Participating in a summer reading program means taking your child to the library or bookstore. One way to save time, money and gas is to order from an online bookstore like Apple Children’s Books owned by William Waldman and Lucy Molina, Independent Educational Consultants with Usborne Books in New York City.

This month they’re featuring an incredible Usborne Summer Reading Set for ages five and up. It’s only $26.99 – that’s a savings of over $25. If I didn’t own these books already – I love Usborne and used to sell them -I’d be first in line to order this set from Apple Children’s Books.

The Summer Reading Set includes:

• Vacation Things to Make and Do – This fantastic book will banish boredom during school breaks forever. Easy step-by-step instructions show you how to make a pirate cutlass, fairy wings, bouncing bats and more! The book comes with over 800 stickers to use with the projects in this book.
• Summer Activities – This book contains over 50 stickers to use with the projects and on homemade cards and gift activities.
• Great City Search – A bustling train station, a crowded shopping street and a busy hospital are just a few of the places you will visit. The Great City Search is packed with fascinating facts about cities and the people who live and work in them, and will provide countless hours of puzzle-solving fun.
• Puzzle Journey Under Sea – Imagine reading about a sunken wreck and then going on the expedition to find it. That’s just what happens when Jon, Dirk and Ally become the crew on an amazing futuristic submarine.
• 50 Travel Games and Activities – This fantastic pack of cards is full of fun games and things to do while traveling. Just choose a card, then follow the simple instructions on the back. These are great to bring on roadtrips and vacations.
• Little Book Vacation Activities – You’ll find ideas for a new activity every day: drawing, painting, making things, cooking, gardening and even dressing up. With easy-to-follow instructions and illustrations, this handy little book is guaranteed to keep boredom at bay the entire summer.

It’s an incredible deal for some awesome Usborne Books. Plus, it’s a small investment to keep your kids busy and reading this summer. Click here to order from Apple Children’s Books.

While you may be thinking, “Oh I can get these books at Barnes & Nobles or Amazon,” you can’t buy the set at $25 off. Also, Apple Children’s Books has an incredible Lifetime Replacement Policy. If your child drops their book in the pool or spills breakfast all over it, they’ll replace it at half the retail value plus shipping and handling. Try getting another book vendor to do that.

So what are you waiting for? Order the Usborne Summer Reading Set from Apple Children’s Books today.

The weather here in Colorado is beginning to cool, though the days are still warm. The leaves are slowly turning gold, red and brown. Wal-Mart just sent out its Halloween costume flier and the grocery stores are bulging with candy. Ah October.

Here at A Readable Feast, I’ll be reviewing books on magical creatures and anything Halloween-ish. I’ll also post lots of fun Halloween recipes and some pumpkin ones, too, like the one I posted last year for Egg Free Pumpkin Cookies. (You can look up last year’s Halloween book reviews and recipes by clicking here.)

So let’s start October with DRAGONS!

Produced by Charlesbridge Publishing, Ralph Masiello’s Dragon Drawing Book is a more sophisticated version of the Ed Emberley drawing books. Masiello explores the world of dragon lore, from the Australian rainbow serpent to the imperial dragon of China. His book shows kids grade four to six how to create their own magical dragons. Children follow the steps in red, with extra bonus steps in blue showing how to add more advanced details. Ralph Masiello’s Dragon Drawing Book also features a pronunciation guide and short lists of recommended books and websites.

Keep in mind that the drawings require 12 to 50 steps to complete. So you may want to purchase this book for only the most dedicated dragon fan or artist/cartoonist. If you’re looking for simpler how-to-draw books, check out Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Halloween.

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Even before today’s release of Pirates of the Caribbean, all things pirates was hot, hot, hot this summer with kids of all ages. Considering that the movie is PG-13, you may want to keep the younger kids home and plan some pirate activities and book readings instead.

Hunt for Treasure

One family pirate activity you can do is “hunt for treasure” with Geocaching.com. (A GPS unit is needed for this activity. If you don’t have one, ask around to friends and family. You’re bound to find a unit you can borrow.)

Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for GPS users. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache. For more information, go to the Geocaching FAQs page.

To learn how GPS works go to GPS: The New Navigation by PBS.

Make a Treasure Map and Go on a Hunt

• Buried Treasure Hunt from Club Cranium
• Treasure Hunt from Family Activity Ideas
• Plan a Treasure Hunt from Families with a Purpose
• Throwing a Pirate Party Adventure from Kid’s Parties by Lori (great ideas to plan a treasure hunt including using the birthday cake as a map!)
• Kids Love Hunting for Treasure from Creative Kids at Home

A Treasure Trove of Reading
As I searched our library’s online catalog, I was amazed to see several female pirate stories. Here are a few that were very intriguing

• The Pirate Meets the Queen – (Grades K-4) This book by Matt Faulkner has two strong female characters, pirate Granny O’Malley (based on the legend of the Irish pirate Granuaile O’Malley) and “Red Liz” Queen Elizabeth I of England. Gorgeous illustrations and a really terrific story that will appeal to apprentice pirates of all ages and genders.
• Pirate Girl – (Grades K-2) By Cornelia Funke, this book is about a young girl, Molly, who is kidnapped by a pirate crew. She soon proves to be smarter and braver than any of the pirates aboard. This isn’t a surprise, considering her mother, Barbarous Bertha, is the toughest pirate of them all.
• The Pirate Princess And Other Fairy Tales- (Grades 4-6) This volume contains seven fairy tales adapted from the stories written by seventeenth-century Hasidic rabbi Nahman ben Simha. The collection  begins with the story of a princess who turns pirate to escape unwanted suitors and rejoin the man she loves. Several of the other stories share elements of adventure, true love, promises, quests, and fortune.
• Swashbuckling books from Usborne – Usborne features story books like two version of the classic Treasure Island (one for kids 10 years and up and the other for children ages 5 to 12).

More books from Usborne

Also from Usborne are activity kits like Pirate Things to Make and Do Kid Kit – Children can make a shining sword, a treasure chest, a moneybag, coins, an eye patch, a treasure map, a pirate hat and lots more. Kid Kit includes: Pirate Things to Make & Do book, pirate stamp (Jolly Roger Stamp), pirate stamp pad (black ink), shiny silver material for pirate sword, glue stick, scissors, black construction paper, white crayon, black felt and elastic cord for pirate moneybag, and heavy art paper for treasure chest & other projects. (ages 6 and up)

There’s also a Pirates Kid Kit which gives you all the tools you need to play pirate including the Stories of Pirates Book, Spyglass, Pirate Hat (bandanna), Gold Earring (clip on), Gold Coins, Compass, Pirate Flag. Instructions for making a treasure map plus more ideas and suggestions also included. (ages 8 and up)

Finally there’s True Stories of Pirates for ages 9 and up.

Other Pirate Activities

• Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 17 (Thanks to Jan at the Carbon Valley Library for mentioning this. It pays to listen to your librarian!)
• Discover your pirate name
• The Pirate Glossary is a great guide to pirate talk

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Why is book shopping for young people so difficult. You know your son, daughter or young friend has certain interests, but which book to get them?

Shopping with Usborne makes it incredibly easy. First, all of Usborne’s titles are top quality – gorgeous illustrations, beautiful photography, thick paper, bright colors, and extras like spot varnishing and sewn bindings.

Second, popular subjects like dinosaurs, princesses, art activities, and animals are covered by Usborne in all age groups from birth to high school (even adults enjoy  the more mature titles). Finally, if your child like one books in a book series, they’re guaranteed to love them all.

Here’s an example. Let’s say your son loves everything to do with space. Here are your choices:

• Mouse on the Moon – for ages 9 months and up. This book is part of the Look Through Board Books series, which also includes Bunny on the Beach and Panda in the Park.
• On the Moon – for ages 2 years and up. This book is part of the Picture Books series, where science is introduced to young children in form of story and picture books. Other titles in this series include: The Butterfly, In the Castle, On the Seashore, A Rainy Day, The Snowy Day, Pinocchio, and The Snow Queen (The Birds and What’s Underground coming soon)
• Dot to Dot in Space – For ages 4 to 7, this bright, friendly activity book is both entertaining and educational. Young children will have lots of fun finding the hidden pictures and developing their number skills and pencil control at the same time. This book is part of the Dot to Dot series which includes books on nature, the farm, dinosaurs and the seashore.
• First Guide to the Universe C/V – For ages 7 to 9, this book explains some of the fascinating mysteries of the Universe for the younger reader. Written in clear, simple language and with bright colorful illustrations, it’s perfect for any child interested in space and spaceflight. One section looks at our own planet Earth, explaining such things as why it gets dark at night, why we have weather and what is under the ground.

Another section looks at our part of the Universe — the Sun, the Moon and the planets — and the stars and galaxies of outer space. This book also talks about space travel, explaining how rockets work, what satellites do, the Apollo Moon missions and the future in space. The material in this book is also available as three separate titles: Our Earth, Rockets and Spaceflight and Sun, Moon and Planets and is part of the Explainers Series.

• Astronomy IL – For ages 8 and up. In this book, you’ll discover some of the amazing things that are out there, many of which you can see with just a pair of binoculars or a small telescope. This book will give you practical advice about how to find them, as well as the answers to hundreds of questions, including: What are constellations and how can you find them? Why do the stars seem to change position from one night to the next? What happens when there’s an eclipse? What causes meteor showers? This is part of the Discovery Series including books on snakes, birds, bugs, sharks, whales and dolphins. All of these titles are Internet linked.)
• Book of Astronomy and Space IL – for ages 8 and up, this Usborne Internet linked book gives you a breathtaking surface-eye view of the planets. See stars exploding, black holes forming, and zoom through the solar system with comets and asteroids. Navigate the night sky using our clear, detailed maps. This updated edition shows you the universe, using the latest amazing information from astronomers around the world, and space proves around the galaxy. This book also includes practical information on home astronomy and buying and using equipment. This is part of the Complete Books series.
• First Encyclopedia of Space – for children 10 years and up with simple text, amazing photographs, detailed illustrations and a selection of exciting, recommended web sites introduce young readers to the wonders of the Universe. Other titles in this series include: First Encyclopedia of Animals, First Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs, First Encyclopedia of History, First Encyclopedia of Our World, First Encyclopedia of Science, First Encyclopedia of Seas and Oceans, and First Encyclopedia of the Human Body (these are also available in mini-editions and all titles are Internet linked.)

So you see while you still have many, many choices Usborne makes it easy by picking popular subjects, and breaking them up by age groups. They also give you different angles on the subject – do you want “just the facts” or maybe some activities to do? Finally, if your child likes one of the books in a series, he or she will also like other books from that series.

Now go here to search by age group, series and category to find out what your child will like. Do they have an interest in dinosaurs or a passion for all things fairies and princesses? Do they like science or ballet? Usborne truly has the books children love to read.

Want more info? Try Usborne’s Quicklinks website to see how to enter book and page numbers you are interested in learning more about. This site will provide you web addresses of safe, content appropriate websites you can visit to research a subject in a fun and informative way.

Usborne’s activity books have simple step-by-step instructions, enabling young readers to produce delightful results quickly and easily. Children (and parents) find these books very attractive because of the gorgeous graphics and photographs. Most importantly, the books are FUN and help parents get kids involved in activities away from the television.

A great example is the What Shall I Do series. What Shall I Cook? is specially designed to be quick and easy, using simple ingredients that can be found in most kitchens. Stunning photographs of the tasty results will entice any young cook (ages 7 and up) into the kitchen.

Sunshine toast

Note: this recipe involves use of a microwave and oven. Please do not let children cook without adult supervision.

You will need:

1. 1 slice of bread
2. Melted butter
3. 1 medium egg
4. Large cookie cutter
5. Cookie sheet
6. Aluminum foil or a non-stick silicone baking mat

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. If you are using aluminum foil on your cookie sheet, spray the surface with a non-stick cooking spray or grease well with butter. If you are using a silicone baking mat there is no need to grease the surface.
3. Use your microwave to melt some butter. Make sure to use a microwave safe bowl.
4. Brush the melted butter on one side of the bread with a pastry brush. Then take the cookie cutter and press it hard into the middle of the slice of bread. Wiggle it back and forth slightly while pressing to make sure you’re cutting through the bread.
5. Carefully lift out the shape you have cut out. Lay both pieces of bread on the tray with the butter side up.
6. Break the egg into a saucer and remove any pieces of shell. Carefully slide the egg into the hole you have cut.
7. Bake for seven minutes on the top rack of the oven, or for a little longer (about 10 minutes) if you don’t like a runny yolk.
8. Lift the pieces of bread carefully off the tray. Season with salt and pepper. Eat it while it’s still warm. Use the toast shape to dip in the egg yolk.

Variation: If you like cheese with your egg, sprinkle grated cheese on your egg before placing in the oven.

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