HarperCollins

July 9 – National Sugar Cookie Day

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About the Holiday

Sugar Cookie Day may be one of the sweetest holidays on the calendar! With a few simple ingredients you can bake up delicious, melt-in-your-mouth confections that are perfect by themselves, with a cup of tea or milk, or served with fruit. The basic recipe can also be dressed up with all kinds of flavors and chips. Whether you slice the dough in circles or roll it thin and use cookie cutters, making sugar cookies is a fun way to spend time together!

Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons

Sugar Cookies: Sweet Little Lessons on Love

One Smart Cookie: Bite-Sized Lessons for the School Years and Beyond

Written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal | Illustrated by Jane Dyer

 

Baking is such an ideal metaphor for life and one that children can understand and appreciate from a very early age. A child’s familiarity with and love of cookies make Cookies, Sugar Cookies, and One Smart Cookie perfect ways to teach children the lessons of good manners and social skills. Newly released in board book form, Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons opens to a curly-haired girl and her rabbit and Boston Terrier friends gathered around a mixing bowl. They are cooperating as the animals pour in the chocolate chips while the little girl stirs.

Having patience is often hard for young children. A girl and her sailor-suited Scotty dog stare into the glowing door of the oven, reminding kids that they are often already successful at this much-needed skill.  Once the cookies are baked, kids learn how to be proud of their accomplishment while also showing modesty, and they see compassion at work as a little boy reaches across the table to share his cookie with a cat whose cookie has fallen to the floor.

Two rabbits see the same half cookie on a plate very differently: One, trim in her blue bow, is pessimistic, while the other, rakish in his backward baseball cap, is optimistic. Honesty and courageousness are both learned when a contrite sheep tells the truth about taking a cookie: “I have to tell you something. The butterfly did not take the cookie—I took the cookie.” And “It was not easy for me to tell you that I took the cookie, but I took a deep breath…and made the words come out.”

Loyalty means sticking by a friend even if other kids have bigger cookies, and being open-minded is demonstrated when you try your friend’s new recipe even if the result looks a little odd. Contentment is found “sitting on the steps—just you and me, and a couple of cookies.” New insight closes the book with “I used to think I knew everything about cookies, but now I realize I know about one teeny chip’s worth.” After digesting these and other etiquettes, including respect, trustworthiness, fairness and unfairness, generosity, greediness, politeness, envy, and regret, children will be well on their way to life’s wisdom.

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Sugar Cookies offers equally perceptive notions on love, defining such words as endearment, considerate, heartfelt, compassionate (“when you burn the cookies to a crisp, I’ll be there to give you a hug.”), selfless, tenderness, adore, cherish, protect, supportive, admire, requited and unrequited, forgive, unconditionally, and more.

One Smart Cookie gives kids direction as they navigate the social constructs of school and activities, defining terms such as prompt, organized and unorganized, prepared and unprepared, compromise, curious, ponder, empathy, integrity, contribute, and more with the same astute and homey ingredients as the previous books.

Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s Cookies series offers life lessons with gentle encouragement in a loving, conversational tone as well as comforting advice for those times when situations and emotions can be difficult. The beautifully written text does not simplify the terms or talk down to children, but treats them with the respect, intelligence, and maturity that they will learn when applying these concepts.

With just the right combination of old-fashioned and modern charm, Jane Dyer (and Brooke Dyer as co-illustrator of One Smart Cookie) infuses each concept with enchanting depth. Gorgeous full-page paintings of children and animals dressed in comfortable sweaters, homespun dresses, overalls, and rolled up pants, paired with fine typography create pages worthy of framing. The children and their rabbit, cat, sheep, frog, horse, and dog friends display pride, happiness, patience, sadness, indignation, and love through facial expressions and body language that kids will recognize and respond to.

Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons, Sugar Cookies: Sweet Little Lessons on Love, and One Smart Cookie: Bite-Size Lessons for the School Years and Beyond should find a place on every child’s bookshelf.

Ages 4 – 8

HarperCollins Publisher:

  1. Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons, Board Book Edition, 2016 | ISBN 978-0062427397; Hardcover 978-0060580810
  2. Sugar Cookies: Sweet Little Lessons on Love, 2009 | ISBN 978-006174072
  3. One Smart Cookie: Bite-Size Lessons for the School Years and Beyond, 2010 | ISBN 978-0061429705

To explore Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s books for children and adults, her short films, and much, much more, visit her website!

Visit Jane Dyer’s website to learn more about her and view a gallery of her books for children!

National Sugar Cookie Day Activity

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Catch the Cookie! Maze

 

Sometimes you just need a cookie! Help the little girl find her way to her favorite cookies with this printable Catch the Cookie! Maze and Solution.

June 29 – Waffle Iron Day

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About the Holiday

It’s hard to love waffles without giving some credit to the machine that makes them possible! Today we do just that by remembering the long and varied history of the waffle iron. Dating back to the Middle Ages in the area of Belgium and the Netherlands, the waffle iron began as two hinged plates set on a long pole to be used over a fire. The devices were improved during the 17th and 18th centuries. The first modern electric waffle iron was developed by General Electric and introduced to the public in 1918. The waffle iron has also inspired innovations such as the waffle ice-cream cone and Nike’s 1972 “Moon Shoe” and 1974 “Waffle Trainer.” Today—you know what to do!

Woodpecker Wants a Waffle

By Steve Breen

 

One morning Benny the woodpecker wakes to a most “tummy-rumbling smell” so he follows the yummy aroma to Moe’s Diner. Through the window Benny takes in the delicious scene and decides that he too must have waffles. He taps on the door, but it must be a “no woodpeckers” kind of place because the waitress gives him an unceremonious boot. He tries to sneak in, but the waitress is ready for him with her broom. He even tries wearing different disguises to gain entry, but that only gets him tossed out like trash.

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Image and text copyright Steve Breen, courtesy of TurnRow Book Company

Back in the woods the animals laugh when they hear Benny is wishing for waffles, and one by one they offer an alliterative feast of reasons why Benny’s desire is so ridiculous. “Raccoons don’t eat ravioli,” Raccoon yells from the back of the crowd. “Turtles don’t eat turnovers,” Turtle explains. “Chipmunks don’t eat cheeseburgers,” Chipmunk adds to the chorus. “And woodpeckers don’t eat waffles!” Bunny exclaims.

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Image and text copyright Steve Breen, courtesy of TurnRow Book Company

“‘Well, why not?’” Benny counters. The animals are stumped! They ponder and ruminate, ruminate and ponder until finally Bunny says, “‘Because I said so!’” Benny feels he’s just wasting time listening to all this nonsense—time that can be better used devising a new plan to get waffles. In no time he’s back with a sure-fire scheme that involves being shot from a canon, the moon walk, a comedy act, and fireworks along with a few other entertaining bits.

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Image copyright Steve Breen, courtesy of TurnRow Book Company

As the speechless animals turn away Benny hears snickering, but he sprightly invites them back the next morning to watch his spectacle. In the morning the animals gather in a field across from the diner, but where’s Benny? The animals wait patiently, while inside the diner the waitress and customers notice something too. They all go outside to look at the animals. And while the animals are staring at the people and the people are staring at the animals, Benny makes his move through that forbidden door. “‘Sweet’” says Benny.

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Image and text copyright Steve Breen, courtesy of TurnRow Book Company

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Steve Breen’s tale of Benny, the unconventional woodpecker, follows in the best traditions of comic storytelling. Breen’s pacing from Benny’s first glimpse of his obsession to the development of his clever ruse to his ultimately outwitting his opponent will keep kids rooting for him from page to page. Benny’s confidence in the face of the friendly needling of the forest animals adds a deeper sense of satisfaction in the story’s conclusion for both Benny and readers.

Benny’s high, spiky featherdo will endear him to kids as will his treatment at the hands and feet of the waitress. Breen’s softly colored illustrations are full of comical details—as when Benny tries to sneak into Moe’s diner by blending in with a customer’s dress pattern. Kids will also love the contraption-style setup of Benny’s master plan that spans two pages with arrows to point out the trajectory.

Woodpecker Wants a Waffle is a wonderful choice for fun, funny story times and, like the best jokes, will want to be heard again and again.

Ages 4 – 8

HarperCollins, 2016 |ISBN 978-0062342577

Waffle Iron Day Activity

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Waffle Tic Tac Toe

 

The grid of a waffle makes a perfect tic tac toe board! With this special breakfast-inspired tic tac toe set you can cook up some sweet fun! With all the choices of squares in a waffle to fill, you can play 3-by-3, 4-by-4, 5-by-5, even 6-by-6 games! 

Supplies

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Directions

  1. Play 3-by-3 games as you always do
  2. For the other options each player tries to build rows of 4 pieces down, across, and diagonally
  3. The player with the most 4-in-a-row rows wins!

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You can find Woodpecker Wants a Waffle at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

June 27 – National Sunglasses Day

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About the Holiday

Tinted glasses have been around since judges in ancient China used them to disguise their emotions. Modern sunglasses were first sold in 1929 by Sam Foster on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, and Bausch and Lomb was commissioned in the 1930s by the Army Air Corps to create glasses to ease the high-altitude glare pilots faced. In 1936 Polaroid filters were first used to protect eyes from  damaging UV rays in Ray Ban sunglasses.Since the 1970s movies have helped escalate the popularity of many styles of sunglasses as fans strive to look like their favorite actors and actresses. Today, grab your sunglasses or shop for new ones because—you know why…sing it with me… “The future’s so bright, I gotta have shades!”

Chu’s Day at the Beach

Written by Neil Gaiman | Illustrated by Adam Rex

 

As readers of this series know, “when Chu sneezed, big things happened.” With this tantalizing and slightly-ominous-in-a-way-kids-love statement, Chu’s latest adventure begins. Turning the page kids discover that Chu and his family have headed out to the beach. Chu is having a great time: the octopus selling ice-cream gives him an extra scoop of vanilla, and Chu meets a crab in a rock pool; even Chu’s mom is enjoying a book under the umbrella and his dad is wading in the ocean.

Chu takes his sunglasses off to better enjoy the bright, sunny day, but suddenly Chu’s nose tickles. The tickle grows until it fills his whole head and he can’t hold it in anymore—“AAH- AAAAH- AAAAAH- CHOoOoOoOO!” Chu looks out to sea. “‘Uh-oh,’” he says. Everyone on the beach comes down to the water’s edge to look at the huge suspended wave Chu has sneezed up.

Like standing in front of an aquarium exhibit, the beachgoers find themselves eye-to-eye with sea creatures who are suddenly encased in the wall of water. The fish, turtles, whales, and merpandas are sad—“‘With the sea broken, I cannot go home,’” one whale explains. The ice-cream vender tells Chu to sneeze again and put the sea “‘back the way it was.’” But try as he might, Chu can’t sneeze. A seagull tickles Chu’s nose with a wing feather and the octopus offers Chu a fizzy drink with bubbles that go up his nose, but nothing elicits a sneeze.

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Interior illustration by Adam Rex, courtesy of Neil Gaiman’s Journal Archives, April 2015 (http://journal.neilgaiman.com/)

All seems lost until Tiny the snail reveals that sometimes he sneezes when he looks at the sun. Chu removes his sunglasses and gazes into the light. “AAAAACHOOOOO!” “‘There, said Chu. Everything is back just as it was before.’” The sea creatures are happy that they get to return to their homes, the ice-cream seller is so pleased that she scoops up another cone for Chu, and Chu? He declares that it was the best day at the beach ever.

With his singular style Neil Gaiman conjures up a story for kids that combines just the right amount of sweetness and absurdity to keep the giggles going from the first page to the last. We all experience those uncontrollable mishaps and “oh no!” moments where a little help and empathy is appreciated. And what child wouldn’t love to stop the ocean, even if only for a moment? Gaiman’s repeated sneezes will have kids “Aah-chooing” along, and an animated reading of the chorus “AAH. AAAAH. AAAAAH. NO.” is sure to bring laughs and requests for “Again! Again!”

If only the beach was as full of interesting creatures as Adam Rex portrays in his vivacious illustrations! Crossing the dunes Chu and his family encounter an intriguing array of animals stretched out on towels—from a tiny cricket to a pangolin to a hunky frog with his clever insect-snack-strip-adorned umbrella and more. Ice-cream vendors no doubt wish they had the eight arms of Rex’s frozen-treat seller, and there’s even an ostrich with his head in the sand. Chu’s tidal wave teems with surprised sea creatures, some stuck mid-way between their ocean world and the dry outside. Chu remains as cute as ever, inviting kids to join him on his latest adventure.

Chu’s well-loved character and repeat readability make Chu’s Day at the Beach a sunny addition to young children’s bookshelves.

Ages Birth – 7

HarperCollins, 2015 | ISBN 978-0062223999 ♦ HarperFestival Boardbook, 2016 | ISBN 978-0062381248

National Sunglasses Day Activity

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Perfect Sunglasses Matching Puzzle

 

The summer sun is so bright that these friends need sunglasses before they go out to play! Can you follow the paths to match each child with the perfect pair? Get the printable Perfect Sunglasses Matching Puzzle and have fun!