Books Childrens

Children's Books on Different Kinds of Families

2011-09-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked if I knew of any good children's books to help someone who is a single mom explain to her five year old son that his family is normal... That was a good question! There are so many different kinds of families and many adults don't know how to explain this to their children. Many children live in what the world thinks of as a "normal" family with a mom and a dad but more and more this is not the case, that doesn't mean that other families are not normal just that they are different but still normal.
Surprisingly there are few books written about families that are not the mom, dad and child scenario family. Most of the family books that are available have that scenario and don't seem to have room for any other family organizations, that leaves some adults and children wondering where to turn for the same literary comfort that is abundantly out there for the mom, dad and child scenario family. I was really astonished at the lack of books for young children on this subject, we have had several generations now of single parents dealing with all the issues that have to be dealt with. Oh there are lots of books for adults but the children are somehow left out of the mix.

The following books are among the few I found that might be helpful, but the list is short for a reason, there just aren't many books out there on the subject, especially for single parents.
• The Family Book by Todd Parr
• We Belong Together: A Book About Adoption and Families by Todd Parr
• Who's in a Family? By Robert Skutch
• All Families Are Special by Norma Simon
• Do I Have a Daddy? A Story About a Single-Parent Child by Jeanne Warren Lindsay
I promised the person who asked me about a book for her friend that I would write a book for young children who were in the single parent situation like her friend's little boy, (I do have a bit of experience on the subject). Even though I usually write fantasy adventure or science fiction for middle grade or young adults I will give this my best efforts soon. It is a difficult subject for us adults to broach and trying to explain it so that children can understand is not easy... then again maybe it's easier for them to understand than it is for us grownups, we seem to complicate things way more than they need to be.

Animals As Characters in Children's Books - Top 10 Classic Examples for Kids

2011-09-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

From cherished childhood memories to high school there are children's books with animal characters in them. Pre-school and early grades have Peter Rabbit and Beatrice Potter's other fine animal characters along with Winnie the Pooh and his friends. Busy Busy Town gives us many different animals and a worm or two that are living and working like us regular people do, the Little Bear books let our young ones experience wonderful stories full of innocents portrayed by animals and the Little Critter books are wonderful stories encompassing life's ups and downs for young people with the characters as what I believe to be some sort of guinea pig, I absolutely love them! For the just a bit older children we have Charlotte's Web, it is full of imagination and friendship.
I guess we all think of ourselves as growing out of animal character books when we leave elementary school but I have some suggestions that are for older children or even adults which might surprise you.
The Golden Compass is a great story and does have many animal characters in it and one bigger than life character that is a polar bear. The Jungle Book has been around for a long time and most people think of it in the Disney way but Rudyard Kipling wrote it a long time ago and it is really more of at least a middle grade book if not all the way to high school. A book that has been somewhat forgotten today is Uncle Remus, the author uses animals to tell his stories and make several profound points. The language is a bit difficult for young readers and maybe the profound points could get lost if not read to them and explained so this book too would be for middle grade or high school readers.
The last book on my list is Gulliver's Travels and yes most of us think of the Lilliputians when we think of Gulliver's Travels and you may be wondering where the animal characters are. The last place Gulliver travels to in his journeys is a place where horses are the evolved race that are in charge of everything. He thinks that they are the most perfect people he has ever met and wants to live with them forever but isn't allowed because he is not as good as they are. This book was really written for adults and has many societal meanings in it dealing with otherness and acceptance. It can and has been modified for young readers but it was originally written in the hopes of helping people see that differences can make a society better or can make it worse depending on how those differences are treated.
• Peter Rabbit by Beatrice Potter
• Little Critter by Mercer Mayer
• Little Bear by Elsa Holmelund Minarik
• Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
• Busy Busy Town by Richard Scarry
• Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
• The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
• The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
• Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris
• Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
I haven't as yet included an animal character in any of my stories but as you may have guessed I am thinking about it...

Julie L. Worthington is a writer of fantasy adventure and science-fiction middle-grade and young adult books along with short stories. She is passionate about children's literature both old and new. To find out more or to read some of her work go to http://www.julieworthington.com

The Harry Potter Book Series

2011-09-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard about Harry Potter, where have you been hiding? Harry Potter is a character created by the brilliant writer J.K.Rowling, and first came known to us in 1997. 7 books later and with nearly 500 million copies sold, there must be something pretty special about them. Each book became a major film production which all broke box office records and the books were translated into 67 different languages.
So for those who have been in a coma for the past 14 years or have lived under a stone, the series is about a young wizard named Harry Potter. Sadly the story begins in his home where he is an orphan and lives with his Aunt and Uncle in a cupboard under their stairs. He is treated pretty badly and life isn't great for the young Harry. It isn't long before his life takes serious change when he finds out his is a wizard and attends the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn how to use magic.

With two great friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, Harry encounters lots of adventure with some fabulous mythical creatures like dragons, trolls, werewolves, and to name just a few. It isn't long before Harry learns that is he quite a famous wizard and the is the key to defeating the most powerful dark wizard Lord Voldemort. He learns that Lord Voldemort was responsible for the death of his parents because they didn't wasn't to use their magic for evil. At the time he tried to kill Harry but he failed leaving him with a lightening scar on his forehead.
The first movie viewers get completely drawn into the world of wizardry. The Hogwarts school itself is an amazing spectacle. The rooms tend to move around as do the stairs including the grand staircase. The pictures on the wall are like little movies as they move and talk to you. Each student at the school get an owl as a pet which is used much like a postman. To get to the Hogwarts school you need to take the Hogwarts express which is boarded from Platform 9¾ at King's Cross station in London.
The Harry Potter book series is enjoyed by people of all ages around the world. There is pretty much every type of merchandise available and even movie location tours. Also a popular theme park attraction opened up at Universal Orlando in the spring of 2010.

For more information on going on a Harry Potter Walking Tour or the popular Harry Potter Studio Tour, why not check out Brit Movie Tours who are a London based tour company offering many other London film Locations tours.

The Top 5 Children's Books on the American Revolution

2011-09-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

I love history! It is sad these days when children say they hate history, "It's boring". I believe it's because they get bogged down in trying to memorize dates and lose sight of the people and adventures that happened all throughout history.
History is exciting! If we begin teaching our children when they are young they will learn to appreciate the wonderful stories and the exciting adventures that happened in history. There were so many regular people who became heroes and so many time periods to learn about. In this article I am going to focus on the Revolutionary time period. There are many different ways to get young people interested in this time period, the people were on a quest to explore the new country they had come to and determine how they wanted this new country to be. The people found great courage, and laid a foundation for a great country to be formed.

Even if we have our young readers read fiction based on different times in history it can help them appreciate what it was like in that particular time and how the people might have lived. The following is a short list of books I think children will enjoy reading about the Revolutionary time period. Some are factual and some are fiction with factual basis. All are fun to read and not "boring."
• The American Revolution by Bruce Blivin Jr.
• Felicity by American Girl Series
• Letters For Freedom: The American Revolution by Douglas M. Rife
• George vs. George by Rosalyn Schanzer
• Heroes and Heroines of the American Revolution by Peter F. Copeland
You will be able to find many more books for children to read with a little research, I hope we can instill in the young readers a love of history through literature.
I find that when I write my love of history is always evident. There is always some aspect of history in each book I have written and most of the short stories as well. I try to show the adventure and excitement of history and hopefully pique the interest of my readers to learn more about what was happening in that time period. For instance the book I am writing now has a great amount of time travel in it and I love doing the research for each place in time my characters go! One destination will of course be the Revolutionary time period where they will meet interesting people and have an exciting adventure!

Children Books

2011-09-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

Children books are where it's at. Read to your babies and teach them reading at a very early age. Reading books will take your child on adventures and expand their imagination. Flying through outer space, exploring other planets, sailing the high seas, and even exploring the ocean bottoms will keep your children curious and wanting to learn more. This will keep them seeking knowledge for a lifetime. Buy your children new books often.
Our children will be the the future leaders of our planet. They will become the politicians, teachers, scientists, and inventors. Prepare your children for a great future by teaching them the value of books, the imagination, and curiosity. Take them to the library at an early age and get them their very first library card. Think of the excitement and the wonder in their eyes at all the books in the library. Explain to them that along with the freedom of taking these books home, they are responsible for the care of the books and the knowledge inside of them. Returning these books in the condition they received them will protect the knowledge for others to enjoy in the future.

Buying ebooks for your children online is another great way for them to expand their knowledge. You can download ebook readers for free from many different sources including Barnes and Noble, and Amazon for your PC or laptop. A lot of ebooks are available for free and others for around one dollar. A very good price for knowledge. There are also many readers available at reasonable prices that will hold hundreds of books at once. A lot of these readers have some games and tools that can be installed on them too.
In the future, children books might not even be books at all. Perhaps there will be advancements in technology that will enable your child to absorb the knowledge directly to their brain by using some type of radio frequency or light waves. Imagine the speed that a book could be read at this rate. It is possible that hundreds of books could be retained in a single day. Schools could become obsolete as learning could be done at home to save millions in transportation cost. Whichever way our future goes, our children will be the ones to make these decisions. Teach them to read early, help them develop their imagination, and keep buying them books.