Once Upon a Pear: Color Me Curious!
A GIANT PEAR TO PONDER–AND COLOR
Today’s coloring pages come from Ben Mann, my good friend and the illustrator for one of my picture books. No pears in Once Upon a Parsnip, though–unfortunately, since he paints pears so beautifully! Maybe the next book….
In fact, no story has been written about this giant pear–and surely there’s a story here!
Get out the crayons and ask some leading questions to help kids come up with a story for the painting: How did the pear grow so enormous? Who’s the guy in the hat and boots? What is he thinking? What do you think he’s going to do? What’s up with the ladder? What’s going to happen to the pear? To the man?
Read moreZany Zucchini Books (& More!)
1 ZUCCHINI, 2 ZUCCHINI, 3 ZUCCHINI, 4! FUN VEGGIE BOOKS FOR KIDS
“Zucchini.” Doesn’t the word just roll off the tongue? Somebody ought to write a song about it.
Somebody has written a children’s book about it. In fact, four somebody’s! Here’s a quartet of fabulous zucchini books to introduce this giggle-inducing veggie to your kids.
Make the introduction. Read a book, and the kids will be clamoring for a zucchini all their own!
Read moreZucca, Zucchini, Veggie Bambini!
10 FUN FACTS ABOUT ZUCCHINI
The title of this post is a bit of a misnomer. (See #10 below.) Your kids will enjoy learning these fun facts about zucchini and trying them out on their favorite grownup:
1. The world’s largest zucchini on record was 69-1/2 inches long and weighed 65 pounds! It probably didn’t taste that great–if anyone even tried to eat it–because…
2. When it comes to zucchinis, biggest is not best. The most flavorful zucchinis are small- to medium-sized.
Read moreEating While Reading? Check.
USING A BELOVED BOOK TO ENCOURAGE HEALTHY EATING
It’s hard to find a kid, a mom and dad or even a grandma and grandpa who don’t know Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
In fact, 2019 will mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of this beloved picture book, in which a little egg hatches into a tiny (and very hungry!) caterpillar.
After eating his way through five days of delicious fruits, our intrepid caterpillar eats so many things on the sixth day—most of them decidedly not healthy—that he develops a stomachache. He is no longer a little caterpillar, either. He is a big, fat caterpillar. And he won’t be that for long….
Read moreIn the Spotlight: Papa Green Bean
A “DADDY BLOGGER” TALKS ABOUT KIDS & HEALTHY EATING
I met John S. Green, a.k.a. “Papa Green Bean,” in a local writers’ group and was immediately drawn to his puckish sense of humor. Papa Green Bean is, among other things, a poet, a scholar and a Montessori-trained teacher.
(Okay, so he looks more like a bottle of sriracha sauce than a green bean in this photo, but he can be forgiven–he’s a dad and it was Halloween!)
John’s blog, Papa Green Bean: Sharing Simple Insights for Nurturing Young Children, is thoughtful, playful and relevant for parents who want to raise their kids into “cheerful, curious, creative, and confident individuals.” And don’t we all?
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