Whole World
Illustrated by Christopher Corr
Sung by Fred Penner

“She’s got the fish of the sea
In her hands
She’s got the Whole World in her hands!”

Oprah loves us, and you will too! Oprah selected our Whole World book to be on her O magazine February “O List” of things she loves. This is a beautifully illustrated version of the song we all loved as children. Fred Penner, a famous children’s musician, contributed his talents to this catchy sing-along CD. The book also includes information about different ecosystems and has eco-tips on how to live green and respect our planet! The pronouns are mixed throughout the book, giving us all a better sense of how we are responsible for our own world.

“…this bright, lively interactive picture book makes a strong call for conservation. Each clear, spacious, double-page spread shows boys and girls of all races and places holding hands around the globe, playing together from the plains and deserts to the lakes and rivers and towns and cities … The chanting repetition with the colorful pictures of children everywhere will have even young preschoolers joining in the playful celebration of diversity and connection and saving the world.”
— Booklist

You can find out more about this book on my barefoot website, where the press release is listed as well as a few online activity sheets about our environment. This book is recommended for ages 0-9, but has a message we can all appreciate at any age! Along with spreading a message of global responsibility, Barefoot Books is donating 10% of Whole World sales to global conservation efforts. To find out more about this book, as well as find a list of our environmental partners, please visit my website at http://barefootfamily.mybarefootbooks.com

Jenn Aaron
US Stallholder US-1014367
Barefoot Books
http://barefootfamily.mybarefootbooks.com/

We All Went on Safari- A Counting Journey Through Tanzania
written by Laurie Krebs and illustrated by Julia Cairns

“We all went on safari,
Over grasslands damp with dew.
We came across some ostriches,
And Mosi counted two.”

 This book is great for toddlers beginning to count, as well as older children who are ready to learn about the world. The book follows a group of Maasai people as they explore their world, counting animals in English and Swahili. Each phrase and number get a beautiful two page illustration from Ms. Cairns. The counting poem is followed by a number of pages with information about the Maasai people, the country of Tanzania, the native animals and Swahili names. There are a number of pronunciation guides to assist in reading the story.

This book was winner of a Starred Review by the Kirkus Reviews, and recently School Library Journal said, “Youngsters will learn numbers from one to ten in English and Swahili as Mosi, Tumpe, Arusha, and other friends count African wildlife. Attractive borders frame vibrant watercolor spreads of different types of animals, including giraffes, elephants, zebras, and lions. The rhyming singsong verse, beginning with the refrain “We all went on a safari,” lends itself to a fun read-aloud.”

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each book will be donated to the African Wildlife Foundation, to aid their wildlife conservation and community building efforts in Tanzania. This is a fun book to read aloud or alone, and is a great way to introduce children of all ages to the country of Tanzania.

To find out more about this book and print an activity sheet, please visit my website at http://barefootfamily.mybarefootbooks.com

Thanks again to Jenn for the great write-up! Please take a look at what Barefoot Books has to offer - they truly are a unique and wonderful company.

This entry was written by our new partner Jenn Aaron of Barefoot Books. She will be doing a review every month for us to learn about some of the books Barefoot offers that can help us teach our children about diversity and other cultures. If you would like to purchase any of these books, please visit Jenn’s website at: http://www.barefootfamily.mybarefootbooks.com and use code EV01 when checking out! - - Lisa

Playtime Rhymes for Little people a re-release with a newly recorded singalong CD featuring Susan Reed. This hand-sewn anthology is full of exmples of Clare Beaton’s wonderful fabric and embellishment work. It includes a collection of forty popular action rhymes with favorites such as “I’m a Little Teapot” and “Head and Shoulders,” as well as less familiar selections such as “Fishes Swim in Water Clear” and “There’s a Wide Eyed Owl”.

Barefoot says, “The book is designed to help children develop language and counting skills while improving their coordination and encouraging them to interact. Playtime Rhymes for Little People is a glorious anthology that will keep children happily occupied for many hours, and will be treasured for many generations.”

Kids will be familiar with a number of the poems, and will be delighted with the ones they’ve never heard before. Poetry is an important part of building pre-reading skills, as well as strengthening the abilities of beginning readers. This is a book that you can be proud to give as a gift for a baby shower, birthday, christening, easter, or any number of other special occasions. The best gift you can give is the gift of reading- just 20 minutes a day can boost early literacy rates and the enjoyment of reading for years to come.

So, I am an avid Harry Potter Fan and had a long drive to make this weekend - the perfect solution - take my books on CD to listen to!

As I paid close attention to the words, I realized what an important lesson the books teach us about diversity and learning to live together and stand up for one another regardless of our background or how we look.  JK Rowling introduces us to flawed characters that are all different; muggles (non-magical), half-bloods (mixed ancestry), giants, werewolves and so many others.  She shows their weaknesses, but also their strengths and what makes them just like everyone else - their humanity.  In the end, they all end up banding together to fight the evil that threatens to destroy them.

What a wonderful theme that the books teach our children and how wonderful that an author who is bigger than life, took time to carefully set out to teach important lessons and help our children learn lessons of life on a fun and imaginative journey.  These stories are very much more than media hype - they have brought families together to read again, they have re-introduced adults to the fun of reading for pleasure and they do teach much deeper lessons about life.

Good vs. Evil, acceptance, tolerance and perserverance are all themes that are interwoven into all of the stories and are magnified in the character of Harry.  We can all find a part of ourselves in him I believe.

If you have not read these books or better yet, read them with your children, I encourage you to do so - - much more than taking you to a vivid imaginative world (and they will do that!) they can also help to remind us that although we are all different, no one is perfect and we are all working toward the same goals.

How many times do you grab a good book, pull your child or children into your lap or snuggle on the couch and read to them?  So many of us are guilty of never finding the time, when reading is such an important skill for children to learn, and we as parents have the greatest influence over whether or not they begin to learn or choose to learn to read.  We can encourage them to learn to read by making books and reading an important part of their life from day one.

“Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read.”
—    Marilyn Jager Adams

Reading offers so many valuable things to children.  Here are just a few:

1.    Reading is entertaining.  Do you think they always had cable television wired to most every house in America, well of course not?  Great literature was a popular concept many years ago, much more so than it is today and reading was a favorite past time of almost everyone.  Why not make that the case for your child by starting them out reading at an early age and continuing to encourage them to read over the span of their childhood.

2.    Reading encourages learning.  Reading to your child encourages them to want to learn and gives them the opportunity to have their curiosity stirred by new ideas and concept, such as how people live differently in different places, how things are made, or where things came from, so many questions can be formed in the mind of a child as you read to them.  Thus encouraging them to dig in and find out more!  This of course helps them to learn new things.

3.    Reading increases your child’s vocabulary.  If you want to ensure that your child begins to talk at the right age, learns to say your name, the names of their family members and even things out in the world, you can help them to do so by reading to them.  Reading to a child begins teaching them and exposing them to a wide vocabulary even as a baby.  Many doctors encourage women to even read to their babies while they are still in their womb.

4.    Reading gives your child knowledge.  Knowledge about the world, people, themselves, everything you can think of, it thousands of ideas, topics, themes and concepts can be found in written form in books, on billboards, on the side of your morning cereal box.  Knowledge is all around us and we consume it by reading it.  Encouraging your child to read allows them to soak up all this knowledge.