facts about Mary’s travels, new scientific discoveries, and favorite books sprinkled throughout the story inform readers on how the imagination combines experiences to create art.

One look at Júlia Sardà’s spellbinding cover tells readers that they are in for an extraordinary reading experience. Muted tones of red, green, gold, blue, and plum cloaked in black create a thrilling backdrop to Bailey’s story. Ghostly winged creatures fly over Lord Byron’s home on a stormy night, smoky monsters emerge from Fantasmagoriana, a frog sits up in its coffin, and the spectre of the monster leans over Mary and sleeps at her feet as she writes her novel. At once spine-tingling and cozy, Júlia Sardà’s illustrations will draw children into this superb story of a ghost story.

Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein is sure to spark the imagination of children who love literature, art, and writing. The book would be a thrilling addition to classroom libraries for literature and writing classes as well as an inspiring favorite on home bookshelves.

Ages 5 – 8

Tundra Books, 2018 | ISBN 978-1770495593

Discover more about Linda Bailey and her books on her website.

To learn more about Júlia Sardà, her books, and her art, visit her website.

Frankenstein Day Activity

Monstrously Good Puzzle

See if you’re a Frankenstein scholar by filling in this printable puzzle full of words and phrases about the novel!

Monstrously Good Puzzle | Monstrously Good Puzzle Word List | Monstrously Good Puzzle Solution

**You can find Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

August 29 – It’s Back to School Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Well, Monday is Labor Day, and the official ending of summer. While the carefree (or were they even more hectic?) days of summer vacation are coming to a close, a new school year is just beginning. Make this one the best yet by talking with your kids about their day and your day. Taking time to read together—no matter how old your kids are—is another way to build bonds. Why not start with today’s funny and insightful book!

We Don’t Eat Our Classmates

By Ryan T. Higgins

Penelope Rex was nervous about her first day of school. She wondered whether her classmates would be nice and how many teeth they would have. Her mom had gotten her a backpack decorated with ponies, and her dad had made three-hundred tuna sandwiches for her lunch. Both of these made Penelope smile because both ponies and tuna were delicious.

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On the first day of school, Penelope walked into her classroom only to discover that “all of her classmates were CHILDREN! Penelope loved children! “Because children are delicious.” Right away Penelope ate them all up. Her teacher, Mrs. Noodleman, was not happy and told Penelope to “‘Please spit them out at once!’” Deposited back on the carpet, the saliva-covered kids were not too happy either.

Penelope tried to be good on the playground, during creative time, and at lunch, but she couldn’t help trying to eat the other kids. She couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t making any friends. When she got home, though, and told her dad, he had a pretty good idea why she’d been so lonely.

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Her dad told her that eating children made it hard to make friends. Penelope thought and thought about this. The next day she tried to keep her teeth to herself, but the kids really were so delicious that Penelope just had to take a bite. The kids were terrified. The only one who didn’t run away from her was Walter, the class goldfish. Penelope tried to be friends, but when she poked her finger into his bowl—“CHOMP!”

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Penelope screamed and then she cried. She didn’t like being Walter’s snack and suddenly realized why the kids didn’t like her. The whole experience ruined her appetite for children, but she discovered that once she stopped eating them, the kids wanted to be her friend. Sometimes, the children still look a little tantalizing, but when that happens Penelope just “peeks at Walter and remembers what it’s like when someone tries to eat you.” And Walter? He “stares right back and licks his lips. Because dinosaurs are delicious.”

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With We Don’t Eat Our Classmates, Higgins dips his pen into the Edward Gorey pool of gloriously grisly storytelling that so delights kids. If you want children to laugh out loud, respond with “Ewww!” and “Yuck!” and then laugh some more during story time, you’ll want to pick up this book. Kids will give Penelope plenty of “Awwws!” too as she tries so hard to understand why her classmates are afraid as well as to overcome her natural instincts and love for a tasty snack. In an unexpected and hilarious twist, goggle-eyed Walter inadvertently teaches Penelope a few valuable lessons.

Higgins’ little yellow dino in pink overalls is adorable as she revels in her pony backpack, hopes for a child-sized treat, and plays with new friends. Her sad eyes and bewildered expression after a day at school will spark plenty of empathy too. Penelope’s classmates are a most welcome representation of diversity, and her classroom—with two cozy reading nooks—is as cool as it gets.

For back to school and all year through, We Don’t Eat Our Classmates will be a favorite on home bookshelves and in classroom libraries.

Ages 4 – 7

Disney-Hyperion, 2018 | ISBN 978-1368003551

To learn more about Ryan T. Higgins, his books, and his art, visit his website.

Back-to-School Month Activity

Books to Love, Books to Read Book Bag

Are the kids going back to school? Then they need a bag to carry their favorite books and stuff in! This easy-to-make book bag—recycled from the cloth bag sheet sets come in—makes a perfect kid-sized bag for taking to the library or after-school activities!

Supplies

Printable Templates: Books to Read Template | Books to Love Template
Small cloth bag, available from craft or sewing stores—Recyclable Idea: I used the bag that sheet sets now come in
Cloth trim or strong ribbon, available from craft or sewing stores—Recyclable Idea: I used the cloth handles from shopping bags provided from some clothing stores
Scraps of different colored and patterned cloth. Or use quilting squares, available at craft and sewing stores
Pen or pencil for tracing letters onto cloth
Scissors
Small sharp scissors (or cuticle scissors) for cutting out the center of the letters
Fabric glue
Thread (optional)
Needle (optional)

Directions

1. Print the sayings and cut out the letters
2. Trace letters onto different kinds of cloth
3. Cut out cloth letters
4. Iron cloth bag if necessary
5. Attach words “Books to Read” to one side of bag with fabric glue
6. Attach words “Books to Love” to other side of bag with fabric glue
7. Cut cloth trim or ribbon to desired length to create handles
8. Glue (or sew) handles onto the inside edge of bag

**You can find We Don’t Eat Our Classmates at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

August 28 – National Bow Tie Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

We’ve all learned about the 30-year war in school, but I bet your teacher never mentioned that world-side use of the bow tie was one of the results. It seems the Croatian soldiers used a bow tie to close the collars of their shirts. The idea caught on, and, later, French tobacco magnate Pierre Lorillard wore a bow tie to a Tuxedo Club event. The black-and-white fashion statement gained popularity, and bow ties took off in all kinds of colorful, wacky, and iconic ways.

Bow-Tie Pasta: Acrostic Poems

Written by Brian P. Cleary | Illustrated by Andy Rowland

Acrostics are special nuggets of information or creativity formed by using the letters of a word to begin each new sentence. Writing poems in acrostic style takes thought and ingenuity—and that’s just what Brian P. Cleary offers in his twenty-seven poems that tackle all kinds of subjects, from pirates to spiders to sharks, from holidays to colors to food, and from people to places to things.

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Image copyright Andy Rowland, 2015, text copyright Brian P. Cleary, 2015. Courtesy of Millbrook Press.

Bow-Tie Pasta riffs on the wearable and edible types of bow ties and comes to a conclusion we can all digest: “Blue gingham / Orange striped / White formal / Tartan plaid / Irish shamrocks / Embroidered stars / Polka dots / Argyle / Silky yellow / Tweed / Awful tasting.”

In Piano, a boy wistfully watches a parade go by: “Parading down Main Street / Is a sea of red-uniformed players of flute / And clarinet and drum / Navigating their way through confetti and applause / Only wish that I could march with my instrument.”

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Image copyright Andy Rowland, 2015, text copyright Brian P. Cleary, 2015. Courtesy of Millbrook Press.

A Rainy Day inspires another clever verse: Reading in a cozy nook / Asking for another book / I made cookies by the sheet / Next they cool. I dunk and eat. / Yo-yo, board games, watch the rain, / Draw a face inside each pane. / Afterwards I make s’mores. / Yes, I love the great indoors.”

Fish aficionados may want to heed the warning in Piranha: Peering into my aquarium, / I spy the fish with two rows of / Razor-sharp teeth. / As he swims towards my tapping finger / Near the top of the tank’s glass, / He serves as a reminder that there / Are some pets you should never pet.

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Image copyright Andy Rowland, 2015, text copyright Brian P. Cleary, 2015. Courtesy of Millbrook Press.

For those who like their poems non-fiction, Triceratops reveals some fascinating facts about this prehistoric favorite: Two hard horns and a third soft one that’s / Really a snout made from soft proteins. / Inside its mouth: 200 to 800 teeth. / Can you imagine the dentist appointments? / Extinct, so none are living. / Rumored to be a slow walker. / Ate only plants. / T. rex wanted to have it for lunch. / Older than your parents and even your teacher! / Popular in dinosaur movies. / Seen last alive: 65 million years ago.

Just waiting for kids are more acrostics about some of their favorite things, such as fire trucks, snack time, lacrosse, Halloween, giggling, the library, and jokes. There’s even an acrostic poem explaining what acrostic poems are!

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Image copyright Andy Rowland, 2015, text copyright Brian P. Cleary, 2015. Courtesy of Millbrook Press.

Brian P. Cleary’s supple wit and word play turn words into poems and poems into new ways of looking at his subjects. Young readers will laugh at his observations and juxtapositions and be tempted to try writing an acrostic poem of their own.

Andy Rowland accompanies each poem with bright, amusing illustrations that highlight the humor and “ah-ha!” moments of the verses. A boy tries to chew down the contents of a plate piled high with cloth bow ties of every color and pattern, a triceratops visits the dentist, kids go trick or treating with an green alien, the state of Kansas stretches out like a patchwork quilt, and a boy and girl toast marshmallows on a rainy day. Along the way readers also meet a wiener dog sporting a bun and ketchup, a toothy shark, and a rather sly spider.

For kids who love poetry and humor Bow-Tie Pasta: Acrostic Poems is a winner. The book is also perfect for classroom poetry units and fun library story times.

Ages 6 – 10

Millbrook Press, 2015 | ISBN 978-1467781077

Have a blast exploring all the nooks and crannies of Brian P. Cleary’s website!

Learn more about Andy Rowland on his website!

National Bow Tie Day Activity

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Colorful Bow Ties

Bow ties come in all colors and patterns. Here is a printable Colorful Bow Ties page for you to decorate! You can then use your bow ties to play the game below!

Alternate Match the Bow Ties Game:

Print two sheets of the Colorful Bow Ties page
Color the bow ties to make matching pairs
Cut the bow ties into separate cards
Turn them face down and scramble them
Turn one of the cards over and try to find its match. If the two ties are not the same, turn them face down and try again
Keep playing until all the bow ties have been matched.

You can find Bow-Tie Pasta: Acrostic Poetry at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

August 27 – National Just Because Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Doesn’t that sound refreshing? A whole day devoted to doing things “just because.” As the school year starts up again and the less structured days of summer fade, it’s fun to contemplate what you can do just because you feel like it, it makes you happy, or it’s something nice you want to do for someone else. With no expectations, no directions, and no nagging deadlines, today’s holiday lets you be the captain of your actions and fate! So get out there and do that thing! You might surprise yourself and others—just like the little girl in today’s book!

Sleeping Bear Press sent me a copy of Junk: A Spectacular Tale of Trash to check out. All opinions are my own. I’m excited to be partnering with Sleeping Bear Press in a giveaway of the book. See details below.

Junk: A Spectacular Tale of Trash

Written by Nicholas Day | Illustrated by Tom Disbury

Sylvia Samantha Wright was awesome at finding stuff. In fact, “on Monday, she found some leaky tires. And some tangled ropes that were underneath the leaky tires. And some old wood that was underneath the tangled ropes that were underneath the leaky tires.” She brought it all home in her wagon and stored it in the garage. When her father wanted to know “‘Why?,’” she told him that she had a plan.