Cool Book for Kids: Make Magic! Do Good!

sharon's fave things

make magic do good by dallas claytonDallas Clayton makes the coolest books for kids.  We got Make Magic! Do Good! for my son’s birthday and we LOVE it!  If you aren’t familiar with Dallas’ work, you must browse his site.  He is this amazing character, living life to the fullest and encouraging kids to do the same.  His messages are super important for kid’s to hear yet not often found in kid’s literature.  The illustrations are colorful and whimsical and the words are touching, humorous and real.

great kids bookWhile his other books are written as one story around a theme, this book is done in poems.  We read to our kid’s every night at bed time and we read this book over about a week.  We read a few poems each night and some nights had to go back and reread our favorites.  This book is a great way to introduce kids to poetry but I got a lot out of reading them too.

Like this:

New Best Friend

“You’re my new best friend, I never met, you’re awesome, perfect swell.  We do everything together, and we get along so well.  You’re my new best friend I never met, and I love you more than you know.  You’re my new best friend, I never met, because I never said “Hello.”

Boom.  Right?!  Life lessons

And when you get the book be sure to read ‘Wake Up Your Brain,’ ‘Slumber,’ and ‘Big Time.’  And then be sure to read all the rest.

favorite kids bookFor each book, Dallas tours the United States and does readings and events.  He helps kids paint murals and embrace creativity and brings happiness to each stop.  I would love to attend a reading of his one day!  He’s a huge inspiration to me and in turn my kid’s.  It is very important to me that the end up working at something they love.  He is the true embodiment of that and such a great role model for living a colorful life rich with experience.  Seriously.  Go get this book.

See more of our love for Dallas’ books from my son’s 2nd birthday party.

You can see more of my favorite things each month over on The Trend Tribe.  See my picks for February here!

Book Gift Ideas for Kids and Adults – Gift Guide 2012

Gift Guide for books

gift ideas books for friends

1 : Who doesn’t love Todd Selby?  And now, in Edible Selby, he shares the food world through his art.  Yum!

2 : My husband’s friend, Justin Van Hoy, wrote Milk & Honey.  I was lucky enough to meet Justin and his wife this summer.  Justin passed away last week, unexpectedly, and the world has lost an extraordinary talent and important member of the art community.  The book is AMAZING and is the perfect gift for anyone in your life that loves art, style, and color.

3 : Food Fashion Friends by Fleur Wood may have been on my list last year.  But I still don’t have it.  And I still really want it.  Full of gorgeous images and entertaining ideas this book would make any gal swoon.

4 : Being from Orange County, LA can seem like world’s away due to ridiculously terrible traffic.  But it really is a City of Style with tons of amazing things to experience.  Perfect for people who wish they lived on the West Coast and locals alike.

gift ideas books for kids

5 : You know my family loves Dallas Clayton.  Make Magic, Do Good is his newest book.  This book will be here soon (Shhh, don’t tell my children!)

6 : How rad are these colors?!  I saw the cover of this book on Chronicle Books Instagram and had to check it out.  Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth is stunning and since I have a sweet tooth of course it is a favorite. The graphics are truly exceptional and I think any kid would love to open this up on Christmas morning.

7 : My boys and I read books every night before bed.  There are some books that I tolerate and they love.  There are some that I love and they (impatiently) tolerate.  But Stuck, we all enjoy.  It is charming and humorous and I love to gift this book.

8 : Do you have ‘Children Make Terrible Pets‘?  It is another one of our favorites.  Beatrice Bear is adorable.  My kids heard the author on the radio one day and he was talking about his new book, ‘You Will Be My Friend‘ and the boys demanded we get it.  SO great!  Peter Brown’s illustrations are perfect and the length of these books are just right – not too long, not too short. :)

Did you miss Day 1?  Hostess Gifts

 

Cool Find: The Greatest Writer Alive

I just found out that one of my favorite writers just created his 3rd book, The Greatest Writer Alive.  While the first two, An Awesome Book of Thanks"" “>An Awesome Book of Thanks are more child focused, this book, The Greatest Writer Alive is more of a poetry book for everyone.  Please watch his video explaining the book.  It really gives you a sense of who Dallas Clayton is.  Hurry and order these books for Christmas!

And here is a link to my son’s birthday party, almost a year ago, based on the book An Awesome Book of Thanks.

Sharon

image via A Very Awesome World

 

2011 Holiday Gift Guide Day 2: For the Kids

My kids love books and here are some that I think would make perfect gifts.

Boogie Monster Dance Kit {from the people who brought you Tickle Monster Laughter Kit }

Romeo & Juliet: A BabyLit Board Book {as seen on Design Editor}

The Princess and the Peanut: A Royally Allergic Tale

Pride & Prejudice: A BabyLit Board Book {also as seen on Design Editor  - This and Romeo and Juliet are my GO TO baby shower gifts for little girls.  They are always the most talked about gifts at the shower, just saying…}

I couldn’t talk about Mini and Maximus any more without sounding like a crazy stalker {seriously go buy some gifts there too} so I decided to share a few other t-shirt companies that I have recently found that I think you should know about.

Bike T by Truly Sanctuary

“Clash” T by Little Trendster

Kid’s Moccasins 

Socks by Stance  {These socks are the coolest.  My fave it the “ankle biters” with the sharks.  And some of them are like a boys version of Little MisMatched where they are coordinated but not matching}

Hopscotch Kids Polish by Scotch Naturals

ODB T by Truly Sanctuary

“Benatar” T by Little Trendster

No Hablo T by Truly Sanctuary

I’m having a tough time buying the kids toys for Christmas this year.  They have so many and they take up so much space!!  These are small but super fun.

LeapFrog LeapPad Learning System

Paper Jamz Pro Mic {We have the drum kit and guitar so now our paper band will be complete}

Colorforms Activity Toys {old school cool}

Brew it Yourself Ginger Ale {Perfect for kids who like science.  Or soda pop.}

POP Heroes {These are also super cute inspiration for a super hero party!}

My 5 year old son also wanted to share his fave things with you.

LEGO Ninjago Spinjitzu Starter Set

Fisher-Price Imaginext Mega T-Rex

Playskool Heroes Transformers Rescue Bots Electronic Fire Station Prime Playset

The Burp Box (George Brown, Class Clown)

If you haven’t checked it out yet, be sure to see Day 1:  Gifts for the Entertainer in your life.  And tomorrow are the perfect gifts for your girlfriend’s or sisters and the man in your life!

Don’t forget to check out these gift guides also (not sure if they will have them up today, but check back, they have tons of great ideas!)

A Fabulous Fete, I Go You Go, Mint Loves Social Club, Green 4 U, and Hank and Hunt

Sharon

(oh and please let me know if any of the links aren’t working and I can get you the right info!)

Kid’s Halloween Books with Great Graphics

So this afternoon I volunteered in my son’s classroom.  There was another mom in there as well so I had a quick second to glance through the Scholastic order forms.  I was delighted to see some books with great graphics, humorous stories and Halloween themed (even though I don’t enjoy it.  And seeing as both my kids are having afraid-of-the-dark-issues right now, I picked these books because they appeal to my aesthetic.)  Here are some of my faves:
The Hallo-Wiener  {by Dav Pilkey} 
My oldest son was a hot dog for his very first Halloween so I was especially drawn to this book.
Oscar is a dachshund forced to wear a hot dog costume on Halloween which he does begrudgingly but in the end saves the day from some kind of peril.    ”Oscar proves that he may be short on height, but he’s long on heart.” HA!
Jeremy Draws a Monster {Peter McCarty}
Similar to Harold and the Purple Crayon, Jeremy draws and the images come to life.  After drawing a monster who demands that Jeremy do things for him, he realizes that while he can get lost in his drawings and the solitude it provides, he would also like to experience real relationships with other kids and without this bossy monster.  
Stinky Poetry:  Halloween {Elizabeth Krych}
This book comes with scratch and sniff stickers that the kids have to put in the proper spot throughout the story.  I am not sure what smells they are and seeing as it is a Halloween themed book, I have to assume some of them might be pretty rank. But I love kids poetry books and think the colors and graphics from the cover are outstanding!!  This was available in the Scholastic catalogue I found in the classroom but I couldn’t yet find it on Scholastic’s website. :(
What happens in Monstertown when the son goes down?  This book will tell you all about what the different people found in town do for work and what else goes on there.  A little bit of humor, creepy but cool illustrations.  Probably best for older kids.  Again, this was in the Scholastic brochure, but not on their site.  
ABC Spook Show {Ryan Heshka}
When I was researching the book above, I also came across this ABC book.  Sort of a dictionary of creepy (G is for ghouls…) From the sample pages I could see, this seems a little darker than the previous book.  And for some reason I think Jenny would love this book.  Do you remember her zombie party from last year? 
Vunce Upon A Time {J. Otto Seibold}
I LOVE the Christmas book ‘Olive the Other Reindeer’ so it is no surprise that I was drawn to this book by the same illustrator.  This story is about a vegetarian vampire who loves candy.  But he is afraid to trick-or-treat on account of the scary humans.  It is a non-scary story about overcoming fears and I am pretty sure this one will be delivered to my house shortly. 
Again, I haven’t read any of these but was drawn to them for their graphics and story concept.  If anyone has read them, I’d love to hear your thoughts!  Now, if you would, please tell me what your kids are going to be for Halloween, I’d love to hear.  Do you dress up too? 
Maybe I really am starting to like Halloween.  After all, it took me about 30 years to like guacamole.  
Sharon