Our Weekly Favorite Read Aloud

Every week, I would like to put together our family's favorite read aloud for the week.

This week, our favorite includes some older books which we reread and some new ones.

 KIMONOS

Kimonos is a new release from Annelore Parot. I found this book at the library and thought the chibis are so cute. Kimonos is a little bit like Where's Waldo where you go and find the Kikoshi dolls in the book. The illustrations are suuuupppper kawaii (cute in Japanese, I think), and I love how they include information about Japanese culture and words. It is also an interactive book with flaps.

Another new book we really enjoyed this week is Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea! by Ben Clanton. If you would like to see my previous posts about this funny and educational book, please click here. 

NARWHAL: UNICORN OF THE SEA!

Some older books we've enjoyed this week but keep rereading include the following:

  SCRAMBLED STATES OF AMERICA

ARNIE THE DOUGHNUT

The fantastic Laurie Keller wrote and illustrated The Scrambled States of America and Arnie the Doughnut. These books are my children's favorite picture books of all times. These hilarious books have my children in stitches every single time they read it. It never gets old! My children have learned all 50 states and capitals thanks to The Scrambled States of America. I love children books that are funny and engaging but are also educational. Laurie Keller's books fit the bill. In Arnie the Doughnut, you learn all about the different varieties of doughnuts. From long johns, to french crullers, to cinnamon twists...who knew all the names? I certainly didn't. Our family now has an annual doughnut day where we go and have some doughnuts sine we usually don't consume processed sugar.

What have you been reading? Please comment and let me know. Have a great weekend!

What's a Narwhal? A Review of Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea!

Our family have been fans of Ben Clanton's work for quite some time. We have read and really enjoyed Rex Wrecks It, Table Sets Itself, Mo's Mustache, It Came in the Mail, Vote for Me, and Something Extraordinary. My children's favorite are Rex Wrecks It and Table Sets Itself  due to the silliness and cute drawing (according to them).

My children and I recently read Ben Clanton's latest graphic novel, A Narwhal and Jelly Book: Narwhal Unicorn of the Sea! They LOVED this book because it was right up their alley. First, it was a graphic novel and our family just ADORES graphic novels. Second, it was really cute and super cute illustrations. Third, I liked that it was still educational despite all the cuteness and great illustrations. We learned some interesting facts about narwhals. Quite frankly, I had never even heard of a narwhal.

My children have already asked to me get my hands on the sequel, Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt which releases on May 2, 2017.

The timing of Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea! worked out so well for us. Shortly after we had read the graphic novel, we went to our monthly Lego mini-build which happened to be a narwhal. My children had a blast building their unicorn of the sea.

NOTE: As I am writing this post, my children are eating breakfast while reciting passages from the book. They love it that much.

Lego Story Starter Kit and Lego Batman Movie Minifigures Series

Okay, this IS NOT going to be a post about children's books. However, I wanted to post about another topic that I hold dear to my heart......... Wait for it....... LEGOS!

I recently purchased the Lego Story Starter Kit and Fairy Tale Expansion Kit from Lego Education. Our family is currently obsessed with all things Lego. So I thought I might as well try out their curriculum. I love the Lego Story Starter Kit! There are 1,144 carefully selected pieces to build with. I really like all the accessories that it comes with (various animals, trees, cauldrons, various hats, wands, fairy wings-our favorite). My children bust open the kit everyday so they can play and build with it.

My only gripe is the Fairy Tale Expansion Kit. They give you the head and the body of 4 mermaids, but you DO NOT get the tails. My children were very upset about this, and I don't blame them. How do you give a minifigure a torso, and not give the legs but in this case, the tails. I contacted Lego Education about this, but they never did contact me back. But other than that, my family and I have been enjoying the curriculum.

I really need to take some pictures of some of the creations we have made so I can post them on here. I am thinking about purchasing the More To Math Kit and the WeDo Kit. Maybe later this year since they are on the expensive side.

But ooh, I did get my hands on the new Batman Movie Minifigure Series. I went to the Lego store today and got some of the minifigures. They are AMAZING!

I was able to get Joker, Harley Quinn, Fairy Batman, Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, Lobster Batman, Glam Batman, and Wolverine Batman. I am hoping to get Dick Grayson, Vacation Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and Bunny Girl.

I Love Tacky the Penguin

Today, my family and I re-read Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester. If you haven't read this zany picture book yet, you should run to the library and borrow it. In our family, we have read and re-read it many times, and both my children adore Tacky. Tacky is a wacky and eccentric penguin who marches to the beat of his own drum. Much to his fellow penguins' (Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect) dismay, they find Tacky rather odd. Tacky doesn't march in straight perfect lines, and he doesn't have a beautiful melodic voice. But thanks to Tacky's quirkiness, he saves his companions from the hunters who want to catch the penguins. Tacky manages to outsmart the hunters and scare them away.

My children LOVE this book and the audiobook. They crack up laughing every time we sing the "How Many Toes Does A Fish Have" song. This endearing picture book is a great book about being comfortable and proud of who you are, and Tacky is a great role model.

32 Yolks

32 Yolks From My Mother's Table To Working The Line by Eric Ripert is an inspirational story of Ripert's culinary journey to becoming one of the top chefs. Ripert takes us on a fabulous journey from his painful childhood to the mentors that helped shape him as a chef.  He also gives us a detail account of what it is like to work behind-the-scenes at restaurants. I didn't realize the culinary world can be so cut-throat and competitive. I have never eaten at Le Bernardin, but I hope to someday.

I didn't realize the memoir was going to be in an audiobook format. While I like audiobooks and listen to them on a daily basis, I would have preferred to read the actual memoir. The narrator was a little dull.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Inspiralize Everything

Ali Maffucci's cookbook Inspiralize Everything showcases a number of recipes that uses spiralized vegetables or fruit. I recently purchased a spiralizer because I wanted to substitute pasta for raw vegetables. The recipes that I tried were mostly raw and nobody in my family enjoyed them, including me. Maffucci's cookbook uses spiralized vegetables or fruit but most of the recipes are cooked so they do taste much better. I've mostly only tried recipes with spiralized zucchinis so I am looking forward to trying a variety of vegetables. It never even occurred to me to spiralize fruits until I got this cookbook. The Bell Pepper Taco Skillet recipe was particularly yummy and easy to make, and I am looking forward to trying the Vietnamese Cold Jicama Noodle Salad. The noodle salad recipes look delicious and refreshing!

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Doodletopia Fairies

Christopher Hart released another how-to-draw book, and this time he will teach you how to draw cute and elf-like fairies. Along with learning how to draw fairies and their faces and bodies, you also learn how to draw a number of accessories: magical hats, antennae, tiaras, wands, wind power. The book also teaches you to draw different hairstyles, pouty faces and different fairy moods. The book breaks down as follows:

1. Complete Fairy Heads and Faces
2. Draw Fairy Bodies
3. Create Magical Clothing and Accessories
4. Design Fairy Wings and Flying Poses
5. Give Your Fairies Personality
6. Conjure Up Magical Powers
7. Finish Musical Instruments
8. Design Fairy Dwellings

If you like this fairy drawing book, you will also enjoy Christopher Hart's other Doodletopia books: Cartoon and Manga. I also have Christopher Hart's Doodletopia Manga, and I think I like it the best because I think manga and chibis are sooo cute!

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.