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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Picture Books Giveaway (5 Winners!)

Sylvan Dell books are so much more than just a picture book.  They educate children about math and science through quality literature.  Every book includes several pages of enrichment activities at the back of the book, and TONS on-line.  I just love Sylvan Dell books, and am happy to say that we will have FIVE WINNERS for a new spring 2011 title for the readers of Live, Learn, Love for our Celebration Week!

Big Cat, Little KittyBig Cat, Little Kitty, by Scotti Cohn explores the habitats of cats all around the world, both wild and domestic.  This book is definitely for cat lovers who want to share about the differences between the large, wild cats and smaller, domestic cats.  This book also progresses through the days of the week.  I would have liked more of a wrap-up at the end of the book, but we still enjoyed it.  I love how the For Creative Minds explores the habitats and even the furs of the different cats in the final pages of the book.

Deep in the DesertDeep in the Desert focuses on the various creatures of the desert.  I love the variety of animals included.  Some were familiar and others were new to me.  In this beautifully illustrated book, twelve poems, written by Rhonda Lucas Donald are included to inform the reader all about the desert's creatures.  The poems are to familiar tunes, too.

My favorite was "Hiss, Gila Monster."  The tune is to "Pop Goes the Weasel."  Here's just one refrain.  Isn't it cute?
Near a nest of Gambel's quail 
stalks the Gila monster.  
The quail have left their eggs all alone.  
Chomp!  Gila monster!
The Glaciers Are Melting!
In the style of Chicken Little (the tale of "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!  We must go and tell the king!) five friends go off to tell the Mountain Monarch that the glacier is melting The Glaciers Are Melting by Donna Love.  Along the way they meet Wiley Wolverine who tries to deceive them.  The animals can do nothing about it, but maybe the reader can figure out who might be able to help with the glaciers melting.  As usual, with the For Creative Minds section, varied activities and additional information is included about glaciers this time, including some true or false questions and a section of suggestions for people who care.

Habitat SpyEncourage your children to explore up different communities in nature (habitats) with the book Habitat Spy by Cynthia Kieber-King.  Your kids will want to take a pair of binoculars (real or homemade) to examine the pond, forest, mountains, and more up close and personally!  I love the realistic illustrations, as usual, with Sylvan Dell books, but Habitat Spy's text is in a little "binocular bubble" and you see different children looking through their binoculars at the different habitats, so it feels  like they are the ones telling the story in the simple text describing a few things they are observing.  Because the text is simple, I think this book can be geared for 3-7 year olds.
Meet the Planets
Meet the Planets by John McGranaghan introduces each of the planets to the reader.  It gives a few facts about each for the Favorite Planet Competition, often including how the planet was named.  (For those who believe in a young Earth and universe, you may be interested to know that the book does say that the planets have been around for billions of years.)  Just as the planets are personified in the cover illustration, the planets are also personified in the text.  This is a good book for introducing the planets to a child, and the on-line Teaching Activity Guide gives much more detail for the planets.  I especially liked the scaled Solar System Cards.  My only concern with this book is that Pluto hosts the Favorite Planet Competition, but it is never explained what Pluto is.  (All I know is that "he" is no longer a planet.  I didn't notice anything addressing this in the Teaching Activities either, though I could have missed it with so many pages to read.)  It's still a great introductory book!


Sylvan Dell Publishing educates children in science and math through the means of literature.  They're doing a fantastic job, too, offering informative, educational books with realistic and beautiful illustrations.  The books alone are really great, but they help classroom teachers and homeschooling parents in huge ways.  Each book (and ebook) comes with great resources.  The books and activities are targeted for children 4-8 (and 9) years of age.
  • 3-6 pages For Creative Minds which is an educational section in the back of each book.  It extends the story and gives additional information.  
  • 40-60 pages of Teaching Activities online!  These activities are incredible!  They allow a teacher to customize a unit study to meet their students' interests.  The Teaching Activities go beyond math, science, and literature.   Just click Teaching Activities and choose a title to see for yourself the plethora of activities there are.  The table of contents gives an overview and makes it easy to find what you want. With so many choices, the teacher can choose what is right for the age group they are teaching.  (I love that!!  Unit studies really benefited my students, and I think it's very enjoyable to teach and learn from a unit study.)
  • Interactive Quizzes per title online.  A Reading Quiz evaluates reading comprehension from the book itself.  The For Creative Minds (FCM) Quiz is based on the 3-6 pages from the back of the book.  The third,  Math Quiz uses information and context appropriate to the book and creates word problems for the student to solve.  
Giveaway
To Enter: We'll have five winners!  Each winner will receive one Sylvan Dell Spring 2011 book!  These are all great books, but to enter the giveaway, tell me which book you would most likely want to win.  (There is no guarantee that is the one you will win, if you are chosen as a winner.)  I would suggest examining the Sylvan Dell site where you can look at the first few pages of the book!  Make sure I have a way to contact you through email or your blogger profile.

Extra Entries: Leave a separate comment for each entry.
~ Follow Live, Learn, Love or subscribe by email.
~ Blog (once) about our celebration week.

Giveaway open through April 19th to US residents.  
GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.


Thank you, Sylvan Dell for providing our family with these e-books for review purposes and for sharing them with our readers, too, so they can see for themselves!

42 comments:

Christy Killoran said...

I like Sylvan Dell books too! C would like that Meet the Planets book, but all of the books sound great. I would love to win any one of them!

Ashley said...

I would love to win any of the books, but I think the Meet the Planets looks the most exciting!

Ashley said...

I am a follower also!

Ashley said...

I like you on FB!

EO'Brien said...

Goodness! I dont know which I would choose. They are all fantastic. However, my daughter is currently all about the moon, stars, etc. So I suppose that would be my pick :)

Unknown said...

I would like to win Habitat Spy book the most. The pictures in the book are very good and I am sure my daughter would spend many hours looking at them. Also we are learning about different habitats right now. this book would be a great addition to our studies. johnson.dony@gmail.com

Unknown said...

I am a follower. johnson.dony@gmail.com

Bluerose said...

I think I'd most like to win Habitat Spy, but they all look cute.

Bluerose said...

I liked you on Facebook. (I'm not sure I did it right...let me know if I didn't). :)

Crystal said...

How fun! I think we would like big cat, little kitty. Congrats on the new baby!

Crystal said...

FAn on facebook

RivkaBelle said...

Too cute! I would *love* "Big Cat, Little Kitty" ((it's a secret dream to have a lion or tiger as a pet, hehe))

quarterback.girl[at]gmail[dot]com

RivkaBelle said...

Follow via GFC

quarterback.girl[at]gmail[dot]com

Nicole said...

I would like Habitat Spy for my son. He is very into "investigating," too much so sometimes!

Nicole
swimcheme03 at hotmail dot com

Unknown said...

I'd love to win Meet The Planets!

Unknown said...

I'm a follower

Unknown said...

Requested on FB

Alicia said...

Meet the Planets because we are doing a unit on Space right now!

Janice Richardson said...

I think the Habitat Spy looks neat, something my son would love!
feltyfun at gmail

Janice Richardson said...

I follow in GFC!
feltyfun at gmail

The Monkey Boy's Mom said...

Found you on BBC :) I'd love to win Meet the Planets! It looks lovely.

The Monkey Boy's Mom said...

And requested you on FB too :)

Ticia said...

They all look so good! The Desert one looks cute, but so did the Tiger and cat one.

Ticia said...

II follow.

Carol Anne said...

Big Cat, Little Kitty! We love animals! (And I'm following!)

Olive's mum said...

Meet the planets as we are learning about them at the moment.

Olive's mum said...

I follow you GFC + google reader

Amanda said...

Deep in the Desert would be perfect!

Amanda said...

I follow through GFC!

Miller Moments said...

I like the Habitat Spy book.

Miller Moments said...

I am a follower.

Donna J. Shepherd said...

I like the Deep in the Desert one, but they ALL look great.

lisa said...

My kids would love Deep in the Desert :)

lisa said...

follow via gfc (LisaMarie)

Jenny said...

Burro's Tortillas looks cute!

Jenny said...

followin' ya!

Niecey said...

I most want to win habitat spy but I also like meet the planets
nieceyd(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

Wow! The Glacier's Are Melting is amazing. Definitely my choice. The animals are so realistic and life-like and the book teaches about the impact of the melting glaciers through the eyes of these animals. You've just got see the inside pages and amazing story,,,

Mozi Esme said...

I'd like Deep in the Desert - we've actually read this online and I know my daughter would love a hard copy...

janemaritz at yahoo dot com

Linda Kish said...

I would like Big Cat, Little Kitty

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Trinity Rose said...

All great books, but I would like The Glaciers are melting if I win.
Thank you,
Trinity Rose
wandaelaine at gmail dot com

Trinity Rose said...

I follow you and subscribe by email.
Have a great day,
Trinity Rose
Wandaelaine at gmail dot com
The Glaciers are Melting!

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