Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Show Me a Story; book love and giveaway

Happy October, friends! Today I am delighted to be a part of a wonderful book tour promoting the book Show Me a Story by Emily K. Neuburger of red bird crafts. Emily has packity-packed her book full of inspiring ideas, projects and activities to get you and your wee one’s literary juices flowing. Forty craft projects and activities fill the pages to spark children’s (and your own) storytelling.
Show Me a Story is a published by Storey Publishing and is a fantastic specimen to add to your library. As an educator and all around literacy enthusiast I found Show Me a Story enticingly creative. Emily has not only written a wonderful introduction explaining the benefits of storytelling with children but she has given you a basketful of encouragement to share your own stories.

I spend much of my work time hanging out with toddlers. While their language is not quite up to a storyteller’s caliber I found many of the projects in the book to be adaptable for them and their older schoolmates to manipulate and play with. I have pretty much bookmarked all of the projects for future use and decided to create a few sets of the Magic Pebbles found in chapter four. Magic Pebbles are less a tool to get children writing and more an object for exploration and imagination.
Each pebble got a couple of coats of paint, a dash of glitter and a bit of mod podge to seal it all in. I presented their cheerfulness in a trio of strawberry baskets placed on a table out in our courtyard. The toddlers headed straight for them and the soon were scattered, lined up, horded, carried and dumped into our water table. One youngster attempted to stack them up like blocks. I couldn’t have been more pleased.
I did not get to observe our three year olds or pre-k students play with them but each time I passed the table those pebbles appeared to be in a new arrangement. From lining up, to stacking and even color sorted, I think these pebbles were a hit. My next batch however will include a water resistant sealant of some sort. At the end of the day, most of my pebbles had lost their color but I am certain they had quite an adventure.
I also whipped up a small bag for each set of pebbles following this tutorial. After a bit of stitched whimsy and an adventure in stamping the bags to read magic stones, I think they will make a great gift for any young person in your life.
If you are in the United States and would like to have a chance at winning your own copy of Show Me a Story, please leave a comment here, along with your email sharing with me your absolute all time favorite picture book. I will select a winner Friday so be sure to return to the ‘do! You can also enter to win a copy by visiting the Storey Publishing blog. I hope you get a chance to view the book. Happy reading, friends!

13 comments:

  1. This book looks so promising! I would love a chance to win one.

    My favorite picture book is "CLICK, CLACK, MOO: Cows That Type." I used to read this to my kids a lot and loved it as much as they did.

    studiovee [@] yahoo.com

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  2. Your pebbles are lovely! Makes me want to make a set. Thanks so much for the chance to win. I can't possibly name my favorite picture book (I'm have hundreds!), but today I'm going to say "Blueberries for Sal."

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  3. I am the librarian at a small, parent cooperative, progressive school! I do many crafts with our children, some that relate to books we read together, and some just because we love to make things!! I would love a copy of this book to use as a resource for our teachers and for me. Oh my, a favorite picture book? How about The Fire Cat by Esther Averill? It accompanies the lovely Jenny books....

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  4. I love the pebbles you made! Thanks for sharing how much your young wards enjoyed playing with them. Show Me a Story really looks fabulous. I would love to win a copy...thanks for the chance. I know it would be a huge benefit to my son who struggles with writing. He is stuck with a mindset that tells him he doesn't like it. This book may be just the FUN tool I need to help him dismantle his internal block. And my daughter, a natural born storyteller, if I've ever met one, will take to this book like a duck to water.

    I love so many picture books, it is hard to choose. But, the first one that came into my mind is In the Night Kitchen. I always stop on the large, 2-page spread in the middle of the book and contemplate the lively imagination of the author and of children.

    My email is kgosborne@roadrunner.com Thanks again!

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  5. Oooooh! Jessica!
    I was eyeballing this book just the other day!

    My email is karacrafts@gmail.com

    It's and incredibly hard pick, but I'd have to say that my favorite picture book of all time is Harold and The Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson. When I was little I loved how Harold used his purple crayon to get into adventure and out of trouble. Now that I'm big, I love the way the words set the pace for the illustration--and how a few well-placed words and a purple crayon can tell a great big story.

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  6. I never knew this book as a child, but as an adult, I absolutely love (another Robert McCloskey book) Time of Wonder.

    Thanks!
    sstrack1@hotmail.com

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  7. i love lyle, lyle crocodile. love the old new york neighborhood and apt.

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  8. Elisa Kleven is one of my favorite illustrators and if I were to pick one of her books as a favorite, it might be Sun Bread. There is so much happening in each illustration. Tiny city-scapes to explore, bugs and colorful birds galore, lovely characters and a sweet story.

    Thank you for an opportunity to win a copy of Show me a Story!

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  9. This looks like a wonderful book! Thank you for the chance to win. My daughter and I read together all the time and I think our favorite book is The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen. The pictures are beautiful and the rhymes so wonderful my daughter memorized most of it at three.

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  10. I don't remember the picture books I read as a child, but my husband was fond of Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. It became a staple that we read to our older son daily. I just loved finding the mouse on each colored page with my boy, and the book will have a spot in my heart for the rest of my years.

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  11. I would so love a copy of this book. Looks so inspiring!!
    My favorite picture book...how can I possibly choose? Make way for ducklings. The Little Fur Family, But no, what about Madeline? Or the soft illustrations in guess how much I love you? Or all the funny detail in Richard Scarry's Busy town books. I could go on an on...How lucky to have too many to choose. :)

    Becky818@yahoo.com

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  12. This would be great! In the spirit of October, my favorite book for Halloween is, "The Little Green Witch".

    smontano9@cox.net

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  13. Hands down, Dory the Witch. Loved the worn copies from our library when I was little and loved the series even more when I read those very same library books to my own boys. amyrenecastillo (at) g mail. com

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