Happy Fall Y'all

Fall is here, and along with the vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow, a crispness is in the air. The type of temperature which is quite conducive to having backyard fires in the fire pit. And of course there is also the raking, but i decided to put that off until later. Instead, I spent the week doing everyday things. I visited my hairdresser for a trim. I made some more apple butter. I took my car in to have the oil changed. And, best of all, I spent time with one of my besties and the other half of The Story Sisters team.

So I decided some fallish books would be in order this week. The first book I read called, Animal House, had a beautiful cover of two squirrels sitting in their living room. I had mixed feelings about this book. I loved the artwork. I loved that a different animals perspective of how to build a proper home was delivered on each page. I love the surprise on the last page. But the story was told in rhyme and the rhythm didn't always work as I read along which was a bit distracting. I would still suggest you try to find this book at your library or online because the house they show at the end of the book is pretty spectacular.

The second book I read was How to Catch a Falling Star. This book is adorable both in terms of artwork and story. Eagerly Bear waits for the last star to fall from the tree. He thinks the last star, which is actually a leaf, has magic that he can wish on. As he waits, forest friends join him one at a time. Bear finds out that he can't wish on the star, but what he wanted comes true anyways.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musing Monday Link Up where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Autumn's Arrival

Autumn has officially arrived and with it fall festivals. This weekend we attended the Heritage Festival at Malabar Farms State Park. We saw a broom maker...

A blacksmith who let Emily blow the bellows.

 

 

Civil War Soldiers firing the cannons.

 

A log cabin and the Big House where Charles Bromfield lived.

 

 

 

And a bit of movie history.

 

 

 

We even took a horse-drawn wagon ride.

 

 

And all of this fun autumn entertainment made me want o read an autumn book. The book I chose was a super beginning science book called The Autumn Leaf. It is the story of a big oak tree who has arrived at the season of change and is loosing her leaves until only one leaf is left. Try as hard as she could, she just could not get that one last leaf to drop. The last leaf was scared to drop. That is until some friendly children came up with a plan to help the little leaf overcome his fear and drop gently to the ground.

 

 

I also read a fun book called Acoustic Rooster which is the story of a musical chicken who starts his own jazz band in order to enter the farmers talent contest. He's the rockinest chicken around and even though he doesn't win first place, he has a great time. There are lots of references to past musical legends and in the back of the book there is a great glossary of musical terms, a page of the musical legends mentioned, and a musical timeline.

 

 

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

 

 

Autumn Has Arrived

This past week was the first week in quite a while that I wasn't outrageously busy. The only real event was Bobby and I celebrating our Anniversary this past Saturday. It was a lovely and relaxing day, and I didn't even feel guilty about doing the bare minimum of house chores. I cooked and did dishes, and that was the extent of my domestic efforts.

Autumn also arrived at our house and was made evident by the massive littering of brightly colored leaves covering our front yard. The site of all those leaves was both beautiful and tiring as I thought about raking. I decided to rake later this week which left me time to read a beautiful book titled Count Down to Fall. It's an older book from 2009, but it is still available and is well worth checking out.

Count Down to Fall is told in rhyme, and while I didn't think every page flowed as well as it could, the story line was pleasant. The illustrations, however, are what really sets this book apart. They are very detailed and quite beautiful. The leaves and forest creatures invite you to spend an extra few minutes admiring every page. And as an added bonus, at the end of the story, there are activities and facts that would make this book a wonderful addition to a teacher or homeschooler's curriculum.

Emily also read a book to me that I enjoyed very much. It was called Elmer and The Dragon. Although written in the seventies, it is a fabulous book that has stood the test of time and is still available today. Elmer is a  young boy who runs away from home to save a baby dragon in distress. After saving the dragon, it is grateful and offers to take Elmer home. On the journey, they encounter a wild storm and a strange island. The adventures are highly entertaining and certainly kept my interest as well as Emily's.

 

 

 

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my sequel, Return To Fern Valley! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.