10 Valentine Friends - Picture Book

10 Valentine Friends
By Janet Schulman
Illustrated by Linda Davick
(Scholastic Inc., 2011)

10 Valentine Friends is a fun holiday counting book. Counting and rhyming! Readers will enjoy the antics of the 10 kids as they decorate, make valentines, and get ready for a Valentine's Day party. Pink, red, and other bright colors fill this counting book with plenty of Valentine love.

KID KANDY:

Counting Fun ~ Purchase Valentine conversation hearts.

You can:

- use an ice tray to practice 1:1 correspondence - one heart in each ice cube spot.

- count as high as possible (adults can help kid counters count higher). How many are in the bag (or box)?

- sort the conversation hearts by color or sayings. Which color has the most hearts? The least hearts?

- evenly divide hearts so that all family members receive the same number. How many hearts does each person get?

- practice simple addition by making small groups of hearts (1-5). Help count on and add the two groups together.

Math is fun, specially with cute sugary hearts. Happy Valentine's Day!

Angie Quantrell loves combining reading fun books and doing math activities that go along with the books. Little Valentine conversation hearts are the perfect treat for reading + counting.

Nature is What We Need - In Word and Photo

"Knowing that Nature never did betray
The heart that loved her."

~ William Wordsworth
Subtitled: "On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour, July 13, 1798." Lyrical Ballads

Beauty, wonder, peace, refreshment, adventure.

Nature. It's what we all need.

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake - Picture Book

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake
Written by Michael B. Kaplan
Illustrated by Stephane Jorisch
(Scholastic Inc., 2011)

Betty Bunny knows she is a handful. She also knows her parents love her very much, so being a handful must be a good thing.

At first, when presented with chocolate cake, the handful could not stand the thought of tasting it. But after she was persuaded to nibble a bit, Betty Bunny fell in love with chocolate cake. In fact, she decided that she would marry chocolate cake.

One could say that Betty Bunny became consumed with the thought of chocolate cake. Chocolate cake invaded her entire life. And when she was told she could not have any, Betty Bunny became even more of a handful.

I absolutely adore the watercolor illustrations. This family of bunnies resembles any family anywhere with multiple children. Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake is funny, realistic (one who has had small children will recognize the signs), and inventive. Deliciously cute book.

KID KANDY:

Chocolate Cupcakes (aka Cake-in-the-Pocket Experiment)

~ Use a recipe or mix to make chocolate cupcakes. OF COURSE, let your child help you.

~ Decorate the cupcakes. Make them super yummy.

~ Eat a cupcake for dessert.

~ Discuss Betty Bunny and what she does with her cake.

~ Put a cupcake in a self-sealing bag and zip the seal. Put the cupcake in a pocket. Go play.

~ Check back later. How is the cupcake? Does anyone want to eat it now? Or marry it?


Angie Quantrell loves reading funny picture books with captivating illustrations.

The Valentine Bears - Picture Book

The Valentine Bears
Written by Eve Bunting
Illustrated by Jan Brett
(Scholastic Inc., 1983)

Reading The Valentine Bears aloud for children is fun for both the reader and the listener.

Mr. and Mrs. Bear are hibernating for the winter. Mrs. Bear is very sad that they always miss Valentines Day, which happens during their long sleep. But not this year. She decides to wake up early and surprise Mr. Bear on Valentines Day. But who really gets surprised?

Reality and make-believe mix together in this cute holiday book. Bears really do hibernate and eat all sorts of things suggested in the book. But they don't really wear clothes or celebrate holidays. The Valentine Bears is the perfect way to begin a discussion about animals - fiction and nonfiction.

KID KANDY:

Mrs. Bear wrote two Valentine poems for Mr. Bear. She used the Roses are red, violets are blue poem as her pattern. Reread her poems for Mr. Bear.

Choose an animal and brainstorm words that come to mind. Make a big list.

Use the format for Roses are Red to make up your own poems. Use silly words and rhyming words. It's all in fun. Rhyming is an important skill for preschool, kindergarten, and first graders.

For example:

Animal - DOG

Brainstorm - furry, slobbery, teeth, tail, wagging, jumping, bark, eat, sleep, digging, muddy, hairy, smelly

Roses are red, Violets are blue,
The dog is hairy, and so are you!

OR

Doggies are smelly, They jump so high,
Mud is their favorite, I wonder why?

Provide crayons and paper so your child can draw pictures about their silly poem.


Angie Quantrell loves using silly words in her writing. She loves animals and spends lots of time watching her crazy kitties make messes in the house.

Skidamarink - The "I LOVE YOU" Song ~ Picture Books You Can Sing

Skidamarink - The "I LOVE YOU" Song
Illustrated by Jacqueline East
(Scholastic Inc., 2007)

February is the month of love.

Time to learn and sing a new song! Skidamarink - The "I LOVE YOU" Song is one of my favorite songs for the month of Valentines Day. (Skidamarink is pronounced skid-UH-muh-rink.)

Skidamarink is illustrated by Jacqueline East. The bear family, very adorable with their cozy home and cuddly baby bear, sings their way through family life. The winter fun activities and home life shared in the book makes me want to go ice skating or cuddle up with hot cocoa. Young children will enjoy seeing the fun baby bear has with his mom and dad.

Note to adults: While kids will get it and love it, skidamarink is a silly, nonsense word that might trip up adults. Don't worry. It's fun to say and sing. And skidamarink rhymes perfectly with 'a dink a dink.'

KID KANDY:

~ Of course, one could choose any activity from the book and enjoy it as a family - ice skating, eating oatmeal, sledding, building a snowman, drinking hot cocoa, playing a game, painting pictures, or reading a book. I would encourage you to avoid getting sick though.

~ For those fortunate enough to have snow this year, get outside and paint some hearts. Mix red food coloring with water in a spray bottle or squirt gun. Head out and spray hearts and XOXO on snow banks.

~ If you are like us (no snow), dig out the sidewalk chalk. Go outside and draw chalk hearts and XOXO messages on the sidewalk or driveway.

~ Check out YouTube for videos of the motions that go with Skidamarink. Or just make up your own. It will be your own secret love language.

Spread the love! Keep singing Skidamarink while you have fun!

Happy Valentines Day from the Red Onion.

Angie Quantrell loves silly songs. Now she will be humming Skidamarink for the rest of the day.

I Can Pray - Terrific Tuesday Picture Book & Activity

I Can Pray
By Angie Quantrell
Illustrated by Clay Allison
(Woman's Missionary Union, 2000)

I Can Pray is my very first published children's picture book.

I remember the challenge and excitement of writing, editing, and watching this book come to life. When my author's copies arrived in the mail, oh, that was one perfect day! It still fills me with joy to see what the Lord has done in my life.

Abby is a young girl who lives with her mom and day. Change is coming her way (check out the way mom's tummy grows), but Abby is not worried. With the different people in her life, Abby experiences many different ways to pray, places to pray, and things for which to pray.

Prayer is the theme of the book. Simple sentences are written for the youngest of preschoolers to enjoy, while a longer and more involved storyline takes place for older preschoolers and children. I Can Pray concludes with suggestions for parents and activities for preschoolers and their parents.

I Can Pray is one of my favorite books!

KID KANDY:

~ Prayer Journal
Prayer journals are all the rage. Create a simple prayer journal by posting a pretty wall calendar on a wall.

Dedicate a special time each day to pray a short prayer with your child. Jot down a sentence prayer (simple drawings are perfect for young preschoolers) inside the box for each day. Let your child offer sentence prayers and record those. Allow him or her to notice empty squares.

Make it a goal to check back and see which prayers have been answered. Your child can color that square with a highlighter. Prayer is answered!

~ Prayer Jar
Print the names of family and friends on wooden craft sticks and store them in a jar. Each day, during your prayer time, let your child choose a stick. Say sentence prayers for that person. Keep the stick out until all have been prayed for. Return sticks back to the jar and start again.


I Can Pray is available at www.wmustore.com under the Age Level Resources (preschool) tab. Or call 1-800-968-7301.

Angie Quantrell loves to dream up and write books for preschoolers and children.

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Groundhog Day - Picture Book

Groundhog Day
Written by Betsy Lewin
(Scholastic Inc., 2000)

Happy Groundhog Day!

Every February 2nd, Groundhog Day rolls around. The nation, or at least millions of school children and the people of Pennsylvania watch and anxiously await the results of Punxsutawney Phil and his weather prediction for the coming spring.

Groundhog Day is an early reader and simple retell of what happens on Groundhog Day. The funny ending gives boys and girls another idea to consider about why Phil sees his shadow.

KID KANDY:

~ Visit www.groundhog.org to check out lots of fun things happening on Groundhog Day.

~ Make a groundhog pop-up puppet.

1. Cut a paper towel tube in thirds (horizontally).
2. Look at pictures in Groundhog Day to see what a groundhog looks like.
3. Let your child draw a small groundhog on cardstock. Or loosely trace your (adult) thumb. Add ears, eyes, nose, whiskers, and mouth.
4. Color the groundhog and cut him out. Colored pencils work great on this small drawing.
5. Tape the groundhog to a wide craft stick or an unsharpened pencil.
6. Pretend the paper tube is a groundhog den. Stick the groundhog in through the bottom so he doesn't show. Pop him up the top to peek out.
7. Hold the puppet in the shade. No shadow? Hold the puppet in the sun. Shadow?
8. Will spring be here soon or is there another six weeks of winter?

~ Talk about legends and how people have fun sharing legends.

~ Younger children will enjoy being the groundhog. Give them a box and a blanket. Let them cover their heads, pop out, and pretend to see (or not see) their shadows.


Angie Quantrell enjoys reading legends and finding out how they began. She has fun creating activities for boys and girls that encourage them to read, get out in nature, and have fun learning.

Even Mabel loves the groundhog puppet!