Fun with Animal Sounds

Hope you enjoy the fun of the mixed up animals!

Congratulations to Rena, the winner of a copy of A Wish and a Prayer by Beth Reinke from my previous post.

If you know of a little one who would enjoy it, Animal Sound Mix-up is available from Guardian Angel Publishing, Amazon or an autographed copy from my website.

A Wish and a Prayer

 

A Wish and a Prayer by Beth Reinke is the story of Jason, a boy whose pet parakeet, Sonny, flies out his window after being startled by a siren from an ambulance speeding down the street. Jason is upset about the loss of his little friend and wants to get him back. His friends encourage him with different ways to make a wish, including tossing a penny in a fountain and wishing on a star. He tries these wishes for a week, but Sonny doesn't return. Jason's mother asks him who hears his wishes, and what is the difference between a wish and a prayer. This causes Jason to do some serious thinking and realize that wishes are made on objects that can't hear or act, but prayers are heard by God, who has the power to answer those prayers.  This lovely book, beautifully illustrated by Ginger Nielson, provides a valuable lesson to children about the importance of prayer.

Beth is also the author of In My Bath, a cute story about a child's imaginative play in the bathtub, also illustrated by Ginger Nielson. Her newest book is Carla's Cloud Catastrophe, which releases this summer. All three books are published by 4RV Publishing. You can find Beth's books at 4RV Publishing 

(A Wish and a Prayer is on page 4)

Visit Beth on her website www.bethbencereinke.com and Ginger at www.gingernielson.com

Beth will be giving away a copy of A Wish and a Prayer and a sheet of 12 stickers with illustrations from the book, designed by Ginger. Leave a comment to enter, tweet about this post or share on facebook and let us know for extra entries! The contest is open to US residents only.

Brother Sister Poetry

It is my pleasure to share this post for Day 4 of Kathy Stemke's Book Tour for her new picture book, Sh Sh Sh Let the Baby Sleep, published by Guardian Angel Publishing. Be sure to visit Kathy's blog to learn more about her tour and some exciting contests and prizes. Remember to leave a comment to enter the prize drawings! Here is my review of the book, followed by Kathy's poems and more information about her.

In Sh Sh Sh Let the Baby Sleep, Kathy Stemke tells a story that children, especially those who have younger siblings, can relate to. Zachary's life takes a drastic change when a baby sister enters it. He puts on his special glasses and uses his creative imagination to become a superhero and quiet all the wild and noisy commotions that disturb her sleep. Each page of this delightful book is filled with bold, colorful illustrations by Jack Foster and has cute rhymes, which add to the fun. As an added bonus, there are games, word puzzles, a song, and rhymes at the end of the book. It's a great book for home and the classroom.

Brother and Sister Poems

Author, Kathy Stemke, and illustrator, Jack Foster, team up to bring Sh Sh Sh Let the Baby Sleep to life. Kathy includes adorable rhymes for each consonant blend that’s featured in the book; sh, br, th, ch, and gr.

This darling story illuminates the love between brothers and sisters as Zachary learns to accept this new member of his family. 

Here are some poems which express the special love found only between siblings.

My Sister, Layla

I'm really glad now that we're part
of the same family
You probably know I wasn't so at first.
I guess I was just afraid...

Afraid that there wasn't enough room
for both of us in the same family...
Afraid that I would be forgotten or
loved a little less than before you came along.

But somehow we've managed to weather all that
and grow closer too.
Now I realize how much
you've added to this family...
How much you've added to my life.

I just want to thank you
for being such a loving,
kind and patient sister….Layla.

Brothers and Sisters

As Kids, We Lived Together
We Fought, We Laughed, We Cried
We Did Not Always Show The Love
That We Both Felt Inside
We Shared Our Dreams And Plans
And Some Secrets Too
All The Memories We Share
Is What Bonds Me Now To You
We Grew To Find We Have A Love
That Is Very Strong Today
It's A Love Shared By Our Family
That Will Never Fade Away
You Are My Sister Not By Choice
But By Nature Of Our Birth
I Could Not Have Chosen A Better One
You Are The Best On Earth!

My Special Sister

I served the cake, you poured the tea
We built a house under the tree
In grown up clothes we played all parts
Secrets told, we crossed our hearts

Through all the years, the smiles and tears
First true loves ... and football cheers
I’ve never found a friend so true
I’ll love you Sis, my whole life through.

Can you think of any brother and sister poems? Can you make one up?

Kathy Stemke has a passion for writing, the arts and all things creative. She has Bachelor degrees from Southern Connecticut State University and Covenant Life Seminary, as well as graduate coursework from New York Institute of Technology and Columbia University. Hanging her hat in the North Georgia Mountains, she has been a teacher, tutor, and writer for many years.

As a freelance writer and ghostwriter, Kathy has published hundreds of articles in directories, websites and magazines. She is a contributing editor for The National Writing for Children's Center http://writingforchildrencenter.com/ and a reviewer for Sylvan Dell Publishing. As a retired teacher, Kathy has several activities published with Gryphon House Publishing. Kathy is also part of the team at DKV Writing 4 U. http://www.dkvwriting4u.com

Kathy’s first children’s picture book, Moving Through All Seven Days, was published on Lulu. Her next picture book, Sh, Sh, Sh Let the Baby Sleep, was released in May of 2011. Her third picture book, Trouble on Earth Day is scheduled for release in June of 2011.

Mrs. Stemke offers great teaching tips and children’s book reviews as well as a monthly newsletter titled, MOVEMENT AND RHYTHM, on her blog, http://educationtipster.blogspot.com

Be sure to visit Kathy's blog to learn more about the tour and the contests.

 

SUPERHERO TRIVIA QUESTION: DAY 4

Which comic character is big, green and you would not want to make him angry?

SUPERHERO TRIVIA ANSWER: DAY 3

What is the real name of The Atom?

ANSWER: Ray Palmer. With a Doctorate in Physics, Ray Palmer harnessed the power of a fragment of a white dwarf star by exposing it to ultraviolet light frequencies. He can shrink himself and clothing to microscopic size. He can shrink to 6 inches while keeping his weight at 180 lbs. This makes him super-dense and able to pack quite a wallop to his foes.

Remember; Every answer or comment you make during this book tour puts your name in the hat for a fantastic prize, which includes amazon gift certificates, books, superhero figurines, and much more.

Sh Sh Sh Let the Baby Sleep can be found:

Guardian Angel Publishing

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Where is Salami?

My friend, Donna Shepherd, is the author of many delightful picture books. A new one has recently been published by Guardian Angel Publishing, Where is Salami? It is another fun book done in rhyme that Donna does so well, and is filled with Jack Foster's energetic and expressive illustrations. The little boy telling the story can't understand why his sister, Beth, keeps getting so excited. Just because his pet snake, Salami, is loose in the house! She may very well have more reasons than that to be excited since there seems to be a mouse, spider and various other pets slipping around the house and adding to Beth's fright. As if the adorable rhymes, dynamic illustrations and various pets weren't enough to keep a child's interest, there is also a hidden picture on each page to be discovered.

Among the places Where is Salami? can be found are Guardian Angel Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble. You can visit Donna at Topsy Turvy Land and be sure to check out the video of her many fun books. Jack Foster's great art can be viewed at Jacktoons.

If you would be interested in reading a recent interview I did, please feel free to pop over to Write What Inspires You after you leave a comment for Donna here!

Lenny Lee Fest

My post today is to honor a special young blogging friend, Lenny Lee of Lenny's World. I'm joining with many other blogging friends to spread Lenny Lee sunshine. He's a terrific kid, and I hope you will hop over and visit his blog when you get a chance. You'll be glad you did!

Lenny Lee is a friend of mine

who loves to blog and write.

It's always fun to visit him

at his sunny, cheerful site.

Lenny's posts are really cool,

informative and well done.

You should visit him today,

read his posts and enjoy each one.

It's great to get a comment

from my bloggy friend, Lenny Lee.

God bless you always, Lenny,

you are very special to me!

I'm sure Lenny would love to hear from you if you'd care to leave a comment. That's how I met him, and he faithfully visits my blog and leaves comments that warm my heart. Thank you, Lenny, for the sunshine you spread. You are much loved and appreciated by so many!

Here's looking at you, Lenny. Hugs!