Upcoming release OXFORD Roald Dahl Dictionary

With the upcoming new movie release of the BFG Roald Dahl’s books are everywhere again. Oh how I love it. I love that these classic books are coming back out of the corners, getting new beautiful, updated covers and kids are getting excited about reading them. My little 6 year old has discovered more and more of his books in the last few weeks. She has read



and

Well, she still needs to read the BFG. Since it is part of the MBTP curriculum in 8-10 we went back and forth deciding if to read it now or later with the studies, but we figured it is more important to just read it before the actually sees the movie. And there is no way I would make her wait that long to see the movie ! We are beyond excited to go see it in the theaters, I think it will be one of our highlights for the summer !!

With the girls upcoming birthdays in summer I have been on the hunt for fun things already. Yesterday I came across a fun new upcoming release !!

Oh how fun will this be !?! Roald Dahl really has an amazing talent with words,so often i hear the girls just laugh out loud and giggle over his fun stories and the amazing word plays he has created. When you read his books, you really step into a whole new world. You feel the characters and get to know them. Each of his books has won a special place in our hearts ! I know this little dictionary will be so much fun to use and bring back many of the crazy words Roald Dahl uses in his books :))

Review

“It’s hard to find the right word to express our levels of excitement around the ‘Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary.’ Squacking? Jumpsquiffling? Gigantuous? Roald Dahl’s inventive, playful use of language is such a key element of his writing, whether he was using existing words in his own mischievous way or inventing extra-usual new ones. It is wonderful to have this dictionary compiled with such expertise, passion and wit by Dr. Susan Rennie and the team at OUP. There could be no more fitting way to pay tribute to Roald Dahl in the year of celebrations for his centenary. Best of all, as a fully-functioning dictionary for readers and writers aged eight and above, I hope it serves as a swashboggling source of inspiration for a whole new generation of storytellers.”
— Luke Kelly, Managing Director of the Roald Dahl LIterary Estate and Roald Dahl’s grandson

About the Author

Susan Rennie, Quentin Blake, Roald Dahl

Susan Rennie has worked on many dictionaries for both children and adults, including the Oxford Primary Dictionary, Oxford Primary Thesaurus, the Oxford English Thesaurus for Schools and the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. She also writes books in Scots for children, and has translated the first Scots edition of Tintin. Susan is currently a Lecturer in English Language at the University of Glasgow where she teaches lexicography and the history of Scots and English.

*FeatureFriday*Olga da polga * Usborne Books & More *

I have been with Usborne Books & More a few months now and still am discovering beautiful new titles so often. Today I want to introduce Olga da Polga to you !

When I learnt the other day that ” Olga da Polga ” was another title  written by the one and only Michael Bond ( CREATOR OF PADDINGTON BEAR ) I just knew it had to be in our collection. We love Paddington bear, especially after our visit to London two years ago ❤  I had missed out an a great special ( it was actual in the customer special a few weeks ago, so pay attention to those) but I was putting in an order  anyways so this one was the one I picked with it. At $17.99 it seemed like an average price for a good picture book.Sometimes I feel picture books are so much more expensive than the little chapter books, but really we get so much more than just a story with these !  I had no idea that this was actually all of OLGA DA POLGA’s stories and over 170 pages long and consists of 13 chapters, which really makes this a great deal ! The illustrations are totally adorable and the moment I opened the book and saw Olga’s cute, big eyes I knew this would be our new favorite book soon !

Olga would be a perfect read a loud for about 6 yeas and up but younger ones that can pay attention to a well rounded story I am sure would already love it as well. On every other page there are big, beautiful illustrations sometimes even over two pages that makes this super cute story come alive even more !

 

 

Olga da Polga is actually a Kane Miller book and I have come to learn just how special so many of their beautiful picture books really are. The book itself is also very sturdy and large (which make the illustrations even more beautiful , especially over two pages) and the hardcover binding promises for a very long lifetime. And the wonderful thing with all of Usborne Books & More’s books, if anything should ever happen to your lovely book (toddlers, cats, dogs or guinea pigs) then you can take advantage of the 1/2 Price Lifetime replacement policy.

We have not read the whole book yet, but I know this one will be a new favorite soon that  we will read over and over again ❤

 

If you would like to follow me more on my Usborne Books & More journey, please consider following here ! I have lots of fun ideas for giveaways and more so don’t miss out !

 

Also here is today’s special ! These specials are company wide but change every few days. I often forget to check them and some days you can really catch some amazing deals, so these will be part of *feature fridays* as well to showcase every so often 😉 Click here to see today’s specials !!

{Usborne Books & More} Intro 2

My first 12 weeks with Usborne have just flown by. I have learnt so much in those 30 days and my love for books has grown and our inventory has grown immensely as well . My kids are beyond excited to finally have such a great supply of books again. After our move it has been such a change, and I so thankful what this company has offered us. I thrilled about the possibilities to work with our community, charities and kids in general.. things I have always been wanting to do and now I can do them, the way I want. The library is being difficult about volunteering ( because I would like to bring my kids/ homeschooling you know etc. )  and they can’t allow it. Which I find incredibly silly, since my kids would read anyways. But I understand policies are policies.

I am sharing lots of fun news and updates about the books on a special facebook fanpage, so make sure you check in here once in a while. Every Friday I will *feature* a special book or book series there and hopefully in the feature do giveaways and special deals and tons of other stuff ! I have so many fun ideas ! It’s an exciting time and I am thankful that it keeps my mind busy and away from our renovations a little 🙂

Have you heard of Usborne Books & More ? – I am still “shocked ” to meet so many here and there, that have never heard of us, but also even more thrilled when I can tell them all the wonderful and exciting things about the books. It’s like a whole new (book)world. lol.  In the last 30 days I have come across so many wonderful books in our inventory that I didn’t even realize where part of our inventory . With Kane Miller being part of Usborne Books, the inventory is seriously huge ( nearly 2.000 titles) !!

I will do my best to also feature many books on here as well and I would love, love, love to know which one of you is an ” Usborne Newbie” or an ” Usborne Old-Timer” 🙂 ! Or if you are curious about a book, maybe I could feature it next Friday ?? TELL ME BELOW !!

I will be back on Friday with some fun Usborne book features ! So stay tuned and don’t forget to stop by  Julia’s Book Corner !!

Here is a picture of the box I received when I first signed up with Usborne Books & More. It was a great value and we love every and each book ! If you want to learn more about becoming a consultant ( we could be team mates !!! ) or just want to check out the amazing inventory follow me this way please 🙂

 

 

 

 

I wonder.. ( book review )

I am trying to get out of our morning slump and it has been so hard with the renovations going on and summer slowly knocking on the door. I did not want to spend all summer on renovations on our house and I really did not want to spend our real first summer in Oregon catching up on school stuff. We are not really, really behind ( but my A- personality type, list keeper and goal setter in me, tells me I am / we are).We finished all math curriculum way early even..but… I am good at creating stress for myself. You know –

Anyways. We hit the library at least once a week and bring home tons of books. The girls spend tons of time reading and I almost feel left out. I don’t make as much time as I should to still read with them, the 20 minutes here and there or bed time reading goes over in a blurr and I long for the couch …  So I want to give our morning reading baskets a new chance.

I think I will dedicate another whole post to morning baskets because it is such a beautiful routine to work into your homeschool.

The first book we actually picked from our basket this morning was ” I wonder” and it was so incredibly special and beautiful that I literally wanted to post about it right away ! I clearly have been out of the loop, since this book has been out for several years..

When I saw it at the library I figured it was special and it would be a great fit for my ever asking children. One fact of motherhood and especially of homeschooling that dazzles me continuously  are the questions they ask and the things their little minds truly wonder about….  ” Why do are there stars in the sky ? Why do we have to eat ? What was the first flower ? Why is there gravity ? Where , how , what and when… ?!” I have learnt to appreciate all these questions though ❤

This book, with all it’s beautiful pictures is a great conversation started and a beautiful way to put their minds at ease. While I encourage my children to start finding answers on their own, do their own research through books and the internet, I still want them to know that sometimes, just sometimes, it is okay to not  know know the answer to EVERYTHING… that some things on earth are still, even today, are still a mystery…. I want them to know that even scientists still do not have the answers to many questions about our world, planet and so on ! It’s good to be curious, to explore and also just be amazed and believe !

The book clearly hits more of  secular believes, it mentions science and a few short explanations but it does not talk about religion or God, so if you are looking for religious aspects to be explained this is probably not a good fit.

While the book is targeted towards 1 year olds and up, I think it’s a lovely story for older ones as well. When we get older these questions come up a lot more, and the mind wonders … i know ate age 6 the questions really started coming. While the book does not give exact information on how to answer the questions, its lovely to explore together, and also dream a little.. and just live life sometimes without knowing ” everything”.

I am not sure if a 1 year old would even understand the story line of this book. While I think it’s a beautiful story to share with any child,  if I would could select the age range of my readers I would select Kindergarten age probably 🙂

THANK YOU !!!!

 

I never thought this blog would turn into something so big and important in my life. It has given me such great opportunities and I am thankful for these great connections that it has offered. I am excited for what the future holds, on the homeschool front, blogging about books and more ! It has been a fun ride ! Thanks for being part of it !

9-11 A house of Tailors ( Immigration)

We are still playing catch up with 9-11 MBTP but are enjoying it big time. This is another Unit she has once again been looking forward to and so have I honestly. The books included with this lesson are incredible.

As a photographer myself, old photographs always enthrall me. Like I said, I enjoyed this unit a lot myself. The first two books go with the social study unit Immigration.

And we also added

And of course this is the main book for the literature unit.

There are also some great video’s suitable for this age range. I added a few to the list.

During one of the lessons you will also visit and tour the Ellis Island museum. Isn’t it amazing what we can do with technology nowadays ? The links are provided in the curriculum.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/tour/index.htm

And you will also get a glimpse of how immigrants lived in the tenements.
So much good stuff on these websites alone.
https://tenement.org/education_lessonplans.html

I sure wish we could take a trip to NY right now and see some of these historic sites, luckily this fun family has taken many trips for us and its always fun watching and exploring with them. If you have amazon prime you can watch this episode for free ( you might find it on youtube as well)

There are also some big writing assignments in this unit and be ready to put aside some time for the the artsy projects, like making a hat pattern and making a quilt at the end of the story !

We ended the unit with an amazing final project, a story quilt about the house of tailors !!

Albert’s Almost Amazing Adventure

Albert is back from vacation and meets all his friends at the playground, of course they all want to know about his adventures but keep interrupting him over and over again. In the end he doesn’t even get to tell them what his awesome adventure really, really was 🙂

It’s a very funny, imaginative story with beautiful drawings. The author made the right choice when he switched from the black and white drawings to the beautifully illustrated, lively images in color. It explains the story so well and lets little ones follow even easier . The story does have some silly images and mentions zombies and monsters, but really just in a funny way. Both my girls ( 6,9) loved it and thought it was hilarious, especially the zombie cats !! A fun and silly, original picture book !! Check it our here !!

 

Editorial Reviews ( from amazon)
Review
The contrast between when Albert is telling his story and when his friends are making guesses as to his amazing adventures is illustrated in pictures that shift between black and white and wonderful colors. It is a clever device to help your students determine what is real and what is fantasy. –Brian Smith, Scholastic Blog for Teachers
About the Author
Marty Kelley currently works as a writer and illustrator, but in the past, he s worked many jobs baker, animator, and balloon delivery guy are just a few titles he s held. The former second grade teacher has published many children s books, including Fall Is Not Easy, The Rules, and Summer Stinks. Even though the lingering aroma of Sloppy Joes and tater tots will forever haunts his dreams, he still visits 60 to 70 schools each year to talk about writing and art with students and teachers. He likes to show students how he creates his books, and sometimes he even uses these unsuspecting kids as a focus group for his unfinished works. He’s a member of the New Hampshire State Council for the Arts and a frequent presenter with The Children’s Literacy Foundation. His favorite authors are Chris Moore, Chuck Palahniuk, and David Sedaris. And he doesn t watch any TV. Really.