Read Archives - Page 2 of 3

A Plucky Snowplow Becomes the Rocky of Trucking

December 21, 2015/in Guide, Read/by Shine

Yesterday, I saw a man riding his bike wearing red and green Bermuda shorts. That’s the kind of winter we are having in New York City. People are still working on their tans in Central Park, commuters are sipping ice coffee while riding the subways, and parents are opting to do their holiday shopping in real stores—not the internet, because it’s so warm outside. It feels like a California kind of winter. And while I love a good sunny day, I still cling to the hope that New York will get a white Christmas.

The first snowflake has yet to come, but I did find an adorable little picture book about snow that got me believing that the holidays are coming. Written by Lora Koehler, The Little Snowplow is an underdog’s story of being dismissed as a pipsqueak but later proving he has the right stuff. Think The Little Engine That Could mixed in with the movie Rocky and you have Snowplow.

When a little snowplow joins the Mighty Mountain Road Crew, the big trucks, including a dump truck, a cement mixer, a garbage truck and a utility truck, don’t think the little snowplow can handle the job when the snow comes. “Leave the heavy lifting to us,” they tease. In true underdog fashion (insert the song Eye Of The Tiger), the little snowplow starts to train hard. Each night he does his “reps” (raising and lowering his plow ten times) and pulls blocks of concrete, “just in case.”

Unfortunately when the snow finally does arrive it’s a blizzard—fast, intense, and heavy. The storm is too much for the little snowplow to handle alone, so he has no choice but to call for back up. But when one of the big truck gets buried in the snow, the little snowplow is the only truck that’s small enough to dig it out and to save it. He becomes the hero.

The end of the book is a tiny bit lackluster. The little snowplow is pooped out from the adventure-filled day and welcomes sleep. The illustration by Jake Parker is simply charming, however, playful and whimsical. It takes a special artist to be able to draw trucks with faces that evoke reaction and portray emotions. Also, they are mighty cute. It anchors the book.

The Little Snowplow is a familiar tale and the lesson is a good but traditional one. Believe in yourself, even when others underestimate you. Work hard and somehow, some way it will pay off. If only the book ended with the little snowplow finding a little girl snowplow named Adrian to help celebrate his victory.

By Claudia Chung, Shine PR and Marketing Manager and Assistant Teacher

The Cutest, Littlest Feminist Madeline

November 16, 2015/in Guide, Read/by Shine

By the time I could walk, I was an epic troublemaker. I jumped, broke and tore my way through my young and uninhibited existence. Once, I even lead a group of neighborhood kids to a construction site and convinced them that it was a good idea to hurl our tiny bodies on to a huge pile of sand. Later, our mothers found us, like a flock of humming birds blindly ramming their tiny heads against a windowpane, but we were throwing our entire bodies into the dirt and calling it “fun.”

This is probably a parent’s worst nightmare and I would never ever condone such behavior from a child, but from what I remember, I had the time of my life! It was freeing to be fearless, exciting to do something out of the ordinary, and I felt brave. Did I mention I was a bit odd as a child? In my eyes, this was the kind of thing that my personal heroines like Pippi Longstocking or Eliose would do — wild, off beat and a little bit naughty.

Shine’s “What Pet Should I Get?” Book Review

September 20, 2015/in Guide, Read/by Shine

Is What Pet Should I Get By Dr. Seuss the kids’ rendition of Harper Lee’s Go Set A Watchman?

The first Dr. Seuss book I ever read was How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I can’t exactly remember my initial reaction, but I am fairly certain it went along the lines of, “What the heck! Whoever wrote this is a big fat weirdo.” I mean, let’s face facts. It’s a terrifying tale about a sinister loner with “a heart two sizes too small” who wants to take away Christmas!

And while there is some redemption in the end, as the Grinch has an epiphany and realizes he was acting like a jerk, why did the Whos reward him for misbehaving in the first place? Shouldn’t he have gone to Whoville’s County Correctional Center for stealing, identity theft of Santa Claus, and animal cruelty towards his dog Max? Where was the justice? Of course these ranting questions were coming from a five year old whose English was her second language.

Shine’s “Brief Thief” Review

June 15, 2015/in Guide, Read/by Shine

We at Shine love books. Early literacy and creating a foundation for the love of reading is one of the main missions of our work with children. Beginning this month, our teachers and partners in publishing will be offering reviews of some of our favorite children’s books. For our first installment Shine PR and Marketing Manager and Assistant Teacher, Claudia Chung, reviews one of her favorite books: Brief Thief by Michaël Escoffier. We encourage you to let reading take you and your family on a lifelong adventure.

Continue to shine your light and keep reading –
Aaron Goldschmidt, founder & director

An import from France, Brief Thief by Michaël Escoffier, has been around since 2013, but this quirky picture book was an obvious choice for me to review for Shine as after two years it still makes me laugh out loud every time I read it.

Brief Thief is the tale of Leon the lizard, who is having a lovely morning of eating breakfast and sunbathing when has to go poo. After finding a place to go on a nice tree, he discovers that he’s out of toilet paper. He looks around, but all he sees are prickly leaves and messy grass. That is, until Leon discovers a pair of old underpants hanging on a nearby branch. With no one around, and the underpants full of holes anyway, he uses them to wipe himself and throws them back into the bushes. No harm done, right? Wrong.

Top 10 Indoor Activities

September 26, 2014/in Guide, Learn, Make, Play, Read/by Shine

Whether it’s inclement weather or someone is home with the sniffles, filling an day inside with fun, enriched activities that DON’T involve putting in a DVD can be a challenge. Here is our list of stay-at-home activities that prove to be a good time for both child and adult.

1. Make play dough.

2 cups of flour, 2 cups of water, 4 tsp. cream of tartar (found in spice area of any supermarket), 2 Tbs. oil, 1 cup of salt, food coloring (mix into the water before adding to saucepan). Place all the ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously. The mixture will be watery at first, then lumpy. Keep stirring until the mixture is one big lump, about 5 minutes. Take out of the pan and knead until smooth. Make sure not to overcook. The dough will be softer and last longer if it is taken off the heat sooner and kneaded longer. Let cool and store in an airtight container. For an added treat, add some glitter while kneading!

2. Use shaving cream in the bathtub or shower.

Children love the feeling of thick, smooth shaving cream and spreading it all over the tub walls and themselves. Grown-ups love the easy clean-up; just rinse and it’s done.

3. Read a book. Or three.

Nothing is as important as reading to and with your child. Use the stories as a jumping off point for discussion and conversation. Books inspire language. Read more

Let Reading Take You On an Adventure

August 27, 2014/in Guide, Learn, Read/by Shine

I’m obsessed with children’s books. I can’t get enough. I have a personal collection of over 1000. I am a Scholastic Book Club teacher. I have two good friends in children’s publishing who keep me stocked up on new releases. And I’m embarrassed to say that my Amazon bill at the end of every month includes more children’s titles than anything for adults. I don’t know when this obsession started but I’m pretty sure my mother had something to do with it. It usually comes back to her. I remember making weekly trips to the public library to take out a dozen books or so. I remember her reading to me voraciously. I remember books being made just as important as toys in our home. As an early-childhood educator I’m so thankful I had this foundation laid for me at a young age. My love of books helped me to excel in school and provided me the opportunity to expand my imagination, vocabulary, and ideas about the world. But most of all, books have been and still are some of the best companions and where I love to escape when I need some alone time.

Early literacy is so important. There are countless ways to incorporate books into the lives of children. Bari Snyder, a literacy coach and reading specialist, shares some ways that you can letting reading take your child (and you!) on an adventure.

Continue to shine your light –
Aaron Goldschmidt, founder & director

In a world where an answer to a question is just a click away, how do we engage our children long enough to sit and actually listen to or read a book? How do we instill that excitement of opening a book for the first time? How do we guide our children to want to be life-long readers?

Selecting terrific books for your child will put them on the road to learning, build their vocabulary and object recognition skills, spark their curiosity about the world, and create wonderful memories. But what’s just as important as the book you choose, it how you read it with your child. Read more

Francesco Sedita Hates Reading

May 5, 2014/in Guide, Read/by Shine

I am obsessed with children’s books. Literally. I have a collection of over 1000. And it’s growing. I am a Scholastic Book Club Teacher and order my own batch every month. I have many good friends who work in children’s publishing and keep me stocked up on new releases. I make regular visits to Books of Wonder. And I’m embarrassed to say that at the end of every month my Amazon bill includes more children’s titles than anything for adults. I may have a problem.

This week is Children’s Book Week and May is Get Caught Reading Month. My personal obsession aside, early literacy is fundamental to Shine’s philosophies. There are so many ways to incorporate books into the lives of children. Here, Francesco Sedita, my friend, president and publisher of two children’s imprints at the Penguin Young Readers Group, and Shine advisory board member, reveals that not everyone starts out as a reader. Often it needs to be cultivated by crafty parents, inspiring educators or just a good old fashioned book about burps.

Continue to shine your light and get caught reading –
Aaron Goldschmidt, founder & director

I am a children’s book publisher for Penguin. I oversee an enormous Francesco Sedita Hates Reading list of books, aimed at children ages 0-12. Grosset & Dunlap is filled with interactive board books, chapter books about boys who burp and aging monsters and food adventures and mystery solvers and time travelers. It’s also bursting with amazing licensed books, like Strawberry Shortcake, Cartoon Network, Max & Ruby, Hello Kitty, and on. I am proud of this list. I believe in it. It caters to every type of child, reading level, interest level.

Now, ready for a secret? I HATED reading as a kid. See how I capitalized that word? Because I can’t truly describe how much I loathed sitting down and reading. The thing is, I come from reading parents. My dad always has a banged up paperback nearby and my mother is never far from her stack of pristine hardcovers. As a child, I was allowed to buy any book I wanted, even ones that were out of my age range or reading level. For a kid who was considered smart, and a good writer from an early age, I was constantly behind in reading. I remember once sobbing at the kitchen table because I had to read 20 pages for homework in 3rd Grade.

So how in the world did I become a children’s book author and publisher? Read more

Literacy in the First Five Years

February 26, 2014/in Guide, Learn, Read/by Shine

We at Shine love books and believe it is never too early to encourage literacy development. As educators, we make sure to create classes rich with books, games, puzzles, and projects all of which promote a strong foundation in literacy skills. It is important, especially during the early years, that these ideas are encouraged in the home as well. This week Kristin Michaelson, M.Ed., president of Advantage Development, provides some very helpful ideas on how to make your home environment more supportive for literacy during your child’s first five years. After all, the greatest gift to give a child is the foundation for the love of reading and learning.

Continue to shine your light and read –
Aaron Goldschmidt, founder & director

Literacy is a process that begins with the simple experiences of hearing language from caregivers and the shared reading and handling of books. To encourage literacy development at home: talk to (and with) your child, create a print-rich environment, sing songs, and read books together. Read on for more specific activities, important milestones, and ideas on how to make your home environment supportive for literacy. Note: although activities are listed in a certain age group, they can be used indefinitely as long as they seem helpful to your child.

Early Infancy (0-8 months):

What can my baby do? Babble, hold books, put books in her mouth, focus on books, sit up on her own.

Activities: Make your home a print-rich environment. The first step is having a lot of books for your baby. Especially at this age, plush, wooden, or board books are almost indestructible and can withstand going in the mouth. Make labels, with both writing and a small picture of the contents, for boxes of toys and post their name in multiple places. Children should see their parents reading and using writing in their daily lives. Read more

President’s Day Activities

February 13, 2014/in Celebrate, Make, Read/by Shine

There are many holidays and celebrations that are more complicated to explain to children than others. How do we find meaningful and age appropriate ways to explain holidays like Memorial Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day and the upcoming President’s Day to children under 5? We at Shine believe it can be done in thoughtful and innovative ways using books, music, art, cooking and dramatic play. In this week’s post we take take the daunting task of turning President’s Day into a creative and historical exploration by making powdered wigs, a coin rubbing collage and of course, eating ice cream (thanks George Washington)!

Shine offers workshops for all major holidays and celebrations and will even custom create a workshop based on your child’s interests (dinosaurs, space, bugs, weather, etc.). Please contact us for more information or to set one up for your child and some of his/her friends.

However you chose to celebrate this holiday or any, we hope it is done together as a family utilizing the tools children innately posses… imagination and creativity.

Continue to shine your light –
Aaron Goldschmidt, founder & director

We all know that we celebrate Presidents’ Day on the third Monday of February, but what else do we know about Presidents’ Day / George Washington’s Birthday? Did you know:

The observance of Washington’s Birthday was made official in 1885 when President Chester Alan Arthur (our 21st president) signed a bill establishing it as a federal holiday.
In 1968 the Uniform Holidays Bill moved the observance of three federal holidays, including Washington’s Birthday, from fixed calendar dates to designated Mondays.
From 1971 onward, Washington’s Birthday was relocated to the third Monday in February – which actually guaranteed that it would never be celebrated on his actual birthday since the third Monday in February cannot fall any later than February 21.
The Uniform Holidays Bill proposed renaming the holiday “Presidents’ Day” but this version of the bill was never passed.
This means that the holiday is technically not Presidents’ Day – the official government holiday is George Washington’s Birthday. (Arbelbide 2004)

So with another day off from school, what are some activities that can help teach kids about the importance of Presidents’ Day and our first president? Let’s start with a story, create powdered wigs and coin collages, and finish by eating ice cream! Read more

Shine’s Holiday Book Picks

December 9, 2013/in Celebrate, Learn, Read/by Shine

At Shine, we think the best gifts are always books. As you’re doing last minute holiday shopping, consider some of these picks from our friends in early childhood publishing. Happy Holidays!

May your holidays shine bright –
Aaron Goldschmidt, founder & director

Francesco Sedita
President & Publisher at Penguin Young Readers Group

The Scrawny Little Tree by Ed Mehler, illustrated by Susie Pollard

This is the sweetest story, originally written and published in 1973 and re-released in 2011. It’s Charlie Brown meets The Giving Tree and it’s just beautiful and precious.

Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney

The Lllama books are all wonderful and here our pal Llama has a very special Christmas, even if he is quite impatient.

Anything Jan Brett

To me, Jan Brett is Christmas in a book. She just evokes such a wonderful, magical environment with her words and illustrations. I would really recommend “The Night Before Christmas” edition with a DVD in the back, read by Jim Dale, and with a musical score from the Boston Pops – so special. Read more