by Brianna
American Independence Day is coming up! Here's a picture book to help your littles celebrate, and learn what it means to be an American. If you use the affiliate links in this article, you're helping to keep Busy Nest News running. Thanks for your continued support! Apple Pie 4th of July, by Janet S. Wong and Margaret Chodos-Irvine
Here at Busy Nest News, we cannot get enough of holiday books. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas all get the literary treatment in our homes. It will surprise no one, then, to learn that Independence Day, July 4th, gets the same treatment. We’ve dug up some fun books to review, and to introduce our littles to the customs associated with Fourth of July celebrations.
The first book I checked out is Apple Pie 4th of July, by Janet S. Wong and illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. It follows a Chinese American girl on Independence Day. She watches the parade go past her home, and can’t understand why her parents are in their restaurant all day, preparing Chinese food. The little girl tries to convince her mom and dad that Americans don’t want Chinese food on the 4th of July. At first, it seems as though she is right; people trickle into the shop throughout the day for only small things, like ice, chips, and matches. But by dinner time, there’s a line out the door! Their fellow Americans think Chinese food will hit the spot as they prepare to watch fireworks. At last, the whole family watch the show from the roof of their building, and their upstairs neighbor shares her apple pie with them.
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by Brianna In which Brianna reviews a special book about a girl, her mother, her grandmother, and their shared goal. This article contains affiliate links which help keep Busy Nest News going. Thanks for your continued support! A Chair for My Mother, by Vera B. WilliamsA Chair for My Mother, by Vera B. Williams, is told from the perspective of a little girl who is helping her mother save to buy a comfortable chair for their home. The year before, their family (the girl, her mother and grandmother) lost everything in a house fire. She explains that the community and the rest of their family came together to outfit their new home with their old furniture. The little family is very grateful, but they’re still saving every coin in a huge jar towards a new chair. That way Grandma will have somewhere comfortable to sit during the day, and Mother will have somewhere to rest after working at the diner all day. The three save together all year to make the precious purchase, and when the big day finally arrives, they can’t even wait for the chair to be delivered, making arrangements of their own to bring it home right away.
By Ariel This post contains affiliate links. If you buy the featured products using our links, you're helping to keep Busy Nest News running. Thanks! Ariel & Bean's Chanukah Favorites Are you guys ready for the holidays? If you aren’t - like me - you better get your butt in gear, because Chanukah starts next week! We spent the last week perusing our stacks and picking out our Chanukah favorites. While we may celebrate Christmas predominantly, my brother-in-law is Jewish so we incorporate both holidays into our holiday festivities.
Now Bean and I have woefully different criteria for what makes a great book at the moment. This will be evident from our choices. Hers? Have to either have an animal in them or be sung aloud. Mine? I am a sucker for a clever story or beautiful illustrations. Below are our favorite Chanukah books this year. Let's check them out!
By Brianna
This post contains affiliate links. If you buy the product using our links, you're helping to keep Busy Nest News running. Thanks!
Owl Moon, by Jane Yolen and John Schoenherr
Published in 1987, Owl Moon is a sweet story about a little girl and her father making the most of a clear, winter evening. The prose is simple, but evokes beautiful imagery of the countryside in winter. The illustrations won this title the Caldecott Medal for 1988, and it was featured on Reading Rainbow.
Owl Moon depicts a child and their father exploring the woods on a cold, winter evening, as they look for owls. The story is about a very special one-on-one bonding experience, shared between a parent and child. The two don’t talk in the woods, but the narrator tells us how she feels inside (special, loved) and outside (cold!). She tells us that this has become a tradition, almost a rite of passage, to have Pa take you owling. We learn that her older brothers have all gone owling, and she’s been looking forward to being told it’s her turn. |
AuthorsAriel and Brianna are friends who met while working in a library. Now they collaborate to develop life-enhancing book club experiences. Archives
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