Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday”) is the last day of feasting before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. This year Mardi Gras is on February 24 – that’s this week!

In celebration of Mardi Gras, you may want to see if your local library carries Mardi Gras children’s books. One book you’d want to look for is King Cake for Cassius. It’s the story of Mardi Gras told by Cassius, a boxer (a dog – not a person):

The book begins with children discussing what they’re going to “be” for Mardi Gras. Cassius overhears that one of the children is unaware of the Mardi Gras tradition. She then explains that carnival season begins with the epiphany and ends with Mardi Gras. The dog also explains many of the traditions and terms associated with Mardi Gras including King Cake parties, parades, krewes and doubloons. She shares the name of her favorite parade which happens to be a dog parade named the Krewe of Barkus. The story concludes with Cassius stating that she’s going to be a wizard for Mardi Gras this year and asking “what are you going to be for Mardi Gras?”

The book contains a list of children’s Mardi Gras activities including a recipe for King Cake, instructions on how to make a shoe box float, and how to have a mini-parade.

If you can’t find it, no worry, because I have a recipe for King Cake from the National Honey Board for you.

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So many books on the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah. Which one to choose? Here are a few that stand out.

Sammy Spider’s First Hanukkah – For ages four to eight, Sammy watches longingly as Josh Shapiro lights another candle and receives a brightly-colored dreidel each night of Hanukkah. “Spiders don’t spin dreidels, spiders spin webs!” Sammy’s mother reminds him. Then on the last night, Sammy gets his own spinning surprise.

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins – For ages four to eight, every year the Hanukkah goblins snuff out the menorah candles, destroy the dreidels, and pitch the potato latkes on the floor. Hershel of Ostropol outwits the nasty beasties and saves the holiday!

Hanukkah! – For ages four to eight, this book by Roni Schotter won the

National Jewish Book Award. It follows one family’s celebration of the holiday, from eating latkes and spinning the dreidel, to singing prayers and lighting the menorah. With sweet rhyming text and warm illustrations, this is the perfect way to celebrate the festival of lights. 

The Golden Dreydl- For ages nine to 12, Sara finds Chanukah celebrations boring. When her Tante Miriam arrives and gives her a Golden Dreydl, everything changes. The dreydl, an enchanted princess in disguise, takes Sara on a journey to a magical world. This book by Ellen Kushner is a delightful holiday tale that weaves together threads of Jewish folklore and tradition with fantasy and humor.

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This year Hanukkah starts on December 12, and I’m excited that we can have potato pancakes (latkes) now that my daughter Lucie is no longer allergic to eggs. We’re not Jewish, but the kids learn about Hanukkah at school as part of the Core Knowledge curriculum. (They learn about various Christmas traditions and Kwanzaa as well.)

However, I grew up celebrating Hanukkah since my father was Jewish. Luckily for my family, my French Catholic mother wholeheartedly embraced Jewish cooking. The woman’s chopped liver and chicken soup were to die for! I grew up eating blintzes, gefilte fish, and bagel and lox along with potato pancakes, so Jewish food is one of my favorite cuisines.

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It’s Memorial Day weekend and that means camping for our family. It’s one of the few times I spend time outdoors. While I used to love playing outside as a child, I don’t as an adult.

If you need a little inspiration to get outside and play, check out Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder.

I reviewed the previous version of Last Child in the Woods in June 2006. The new, expanded 2008 edition contains a “Field Guide” with 100 Actions that families and communities can take, along with discussion questions, a report on the movement, and other resources for parents, educators, conservationists, business people and community leaders.

Richard Louv was interviewed in the San Diego Union-Tribune on April 20, 2008. They also ran: For the children, Excerpts from Richard Louv’s ‘Last Child in the Woods’ make a case for increased urban access to nature. You can learn more about the book at www.lastchildinthewoods.com, go to Richard Louv’s website, or read the following excerpt from the book.

BEYOND NATURE-DEFICIT DISORDER
It’s Time to Turn Consciousness into Action

By Richard Louv

Got dirt? “In South Carolina, a truckload of dirt is the same price as a video game!” reports Norman McGee, a father in that state who bought a small pickup-load of dirt for his daughter and friends.

McGee is turning consciousness into action. So is Liz Baird, who keeps a “wonder bowl” available for her children.

When Baird was a little girl she would fill her pockets with natural wonders—acorns, rocks, mushrooms. “My Mom got tired of washing clothes and finding these treasures in the bottom of the washer or disintegrated through the dryer,” Liz recalls. “So she came up with ‘Liz’s Wonder Bowl,’ and the idea was that I could empty my pockets into the bowl. I could still enjoy my treasures, and try to find out what things were, and not cause trouble with the laundry.”

McGee and Baird are among the thousands of parents who have joined – and are leading – an international children and nature movement. Sometimes known as Leave No Child Inside, the effort is bringing together people from all walks of life, who are creating grassroots regional campaigns, state and national legislation, and changes in their own families to help children become happier, healthier and smarter.

An emerging body of scientific knowledge links nature time to longer attention spans, better cognitive functioning, reduction of stress, and strengthened family bonds. What better way to enhance parent-child attachment than to walk in the woods together, disengaging from distracting electronics, advertising, and peer pressure?

Howard Frumkin, director of the National Center for Environmental Health at Centers for Disease Control, recently describes the clear benefits of nature experiences to healthy child development, and to adult well-being.

“In the same way that protecting water and protecting air are strategies for promoting public health, protecting natural landscapes can be seen as a powerful form of preventive medicine,” he says. He believes that future research about the positive health effects of nature should be conducted in collaboration with architects, urban planners, park designers, and landscape architects. “Of course, there is still much we need to learn, such as what kinds of nature contact are most beneficial to health, how much contact is needed and how to measure that, and what groups of people benefit most. But we know enough to act.”

If you’re a parent who missed out on nature as a child, now’s your chance. Indeed, all the gifts of nature that come to children also come to the good adult who introduces a child to nature.

Young people are acting, too, by becoming natural leaders in the movement. For example, a seven-year-old girl in Virginia rounded up her friends and enrolled them in her own Girls Gone Wild in Nature Club. Together they organize backyard campouts and bug hunts.

In Mississippi, teenager Josh Morrison founded Geeks in the Woods (www.geeksinthewoods.org) for his friends and fellow geeks everywhere. He defines “geek” as a “gaming environmentally educated kid,” and says he and his friends — “tired of being labeled” tech addicts — can have their PlayStations and their outdoor time too: “We could be the generation that makes a U-turn back to . . . a balance between virtual reality and what sustains all life . . . nature.”

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Even if you’re not Irish, it’s fun to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with your family. Here are some ideas:

• You can read some Irish folk and fairy tales. 
• You can learn more about the a history of the holiday by downloading St. Patrick’s Day: Not just for the Irish. (Includes traditional recipes, too.)
• You can march in your local St. Patrick’s Day parade. (One of the healthy tips I give for Staying lean and green this St. Patrick’s Day at my blog, This Mama Cooks! On a Diet.)
• You can download a St. Patrick’s Day Coloring Book and draw. (Make sure you have plenty of green crayons on hand.)
• And of course, you can cook!

Many kids might balk at eating corn beef and cabbage, so why not try an Irish breakfast pudding?

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