Get Out and PLAY Event - Day 28
With warm weather here we now spend quite a bit of our time outdoors, specifically, digging in the dirt in our garden. Since this is my daughter’s first year that she can really explore on her own, she is reveling in her independence and likes to spend her time alone in her fairy garden surrounded by her plants and digging up bugs. Periodically, she will stop to show me something exciting she has found as I tend to our vegetables, asking me hundreds of questions about all the new things she uncovers and sitting mesmerized as I answer her questions.
This is all quite lovely, and I really look forward to spending this time with her, but what I really don’t like is that most of the time, I have no clue at all what the answers are to the questions she asks me. I may have a vegetable garden, but no one ever has mistaken me for outdoorsy. I don’t know birds, don’t know trees, and I really, really don’t know bugs. To be clear, I just barely know my vegetables.
So, what do I do when I don’t know something? I look it up, that’s what! In light of my child's insatiable curiosity, I have two new go-to guide books from Blue Apple Books to help make sense of all things nature. As great as they are for learning, they are also some of my new favorite books to read with my daughter.
Bugs by the Numbers: Facts and Figures for Multiple Types of Bug Beasties by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss – The name alone might have you thinking that this is just an infant’s counting book, but you would be incorrect, because it is way more than that. This isn’t a simple 1 grasshopper, 2 butterflies, 3 ants type of counting book, instead it actually includes really fascinating facts in an easy to learn format that makes reading about bugs truly fun.
Bugs by the Numbers has insects from termites to walking sticks and breaks down facts about each bug in various numbers. Each page focuses on a new bug and then offers a few numeric-related facts about them. Even cooler is that the bug graphics themselves are made out of numerals and the book has fold out flaps to add interest, all of which makes each page exciting and eye-catching for all ages.
How Things Work in the Yard by Lisa Campbell Ernst – The perfect easy to understand book for little gardeners and a great way to answer all the “why”s your little one can dream up. How Things Work in the Yard describes the inner workings of numerous everyday objects and things that a youngster would find in their backyard -- including acorns, bubbles, wagons, ants, fireflies, clouds, snails, birds and more.
Each page is brightly colored and contains numerous facts and labels to describe even complex ideas in an easy-to-understand language that is perfect for youngsters. I should admit that even though the book is designed for young kids, I still thought it was fun to read and the facts were actually quite interesting, which is why I love reading it to my daughter.
I'm so glad we found Blue Apple Books this summer and found a great way to bring the backyard indoors and learn together. If you have a little one that is interested in nature and exploring, I would highly recommend both Blue Apple Books titles for some fun reading this summer. They are a great way to sneak a little learning into fun reading and keep little ones excited about what they might find if they dig a little bit.
One lucky Rave and Review reader will win How Things Work in the Yard and Bugs by the Numbers from Blue Apple Books!
To Enter: Tell me how you get your children interested in the great outdoors.
And, as always, there are extra entries available!
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Trying to win two great books from Blue Apple Books and @raveandreview - perfect for exploring with little ones! #giveaway http://bit.ly/rl5zpH!
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On August 26th at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway open to US Addresses.
A big thank you to Blue Apple Books for sending the sample books to review and for offering a giveaway to our fabulous readers. All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this very Rave Review.
