Reviews of Books for Children Which Bring American History to Life

These Amazing Books Bring American History to Life

Peter Crabtree and Bobbie Kalman are responsible for some of the most appealing American history books for children of all ages that I've ever seen. I first became aware of these books while I was in the business of selling educational books for children. They are not boring, like textbooks. They are designed to make children want to pick them up and read them. When I sold these at home school conventions, even the parents loved reading them. These books sold themselves as soon as people looked inside of them. I myself learned much from them. 

The Early Settler Series

Buy Early Settler Storybook

Educator Bobbie Kalman wrote most of these books. The first series she produced was called the Early Settler Series. It is now mostly out of print, but copies are available on Amazon. As you can see by the cover art on this title, the art is nostalgic in style. The books look old fashioned. There are lots of illustrations to enhance the text. The reading level is about third or fourth grade and up. The illustrations will not be considered too young by older children. 

These books sold very well for me. Titles include Early Christmas, Early Stores and Markets, Early Loggers and the Sawmill, Early Travel, Early Village Life, Food for the Settler, Early Schools, Early Family Home, Early Settler Children, Early Settler Storybook, Early Artisans, Early Pleasures and Pastimes, Early Farm Life, Early City Life, and Early Health and Medicine.The link above should lead you to all available titles. A complete collection will show children exactly what life was like for the earliest settlers of what is now the United States. 

The Historic Communities Series

Bobbie Kalman's next series, Historic Communities, made some changes in format. These books look more modern. Wherever possible they are illustrated with photographs from living history museums and towns. If you've ever been to Williamsburg or Sturbridge Village, these books will make you feel like you are there again. There are several photographs and / or color illustrations on each two-page spread. Each book 32-page book also has a glossary to explain unfamiliar words and an index to make it easy for readers to find what they are looking for. These books are visually designed for children as young as first grade, but I would expect most children would need to be at a second or third grade level to read them independently. 

Buy A Colonial Town Williamsburg

Let's use an example: A Colonial Town Williamsburg. This book gives an overview of the history of Williamsburg followed by a beautiful pictorial map illustrating the buildings and their locations. The reader then gets a photographic tour of some sights that would have been common to the colonists. These include shops and taverns and the garden areas that were often behind them. We see children getting water from a well, since there was no indoor plumbing. We see a ladder on the roof for putting out chimney fires. We see a slave boy grooming a horse and we learn why horses were important to the colonists.

In the next parts of the book we visit the buildings: the Governor's Palace, the public buildings, Bruton Parish Church, The College of William and Mary, the apothecary, the windmill, and the shops. We not only see photographs, but we learn the purpose of each building and why it was important to the community. As the courthouse is shown, we learn about colonial justice and punishments. In relationship to the apothecary we learn about colonial health care and treatments. We learn how the windmill works.

We meet the people of Williamsburg, from the gentry down to the slaves and get a feel for their places in the community. We see a harness maker at work in his shop. At the end we learn about Project Williamsburg and how students are involved.

Each book in the Historic Communities series introduces readers to a rich pictorial presentation of some aspect of early American colonial life. Each book allows children to step hundreds of years back in history and see what a child's day was like, which games children played, how food was produced and cooked, what people wore, what a school day was like, and more. Here is a brief summary of selected titles. You can see all the titles available for sale on Amazon.

Buy A Child's Day

A Child's Day: Ever wondered what chores the early settler children did, or what they did in their spare time if they had any? How were their schools, foods, and clothing different from those of children today? Color photographs and original artwork bring these children from earlier times to life.

Classroom Games: Even back in early classrooms, teachers used games to help their students learn spelling and creative writing, arithmetic and science, geography, art, history, drama and reciting, good behavior, and music. They even had scavenger hunts back then. Besides games still played in classrooms today, such as spelling bees, students played word games, alphabet games, arithmetic games, and more. In outdoor classrooms, students made gardens and nature crafts. The games in this book are easily transferable to today's classrooms, where they can still make learning fun

Colonial Crafts: Watch the artisans and craftsmen at work in colonial times. Visit the workshops of the wheelwright, the cooper, the founder, the shoemaker, the milliner, the gunsmith, and many more. Discover how these people were trained through the apprenticeship program.

Buy Colonial Life

Colonial Life: Meet the hard-working members of a colonial community. Learn about the importance of family relationships and discover the importance of religion and education to these people. Watch plantation life and see the plight of the slaves. Observe how people traveled and spent their leisure time.

Customs and Traditions: This is one of my favorites. It explains how the early settlers preserved history, predicted the weather, cooked and ate, welcomed a new baby, and celebrated courtships, weddings, holidays, and the harvest.

Buy Fort Life

Fort Life: Forts played a vital role in the New World because they offered protection. Learn about the different types of forts, the parts of the fort and how they functioned, and what went in in the lives of the families who lived in the forts.

The General Store: The general store was the hub of a town's life. It's where people went to buy their supplies, sniff the marvelous aromas, and see the colors of bright, new fabrics. It was a place for people to dream, make deals, gossip, and socialize. The photographs and illustrations will make you feel you are there.

Home Crafts: In this book you will see, step by step, how the early settlers made candles and soap, carded and spun wool, dyed cloth, and sewed samples. The color photographs really make you feel as though you were watching.

Buy In the Barn

In The Barn:  See all the activity that went on in the barns of busy settler farms. Watch as cows are milked, hogs get their slop, and the stalls get cleaned. Share in the work and fun of a barn-raising. See how the chores changed with the seasons.

The Kitchen: When you've read this book you will feel you've visited a colonial home, and entered the kitchen where the family spent a good deal of its time. You will see the fireplace, the tools and utensils surrounding it, and the chores that were done there (baking bread, churning butter, etc.)

Life on a Plantation: Watch the daily activities of plantation owners and their slaves. Compare their lifestyles. Readers will see life in the "big house," in the slave quarters, and in the cotton, rice, and tobacco fields. The customs and festivals of the estate are also explained.

Buy A One-Room School

A One-Room School: The first priority of any early settler community was building a school. This book explains what these one-room schools were like, what they taught, how students studied when books were scarce, how students were disciplined, and what went on during recess.

Buy Pioneer Projects

Pioneer Projects: In this book you will find step-by-step instructions for children and parents who want to make pioneer crafts. There are also instructions for making a model of a settler town.

Buy Early Settler Sayings

Settler Sayings: This is another of my favorites. Ever wondered why we say such things as "flash in the pan" or getting down to brass tacks"? This book explains how some of these old saying have their roots in the day-to-day lives of the early settlers.

Other titles this series include The Gristmill, Visiting a Village, Tools and Gadgets, Old Time Toys, Children's Clothing of the 1800's, The Victorian Home, Spanish Missions, 19^th Century Girls and Women, 18^th Century Clothing, 19^th Century Clothing, Victorian Christmas, Colonial Home, Travel in the Early Days, Pioneer Recipes, and Schoolyard Games. You can find all Historic Communities titles in print (and maybe some that aren't) by following this link.

I highly recommend the books in these two series to parents who want to take their children to see places important in our country's early history. I found that using books to prepare my own children for living history museums and other historic places helped them to understand what they were seeing and got them thinking about which questions they wants to ask docents when they had the opportunity. 

These books are also great resources for children educated at home or in schools, who might not be able to visit historic sites in person as we did. Videos may also be helpful, but they move quickly. Books allow children good long looks at what most interests them.  These should be in every elementary school library. Because of their low reading level and visual impact, these books are also ideal for reluctant or low-level readers in upper grades. 

If you would like to show your children how the early settlers and colonists lived in America, don't miss these. 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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A Review of My Life in Greeting Cards

An Impossible Dream?

Some of My Favorite Greeting Card Lines

"You should make your own card line, " my friend said.

At the time I was a card buyer for Logos of Westwood, a Christian bookstore in Los Angeles, and I loved greeting cards. I loved reading them. I loved discovering new card lines I was sure my customers would love. I loved roaming the aisles at the Los Angeles Gift Show every year to find something unique, funny, lovely, warm or thought-provoking that stayed within the bounds of good taste.

Every day I when I arrived at work, I'd check first thing to see which cards were selling. I loved competing with the other card stores and departments in the rest of Westwood Village. It made my day when people came in to browse the card racks and walked to the counter with cards by the handful.

But make my own card line? I didn't see how it was possible. I couldn't draw, but I knew I could find the words to match pictures. In 1975, though, designing and printing cards was an expensive business. I didn't see how I'd ever be able to make it work.

Cards in this picture are from my Logos days. From left to right, a Fravessi card designed by Rose Shirvenian, a Marian Heath card, and a Suzy's Zoo note card published by Current and designed by Suzy Spafford.

My Kingdom

What’s in this picture was only part of my department. It was my job to pick out each individual card that went into these racks. I did not allow the salespeople to inventory and stock them.I did it myself. When the reps came to call, I’d look at all the cards they had to offer in each line. I’d pick the ones for the store that I myself responded to or that met all the criteria I had. Cards that depended upon put-downs for their humor were rejected. I wanted cards that would promote and enhance communication between individuals.

 My target market was the people like me that liked to hang around card departments and just read cards. As we read, we’d see one we just had to get for this friend or that, or the perfect birthday card for Aunt Sue whose birthday was in two months, etc. Those who have the card browsing habit respond by buying the cards they like. In those days, email did not yet exist for the average person. Personal computers did not exist yet. So people still bought lots of greeting cards.

When people think of greeting cards, they often think first of Hallmark, at least they did back then. But we were a small independent Christian bookstore that hadn’t yet been in business for a year. Cards were supposed to be small part of our overall business. Hallmark wouldn’t even consider letting us stock their cards — not with a Hallmark store around the corner, Robinson’s across the street, and a stationery shop next door — all of whom carried Hallmark exclusively and would not appreciate the competition. So my job was to find alternatives.

Unlike many bookstores, we were a nonprofit organization, designed to be a ministry that reached out to college students searching for truth. We were also there to supply the books the Christian students at UCLA needed to grow their spiritual lives. The idea was to be within walking distance of the campus. Cards and gift items were what we called “bridge items” that were the first thing people saw as they entered the store.

Since most Christian bookstores of that day depended a lot upon selling church supplies, they tended to serve an older population of pastors and Sunday School teachers. They looked “churchy” from the moment the customer walked in. Logos stores like ours, which were always located near college campuses, did not want to look that way. The books were toward the back, and the cards and gift islands were at the front to engage the customers as they walked in.

Choosing Cards

As a card buyer, I had my personal dislikes. One of them was rhyming sentimental cards in iambic pentameter. I remember how I and the gal I was training to replace me (who left before I did) used to sit at the back with a box of these and laugh our heads off at the “syrup” that dripped from these cards. Ordinarily we didn’t carry this line except for Christmas and Valentine’s Day when we had a lot of men needing cards for their mothers and wives and other relatives. I often wondered why so many of the Christian card lines of the day were of this sentimental type and seemed geared to the tastes of the elderly — or their supposed tastes.

br /> However, I finally found some Christian lines with a contemporary look. Dayspring was one of them.  Dayspring cards often have a lovely photograph with a Scripture verse. They still have such cards, as well as other Christian cards with both contemporary and more traditional and floral designs.

We were not limited to Christian lines, however. Our criteria for choosing was based on Philippians 4: 9: “…whatever is true…,honorable…,just…,pure…,lovely…,gracious.” That did not exclude humor, but it had to be warm humor, that made the recipient feel better rather than insulted. I was after beauty, clean designs, and sentiments that would enhance communication between people. I wanted the kind of cards that made the buyer think, ” I really don’t need a card, but this is perfect to send to my friend Myra who’s going through a tough time, so I’ll get it.” We had lots of “thinking of you” type friendship cards for such buyers.

HIPPO BIRDIE GREETING CARD

One of the first major lines (meaning gigantic) we bought was a new one called Recycled Cards. Their first artist was Sandra Boynton, whose “Hippo Birdie” card pictured above, was an instant best seller with not only the college students, but also the senior ladies who liked to window shop in Westwood. Our section of Recycled Cards expanded to the point where we needed more card racks to hold them. I was thrilled to see that Sandra Boynton has chosen to market many of her products at Zazzle now. Visit her store:Sandra Boynton

Sandra Boynton Books

Boynton's Greatest Hits

After designing over 4,000 greeting cards, Boynton branched out into other products, including children's books. This set is a collection of some of them. It's not only Boynton's designs which make her work so popular, but also the way she plays with words. This boxed set contains four of Boynton's most popular board books. Toddlers love the bright colors, humorous drawings, and the short verses that beg to be read. Click the caption for a closer look. 

Suzy's Zoo

 Suzy's Note Card Collection Stationery, Witzy & Boof - 10852 Suzy's Note Card Collection Stationery, Herkimer with Flowers - 10868 Suzy's Zoo New 2012 Assorted Birthday Card 6-pack 10153

Suzy Spafford's Suzy's Zoo cards will brighten up anyone's day. She gives her animal characters very expressive personalities and paints them in bold colors. See the duck in my top photo. 

The cards above are a sampling of note cards at Amazon. There are also mugs, stickers, and many other products with her designs at Amazon. 

Leanin' Tree

Amazon has a number of Leaning Tree collections by different artists available. Susan Winget, featured below, is one of my favorites. 

 The Art of Susan Winget - 20 cards with full-color interiors and 22 designed envelopes by Leanin' Tree

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Funny Birthday Card from Leanin' Tree

Leanin' Tree is another line I have always liked. They have many styles of cards. Some are beautiful nature cards. Some are funny western style cards like the one to the right. 

Some are humorous with cute animals like the one below. You can see them all easily by following any of the caption links.

A Birthday is No Time to Show Restraint
From the Thoughts and Felines Package

Crocus Cards by Nancy Donohue

One part of my job I really enjoyed was seeing what new cards the sales representatives had to offer me. I’ll never forget the day Camille, one of my favorite reps, introduced me to the D. Forer Company. She was short, and looked a bit weary. Who wouldn’t after lugging loaded display cases for several blocks? Parking in Westwood was very scarce and very expensive. When she came calling on me, she hit pay dirt. She pulled from one of her cases a line of cards called Crocus, published by The Forers, New York, and created by Nancy Donohue, about whom not much is written on the web. The only reference to her I could find was in a list of files belonging to an agent at the time of his death. Yet this woman must have brought smiles to thousands, if not millions, who read her cards.

In the card pictured here, one of the few I have left, the tissue box brand is “dripensnort facial tissues,” and the inside reads simply “and get you well soon.” I wish I had the entire collection to share with you. Born in the 1970′s, this line features the character you see here and some of her friends. It was obvious Nancy must have been a gardener, since there were so many references to plants in her greetings. I remember the punch line to one get well card was “All you need is a good mulching.” Another get well card and best seller showed our character with determined look, pointing a hose coming from a huge kettle of chicken soup. The inside read “You WILL get well.”

One of my favorite friendship cards she designed had a weary looking owl leaning on a young tree with only a couple of leaves. It said, “On occasion you must give into feeling dreadful and hope it will pass and everyone will still love you.” Inside it said simply, “It will and they do.” I still have this card, waiting for just the right time to send it.

If you think Nancy cared only about the sick, you’d be wrong. Her anniversary and wedding cards were among the most original and funny I’ve ever seen. Her Valentines were warm and wonderful and sold like hotcakes. And you couldn’t do better than one of her birthday cards. I have never yet seen any card on the market at any price I liked better than these, because they captured the depths of the human spirit, and they had an undertone of affection and kind humor. They were designed to make the reader smile.

Blue Mountain

Most of you reading this probably have always known about Blue Mountain cards and books. Many of you have probably sent their e-cards. In the 1970's though, Blue Mountain was a revolutionary step away from the gushy sentimental iambic pentameter verse that turned my generation off, to a fresh way to convey the thoughts of love and friendship many were feeling. These were the cards I sent my parents and loved ones that said just what I wanted to say, but better than I could say it. Logos of Westwood was the first in Westwood Village to feature a complete rack of these cards,and I was proud to introduce them. Unlike many of my favorite lines, these are still available today. The line of books has become very popular as well, and you can still get many of them.

 Blue Mountain: Turning Dreams Into Reality

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Blue Mountain: Turning Dreams Into Reality

I can hardly wait to read this book by Susan Polis Schutz. It seems Hallmark tried to incorporate the look of the Blue Mountain line as they have tried to imitate so many other competitors. In this book, we see how the Schutz's fought Hallmark and won. I was one of those small college stores they called on in those beginning years, and I'm glad I had a part in making them successful. See some of the other beautiful Blue Mountain gift books here.

Andy Wong taught me all I knew about retail business.

It was Andy , the general manager, who let me be queen of the cards at Logos. His background was in physics and he was working on his Ph.D. in that subject when he was persuaded by one of his Christian professors to become the assistant manager of the new Logos store in 1972. I joined the staff in July of that year after volunteering for a few months. Andy was promoted to manager not too long after. He was energetic and had a lot of business sense, though he never, as far as I know, had formal education in that area. He trained me on things like inventory, working with sales reps, and managing my department. For short times I was even allowed to sub for him as manager when he was on vacation or medical leave. Without the things he taught me, I would never have known how to work with publishers, make the most of a trade show, or just organize my purchase orders and accounts payable.

He gave me the opportunity to spend most of my time when the store was open working with customers and recommending books at their request. It wasn’t long before customers would begin looking for me so that they could ask me what to buy next. All staff members were encouraged to borrow books from the shelves to take home and read so that we would know enough about them to make such recommendations. Whereas cards spoke for themselves, books didn’t. I could come in before the store was open and restock and clean up my department, and then, unless I was seeing a rep, I worked the floor and became a book salesperson.

At various times, I acted as gift buyer, as well as card buyer, and was consulted about children’s books when Andy was working with publishers’ reps. I and Marion, Andy’s wife and our gift buyer, attended the gift show twice a year in Los Angeles, and although it was hectic and tiring, it was also fun. I stayed at Logos from 1972 to 1981. By the time I left, Robinson’s and the stationery store next to Logos had either stopped carrying Hallmark or had given more of their space to other card companies. The Hallmark Store around the corner had gone out of business. I like to think that I was partly responsible for that.

It was obvious it was time to move on after I moved an hour’s drive away, and the drive was worse in heavy traffic. I carried my love of all things paper with me as I moved to Ventura County. I still thought it would be fun to create my own cards, but then, in 1982, I became a foster parent and that put everything else out of my mind.

From cards to kids to books, to Squidoo, and back to cards.

We will leave a few gaps here that have been filled in with other articles I’ve written that cover my parenting years, the loss of my children, and various aspects of my education resource book business, Barb’s People Builders. I am now retired from that business. 

When I started writing for Squidoo, I found out about Zazzle. Most of my Squidoo friends had Zazzle stores where they designed and sold products. At first I didn’t pay much attention, since I can’t draw and I couldn’t imagine making any products myself.

But there was one card company I used to love selling at Logos I haven’t mentioned — Marcel Schurman. This was a line of imported cards with either paintings by the old masters or more modern photos or paintings on the front, combined with some really fun messages on the inside. Sometimes, though, I thought I could have done better with the messages. I was sure I could come up with greetings that better matched some of the pictures. I had wished I could have switched my words for theirs to match some of those great pictures.

As I kept hearing more about Zazzle, especially after I started taking photo walks and coming up with pictures of my own I liked, I decided maybe I could come up with a line of cards after all. I could use photographs rather than drawings or paintings, and just add my words. And as a Zazzle associate, if I found someone else’s work I liked as well or better than my own, I could publicize it, as well. So I opened my Zazzle store: Barb’s California Card and Gift Shop, and then I added California Wine Country Memories and Gifts a year later. See the greeting cards I designed in my main store here.  The one below is my best-selling card. It was taken in front of my house and that is my coral rose. The inside says "and I wanted you to know it."

Coral Rose Card, Thinking of you today.

I now have several different product lines featuring my photography with or without words. Many are inspirational cards and posters, and many feature the wine country of North San Luis Obispo County. I’m beginning to make my dream come true and Zazzle has made it possible. If you have an unfulfilled dream of making your art or photography into products that can earn you money, you, too, can start a Zazzle store.  Become an associate and you can make money promoting the products of others while you are in the process of creating your own. If I can do it, anyone with the desire can. Click any of my Zazzle links and when you get to the site, click the "Sell" button for more information. 

 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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The Classic Berenstain Bears Book Series

The Berenstain Bears - Available on Amazon

A Review - Children's Books About Life Lessons and Why we Love The Berenstain Bears Collection

As a mom of four sons, I have to say The Berenstain Bears Books were a staple in our home. I use the term 'were' because I've since passed most of them down to grandchildren or, in some cases, they've been given to schools.

The Titles Tell You Exactly The Lesson Your Child is About to Learn

The title of these books makes it very clear to us moms exactly what 'life lesson' we are about to teach our child. With titles like; Too Small for the Team, Learn About Strangers, and Mama's Helpers, it's easy to see why we know what we're getting. After all, we're busy, and the more precise the title, the better it is for us!

Teaching Life Lessons Seems Just a Bit Easier with a Storybook!

When the kids are growing up, we're always in 'teaching' mode: Put this away; please share with your brother; turn off the lights; finish your homework, please, and so on! Do these instructions sound familiar to any of you? I'm sure you've said these things and a lot more!

What I loved about the Berenstain Bears Collection of books was being able to teach the boys a life lesson without sounding like a preachy mom. When it's a character in a book learning a lesson, it's simply more fun for the kids to watch that character 'take the lesson' instead of mom telling 'them' what to do for a change! I like to think of these books as a break from life lessons while still learning a life lessons. Oh, we moms can be sneaky!

They need a series now for teenagers and young adults! I can just picture it; my teenage son sitting beside me while I read, 'Did the Berenstain Bears Not Teach You Anything! Clean Your Room Cause Mom is Older and too Tired to Preach! - Only problem is, they would probably love being sent to their room for a time out, request extended time, then laugh about how they managed to get mom to read them a story and, bonus...sent them to their room!

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Noel the Christmas Ornament Book

Noel is a beautiful Christmas story written by Romeo Muller, the writer of numerous popular holiday classics such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and The Little Drummer Boy.

Noel, the cartoon, and the book were absolute favorites in our home. If you need help getting a hold of a copy of the DVD or the book, I'm not surprised. It's hard to find. 

Years ago, we watched the Cartoon on TV as a Christmas Special, and after seeing it, we had to have the book. All my boys are grown, and we still have the book. We passed many books down to other family members but couldn't part with this book. I've since passed it along to our youngest teenage son and told him to keep it for his future family. Thank goodness he loved the idea.

What is the Story About?

Noel is about a Christmas Ornament that gets passed down through the generations as the owners of a home change.

It starts out with a family in a Victorian home in the Victorian Era who, when Christmas comes, put brand-new Christmas decorations up on the tree. Noel is one of the ornaments adorned with a happy tear from its maker. Noel is joy-filled during the holiday season because he gets to be around a loving family during a magical time he doesn't understand.

Every Christmas, Noel is curious about the Manger's purpose under the tree. Since he is positioned higher up on the tree, he can never see the Manger.

Noel hates the New Year because he's shoved back into his ornament box, put back in the attic, and must wait nearly a year to see the family again.

As the years pass and the family ages, the house changes ownership multiple times. Poor Noel is sad as the families age and leave. Eventually, the home is abandoned and lonely, and the rest of the ornaments are left for decades. Until one day, in current times, a new family purchases the home and fixes it up. They find the decorations in the attic and put them on the tree. Noel is so happy...he calls this his 'happiness'....but something terrible happens; his old ornament age causes him to fall from the tree and break!

When he falls, something unique happens; although his ornament shell is broken, he can still see, and his ornament happiness spirit continues to live. With his spirit free from its ornament trappings, he finally gets a look at the Manger. That's when he learns what Christmas is all about.

Available on Amazon - If you can get it? Last I checked, it was a pricey version only:

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A Day of Paying Attention

“It is quite possible that an animal has spoken to me and that I didn't catch the remark because I wasn't paying attention.”   ― E.B White, Charlotte's Web      

Last week, on Review This! I wrote about the Shawan Downs Legacy Chase annual benefit steeplechase in Maryland.  I love going to watch the horses race around the course, jumping over a variety of fences.  It is an amazing, good time.

I made it a point to go again this year.  The weather Saturday was perfect. Following days of cold and rain, Saturday was a sunny, clear-skied day in the 70's.

Moving from one spot, to the next, finally settling on the deserted back fence. I sat in the long grass along the very old fence. Between races I admire the lichen on some of the ancient wooden rails.  Then I realized, despite my best efforts to find privacy, I was not alone.

Dancing spiders

There were spiders moving and dancing along these flat old hardwood boards.  I wasn't sure if they were marking their territories or trying to mate. Perhaps they were warning me to leave. Every few inches there was one of these thumbnail sized spiders. They slowly moved along, back and forth, lifting their hind ends high then dropping them, like hydraulics on a car in a parade. Up and down, up and down, while moving back and forth.

At first I nearly squealed. I'm not extremely afraid of spiders, but I do hate walking into webs when I hike and I'm afraid of the ones that jump.  Initially, I thought these would jump. They looked aggressive. I thought they would move up and down, up and down, side to side, then jump on me.  But they never jumped.

As I watched, mesmerized, I began to notice the webs spitting out of the spider's caboose.  I could see it with my naked eye, spurt, shooting off into the wind, iridescent in the sun.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Look closely, see the web?

I watched and tried to photograph the dances and web spurting, being very careful not to rest my elbows on the top board again in lieu of a tripod.  I was vaguely aware of people walking by, probably wondering what in the world the crazy lady was doing.  Why bursts of shutter clicking while no horses were running?

But I remained focused on the spiders. And their dances. Amazed at how relatively thick and how long the webs were. String after string, like invisible kites being guided by the spider's hiney. Not forming a cobweb, but streamers of spider string blowing to the sky.

The spiders had begun to look less ominous.  In fact, I began to think of one of my very favorite books of all time. Charlotte's Web.  What a great story.  And something was scratching away at the back of my brain.  I knew I had read a fun review about Charlotte's Web. Now just who wrote that thing, I asked myself over and over.

Charlotte's Web

I returned home and found it, the reviewer of Charlotte's Web was Mary Beth's granddaughter.  That explains why the review stuck in my head. Do you want to read a cute and insightful review from the perspective of a little girl? I am five times Rachel's age of 10 but I still love Charlotte. Isn't it amazing how a good story can stick with us for our entire life?

And that was how I spent my Saturday at Shawan Downs, watching horses fly and spiders dance.  

Written by Dawn Rae
Images of spiders by Dawn Rae

Disclosure: In affiliation with AllPosters.com, Dawn Rae is a blogger and content writer who may earn compensation from the sale of AllPosters products.

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Let's Sew Together and Build Lasting Memories

Ask me where I learned to sew and you’ll get the answer that’s commonly expressed by seamstresses, tailors, and designers all over the world. “My mom taught me to sew!” Ask that question and look into our eyes. You’ll see a fondness as we recall awesome memories of spending time with our moms and their sewing machines.

When I opened the cover of Let's Sew Together: Simple Projects the Whole Family Can Make by Rubyellen Bratcher (Potter Craft, New York, 2014), memories of the time I spent sewing with my mom flooded my eyes. No matter what kind of problems mom and I may have had while I was growing up, we always ironed things out with the help of mom’s sewing machine.

Mom and I bonded early in life over the sewing machine. She didn’t have a how-to manual, she just let me play along with her on projects that wouldn’t harm my tiny hands. As I got older, she trusted me to cut the fabric, not my long hair.

Mom and I made some cool projects over the years. Clothes, dolls, handbags, quilts, and anything else that caught our eyes. As I thumbed through Let’s Sew Together, I saw how mom and I could have made our projects even cooler with the tips offered by Bratcher. With four young daughters, Bratcher knows what kids like, how to get kids involved in sewing, and how to hold their attention.

Let’s Sew Together is written for the mom that has a basic knowledge of sewing and knows how to operate a sewing machine. Moms with no sewing skills shouldn’t be discouraged from trying this book. There are ten no-sew projects for moms and kids to learn together. Start by making a pom-pom for some soft ball tossing fun. Make little boys a bold bow tie and little girls barrettes with baubles. Or, make stories come to life with a no-sew storytelling box.

For the mom that feels comfortable using a sewing machine, there are 27 sewing projects that are appropriate for pre-school age kids. Bratcher provides easy-to-sew projects that even adults will love. I fell in love with several of the projects and have already started the Quirky Rag Doll found on page 124.

I admire the way Bratcher combines sewing lessons with learning lessons. While helping children make Cheerful Flip’Em Placemats (page 68) and Prep & Play Place Settings (page 71), Bratcher suggests books with a food theme for parents to read with kids, shows how to teach proper place setting, and talks about the importance of feeding our children well. There are similar helpful learning activities sprinkled generously throughout the book.

I appreciate that Bratcher includes sewing projects for boys. Not only can boys help make their own clothes, there is a super hero robot to share adventure stories, a fortress for hide-and-seek fun, and drums to make a lot of noise.

If your child has expressed an interest in sewing, I highly recommend this book. There are a variety of projects for clothing, jewelry, table settings, pillows, educational toys, fun time toys, and party decorations. You’ll also find ways to make each project unique by letting kids have their hand at fashion design.

I give this book 5 stars. Click on the book cover below. This is an Amazon link that will take you to the book's detail page where you can purchase your copy.


Disclaimer: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. My opinions are my own.




Posted by Coletta Teske

About This Contributor

Coletta Teske writes reviews on books, business management, writing, crafting, cooking, and gardening. She is also an avid recycler and shares her tips on recycling. She delights in upcycling an old object, recycling or transforming discarded items into a new treasure.

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Book In Some Crafting Time

There are some fantastic ideas, photos and tutorials online when it comes to kids crafts (and crafts in general). But sometimes, there's nothing like picking up a lovely craft book and flicking through for inspiration - especially nice when you're plotting your next project with your preschooler, as they can curl up on the sofa with you and get inspired from the pages, too! 

Some of the books that have made it into our library recently include the following four awesome volumes. 

Red Ted Art is one of my favourite blogs and the book of the same name is absolutely fantastic. Beautiful but simple crafts that are easy for little folk AND mums too, using materials that are easy and cheap to source. 

Fans of Thomas the Tank Engine (such as my daughter!) will love the ideas in the Thomas Make and Do Book. As well as a game and baking ideas, it has lots of tutorials for making trains out of cereal boxes and even the Fat Controller, mostly using recycled household items and stickers and cut outs from the book itself. 

Show Me a Story has some amazing ideas to combine art with storytelling, such as making story mats, story stones, story cubes and many other wonderful ideas. MeltedRachel has a review of this book here. 

Finally, we have just got a copy of The Artful Parent, the official book of another great blog of the same name, which we are just dipping into for some fabulous art and craft ideas. 

There are so many craft books out there aimed at children, but which to choose? That is where you can come in! Reviewing the craft books you have at home, that are tried and tested by your family, can help other mums and dads decide on which books would be best for them. 

Why not review one of the books on this list of the Best Craft Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers? Or if your favourite isn't on the list, review that instead, and add it to the guestbook on the lens! 

Happy crafting, and happy reviewing!

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Happy Birthday to You and Happy Reading to Me!

“I am what I am! That’s a great thing to be! If I say so myself, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!”  ~Dr. Seuss

Theodor Geisel was born on March 2, 1904. He passed away on September 24, 1991.  It is hard to believe he is gone since his writing and his art continues to touch people; adults and children alike. After all, Theodor Geisel was also known as Dr. Seuss, and whose life hasn’t been touched by Dr. Seuss in some way?

To celebrate Dr. Seuss this weekend, I wrote a book review of one of my favorite Seuss books. Even though today is a day past his birth date, you can join the fun and review your favorite Seuss book too.  Especially since March 3, 2014 is National Read Across America Day.  What a better way to introduce a child to the love of reading than with a Seuss book?

In addition to writing a review of McElligot's Pool, I also pulled a few lesser-known (is there really such a thing) Seuss titles from my shelf this weekend and read them again.  I love that Seuss brought us both entertainment and life lessons. One of those very important lessons is something I am still trying to learn from Marco and his adventures at McElligot’s Pool. You will have to either read my review or the book itself to know which life lesson I’m referring to.

Thank you Theodor Geisel for sharing your talent and vision with us. And for introducing us to the Cat in the Hat, green eggs and ham, Things 1 & 2, and so many other wonderful characters, places, and things. 

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