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.