Did you know that Seuss was Theodore Geisel's middle name? That is why most of us know him as Dr. Seuss. Yesterday was his birthday! But, all year long his books are great reads, especially to read aloud! The rhyming and the meter are so helpful for language development in small children, not to mention imagination development. So, of course, that brings us to today's Friday Fave!
What is your Favorite Dr. Seuss Book?
Fave #1: Our Special Guest! Today, our special guest is Kerry Griffin Smith from GoBeyondAutism.com where she blogs with her family. Her choice is Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? Kerry says, " We are so blessed to live on this beautiful earth. Dr Seuss adds his whimsical touch that encourages even the youngest thinkers to count their blessings." I haven't read this one all of the way through, but it sort of reminds me of Could Be Worse by James Stevenson from the reviews I've read. I want to read it to my grandchildren! Thanks, Kerry, for this great suggestion! If anyone would like to get a copy, just click on the picture or the link above.
Fave #2: LIndsey! She chose another Seuss book that I am not that familiar with! The man was prolific at writing these things! Her choice is Daisy-Head Mayzie. This book could almost be considered a predecessor to Imogene's Antlers by David Small. Except, while Imogene woke up with antlers, Mayzie grew a daisy out of the top of her head one day in school. There is an interesting backstory at the back of the book that shows that the illustrations have changed over the years in this book and why. A sweet and charming story with a great message. If you haven't read it to your children, it is one they will enjoy.
Fave #3: Alicia! The moment I came up with this question, I knew which book Alicia would choose.
When she was a little girl and I was expecting her younger sister, we would go to the Dr.'s office for my appointments, sometimes my husband would be there with us, and he would read Green Eggs and Ham to her while they waited. She practically knew the entire thing by heart and she chose that book as her favorite Seuss book way back then. At one time, we had chickens that laid green eggs! (Eggs with green shells) I was teaching school at the time and on Dr. Seuss Day, I took sliced hard boiled ones to share with my students. They loved it!
Fave #4, "Left foot, left foot, left foot, right. Feet in the morning, feet at night." Madalynn chose The Foot Book! I think she chose this one because it is a fun read-aloud that we read many times when she was young. The rhythm and rhyme catch the attention of little ones if you read it with exuberance!
Fave #5 is mine! (Helen's) Maybe it is because I love elephants, but I couldn't let a collection of Dr. Seuss books go by without a Horton book being listed! I have chosen Horton Hears a Who. There are several things that I love about this book. First, Horton is caring and kind. He knows what he hears, and even though he is persecuted for it, he doesn't deny what he knows to be true. And, we learn from the Whos that every person is needed and has a part to play in our world. "A person's a person, no matter how small." This is definitely the best Horton book. In Horton Hatches an Egg he continues to be a great role model, but the mother bird really bothers me. Of course, We are also introduced to the Whos in Horton Hears a Who, which get us all set up for How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Do you like how I slipped another fave in there?)
Reasons to Read Dr. Seuss to Your Children
There is a very good article on the Children's Literacy Foundation's website that talks about the different styles that Dr. Seuss used when he wrote his books.
Did we mention any of your favorites in this article? If not, let us know what your favorite is in the comments below! Even though Theodore Seuss Geisel's birthday was yesterday, don't let that stop you from reading his books with your kids anytime and maybe doing some extension activities with them. Have fun reading! Want to read other Friday Fave articles? Click here! Shop this post:
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As I work on Friday Fave's posts, it makes me realize one thing, Fridays come around really quickly! Sometimes, coming up with a question is harder than you might think! Take this past week, for example. It was Presidents Day on Monday, so I thought, maybe I will ask who was everyone's favorite President before the year 2000. (I didn't want to get too political). But I realized that all of us would probably choose George Washington, so that wasn't going to work. Those thoughts made me start thinking about history and I thought, "Why not, What are our favorite Historical Books?'". Madalynn didn't really like that idea because she prefers science and science fiction. On the other hand, Lindsey had so many books that she loved that fit the historical genre that she had a difficult time choosing. Alicia had quite a few as well, but one of the ones she mentioned interested me so much that I encouraged her to choose it. We decided to narrow down the choices to nonfiction only this week. Fiction will have to be an entirely different post. If you want to see past Friday Fave Posts, click on that link. So, here goes! This weeks question is:
What is your favorite Historical Nonfiction Book?
This week, we will begin with Maddy's fave because she found a way to combine her love of science with history. She chose The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston. The title is self-explanatory. This book tells the horrific story of how a deadly virus from the African rain forest made its way to Washington D.C. Madalynn said it was intense and fascinating. It is recent history, but history none the less.
I am going next because I have talked about my choice before, in a previous post, about my 10 Books to Read Again and Again. It is The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. Her book takes place in Holland during WWII. Her family hid Jewish people from the Nazis until they were caught and Corrie and her sister were sent to a prison camp. In spite of the many hardships she faced, her faith never waivered and her courage never failed. The story is both heart wrenching and inspiring. If you haven't read it, you must. You really must. I think I may just have to go read it again now, because I am thinking about it.
Next is Alicia's choice. She is also a science loving daughter of mine! (She is a science teacher!) The book she chose is Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel. This book is based on 124 surviving letters from one of Galileo's daughters to him. She was a nun in a convent and she changed her name to Maria Celeste in honor of her father's work. The story of the book is more about Galileo than her, but her letters give insight into his character. His letters to her were presumably burned after death by the convent in order to avoid association with Galileo. Alicia liked this book because it brings a different view to the whole situation of religion vs. science. It doesn't vilify either side. It is easy to read and understand even for those who do not feel they understand science. It shows how Galileo, although persecuted by the Pope, still had faith in God and was supported by other Bishops and Priests in the church. It also shows that the story depicting the Catholic Church vs Galileo is much more complicated than one might think.
Since Lindsey had such a difficult time choosing just one book this week, we told her that she could be the one to cheat and pick two books.
Like me, Lindsey loves books about WWII. So, it isn't surprising that one of her picks is from that time period. She chose Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levi. This is the story of an Italian man during Mussolini's fascist regime. He was banished to the south of Italy with other exiles and spent a year living there in bad conditions. He learns a lot about humans and has a lot of time to think about whether it was worth it for him to speak out against his government. Lindsey likes this book because it is shows another aspect of how dark and bad the actions of people like Hitler and Mussolini can be, which serves as a reminder to us all to always stand up for what is right.
Lindsey's top choice, and also a choice that each of us would also make, is The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This book contains the ancient history of the America's and teaches what the roots of our nation really are. Most importantly it shows that we have a Heavenly Father who loves all of His children and He wants all of them to have the gospel of Jesus Christ. It teaches that we choose our course in life. We get to decide how we want to act, and then we must receive the consequences of those decisions, whether they are good or bad. (Hint: It is always a good decision to keep the commandments.) Lindsey says, "The teachings in this book shape everything I do and I love it and read from it every day." I love it, too. I hope you will read it and find out for yourself the truth contained in it.
Whew! Those are our Friday Fave's for this week! It was hard work to narrow down to these choices, but I think there are 5 good ones here! I hope you find something new to read in them! Let us know if you have any good Historical Nonfiction that we should consider as well!
If you have already read all of these, here are some other suggestions that we have made in the past:
The Top 10 Books You Will Want to Read Again and Again
Best Books to Read on Kindle Happy Reading!
I can still clearly remember a cartoon I saw in my brother's Mad Magazine when I was a kid. A boy was admiring his new school supplies when his mother walked in and suggested how great it was going to be to use all of his new things to do his homework when school started. The boy was aghast! How could she suggest that he dirty his new pad of paper or make his new pencils less sharp by using them! I guess after all of these years, I still remember that comic because I could relate to it. I hated to see my new pencil become less pointy and have to be sharpened and then they would become shorter and the eraser would get used and not be as shapely and pink. On the other hand, I could hardly keep from writing on my new paper and filling it with my imaginings. Even today, there is nothing like a new box of crayons with their shiny, pointy tops, or new pens that I just have to try out, or all of the other myriads of office/school supplies. Are my girls and I the only ones or are there others out there who love office supplies, too? Is it hard for you to walk past the hanging racks of paper clips and push pins in Staples? Then today's Friday Fave is for you:
What is your favorite office supply?
You would be surprised just how difficult this was for some of us to answer! There are so many great choices out there! Since so many office things are small and they can be decorative, tiny and cute, it made it even harder. But, let us begin!
#1: Lindsey's choice As you know, LIndsey is a lawyer. Here is a picture of her desk, (photo redacted).
Can you guess what her favorite office supply is? That's right, the sticky notes! Lindsey says that she lives in a world of paper and Post-it Notes, (or sticky notes) save her life.
And who doesn't love them? They come in so many colors and shapes and sizes, they are almost stickers, but more useful! Here is one of the best prices for the 1 1/2 x 2 inch pads. There are 12 pads of 100 sheets each for $4.99 and if you have Prime, the shipping is free! The colors are vibrant in this collection, which of course makes them better than ever! Just click the picture to purchase them.
If you don't mind a different brand of sticky notes, Dollar Tree carries a brand called Jot. You can buy them in store or online. If you purchase them online, you must buy a carton of 24 pads, but that might come in handy in a case like Lindsey, who needs them to save her life!
#2: Alicia's choice: While we are still in the paper mode, Alicia's choice surprised me a little bit because she has loved office supplies for so long and I thought she would go for something like push pins or sharpeners. But instead, she chose note cards! Her choice makes sense for her because she just finished her Masters Degree. She said that the note cards really came in handy to help her organize her thoughts as she wrote her paper. (Sometimes that old school style really works!) They also work great for making flashcards to help you study, and they are so portable to take wherever you go. And, of course, you can use them for recipe cards as well. Click that link above and get a package of 200 (in a case of 24) for $1.00. Or, get on Amazon and get 1000 cards for $10.51 in a brand you know. Don't forget, you can get them in lots of colors, too!
#3: Helen's pick I was going to pick pads of paper, because I can't resist them. (Look at these at Dollar Tree! You can order as few as 4 of these packs on line and they come 4 in a package in pretty colors, too! I think they may be perfect for my girl's at camp this year. Shh!) But, I decided that the other thing I really like and used a lot when I was teaching AND they are so cute are binder clips! Look at these that I found on Amazon! They have cute prints, 4.5 stars and they are only $1.00 for 24 of them! I am sending for them right now. They do have a shipping cost of only $1.00, so that makes it $2.00 for this bunch of cute clips! They would work great to organize things that need to go together, or in a planner. And have you ever seen the life hack video about using them for easels and phone holders, etc.? These little babies are awesome! Click on the photo to see them and to order yours.
#4 & 5: Maddy's Picks Try not to notice that I kind of sneaked in an extra pick above, because this week Madalynn actually gets to pick two things. She is my daughter who has the most training in art. So, her first pick is no surprise, gel pens! Amazon has so many great sets to choose from besides the ones I linked above! Look at these , or these! So many colors, so many possibilities. Fancify your writing, color code your planner.
Speaking of planners, that is Maddy's second choice! She (and Alicia) love to make lists and plan things out. Now that we are in February, if you haven't picked up a new planner yet, you are sure to find some on sale! Look at some of these on Amazon!
There are many, many more to choose from! Just get some pens, your journal, some binder clips and you will be so organized and ready to face the world! And, don't worry, when you fill up the pages of your planner or note pad, and the tips of your pencils have worn down and the ink all runs dry, you will have probably created some pretty neat stuff, and done some really awesome things and then you get to pick up some more brand new supplies!
What office supplies do you use the most or just like because they are so dang cute? Leave us a comment! Thanks for hanging out with us at Friday Faves! This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support. You've got Valentine's Day covered, right? Flowers, chocolates...but wait! You suddenly find out that your Valentine doesn't like chocolate! It is true, there are people out there who do not like, are allergic to, or do not eat chocolate for one reason or another.
This tragedy is what leads us to this week's Friday Fave question: "What is your favorite non-chocolate candy?". You may think that you are going to be reading about the usual Skittles and Starburst. No, we are much deeper than that. You are going to want to try our choices! When I posed this question this week, Alicia said that she thought she would come up with some Valentines to go with each choice! She is so creative! So, today we are offering 5 free printable Valentines to go with these 5 candy choices. Now you will be all set! If you really want to be an amazing Valentine, You could make a poster that has all of the Valentines with all of the candy selections! Your Valentine will be so impressed! |
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
April 2024
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