Ode to a Bunny

Life Lessons:

Writing is hard work. I know, some of you are snickering and saying to yourself, "Sure it is, ha...ha!" But it is true. At the end of a day of writing, not only is my brain fried, but my body feels like I have been run over by a truck.

At the same time, writing is incredibly rewarding. Seeing your work in print is like having a sugar and adrenaline rush--it is addictive! That's one of the reasons writers, like myself, spend so many hours pounding away at the keyboard, or daydreaming in the porch swing. We love the process, from the first inspirational idea, to the tedious struggle with editing--it can be so rewarding.

I love to write for children. That is my passion, although I have tinkered with the idea of writing a couple of books for grown ups. Some of my friends think that writing for children is the easiest kind of writing. But, once more, they are wrong. Writing a compelling and heart warming story for kids is probably the hardest type of writing ever. So when an author gets it right, they should be praised.

That's what I want to do in this blog--give kudos to those authors who choose to write for our little ones, even though they may never be selected for the New York Times Best Seller List, or bring in the big bucks. This week I was inspired to choose my feature book by a painful incident in our home.
About a month ago, when coming home from work late one night, my son was greeted in our front yard by a little brown bunny. You guessed it--by midnight, we had a new pet. We did attempt to find its owner, but finally decided that Bunny had been turned loose by someone who had tired of taking care of it.

Thumper was a true Velveteen Rabbit.

 
Chris named it Thumper. Yes, literature has played a strong role in our household. Thumper hopped into our hearts with her sweet personality. Even my husband was enamored by this little fur ball. The only household member not impressed was our cat Rocket, who saw Thumper as her next meal.
Life for Thumper was good in the Hurst household. When Chris went on vacation, I took on the responsibility to care for our little Velveteen Rabbit. That was a big mistake.

To make a long story short, the day after Chris returned from his vacation, Thumper was taken ill. I offered to take her to the vet, who promptly informed me that Thumper was a "he" and not a "she"!
In spite of our vet's encouraging words, Thumper died that night. The entire house was heartbroken.

The next day, I bought a replacement bunny, who proceeded to disappear from his cage. We named him Houdini. He is skin and bones beneath a heavy fluff of soft brown fur. His future is unknown, other than we are happy to have him.

Houdini is a little ball of fluff!

Books:

This story brings me to my book recommendation for the week. Thumper, whose coat was a cocoa brown velvet, reminded us of one of our favorite children's books, The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams. This tender story tells about a little boy's love for his stuffed toy. It is truly a classic tale that is a must read aloud. In the same theme, Pat the Bunny, by Dorothy Kunhardt, and, of course, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter cannot be forgotten. Then, we must not forget Margaret Wise Brown's book, The Runaway Bunny. The list goes on and on. Many authors have taken these characters and written new adventures for youngsters to enjoy.

Not to leave out the chapter book readers, we must include one of my favorite novels, Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery, by Deborah and James Howe. After reading this tale, Halloween will never be the same. 

Food:

Today, while taking a break from my keyboard and pile of dirty dishes in the sink, I sat down in front of the television. I had been thinking about recipes that could accompany books whose main characters were rabbits. Carrot cake immediately came to mind, but I decided that might be too complicated for some parents, let alone children--and their teachers! Then I thought about a simple veggie platter featuring carrots, radishes, and the kinds of foods mentioned in Beatrix Potter's stories. Ranch dressing makes them taste oh, so good, I was sure that children would love to eat them. About that time, a commercial came on and I knew I had hit the jackpot. Bluebunny Ice Cream! It was so simple--there are all kinds, from Popsicles to MooseTracks. The best part was all of the things that could come from eating this product!

Writing:

Can't you see it now? "Bluebunny Meets The Velveteen Rabbit" or "The Runaway Bluebunny." What kid could resist writing a story about this character? The options are endless--and the ideas abundant with all of the examples of bunny tales in your local libraries. I would love to see the end results! For inspiration, check out this web site: http://www.bluebunny.com 

Make a book! Trace a bunny shape on a piece of tagboard and cut out covers and pages to make shape books for these stories. Children will learn the Five Steps of the Writing Process by creating their own Bluebunny books. Display the finished books on your library shelves next to their kindred stories. This will do wonders toward helping your children fall in love with both reading and writing!

Plant a Bunny Garden: Research foods that rabbits love and plant a container garden. Children can enjoy both planting and caring for their garden. Older ones might enjoy keeping a garden diary where they record of how long it takes from the initial planting until they can eat the produce and other important information. Learning to garden is a science all its own. Linking it to literature makes it even more fun!

Crafts:

The ideas are infinitesimal! Beginning with sock puppets, kids could create their characters and retell their stories using these adorable homemade puppets. Here is a URL you might want to check out:

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Rabbit-out-of-a-Sock

Piece de Resistance:

Lastly, since you have come this far with the bunny theme, why not check with your local animal shelter and see if there is a sweet ball of fur available for adoption. Kids in your classroom will do anything to get a chance to hold your live "Bluebunny" and read it a story--or better yet, read bunny THEIR own story! Bunnys are easy keepers--they don't need vacinations and are docile pets. They do require a bit of cage clean up on a daily basis, but kids learn a lot about life and responsibility from taking care of a pet. Many children do not have pets at home. Worse, many have never been taught how to care for a pet. It provides life lessons that you cannot find in a state curriculum. Those of you who are involved with Common Core--talk about "deep reading"-- have the kids research how to care for their pet. Motivation is key to learning--and Bluebunny activities offer enormous incentives for kids to engage in learning. It's a win-win opportunity!

Conclusion:

If you do decide to take up the challenge, whether it is only to read these classic tales and write stories, please take a moment to share some of your experiences with me and the other followers of my posts. We are hoppin' to hear from you!

 

Louisiana Author, Lynda Deniger and her book, Patty Pelican and the Gulf Oil Spill

I have been neglectful of my blog recently, partially due to personal illness. But I wish to continue sharing with you some of my favorite authors and their books.

One of my favorite authors, Lynda Deniger, is a little-known story-teller from Abita Springs, Louisiana.

Lynda has written two books for children that tell about a little shrimp boat and his friends, Sammy Seagull, Patti Pelican and Dottie Dolphin. Lynda’s book bring Louisiana traditions to life and will delight children everywhere. Included with the books are CDs with songs children can sing along with about the stories. Lynda has been a performer since the age of three. Whenever she presents her books, she gets into character and grabs the audience’s attention with her whimsical showmanship.

One of her books, Patty Pelican and the Gulf Oil Spill, centers on that tragic event and teaches children about the ecological balance of animals, birds and fish that inhabit our coastlines. Her website contains lots of ideas and activities for teachers to incorporate into lessons about saving the environment.

Lynda’s books are available on Amazon and her website: http://saltyseasandfriends.com/.

 Here are some activities you may wish to use with your children or students that coordinate with Lynda's books:

NOTE: These activities were designed/created by some of my former college students, Holly Duplechin, Felicia Morris, and Jessica Ford, who by now are full-fledged elementary teachers! Good job, ladies!

ACTIVITY 1

To Model an Oil Spill you will need the following materials:

• Plastic bottle (half filled with water)
• ½ cup of vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa
• Plastic cup
• Funnel

Here are the directions to make the model oil spill:

1. Mix the oil and cocoa in a cup.
2. Add the oil mixture to already prepared bottle of water.
3. Discuss what happens when the oil hits the water, how the water and oil react to one another, how this could occur, and what dangers do the students think could be caused by an oil spill.
4. In closing, ask the children/students to share and discuss what they observed and concluded with the completion of this demonstration.

ACTIVITY 2
To simulate oil clean-up and determine the best material to use you will need the following materials:

• Clear plastic tub 
• Yellow vegetable oil
• A Tablespoon to use for measuring
• Cheese cloth or gauze
• Cotton balls
• Polypropylene cloth (used in sports clothing) 

To simulate oil clean-up and determine the best material to use you will need the following materials:

Directions: 

Use the tablespoon to add oil to the water until there is an oil slick.

Record and discuss your prediction as to which item will remove the oil better.

Use each of the items one at a time and try to remove the oil. Record your observations.

Determine and discuss which item actually removed the most oil and the least water. 

ACTIVITY 3

To observe the effect of oil in the water on bird feathers and simulate clean-up effort you will need the following materials:

 

2 clear plastic tubs half filled with water

1/2 cup of yellow vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

2-3 craft feathers

Dishwashing detergent

Directions:

Drop a feather into clean water and observe/record what happens and how the feather looks.

Add oil and cocoa (mixed together) to one of the tubs of water.

Record and discuss your predictions as to what will happen when the feather is dropped into the clean water; do the same for the oil/cocoa water.

Discuss the effect this would have on the birds.

Wash the oil/cocoa feather with dishwashing detergent.

Record your observations.

Discuss your findings.

FOOD:

Make a list of your favorite seafood dishes. Look up recipes for these dishes on the web and create a cookbook together. Discuss how oil spills would affect the seafood industry. Choose one recipe to prepare and share together. Enjoy!

Spring is in the Air!

A cardinal enjoys my "make-shift" bird feeder

Today, as I sit at my computer watching the birds flitting around the bird feeder outside my window, I am excited about life. Spring does that to me. I get this urge to dig in the dirt and hang out on the porch with a good book and a frosty glass of mint-flavored ice tea. I am dreaming now of having a porch swing to relax on, but that is a different story. Today, I want to focus on spring and the books I have loved that remind me of this wonderful season.

No girl could experience springtime without thinking of The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It may be one of the reasons I love roses so much, that, and the fact that when I was six my neighbor, Mrs. King, gave me a Tropicana rose bush for my very own little garden.

I am also reminded of a very special day in the spring when my kids were small. Geoff was in fourth grade that year. I had discovered, to my horror, that he hated reading! I soon uncovered the root cause--his image of reading consisted of having to complete piles of phonics worksheets, courtesy of his previous school experience. To erase that image, I tried every creative way I could think of to encourage him to read. One day a miracle happened--and I could not have manufactured it if I had tried. My parents had come for a visit, and my dad asked us to take a walk with him. Our plan was to go to Target, which was about a half mile from our house. We would eat at the lunch counter and then come back home. Everyone started down the sidewalk, when suddenly Geoff raced back to the house and returned with his skateboard--and a book. I nearly fainted. He rode his skateboard about two houses in front of us and sat down on the curb and began reading. Just before we caught up with him he got back on his skateboard and raced ahead of us, then sat down and read again. He did this all the way to Target--and all the way back home. I didn't say anything to him, for fear I would embarrass him and he'd stop reading. Later, we had a great discussion. He was reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which would have been a challenging read for a sixth grader, let alone a fourth grader. He finished that book in two days--and went on to read Huckleberry Finn. From that day forward, he was a reader. Books did what I could not do--made him fall in love with reading, although I have to think that my reading aloud to my sons every night before they went to bed might have had a little bit to do with it. :)

Another thing we enjoyed that spring was bowling. It became our passion. Every Thursday, we would finish our school work early and head for the local bowling alley to meet our home school group. It was sort of like having an organized physical education class. For two whole hours we would bowl. The day Geoff beat me was a red-letter day for him! We celebrated with a homemade pepperoni pizza. Those were fun, fun, fun days. Pizza and bowling are still favorites in our family.
My boys are grown now, with children of their own. Here are a few family photos for you to enjoy.

Mickey, Chris and Geoff - circa 1987

Aidan, Geoff's son, is a basketball star.

Chris has twins, Dylan and Elody,

Aidan and Olivia (Geoff's children)

Most readers have a favorite book from childhood. Mine was Misty of Chincoteague. I found it in May in my school's library when I was a fifth grader. It changed my life! I couldn't get enough of Marguerite Henry's writing after that book. More recently, Chris surprised me one day by digging through our attic and pulling out a book his grandmother and I read to him at least a thousand times when he was in kindergarten. He mailed The Digging-est Dog in a Christmas box to his twins in Colorado. Whether it became a favorite of theirs or not is unknown, but his heart was in the right place (and that's another story!).

Time has passed. Our reading lists have changed. I'm more likely to read a mystery, although I still love horses and horse stories. My grandchildren are getting old enough to read for themselves, so I am always on the lookout for books they will enjoy. Geoff's son Aidan is going to celebrate his eighth birthday on the 31st of this month. Because he is at an age where he can enjoy spending time with his father, I'm currently looking for an easy-reader about a boy, his dad, and bowling to send to him, (along with some spending money). NOTE: If you have any suggestions about books with this theme for a second grade reader, let me know! I want Aidan and his dad to go bowling together. 

Geoff and Aidan at a Cowboy's game.

Now, if Aidan were in middle school, I know exactly what book I would get him. My friend, Crystal Allen, wrote a great book entitled, How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy in 2012.

I first met Crystal Allen at a writers' conference in Houston a few years back. She had just won a publishing contract on her first book. It was a smash hit--and I know why. How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy is about a boy and bowling--a great combination! 
If you have a middle grade boy, this book would be terrific.

How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy

Think about it...what boy wouldn't love this story? Thirteen-year-old Lamar is a whiz at bowling, but strikes out with girls. When he listens to bad boy Billy, trouble follows. It's a modern day hit!

Crystal has gone on to write more books, another of which I absolutely love: The Laura Line. Once again, although this time it's a girl, the main character has a major problem--she's overweight. The kids torment her and call her "Fat Larda". Things look bleak for Laura, until one day her teacher announces a field trip--to the slave shack located on her grandmother's land. Will this heap disaster on Laura's hope to one day fit in and be accepted by her classmates? It's a great book to pair with a history lesson on the Civil War and with a discussion of what makes a person beautiful. Girls can relate to Laura and her fears and feelings.

If you would like to learn more about these and other books written by Crystal, check out her website.

www.crystalallenbooks.com

 

So, if you (like me) have a touch of spring fever, grab a few books from your local bookstore or library, pour yourself a refreshing glass of ice tea and head out to the porch swing with your kiddos to enjoy a good read. And while you're there, make a list of fun things to do in your garden with the kids. My dad and I planted radishes when I was around five. I have loved these red firebombs ever since.

Even if you don't have a plot of ground in your yard, a nice flower pot with a few flowers or herbs from your garden store are a great way to get kids involved with nature. Add a bird feeder and/or bird bath, grab a book on native America birds, and start a new hobby--bird watching. 

Spring is as much a feeling as a time of year, so grab hold and enjoy it! And while you are hanging out, reading a book together, think about things you can do to make spring a practical educational experience. For instance, make math graphs to identify the birds that stop by your feeder, or design a growth chart to measure the growth of your plants. And, of course, take some time and head for the bowling alley. Believe me, your kids will have a blast--and so will you!