Holidays with Crystal Bowman

Crystal Bowman is the author along with illustrator Claudine Gevry of a series of over sized die-cut board books that celebrate the seasons and Holidays with a Christian perspective. The illustrations are engaging and simple as is the storyline of these books. We own a few of these books one of which is An Easter Gift for Me. In this book with rhyming text Bowman shares the story of Jesus from birth, his life, his miracles on to his death and Resurrection. Of the stories I read the ideas are clearly presented for the preschool audience. These are great starter books to share about the different Holidays, seasons and traditions we hold.


Other books in this series include: My Happy Pumpkin, My Thanksgiving Prayer, Jesus, Me and My Christmas Tree, Christmas Angels, My Christmas Stocking, My Christmas Gift, J is For Jesus, A Star for Jesus and My Valentine Story.

Spotlight on Janet Morgan Stoeke and Minerva Louise!

One of our favorite Easter reads so far this year has been Minerva Louise and the Colorful Eggs by Janet Morgan Stoeke. We've been reading through her series of Minerva Louise and have not been disappointed. I think I first came across this series from a Charlotte Mason's reading list. Minerva Louise is a curious, well intentioned, kind, caring chicken all though often confused. My two find her confusion hilarious and I find it very endearing. Whether she's trying to warm lost eggs that are so cold some have turned blue or making herself quite at home in the farmhouse you will enjoy your misadventures with this silly hen. The drawings are clear, sparse and boldly colorful.


As you can see by some of the titles I've included here that you can find a Minerva Louise book for most seasons and Holidays.


List of titles include: A Hat for Minerva Louise, Hide and Seek, Rainy Day, Minerva Louise at School, Minerva Louise, Minerva Louise at the Fair, A Friend for Minerva Louise, Minerva Louise on Halloween, Minerva Louise and the Red Truck, Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve and Minerva Louise and the Colorful Eggs.

Aaaaarrgghh! Spider!

Okay along with the scary creature theme I've got going here this week for Halloween is one of the most terrifying creatures around...the spider! Yes, I'm terrified of spiders and training my two to be too. Okay a little fear of spiders or, respect of rather, is healthy but I admittedly go over bored. So in our Halloween fear conquering style we also stock up on books on spiders like Aaaarrgghh! Spider! by Lydia Monks. In this funny not so terrifying tale a lonely spider longs to be a family pet. After many attempts at showing a family that he'd make a wonderful pet only to met with screaming, terrified looks and prompt removal he finally wins them over. The cartoon illustrations are quirky, funny and capture that wide eyed terror that some might feel when one encounters a spider.

I thought I'd share one of crafts we often do along with our reads. I think our very own Aaaarrgghh! Spider! glittery webs turned out great! And yes, they are now proudly displayed on the fridge, lol.

A little bit batty!

We've gone a bit batty over here. Bats make a perfect topic for young ones and Halloween. Let's face it bats can be scary, they are at least to me, and who doesn't enjoy a bit of a good scare on Halloween. We stock up on bat books and also learn all about bats so they don't seem so scary anymore. Brian Lies series of Batty stories make great reads during the Halloween holiday season. Bats at the Beach, Bats at the Library and Bats at the Ballgame complete this trio of stories. The illustrations are dark and a bit eerie because they all take place at night when bats are up. But the fuzzy bats are sweetly drawn and not frightful at all. The stories share all the fun these bats have during their nights out at the beach, library or ballgame. They truly captures endearing moments, highlights and activities of these popular outings only with bat families not ours.

Two Tales of Halloween

Today I have two tales of Halloween for you and your kids to learn all about Halloween's origins and history. I've shared how we love to unit study on topics and with that I love a blend of fun reads as well as educational ones. Since it's almost Halloween we've been busy reading up on that.


First up is Gail Gibbons' book Halloween Is.... It covers such traditions as Halloween costumes, the jack-o-lantern and of course trick or treating. It is a simple book which is geared towards younger children (4-8), though it covers lots of information. Think about pairing it with Gail Gibbons' The Pumpkin Book for even more holiday fun and learning.



For kids ages 8 and up I would recommend The Story of Halloween by Carol Greene and illustrated by Linda Bronson. Longer text and dreamy illustrations take readers back over 2000 years to the origins of Halloween with the Celts' celebration of Samhain, meaning summer's end on October 31st. As you read through these old traditions and beliefs you will see how many have changed throughout time but how many are still with us today in our traditions and celebration of this fall holiday.

Monsters, ghosts and other spooks, oh my!

Looking for great Halloween reads? Usborne books has you covered with scary or not so scary books for all ages.

Books for Baby & up-

Monsters are a perfect topic for Halloween and Usborne has several not so scary Monster books for you to share with your youngest of readers.




Baby Monster by Fiona Watt and illustrated by Rachel Wells
A soft cloth book with crinkle texture and lift the flaps just perfect for the youngest little reader. In this story baby monster Minnie needs help finding her friend Mo.

That's Not my Monster by by Fiona Watt and illustrated by Rachel Wells
From probably one of Usborne books most popular series comes this touchy feely monster read.

This is my Monster by Sam Taplin and illustrated by Masumi Furukawa
Another simple monster tale with touchy feely textures and sound too.

Noisy Monsters by Jessica Greenwell and illustrated by Lee Wildish
Eight noisy monsters fill this book with sound buttons.




Ages 4 & up -

A selection of picture books and an early reader.




There's No Such Thing as Ghosts! by Emmanuelle Eeckhout
Kane Miller Publishing brings this charming tale from Belgium of a little boy on a ghost hunt with his trusty butterfly net in hand. He can't seem to find any ghosts anywhere but I bet your little readers will!

The Story of Growl by Judy Horacek
This is another book in the Kane Miller Publishing collection, this time from Australia. Meet Growl who, well loves to growl. That growl gets her in and out of trouble in this fun loving simple monster read.

Scardey Cat by Russell Punter
This level three reader from Usborne books shares the story of Stanley the scardey cat who's scared of everything. But he's a hero inside and overcomes those fears to save the day.



Activities and Crafts for all Ages -



Doodle, craft, stencil and sticker your way through Halloween with these books and activities:
Monster Things to Do and Make by Rebecca Gilpin, illustrated by Erica Harrison, Spooky Stencil Cards, illustrated by Ashlyn Stobbs, Monster Doodles (Doodle Cards) by Fiona Watt and illustrated by Non Figg, 1001 Monster Things to Spot by Gillian Doherty and illustrated by Teri Gower and
Spooky Sticker Book by Fiona Watt and illustrated by Stella Baggott.


As always if you are interested in any Usborne or Kane Miller publishing books you can contact me. I also wanted to re note that Kane Miller books are now being sold exclusively through Usborne reps and are not available from retailers. I can assist you in a purchase or help you find a local rep near you.

The Costume Copycat, Queen of Halloween & Stinky Face

I wanted to share a trio of fun Halloween reads that have great learning opportunities too.



Being a younger sibling this story resonates with me! It was a lucky library find from just last year and we will be sure to enjoy it again this Halloween season. It's called The Costume Copycat by Maryann MacDonald and illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf. Dressing up is a year round favorite of ours though we do still wait with much anticipation for Halloween. We love the excitement of pondering over what to be and then the best way to achieve that. Oh, how I can relate to the wanting to have the perfect costume! Poor Angela is always being upstaged by her big sister, Berdandette's costume. So the next year she always decides to be what Berdandette had been the year before, thus the title 'the costume copycat'. It isn't until Angela finally gets fed up with being a copycat and comes up with her own unique costume that she really shines! It's another out of print title, but there are used and new copies available online and be sure to check out your library for a copy too.



Another Halloween read that we like to get from the library each year is one of Mary Engelbreit's Anne Estelle stories Queen of Halloween. Have you met Anne Estelle? In this Halloween story her and her best friend Michael head out to trick or treat on Halloween night. Both want to be brave as they are growing up but both are still a little scared. Its a great little read about friendship and courage that I think is a great staple to read each year with my two. The illustrations are whimsical and wonderfully detailed. I must confess I am a huge fan of Mary Engelbreit's art work.

Mary Engelbreit has written and illustrated an entire series about this little girl including: Queen of Christmas, Queen of Easter, Queen of Hearts, and Queen of the Class.



Last up from author Lisa McCourt and illustrator Cyd Moore 'Stinky Face' series is Happy Halloween Stinky Face. Similar to this duo's first book I Love you Stinky Face you have the Mama of little Stinky lovingly calming his concerns only this time about all the things that might go wrong on Halloween. It's not about scary, creepy stuff either. He's mostly concerned about his friends and what might happen because of the costumes like what if his one friends' costume turns into a real butterfly and she flies up into the sky? With each of the concerns they are matched with a solution from his Mama that involves his friends figuring it out or helping one another.

I'm reading...Your blogs!

I have found so many wonderful books through other's book reviews! Rather than review them again myself, I thought a fun way to add these reads to my ever growing list here is to feature the blogs and those reviews in a 'I'm Reading..Your Blogs' post.

First up is Tolivers to Texas who does a children's book review on Thursdays. I found the wonderful book The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen through her weekly reviews and it is now a favorite here. Be sure to check out her review. Thanks for sharing this great book and I look forward to your upcoming reviews!













Next the enchanting site The Magic Onions, shares her picks for autumn reads along with fun ways to welcome in the fall season in her post Celebrating Autumn. This wonderful list is filled with nature inspired reads including: Wild Child by Lynn Plourde, The Apple Cake by Nienke van Hichtum, Every Autumn Comes the Bear by Jim Arnosky, Christopher's Harvest Time by Elsa Beskow, Autumn board book by Gerda Muller and Around the Year by Elsa Beskow. We love the seasonal series by Lynn Plourde and have been familiar with Elsa Beskow but had not read these two reads offered here. She also shares a few books that she resources for craft and activity ideas, be sure to read through the entire post for those selections as well. Thanks for this wonderful Fall reading list!















Next from A Mommy's Adventures in her 'A Story + Art' series is her review and art project for Mirnerva Louise on Halloween by Janet Morgan Stoeke. Plus its a link up so there are lots of great book/art project submissions for you to check out! We loved the Mirnerva Louise book also by Janet Morgan Stoeke but I had not read any more in this funny series! I'm happy to add this charming Halloween book to our ever growing list of favorite reads! Thanks for the review and the fun link up. I will have to join in the fun one of these days.

















Keep the book reviews coming and if I find out about a great read from your blog I'll be sure to feature you in an upcoming post!