Tonya's Books

True Adventures Collection

2010-04-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

Do you like adventure and excitement?

Do you like true stories?

Do you like short stories?

If you answered "yes" to any of those questions then take a look at the True Adventure Collection.

The True Adventure Collection is a combined volume of three books:

True Survival Stories

True Stories of Heroes

True Spy Stories

True Survival Stories tells exciting tales about the Hindenburg, Appollo 13, Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition plus other stories of people surviving against great odds.

True Stories of Heroes lets us know of heroes that aren't always known to us from history books. There were heroes at the catastrophe at Chernobyl the nuclear reactor that exploded, and surgeons in the battlefield in Beirut. There are also fun stories like the animals that have saved human lives and "Evel" Knievel's jump across the Snake River Canyon.

True Spy Stories gives us a glimpse of some real 007 agents that worked during World War One and Two as well as during the Cold War. There were agents, double agents and some who didn't know what they were doing but were collecting a lot of money!

There fantastic stories are even more amazing for being true!

Written by Paul Dowswell and Fergus Fleming
Published by Usborne Books
These books can be purchased at www.TonyasBooks.com

10 Tips for Reading Aloud to Children

2010-03-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

These 10 tips are taken from a book mark that I purchased from Usborne Books & More and is based on
"Thirty DO's to Remember When Reading Aloud" by Jim Trelease. He has a wonderful website that gives more information on reading aloud. To read more go to www.trelease-on-reading.com

1. Remember: The art of listening is acquired.

2. The first time you read a book, discuss the cover illustration.

3. Read slowly enough for the child to build mental pictures.

4. Use plenty of expression, change your tone of voice, and adjust your pace to fit the story.

5. Encourage involvement; invite the child to turn pages for you.

6. Ask "What do you think is going to happen next?"

7. During repeat readings of a predictable book, stop at key phrases and allow the child to provide the words.

8. If you can't finish a chapter, find a suspenseful spot at which to stop.

9. Paper, crayons and pencils allow active children to keep their hands busy while listening.

10. Reading aloud comes naturally to very few people. To do it with ease takes practice. It's worth it!

St. Patrick's Day Fun!

2010-03-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

Today we had some fun making 2 different types of Shamrock crafts!

For the first one, we cut out a shamrock from white paper.

Glued it to a piece of green paper

Spread glue all over the top of the shamrock

The sprinkled crushed eggshells, dyed green, all over the top.

Turned out pretty!

The second one, we cut out four egg cups from an egg container

We painted the foursome green

The girls decided to sprinkle the leftover eggshells all over these shamrocks too!

When they dried, we put green pipe cleaner stems on.

Turned out pretty! Love that creativity!

Musical Shakers!

2010-03-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

Children love to make nice sounding music!

These shakers are cheap and easy to make and make a really appealing sound.

Start with empty Easter eggs -now is a great time to get these! Fill each one half full with rice. Glue the eggs shut.

Put on some music and start dancing and shaking!

Match the Sounds!

2010-03-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

This "Match the Sound" game helps children listen carefully and pick out differences in the sounds.

Start with a bag of empty Easter eggs.

Gather different objects to put inside the eggs. Ideas: pennies, buttons, beads, beans, rice, cut-up straws, safety pins, barrets and cut-up toothpics.

Fill at least 2 eggs with the same objects.

The Game: Have the children take turns shaking the eggs and finding two that sound the same. Carefully open the eggs to see if they guessed correctly!

Dancing Streamers!

2010-03-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

Children have a natural ability to move to music. They hear the rhythms and beats and must sway and bee-bop around. They love to use these streamers.

The streamers are fun to make and fun to dance with!

Supplies: paper towel or toilet paper rolls, paint, paintbrush, strips of tissue paper, glue and stickers.

Start by painting the rolls different colors.

Glue the streamers on the inside.

Then decorate with stickers and pens.

Time to get moving! We danced to different types of songs such as Blue Danube, Bach's Taccato in D Minor, Carnival of the Animals and Pachabel's Cannon. Pick fast and slow songs, cheerful and dark. The children will move differently to the different sounds.

Bean Box Treasure Hunt Update!

2010-03-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

Some children must experience textures with their whole bodies!

This definitely describes my Shelli. She is always rolling in mud, bark, paint and now beans!

Yes, she has paint all over her face!

The biggest treasure in the treasure box!

Meet Children's Author Laura Numeroff!!

2010-03-10T08:41:00.000-08:00

For those of you in the Sacramento area, there will be a chance to meet the author of If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, Laura Numeroff! She will read her newest book, The Jellybeans and the Big Book Bonanza and others.

This is a free program for the whole family.

What a great way to get your children excited about a book!

Take them to meet a real author!

The program will be at:

The Central Library at 828 I Street, Sacramento.
March 12, 2010
Friday, 6pm
Seating begins at 5:30pm

Guji Guji

2010-03-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

Guji Guji is a "crocoduck"! He is a crocodile adopted by a duck family. They love him very much and he loves them. Their differences do not matter to them.

Then one terrible day three bad crocodiles show up and tell Guji Guji that he must help them since he is a crocodile like them. They want him to lure the ducks to them so they can eat the ducks!

Guji Guji must think. Is he really like the bad crocodiles or is he like his duck family? He comes up with a plan to save the ducks. The crocodiles run off and the ducks celebrate with Guji Guji.

Guji Guji was the duck hero of the day! He continues to live with his duck family.

What does it really mean to be a family?

Guji Guji is a great adoption story! We adopted our youngest daughters and this book is a great way to start conversations about the subject of family and how different families are mad. It would make a great gift for a new family!

What kinds of stories do they tell in Taiwan?

Guji Guji was written by Chih-Yuan Chen and first published in Taiwan then translated into English. So this book also allows us a glimpse into a story from another culture.

Guji Guji can be heard at Storyline Online

And can be purchased for $15.95 at Tonya's Books

Bean Box Treasure Hunt

2010-03-07T11:03:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun time this week with our Bean Box!

I filled a big box with lots of pinto and black beans.

Then I hid small toys under the beans.

The girls had fun searching for the toys and mixing up the two colored beans.

After the treasure hunt, the girls played with the beans like they would in a sandbox. They brought over spoons, cups, buckets and bottles. They practiced pouring, filling and dumping.

Skills-feeling different textures, fine motor skills, pouring, scooping, creative play...

Then Shelli climbed in the box and started throwing the beans-working on her gross motor skills!!!

Rainy Day Book

2010-03-03T10:49:00.000-08:00

It is raining AGAIN today! To make the most of the weather we wrote and illustrated our own rain books.

Skills we worked on: creativity, writing, and drawing

First we read a few books and poems about rain looking for ways rain was described, what people were wearing, and who was running to get out of the rain.

We stapled a few sheets of paper together and used a gray-blue sheet of construction paper to be the cover.

We wrote down ten words about rain:
Splash
Pitter
Patter
Umbrella
Raincoat
Boots
Cat (a cat sitting in the rain)
Home (what our home looks like in the rain
Tree (a tree in the rain)
Run (people running in the rain)

Angel practiced her writing by doing it herself.

I made it fun by getting out the gel pens to make her writing sparkly and colorful.

I wrote out the words for Shelli and then she colored her own pictures.

The girls learned to be creative and worked on writing and reading skills in a new and exciting way.

You can order The Rainy Day for $9.99 at Tonya's Books

The Usborne Little Book of Flowers

2010-03-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

"Flowers have played an important role in people's lives for thousands of years. They have formed part of festivals and rituals, inspired artists, poets and storytellers and even been used as charms for love and luck."

Did you know?

In the past, when most people couldn't read or write, flower symbolism was a language that everyone understood.

Sometimes what you might think is a single flower is actually made up of lots of smaller flowers called florets.

Patterns on the flower's petal, called nectar guides show insects where to find nectar. Some types of flowers have nectar guides that only bees can see!

A butterfly can unfurl it's tube-like mouthparts to reach deeper into flowers than bees can.

In the right conditions, some plants can grow from a single leaf!

It's said that the flower of the month you were born in will bring you good luck.

Many flowers take their names from ancient stories which explain how they came to exist or why they look or grow the way they do.

This little book is a treasure trove of flowery facts, folklore and things to do. There are step by step instructions for planting gardens as well as for painting, drying and pressing flowers.

Because this book is Internet-linked, you can download many of the illustrations to use in crafts and reports, play garden games and watch flower movies.

Packed with charming illustrations and facts, The Usborne Little Book of Flowers makes the perfect gift for flower-lovers of all ages.

Order The Usborne Little Book of Flowers for $7.95 at Tonya's Books

Fingerpainting Letters!

2010-02-25T11:31:00.000-08:00

Another Letter Activity!

Children learn with their whole bodies. And that includes learning to read and write!

A great way to practice writing is to squirt a bunch of fingerpaints on slick paper and let them practice writing a letter over and over again in the slippery paint.

Supplies: Fingerpaint (we used blue since younger sister, Shelli, is learning blue this week)
Fingerpaint paper

Squirt on the fingerpaint and let them go.

Our letter of the week is the Letter S.

Angel wrote an S over and over again.

Shelli wrote an S and then decided to paint her hair and face blue!

Will she learn the color blue this week too??

Letter S - Seashell Painting

2010-02-24T10:47:00.000-08:00

This week's theme is Letter S.

Craft: Seashell Painting

Gather your supplies:

Seashells

watercolors

paintbrush
cup of water

Let them paint the shells any color!

The lighter, brighter colors are prettiest!

Final results-

Beautiful Seashells!

Boys and Books

2010-02-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

These are the facts: By fourth grade, the average boy is two years behind the average girl in reading and writing.

Boys make up 70% of special education classes and are four times more likely to have ADHD than girls.

Boys are 50% more likely to be retained a grade than girls and are three times more likely to be placed in reading/learning disabilities settings.

Boys around the world score less well than girls in reading and writing and have lower motivation to read and write than their female counterparts.

14 year-old boys listed these as their top obstacles to reading:

Boring/no fun: 39.3%
No time/too busy: 29.8%
Like other activities better: 11.1%
Can't get into the stories: 7.7%
I'm not good at it: 4.3%

What can we do about this?

Be aware of the differences between boys and girls when it comes to reading.

Boys read less fiction than girls.

Boys are more inclined to read informational texts.

Some boys are passionate about fantasy.

Boys tend to enjoy excapism and humor.

Provide boys with plenty of the kinds of books they prefer, from the time they are very young.

Provide picture books that contain messages of positive male values such as cooperation, courage, honesty, perseverance, respectfulness, responsibility and tolerance.
source: http://www.reading.org/

Books that appeal to boys:

Conspiracy 365 Series

True Adventure Collection

War Stories

Dinosaurs

Fantasy Quests

Gladiators

Pirate Adventures

True Stories: Pirates

Improve Your Survival Skills

Bats

Sharks

Knights

Tales of King Arthur

These are just a few of the types of books boys love. Go to http://www.tonyasbooks.com/ to order these books or look for others. For personal assistance contact Tonya at dirksen.tonya@gmail.com.

ABC Scavenger Hunt

2010-02-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

It is going to rain again this week! That means more indoor time! A great activity that is fun and reinforces letter and sound recognition is the great ABC Scavenger Hunt.

First, place alphabet cards on the floor.

Then have your children run around the house looking for objects that start with the different letters of the alphabet.

We found a monkey puppet and a moose for the letter M. Shoes, sandals and soccer ball for the letter S.

Shelli found yellow yarn for the letter Y.

This game was fun and the children didn't even know they were learning! They learned letter and sound recognition while running around looking through their toys.

Different children need different levels of help. I would say the sound for Angel and she would brainstorm words that sounded the same.

I just told Shelli what to go find!

Angel was proud to find 2 rabbits for the letter R.

We went in order from A to Z except when Shelli brought a toy out of order. Then we would figure out what card her object belonged on!

They had a great time and even enjoyed the clean up.

Teach Your Child to Read in the Kitchen!

2010-02-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

Children love to be in the kitchen cooking with you! The best learning takes place when they are having fun. Follow these great ideas to teach important literacy skills while having fun with your children!

1. Cook together and chat while you do. When you cook with children, they learn how to combine ingredients, mix, stir and taste. But they also learn language. They use nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs as they talk about what they're doing.

2. Read a recipe together. The recipe is made of words and pictures that communicate exactly what to do. By doing each step in order, the finished product will be delicious!

3. Plan a grocery list. Collect any coupons you can find. Shop together.

4. Read cookbooks! Usborne has the best kid-friendly cookbooks such as The Children's World Cookbook,First Cookbook,

The Usborne Children's Cookbook, Fairy Cooking,and The Usborne Healthy Cookbook. Check out yesterday's book review on The Usborne Healthy Cookbook.

5. Make your own menus.

6. Make place-card labels with everyone's name.

7. Read food labels and talk about nutrition.

8. Make at least one meal a day when you can all sit down together and talk about your day. Conversation builds vocabulary and togetherness.

The Usborne Healthy Cookbook

2010-02-17T10:35:00.000-08:00

What is healthy food?

What should you eat?

How much should you eat?

"Having a healthy diet is all about eating the right amount of lots of different foods. This book is packed with mouth-watering recipes to make you feel healthy and full of energy. With each recipe, you can discover more about the ingredients and why they are so good for you."

Each recipe is presented on a double-page spread with a beautiful delicious looking picture of the finished product. The instructions are broken down into easy steps with illustrations.

Under the list of ingredients are Healthy Food Facts that tell the important nutrients contained in the main ingredients of the recipe.

This book is a nutrition and cooking class rolled into one!

The recipes are very child friendly but also introduces new ingredients for recipes such as Leek and Mushroom Quinoa, Herby Falafels and Salmon in a Packet.

There are also old favorites such as Fruit Smoothies, Chicken Fajita Wraps and Mini Pizzas.

Food can be healthy and delicious!

Honey Berry Swirl

Found on page 58 & 59

Ingredients:

Serves 4

2 oz flaked almonds

1 cup (5 oz) fresh raspberries

1 cup (5oz) fresh blueberries

1 1/2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt

4 tablespoons clear, runny honey

4 small sprigs of fresh mint to decorate

4 glass tumblers or large wine glasses

1. Spread out the flaked almonds on a baking tray. Put them in the broiler on a medium heat for 3 minutes. Watch them to make sure they don't burn.

2. When the almonds are golden carfully take them out of the broiler, wearing oven gloves. Leave the almonds on the tray to cool. Set aside 4 raspberries.

3. Mix together the blueberries and raspberries, then divide half of them between the 4 glasses. Scatter half of the almonds over the berries.

4. Put the yogurt in a mixing bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of honey to the bowl. Swirl the yogurt and honey together once or twice to create a marble effect.

5. Spoon half of the yogurt mixture into the 4 glasses. Scatter the rest of the berries over the yogurt. Scatter the rest of the almonds on top.

6. Divide the rest of the yogurt mixture between the glasses. Put one raspberry and a sprig of fresh mint on top of each glass for decoration.

The Usborne Healthy Cookbook is $16.99 available at http://www.tonyasbooks.com/

The Benefits of Reading Aloud to Your Child

2010-02-16T08:26:00.000-08:00

The Benefits of Reading Aloud to Your Child

1. Reading to children at a higher level than they read introduces them to new words and ideas, and accelerates their reading progress.

2. Children who are read to at least three times a week are almost twice as likely to score in the top 25% on standardized tests than those who are read to less than three times a week.

3. Reading to your child creates a lasting bond between you and your child.

A child spends 900 hours a year in school and 7,800 hours at home - you are their primary teacher- you play an important role in your child's education!

Research shows that:

Children who read the most read the best
The presence and ownership of books/magazines/newspapers at home is a key factor linked to success at school.

Three things to do TODAY to help your child develop good reading habits

Create three book boxes, (shoe box, basket) filled with plenty of reading materials. Place one by the kitchen table or where your child eats breakfast, one in the bathroom, and one next to your child's bed.
Place a reading light by your child's bed.
Allow your child to stay awake 20 minutes longer at bedtime if they choose to read in bed.

source: Usborne Books & More January-July 2010 catalog

Create Your Own Take-along Book Bags!

2010-02-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

Children learn best when they do an activity that goes along with a story. Book Bags are very educational and foster imagination, creative thinking and a love of books in children! The library has book bags for check out and Usborne Books sells Kid Kits. But you can make your own by combining a book, an activity or two and a few supplies to go with it.

A Book Bag is a great take-along, a handy way to carry literature and related activities wherever busy people go with their children.

You can make one for your own children or put one together for a birthday or baby shower gift.

Here are some ideas!

The Farmyard Tales Storybook and The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales can be paired with train sets and farm animal toys. The children can act out stories such as Pig Gets Stuck, Naughty Sheep and Rusty's Train Ride as you read them aloud.

Another idea is to put together supplies needed to make paper bag puppets and lead the children to make animal puppets that can be used to act out the stories.

Put paper, pens and crayons in a kit with I Can Draw People, I Can Draw Animals or The Big Book of Playtime Activities. Take the bag along with you in the car and use in waiting rooms. Any of these would also make a great birthday gift!

Many of the books can be paired with a stuffed animal for a toddler's birthday or a baby shower gift. The child can use the stuffed animal for acting out the story as well as a companion to read to!

There are a lot of cute stuffed dogs and cats that will go with That's Not My Puppy and Find the Kitten.

I found a lot of finger puppets at garage sales that are perfectly paired with The Usborne Book of Fairy Tales. Children can act out the Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and The Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood.

Recycling Things to Make & Do is an easy one to pair with supplies! Just collect paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, paper clips, rubber bands, nails, scraps of paper, glue and scissors. Have everything ready to do the great activities inside!

That's Not My Angel: This next one just needs one Angel! Not every family will be able to put this kid kit together!

Be creative! Use these ideas to come up with your own Book Bags! Your children will have fun learning!

www.TonyasBooks.com

www.TonyasBooks.blogspot.com/

Reach For The Stars!

2010-02-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

Reach For the Stars!

Do you want to teach your children about community service?

How great would it be to give a brand new book to a child in our community whose family is going through some hard times?

Join our Read-a-thon and READ in order to earn books for your family and brand new books for children in need!

50% of donations collected will go to books as prizes for readers

The other 50% of donations collected will go to books for

Love INC.

When: March 1- March 12
What: Commit to read for 30 minutes a day for 10 days and gather pledges
How: Pick up a pledge sheet at the Open House on February 27 or call Tonya Dirksen
Read and Collect Pledges
Turn in pledge sheets and donations to Tonya Dirksen by Monday, March 15.
Open House Rally
February 27, 11am-1pm (after Book Club 10-11am)

Questions? Contact Tonya Dirksen (916) 812-2875 or dirksen.tonya@gmail.com

Ten Read Aloud Commandments

2010-02-10T09:16:00.000-08:00

Mem Fox's Ten Read Aloud Commandments

1. Spend at least 10 wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud.

2. Read at least three stories a day: it may be the same story three times. Children need to hear 1,000 stories before they can begin to learn to read.

3. Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don't be dull, or flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot.

4. Read with joy and enjoyment: real enjoyment for yourself and great joy for the listeners.

5. Read the stories that the kids love, over and over and over again, and always read in the same 'tune' for each book: i.e. with the same intonations on each page, each time.

6. Let children hear lots of language by talking to them constantly about the pictures or anything else connected to the book; or sing any old song that you can remember; or say nursery rhymes in a bouncy way; or be noisy together doing clapping games.

7. Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books for young children, and make sure the books are really short.

8. Play games with the things that you and the child can see on the page, such as letting kids finish rhymes, and finding the letters that start the child's name and yours, remembering that it's never work, it's always a fabulous game.

9. Never ever teach reading, or get tense around books.

10. Please read aloud every day, mums and dads, because you just love being with your child, not because it's the right thing to do.

Source: http://www.memfox.com/ten-read-aloud-commandments.html

Hear Wonderful Stories Read Aloud by Award Winning Author

2010-02-09T10:21:00.000-08:00

Mem Fox is an author, reading advocate and story teller. Listen to her read her stories aloud at http://www.memfox.com/mem-reads-aloud

She also has tips on how to be a better story reader. Go there today and listen!

I Can Draw Animals

2010-02-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

I Can Draw Animals

By Ray Gibson

Review By Tonya Dirksen

I Can Draw Animals ranks #2 of most popular Usborne Books. It is certainly Angel's favorite book and a favorite at every home show. It is a part of the Usborne Playtime series which offers learning activities that are original and fun. This book has simple step by step instructions that even the youngest artist can follow. Each animal picture is shaded and colored in such a way that is easy to copy. Every picture comes out cute and framable.

This is Angel's lion.

This is Angel's flamingo. She is so proud of it!

This is Angel's frog.

Aren't her pictures fantastic? Angel is five years old and can follow the instructions on her own to create such cute pictures.

Little sister, Shelli joins in!

Our favorite animals to draw are the lion, sleeping cat with a cute little mouse sneaking past and the bumble bee. Angel can draw them by herself but we often draw together for a great family time!

This book is an awesome deal at $4.99! It can be purchased at http://www.tonyasbooks.com/ or call me at (916) 812-2875.

Need Help Reading to Your Child Everyday?

2010-02-04T09:02:00.000-08:00

Listen to books with read-along CDs!

Children need to hear 1,000 stories before they are ready to learn to read!

That is a lot of stories. But you can get some help by playing read-along CDs! CDs are the next best thing to mom and dad! They can be played while in the car, as you are cooking dinner and as your child is falling asleep.

Benefits of Listening to a Story:

Child associates letters with words and words with meanings
Child can hear the same story over and over again
Child will start to recognize familiar words
Child will start to read along!

Make Your Own Read-Alongs!

You can make your own read-along by recording yourself reading the story. Even grandparents who live far away can stay connected with their grandchildren by recording themselves reading a story. What a wondeful way for your child to enjoy a story when you or grandma and grandpa aren't available (or your mouth is too tired!)

Usborne has some wonderful read-along stories!

The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales (see book review
The Usborne Book fo Bible Stories
The Little Book of Train Stories
Black Beauty
The Billy Goats Gruff
The Frog Prince
The Nutcracker
The Princess and the Pea
Gulliver's Travels
Stories of Magical Animals
Pinocchio
Stories of Robots

All titles are available at http://www.tonyasbooks.com/

One Thousand Stories!

2010-02-03T09:13:00.000-08:00

Are we trying to teach children to read before they have heard enough stories?

Experts tell us children need to hear one thousand stories read aloud before they begin to learn to read for themselves!

How long does it take to hear 1,000 stories?

1 story a day = 3 years

2 stories a day = 2 years

3 stories a day = 1 year

Try to read 3 stories every day.

Try to read 1 favorite story

1 familiar story

1 new story

When can you find the time to read 3 stories a day?

Read During Breakfast and Lunch
Listen to a book on CD in the car
Read during Bathtime
Read in the doctor's Waiting Room
Read Before Naptime and Bedtime
Always carry a Bag of Books with You!

"The fire of literacy is created by the emotional sparks between a child, a book, and the person reading, not by any one of these, but by the relationship winding between all three, bringing them together in easy harmony." -Mem Fox

Conspiracy 365, January

2010-02-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

Tonya's Terrific Book Review

Saturday was our first Conspiracy 365 Book Club! It was fantastic. Eleven kids (11-15 year olds) joined in the lively discussion after eating muffins and coffee cake. There was debating, speculating and pure fun going on. There was never a quiet, dull moment; everyone had so much to say! What a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

The book club is reading the Conspiracy 365 series. Read my book review and then check out the website at http://www.conspiracy365us.com/

Let me know if your child would like to join us. There is always room for one more!

The book can also be ordered and read without joining the book club. To purchase go to http://www.tonyasbooks.com/

Conspiracy 365

By Gabrielle Lord

Review by Tonya Dirksen

"They killed your father, they'll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days!" On New Year's Eve, Callum Ormond is confronted by an old sick man who speaks these words to him just as the non-stop action begins.

That is how Conspiracy 365, January, begins and the action continues through the whole book. Conspiracy 365 is a hot new series for 2010 with a new book available every month. It has been described as a cross between The Da Vinci Code and 24. The story is told in real time with each chapter beginning with the time and day. The page numbers count backward to coincide with Cal's 365 day countdown.

Cal, the 15 year old teen turned fugitive, is confronted by mystery and adventure on each page. Hunted by the law and criminals, Cal must somehow uncover the truth about his father's mysterious death and a history-changing secret. His father has left clues and puzzles that Cal must figure out in order to solve this mystery.

This book is a page turner that will keep your 11-15 year old turning pages until the end and will leave them wanting more. Amanda, my 12 year old daughter, read the book in two sittings! She could not stop reading until the middle of the night and can't wait until the next book. Amanda has never been so interested in a story before and I am so glad we have found this series.

About the author: Gabrielle Lord is Australia's first lady of crime. She has published a wide range of writing including reveiws, articles, short stories and non-fiction, but she is best known for her psychological thrillers.

Don't miss the fun and action! Start reading Conspiracy 365, January today!

Please contact me if you have any questions or if I can help you in anyway! Remember I do home shows, personal shopping, book fairs and reading incentive challenges.

Have a great Tuesday!

http://www.tonyasbooks.com/

Is Your Preschooler Keeping a Journal?

2010-01-28T09:05:00.000-08:00

Did you know having your child dictate journal entries or stories to you is an excellent way to teach her important literacy skills? Writing what your child is thinking is a great way to build self-awareness, express feelings and helps you find out what she is thinking. This is easy to do once you get into the habit. Keep a notebook or clipboard handy and ask your child to tell you what she wants you to write. At first it's hard to get her thinking in terms of something to say, but with practice, it will come easier.

It can be a sort of diary about what she did that say or what she wants to do another day. ("We saw a red bird today. It landed right in front of us." or "Today I shopped for shoes.")
It can be what he's thinking about on any topic. ("Joey has a big dog, but he doesn't have fish. I think a dog is more fun.")
It can be what she's feeling that she may not have had a chance to express; any emotion at all is acceptable. (I really don't like it when I have to make my bed!")
It can also be a story that he made up.

Whatever it is, you write it exactly as she says it. Make sure she knows you are writing what she says. Date it and put it in the same place every time, where it's easy to find.

This helps to develop the understanding that words we say translate into letters on the paper. Then other people can read what we are saying.

Occasionally, take out all the dictation and read them to him He will be proud of his "writings" and he will get even more ideas of what he wants to say next time.

Source: Bev Bos, nationally-recognized expert on Early Childhood Education, turnthepage.com

Why are Nursery Rhymes So Important?

2010-01-26T10:48:00.001-08:00

Why are nursery rhymes so important?

Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they are 4 years old, they are usually among the best readers by the time they are 8! Source: Reading Magic, by Mem Fox, p. 85

How many nursery ryhmes can your children recite?

How many can you recite?

Easy List

Baa, Baa Black Sheep

Hey, Diddle Diddle

Hickory, Dickory, Dock

Humpty Dumpty

Jack and Jill

Jack Sprat

Little Bo-Peep

Little Boy Blue

Old Mother Hubbard

Little Miss Muffet

Hard List

Hot Cross Buns

I Had a Little Nut Tree

Little Jack Horner

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

Simple Simon

Sing a Song of Sixpence

Old King Cole

The Grand Old Duke of York

Wee Willie Winkie

Three Blind Mice

Tonya's Terrific Book Review

That's Not My Puppy

By Fiona Watt

Illustrated by Rachel Wells

Review by Tonya Dirksen

That's Not My Puppy, an Usborne touchy-feely book is very popular with the infant through preschool crowd. Each page of the board book features a different puppy that is sporting a patch of texture to be touched. The text describes what is being felt so the child is learning the correct description and vocabulary word of the texture. There is a very cute puppy and also a little white mouse to find on each page.

Shelli, my 2 year old, loves this book. She enjoys the hands-on activity that goes along with reading. The touching helps her concentrate and pay attention a little bit longer than normal.

This book would make a great baby shower gift or an early years birthday gift!

That's Not My Puppy and Little Book of Nursery Rhymes can be found at http://www.tonyasbooks.com/

I am exited to announce the launch of my new blog where you can access Tonya's Terrific Book Reviews and other literacy ideas! Check it out at http://tonyasbooks.blogspot.com/

The Usborne Complete Book of the Human Body

2010-01-23T12:15:00.000-08:00

The Usborne Complete Book of the Human Body

By Anna Claybourne

Review by Tonya Dirksen

"If bones are hard, how do children's bones grow?"

This question and many more are answered in the Usborne Book of the Complete Human Body. This is a fascinating book packed with interesting facts, beautiful illustrations and engaging and clear text. There are fantastic microscope and x-ray pictures that enhance each topic.

This book is also Internet-linked which means you can link to a website which will give you more information about a particular topic. This is a great resource for school reports and projects. The websites often have more experiments and activities that can easily be turned into a science project. Many of the pictures and illustrations featured in the book are downloadable and are excellent for homework and reports.

To give you an example, let's examine the skeleton page. The skeleton is discussed over a double page spread. There is a large x-ray of a walking human skeleton with all of the bones labeled. Another picture is a close-up x-ray of a wrist that points out the carpals or wrist bones. At the top is a microscope picture of the honeycomb structure inside the bone shown at about 70 times life-size. There is also a close-up of the stapes, the smallest bone in the body. At the bottom is a box explaining what bone detectives or archaeologists do. Above that is a beautiful, downloadable illustration of the layers of the bones.

The Internet link for this page takes you to a website where you can take a tour of the human skeleton and play an interactive game. You can do that right now by going to http://www.usborne-quicklinks.com/, use the keywords "complete body" and page 18.

Framing these beautiful pictures and illustrations are facts about the skeleton. Let's answer our earlier question: "If bones are hard, how do children's bones grow?" The answer is that their skeletons aren't all bony. Some of their bones are made of a softer material, called cartilage. The illustration shows a 12 year-old's bones containing cartilage discs. The bone next to it is an adult bone in which the cartilage has turned to bone. To see this please turn to page 19!

To order this book and other Internet linked books please visit my website at http://www.tonyasbooks.com/ or call me at (916) 812-2875.

The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales

2010-01-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales

By Heather Amery

Illustrated by Stephen Cartwright

Review by Tonya Dirksen

There are many fun and entertaining adventures on Apple Tree Farm in The Complete Book of Farmyard Tales. This delightful book is a combined volume of all 20 engaging Farmyard Tales stories. It also comes with a read-along CD that features a gentleman with a wonderful British accent reading each of the stories.

Each story takes place at Apple Tree Farm and includes the same cast of characters: Mrs. Boot; her two children, Poppy and Sam; their dog, Rusty; as well as various lovable farm animals. The other farm animals include Curly the Pig, Woolly the Naughty Sheep, Ears the Donkey, and Whiskers the Cat. Tractors get stuck, fire trucks are called to put out a fire behind the barn and two dogs take a train ride on their own. Children love getting to know the characters and following their adventures. Not to mention looking for the little yellow duck hiding on each page!

This book also has a detailed map of the area that makes it fun to find all the spots in which the stories take place.

Another special feature of this book is that it is a dual-reader book. The top line is first grade reading level. Just reading the top line tells the complete story. The bottom lines are second/third grade reading levels and add more details to the story. Therefore there are several ways this book can be read. You could just read the top line to a toddler with a short attention span. As your child gets older you could read aloud both the top and bottom lines. As your child began to read on her own she could read the top line while a more advanced reader read the bottom line. Eventually, your child could read both lines on her own. Of course it is always fun to read together during a special family reading time.

My little girls love reading the Farmyard Tales stories and getting to know all of the friendly characters. I know this book will continue to be a favorite as they learn to read and learn to love reading!

You can order this book on my website at http://www.tonyasbooks.com/ or give me a call at (916) 812-2875.

Usborne Books make learning and reading fun!

2010-01-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

Hello,

My name is Tonya and I help parents prepare their children for a lifetime of learning by providing awesome books that make learning and reading fun. Thank you for joining Tonya's Books and investing in your children!

My first question for you is what is the most important aspect of your child's education? Is it math? science? computers? How about reading?

They must know how to read in order to master all the other subjects.

What are you doing to insure your child's success?

Experts say parents should be reading to their children (birth to teens) for 20-30 minutes a day! Those students who are read to have a much stronger vocabulary plus they learn to enjoy reading on their own which leads to better study habits.

How do you get your children to read?

Just like any other new skill, reading must be practiced. Humans are creatures of pleasure. We will only do what we like and enjoy so how do you get your children to enjoy reading? If they enjoy it then they will read with pleasure without you forcing them!

How do you select books your children will enjoy reading?

I am going to show you how to make reading and learning fun!

Usborne Books & More has books that children love to read. There are 1400 books for babies through high school. There is something exciting for everyone!

These books are magnetic - drawing children to them with their pictures, questions and activities. These books will help your children fall in love with reading.

There are touchy-feely books for the littlest readers, dual reader books for learning readers, picture books in every subject, and Internet-linked books for the older student. I will be posting book reviews to help you pick the best books for your students.

These are also awesome books for gifts! Baby showers, birthdays, Christmas and just because.

I want to help you pick the right books by being your personal shopper. I will be posting book reviews on all of these fantastic books so that you can be informed and choose what is right for you and your family.

You can also have me visit your home where I can show you and your friends my wonderful inventory of books.

Besides servicing families directly, I also service schools, pre-schools, day-cares and other organizations by holding book fairs and reading incentive challenges. These are great ways to raise books and funds for the children in your lives and community!

I am also building a team of Usborne Independent Consultants and would love to have to join me in this great adventure! Let me know if you would like more information on the Usborne opportunity!
Don't forget to check out my website at http://www.tonyasbooks.com/.