Prince Bear and Pauper Bear…Teaching Kids About Love and Friendship

Posted on February 7, 2013 by viviankirkfield

How can we teach kids about love and friendship?

By being great role models and treating our friends with love and respect
By giving our children respect and attention and expecting the same from them
By reading stories that deliver this important message

Today is Perfect Picture Book Friday…an opportunity for me to share a book with you that teaches kids about love and friendship…come and join Susanna Leonard Hill’s fantastic group of picture book writers, illustrators, librarians and others who contribute a picture book review.

February is a month that is chockfull with special days. Thursday, February 14 is Valentine’s Day…which is all about love…but it is also International Book Giving Day…which is all about getting books into the hands of children who have none.

I want to help young children become lovers of books and reading…and a child must have a book in order to fall in love with it.

Last year, I donated to Reach Out and Read, Sit Together and Read and Books for Africa.

In honor of International Book Giving Day and Valentine’s Day, I am donating $25 to provide books for kids…but I would like your help in choosing where the money goes. Do you have a favorite organization that supports this cause? Please leave a comment on my blog and tell me why your favorite should get the money. I will use Random.org and the winner will be announced in next Friday’s post.

Today’s Perfect Picture Book celebrates love and friendship…and is written by a children’s author and blogger I connected with last year. Emily Lim is now a member of 12×12 and is one of the featured speakers at the 2013 Asian Festival of Children’s Content. If you’d like to find out more about her and the many beautiful books she has written, you can visit her blog. When the book first came out, Emily appeared on TV, talking about how she came to write the book.

Prince Bear and Pauper Bear

Written by Emily Lim

Illustrated by Neal Sharp

Publisher: Mustard Seed Books (2007)

Ages: 2 and up

Themes:

Friendship, love, self-esteem, believe in oneself, caring about others, sharing

Synopsis:

From Amazon’s book page: “Pauper Bear is a sad little teddy bear who longs to be loved whilst Prince Bear is a proud teddy bear who loves himself. When their paths take different turns, the two bears discover that things do not happen as they expect… Prince Bear & Pauper Bear has been awarded the Bronze Medal (Children’s Picture Books category) at the 2008 IPPY Awards (World’s largest independent publishers book awards).”

Why do I like this book:

All kids love teddy bears…and here is a timeless story about two bears who are as different as day and night. Kids will cheer when Pauper Bear is carried home and lovingly cared for by his new owner. The illustrations are sweet and clever and clean and simple, with muted tones (a perfect bedtime story) and bold lines. The pictures are so expressive that we can tell what the teddy bears are thinking, even without reading the words. The author has given us a fresh perspective on the classic story of The Prince and the Pauper, with a book that kids will want to hear over and over again. Unfortunately, the book has limited availability here in the States…I was lucky to get a copy on Amazon and I plan to use it for the fall semester in my school programs.

Related Activities:

TEDDY BEAR PAPER BAG PUPPET

Photo courtesy www.dltk-kids.com

You will need: 1 paper lunch bag, construction paper, markers or crayons, scissors and glue.

A paper bag is an amazing craft resource. Depending on the age of the child, you can make this puppet as simple or as intricate as you wish. If you want templates for the arms, ears, etc…please go to: http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/teddy/mbearbag.html

If not, you can just cut out approximate-sized pieces from a piece of construction paper.

Cut out arms, ears, eyes, etc. from construction paper.
Glue onto the paper bag in the appropriate places.
If you’d like to make this a Valentine Bear Puppet, you can cut out a heart and glue onto the front, instead of the bow tie or the stomach…wherever you choose.
Make one with your child so that you each will have one…then you can role-play…retelling the story of Prince Bear and Pauper Bear.

Great teddy bear Valentine’s Day crafts from DLTK: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mheartbear.htm

More teddy bear Valentine’s Day drafts here: http://parenting.leehansen.com/holidays/valentine/kids_valentines/index.shtml

And more here: http://dreamlandmagic.soniacjensen.com/valentine/valentine_teddy_pin.html

Wonderful resource website here: http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/bears-crafts-ideas-activities.html

Last link for teddy bear Valentine’s day crafts here: http://www.ehow.com/info_12100662_teddy-bear-valentine-arts-crafts-preschoolers.html

Okay…I lied…here is one more: http://easypreschoolcraft.blogspot.com/2012/07/teddy-bear-puppet-craft.html

And this one has a template you can print out for a bear with movable arms and legs: http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/activities/takehometeddy.asp

Show Me How! No batteries required…powered by a child’s imagination! Click this link to purchase a copy

Valentine’s Day Teddy Bear Valued At $30,000 Hits The Couch (newyork.cbslocal.com)

Choose Your Own Adventure: Section 15 of Erik’s B-Day Quest

Posted on December 24, 2012 by viviankirkfield

If you have arrived in the middle of the adventure, you may start at the beginning by going HERE

Erik seeks information from the Gossip:

Erik and Benton followed a winding path through the dense forest to a clearing with a small house smack-dab in the center.

Erik knocked on the door. An old woman leaning on a crooked stick, with a shawl over her head, answered the door. Erik said, “Are you…”

Before he could say anything else, the old woman grabbed his arm with one of her bony hands and pulled him inside. Benton followed, since there didn’t seem to be anything else to do. The old woman said in a screechy, scratchy voice, “It’s about time someone showed up. I have news to impart, and no-one to tell it to.”

Smiling with relief, Erik said, “Oh good! We’re searching for…”

Again he was interrupted. “Do you know the old widow two forest glades over? I’ve heard tell that…”

It was Erik’s turn to interrupt. “That’s not the information I’m seeking. Have you seen a…”

“I know just what you’re talking about. I’ve seen that cow, too, and I’m positive that Yeoman Joseph was the one to take her,” the old woman said.

“We’re not here about a cow. We’re here about a…”

“Oh! It must be the farmer’s dog you’re looking for. Well, I saw someone sneak by at midnight last night, with a dog on a rope, and …”

“NO! It’s not a cow or a dog or anything like that. We’re looking for a black…”

“The wrinkled woman in the black cape. Aha. There’s many a lad looks for her. Tis said she knows the secret of youth, but I say, if she knows the secret of youth, why is she so wrinkled? Eh? I ask you! Nay, if you want the secret of youth, I can tell you where to find it. No one knows but me, and, er, the thousands I’ve told since first I learned it…”

“That’s not it either,” Erik exclaimed. “If you would just stop talking and listen for a minute…”

“Stop talking? You’d ask Greta, the Greatest Gossip in the Great Forest Grove to stop talking? How could I ever tell you the answer you seek if I stop talking? I know stories upon stories. I know more gossip than you could ever hold in your head. But if I stop talking, you’ll never hear one of those stories, no, not one. No, I can never stop talking… why, the idea is preposterous! Now let me tell you…”

Erik tugged on Benton’s reins and led him out of Greta’s house. “She’s never going to help us! She won’t even let me get a word in edgewise to ask about the black horse, or Josie, or my present. We might as well go back to the road to the mountain.”

To go back and choose to attempt to pass through the pods, click HERE

Sunday Post: Christmas…A Holiday of Gifts

Posted on December 23, 2012 by viviankirkfield

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is CHRISTMAS.

Christmas is a holiday that is all about gifts!

Christmas: Gifts for good boys and girls!

Christmas: Gifts for the Baby Jesus!

What’s the best gift you can give your young child? Your love and your positive parental participation in some simple activity like reading a picture book or doing an easy arts and crafts project.

And now some “gifts” from me to you…links that might be helpful.

Are you needing a picture book, but don’t know which one to pick?

Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book Page

Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking

Are you a writer of children’s stories who needs inspiration, motivation, encouragement and support?

Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 in 2013

Alayne Kay Christian’s Thirty-One for Fun

Alayne Kay Christian’s Sub Six

Happy Holidays…and May the New Year Bring Good Health and Much Joy to All!

Want more information about Jake’s Sunday Post?