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By Mom Unplugged, March 19, 2008 9:13 pm

Yesterday I had an email from Beth who is organizing an “unplugged week” at her school and is looking for the following:

“…suggestions on books (i.e. stories that have children finding out how fun it is to unplug). I have a bunch on the 5-8 year olds, but after that, the selection peters out. “

There are just a few books that I can think of that might be appropriate:

Fix-It, by David McPhail is the sweetly illustrated story of a bear named Emma who awakes one morning to find the TV broken! She wails and cries and begs her parents to fix it. By the time the TV is fixed, Emma is happily reading stories to her doll and her cat and has no interest in TV anymore. Would appeal to younger readers (under 8).

Of course there is also the poem “Jimmy Jet and his TV-Set” by Shel Silverstein (from his wonderful book Where the Sidewalk Ends). Very amusing. It is suitable for older kids and would most likely make an impression on them, but perhaps does not exactly teach the joy of unplugging. Read the poem here.

The last book that might fit the theme is Wild About Books by Judy Sierra. Although this award-winning book doesn’t mention unplugging the TV, it does describe a zoo full of animals and the fun that they have when they discover reading (and writing) books. This is a helpful and entertaining book because it is written at a level that younger children can understand, yet older children (if they aren’t “too cool” for it) might enjoy too. It mentions many familiar books and series (Harry Potter, Nancy Drew, Goodnight Moon, The Wizard of Oz, etc.) and literary terms (drama, haiku, mystery, etc.). There are even a few plays on words that only older kids would understand.

Beyond these three ideas, I am at a loss.

I don’t know what the format of Beth’s “unplugged week” is, but for older children (above age 8) there are probably not a lot of pro-unplug TV books out there (on the contrary, many seem to “tie-in” with popular TV-series).

If it were my “unplugged week” to organize, I would probably work on emphasizing the joy of reading. I would also focus on books that teach older children fun games and activities that they can do without TV. There are many books of activities that teach “lost arts” in our hi-tech, video-oriented age. Here are a few:

So my question to you is: Do any of you have book ideas for Beth? If so, I am sure that she would appreciate some suggestions. Please leave a comment with your ideas!

PS. How about organizing an “unplugged week” at your school too? National TV Turn-Off Week is April 21-27.

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By Mom Unplugged, March 13, 2008 10:17 am

Tuesday morning is story time at our local library. This week’s book was so cute that I was moved to write it up as my recommended book of the week: White Rabbit’s Color Book written and (very sweetly!) illustrated by Alan Baker.

This is the story of an adorable white rabbit who finds three pots of paint, red, blue, and yellow. Since these are all primary colors, you can probably see where the plot is headed! Sure enough, white rabbit decides to jump in the paint and turn himself different colors, but some of the color changes are rather surprising. For example when he jumps in yellow he turns yellow, but when he hops into the blue paint after that, does he come out blue? No, he is green of course!

The adorably detailed illustrations are what really make this book stand-out. It is a fun way to introduce the confusing concept of mixing colors. It might be a fun accompaniment to an art session (or homeschool lesson?). Plus the rabbit theme is very appropriate for a nice springtime or Easter read.

While finding the links on Amazon, I see that Alan Baker has written a whole series of other cute-looking educational rabbit books. This is a series worth checking out!

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By Mom Unplugged, March 7, 2008 1:41 pm

For the last few weeks I have been talking about The Bubblegum Books TV Turn-Off Week contest: Show Your Shiny Side (open to all preschool and elementary-aged kids, whether traditionally schooled, or homeschooled - deadline is next Friday, March 14th). The contest is based on a neat book entitled Something Shiny, Something Round by Julie Goulis and illustrated by John Ferguson.

I have a fun surprise today: Brad Hauber of Bubblegum Books very kindly sent me an autographed (signed by author Julie Goulis), hardcover copy of their book Something Shiny, Something Round to give away on my blog! Thanks Brad!

The book’s rhyming text tells the story of three children playing outside on a snowy day. While they play, they come across a shiny, metal hubcap in the snow. The children imagine all sorts of different things that the hubcap might be and the colorful illustrations show their imaginings inspired by the shiny, round disc: a pirate adventure at sea, a warrior with an ancient shield, etc.

One of the most fun things about this book are the activity ideas at the end based on some of the children’s adventures. This is a very clever and useful tie-in to this story of children engaging in simple, imaginary fun.

There are two other books in the series (also by Goulis and Ferguson): The Things a String Can Be (the theme for last year’s TV Turn-Off Week contest) and the most recent, The Topsy-Turvy Towel. Let’s hope that Bubblegum Books continues this very worthy series.

I am so happy to be able to give away a book that really illustrates and encourages imaginary play. This seems to fit in so well with my recent posts about the newly discovered benefits of simple, creative play (Imaginative Play and Cognitive Function and Creative Play Makes for Kids in Control), as well as the Shiny Side contest.

So, if you are interested in winning this autographed book, please leave a comment. I will close comments next Friday night and will randomly draw a winner who will be announced here on Saturday, March 15th.

Even better, is that you have TWO chances to win. Head over to Wildwood Cottage where Jenny is also giving away a signed copy of Something Shiny, Something Round. She too, will announce her winner on Saturday, March 15th.
Good luck!

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By Mom Unplugged, March 1, 2008 10:19 am

Spring is in the air which means that seeds of all kinds will soon be sprouting: flower seeds, tree seeds…weed seeds. (Big sigh.)

Now is a good time to teach your little ones a bit more about seeds. I can’t think of a more lovely book for this purpose, than A Seed Is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long.

This book is packed with interesting facts about seeds. Each two page-spread presents a one sentence fact, followed by a short explanation. For example the first page says: “A seed is sleepy.” Followed by: “It lies there, tucked inside its flower, on its cone, or beneath the soil. Snug. Still.” The information is presented in a sweet, almost poetic way that makes it easily accessible and enjoyable for a variety of ages.

What really makes this book truly wonderful though, are Sylvia Long’s amazing illustrations reminiscent of old, botanical prints. Her colorful paintings are incredibly rich and detailed. Ms. Long has a real eye for seeing and reproducing the beauty and wonder of even the simplest natural objects.

We love this book so much, that next on my wish list is Ms. Aston and Ms. Long’s other collaboration: An Egg Is Quiet

Comments (3)

By Mom Unplugged, February 19, 2008 8:27 pm

This board book (published by Charlesbridge for the Global Fund for Children) is a very sweet and unusual “baby faces” type of book. All babies love looking at other babies. My children have always enjoyed photos of babies, especially in the baby and toddler phase. This is a baby book that features a diversity of babies from around the world: Guatemala, Thailand, Greenland, Mali, USA, India, South Africa, Fiji, Peru, Afghanistan, USA (Native American), Malawi, Spain, Iraq, Rwanda, Bhutan, and China (the cover).

The pictures are lovely close-ups of the baby faces and the babies are often depicted in traditional clothing or baby wrap which can inspire some conversations with older children about cultural differences. Younger children and babies will simply enjoy looking at the faces. My 2 year-old has loved this one for a long time.

Global Babies is a wonderful book for celebrating diversity and teaching that although the outside appearance may be different, babies all over the world are just babies.

The fact that this is a sturdy board book means that little loving hands have a harder time destroying it. A plus in my book!

Also, a portion of the proceeds of the book goes to the Global Fund for Children , “a nonprofit organization committed to advancing the dignity of young people around the world.”

A win-win for all I think!