Kid Konnection: The Big Book of Why Activity Book & Giveaway

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. This week I'm going to share with you a fun activity book by Time for Kids.

Summary: Hidden pictures, dot-to-dot, mazes, trivia, crosswords, and funny fill-ins are just some of the engrossing activities readers will find in this full-color game book jam-packed with more than 300 photographs and illustrations. Like picture puzzles? Try finding an out-of-place cell phone in a famous Civil War photograph. Think you know about tornadoes? Figure out this word scramble and learn even more! Love word searches? There's one based on the theme of every chapter in the popular book TIME For Kids Big Book of Why. Whether kids are on a summer family road trip, on the plane to grandma's house, or settling into a bunk at sleepaway camp, the Big Book of Why Activity Book is the perfect companion.

Featured topics include sports, animals, history, science, tech, and more! The dozens of different activities include hidden pictures, mazes, word search, trivia Q-and-A, funny fill-ins, dot-to-dot, crosswords, coloring pages, and pictograms. -- Liberty Street

There's a new addition to the best-selling Time for Kids fact book series the Big Book of Why that looks like a lot of fun. It's called the BIG BOOK OF WHY ACTIVITY BOOK, and it's full of hands-on activities like hidden pictures, dot-to-dot, mazes, crosswords, and more. It's the ideal summer fun book for kids ages 8 - 12.

The BIG BOOK OF WHY ACTIVITY BOOK is extremely entertaining. There are more than 300 color photographs and illustrations in addition to the many activities and puzzles. The basic idea of this activity book is that it "answers big questions about how the world works." The book is divided into chapters so kids can delve into one subject matter or jump around to sections (or activities) that appeal to them. For example, there are chapters on animals, space, humans, history, technology and sports to name a few.

Not only are there fun games and activities, but there are also sections that provide some interesting tidbits about the various subject matters. But truthfully, I think most kids are going to love filling out the various puzzles and activities. There are mad-lib type fill-ins, spot the differences, acrostics, matching, mazes, and much much more! Needless to say, the BIG BOOK OF WHY ACTIVITY BOOK makes learning fun.

Unfortunately, my son is a tad too old for this fun book; however, my nephew is the perfect age... and he has a birthday coming up. I can't wait to see what he thinks about this entertaining (and educational) activity book. I suspect kids are going to absolutely adore this book, and I highly recommend it as a way to keep your kids learning (and playing) this summer.

I have a copy of the BIG BOOK OF WHY ACTIVITY BOOK to share with one lucky reader. To enter, just fill out the form below before August 4th at 11:59 p.m. EST. I will randomly select and notify the winner the following day. This contest is open to those of you with U.S. addresses only. Good luck!

Thanks to the Blue Slip Media for providing a review copy of this book.

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!

Review: The Time Garden & The Time Chamber

Summary: A dazzlingly beautiful coloring book for all ages, The Time Garden will sweep you away into a whimsical cuckoo clock–inspired world, created in intricate pen and ink by the internationally best-selling Korean artist Daria Song. Then, explore the magical world outside the clock through the eyes of a fairy in the sequel, The Time Chamber: A Magical Story and Coloring Book.

Journey through the doors of a mysterious cuckoo clock into its inky innerworkings to discover a magical land of clock gears, rooftops, starry skies, and giant flying owls—all ready for you to customize with whatever colors you can dream up.

Cuckoo . . . cuckoo . . . cuckoo . . . When the clock strikes midnight, you’ll wonder, was it all a dream?

The Time Garden features extra-thick craft paper, ideal for non bleed-through coloring, and the jacketed cover with flaps is removable and colorable. Special gold-foil stamping on the cover and spine and a To/From page make it perfect for gifting to adults and kids alike. -- Ten Speed Press

You would have to be living under a rock not to notice all of the coloring books that are available for adults. My sister has even jumped on the bandwagon and bought herself coloring books -- she says it's relaxing. Well, I could certainly use a way to relax while watching television in the evening with my family. (I usually bead Christmas ornaments or make scarves!) I'm not really sure I even know how to relax!

So when Ten Speed Press offered to send me a copy of THE TIME GARDEN: A MAGICAL JOURNEY AND COLORING BOOK by Daria Song, I jumped at the chance. This "adult" coloring book is absolutely beautiful. Honestly, I was blown away by Ms. Song's drawings. Just check out two of the pages from this coloring book.

THE TIME GARDEN begins with a short story about a young girl who has an amazing imagination. When her father brings home a cuckoo clock, she decides to check it out. She discovers a little fairy inside the clock and is so startled that she falls flat on her back. After she recovers, she ends up chasing the fairy and discovering new worlds full of beauty and mystery!

I love that THE TIME GARDEN tells a story, first with worlds and then with detailed drawings! The beautiful story makes it perfect for children of all ages and adults, and the various illustrations (some more detailed than others) are guaranteed to keep color enthusiasts busy for some time. I can see why the coloring craze is here!

I had great plans to take pictures of the pages I colored; however, I do have my pride. Since I haven't really colored for almost 40 years, I think I need some practice before sharing my artwork with others. I will tell you that I did find the coloring very relaxing (for the most part -- I am Type A personality after all), and I loved the assortment of illustrations. Depending on my mood and patience level, I could always find a page that I wanted to color.

There is a sequel to THE TIME GARDEN. It's called THE TIME CHAMBER: A MAGICAL STORY AND COLORING BOOK, and I admit that I was thrilled that this book unexpectedly showed up last week! Like THE TIME GARDEN, this book is gorgeous and entertaining.

Summary: This second book in the bestselling Time coloring series features the voyage of a fairy who, when the cuckoo clock chimes midnight, enters the human world. To the tiny fairy, everything seems enormous and magical, from the curtains to the chandelier to a mystical rowboat that takes her further into an inky adventure. With her she packs her favorite items, which colorers can find throughout the book’s pages: an owl-feathered pen, a star-scented spray, a time tape measure…even the key to the time chamber itself!

Filled with the imaginative, intricately detailed illustrations Song’s readers have come to love, The Time Chamber presents a view of our world made new—and ready for coloring.

The Time Chamber features extra-thick craft paper, ideal for non bleed-through coloring, and the jacketed cover with flaps is removable and colorable. Special gold-foil stamping on the cover and spine and a To/From page make it perfect for gifting to adults and kids alike. -- Ten Speed Press

Both THE TIME GARDEN and THE TIME CHAMBER make perfect gifts for the holiday season. You will be pleasantly surprised by the quality of these coloring books, with their heavy pages and gold-foil embossed covers (which are removable for easier coloring.) In addition, there is a To/From page in the front which makes it ideal to share with someone special in your life.

I can't rave enough about these two coloring books. Highly recommended!

Thanks to the publisher for providing review copies of these books.

Kid Konnection: Unbored Games

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. This week, I'm going to share with you a great book from the creators of UNBORED: THE ESSENTIAL FIELD GUIDE TO SERIOUS FUN.

Summary: UNBORED Games has all the smarts, creativity, and DIY spirit of the original UNBORED (“It's a book! It's a guide! It's a way of life!” -Los Angeles Magazine), but with a laser-like focus on the activities we do for pure fun: to while away a rainy day, to test our skills and stretch our imaginations-games. There are more than seventy games here, 50 of them all new, plus many more recommendations, and they cover the full gambit, from old-fashioned favorites to today's high-tech games. The book offers a gold mine of creative, constructive fun: intricate clapping games, bike rodeo, Google Earth challenges, croquet golf, capture the flag, and the best ever apps to play with Grandma, to name only a handful. Gaming is a whole culture for kids to explore, and the book will be complete with gaming history and interviews with awesome game designers. The lessons here: all games can be self-customized, or hacked. You can even make up your own games. Some could even change the world.

The original UNBORED has taken its place as a much beloved, distinctly contemporary family brand. UNBORED Games extends the franchise -- to be followed by UNBORED Adventure -- in a new handy flexibound format, illustrated in full color throughout. Soon, there will be a whole shelf of serious fun the whole family can enjoy indoors, outdoors, online and offline. -- Bloomsbury

I can't believe it's been almost two years since I featured UNBORED: THE ESSENTIAL FIELD GUIDE TO SERIOUS FUN. This book provided so many unique ways to keep your kids busy, and I thought it made the perfect gift for kids of all ages. Well, Joshua Glenn and Elizabeth Foy Larsen and back with UNBORED GAMES: SERIOUS FUN FOR EVERYONE, and this book is guaranteed to stop your kids from saying those dreaded words, "I'm bored!"

UNBORED GAMES is devoted entirely to games that challenge kids' imaginations but are also fun. The games are designed for a variety of places -- indoors, outdoors, online, and offline. And unlike UNBORED which was a pretty big book, UNBORED GAMES is a flexi-bound, soft-cover book that is the perfect size for portability -- it's about 6 inches by 8 inches.

UNBORED GAMES has more than 70 different games so there is bound to be something for everyone. The book is divided into the following chapters -- Pwnage, Home Games, Game Changers, and Adventure Games. Each section includes detailed instructions, cute drawings, and colorful photos. In addition, there are references to traditional games; however, the vast majority are brand new -- about 50 if you're counting! As a mom, I love that most of the games in this book allow children to use their imaginations rather than sit in front of a screen!

It's hard to pick just one or two games from this book, but there were a few that stood out to me and looked like fun. Of course, I'm many years from being a kid and probably have no idea what's fun today... or at least that's what my kids would tell me. The QB rescue game, which takes place outdoors with lots of footballs and kids looks like a great recess, P.E., or field day game. I also thought they Hair Dryer Ping Pong game looked challenging. Basically, you try to guide the ping pong ball into a bucket using the air from a hair dryer. (This also teaches kids the principle known as the Bernoulli Effect -- so it's fun and educational!)

UNBORED GAMES is a wonderful book to keep your kids busy and it's a great gift idea for the upcoming holiday season. Highly recommended!

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy of this book.

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!

Kid Konnection: Ammo Books

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. Today, I'm going to share with you some fantastic products from a new-to-me publisher Ammo Books. Ammo (or American Modern) Books is a Los Angeles-based publishing house which focuses on the world of arts and culture.

Summary: ABC IS FOR CIRCUS celebrates the colorful and festive world of the circus through each letter of the alphabet. Young children will enjoy memorizing letters and words like A is for Acrobats, B is for Big Top, and C is for Calliope in this imaginative chunky board book. ABC IS FOR CIRCUS is an awesome addition to our artist-centric line of ABC books and is sure to delight an audience of children and adults alike. -- Ammo

I am a big fan of books that help teach kids the alphabet, so it's natural that I fell in love with ABC IS FOR CIRCUS by Patrick Hruby. This adorable board book is filled with colorful illustrations and is just perfect for toddler's little hands. It's a win/win for parents and kids!

Obviously, ABC IS FOR CIRCUS is an alphabet board book which features circus-themed objects. Each page layout covers one letter, so the book is relatively thick. However, there are only a few words on each page (i.e. A is for Acrobats, B is for Big Top, etc.) I enjoyed seeing how creative the author got with all 26 of the circus-themed items, and I'm pretty sure that young children will learn a few new words like "ventriloquist."

Probably my favorite part of the book were the beautiful pictures. Each page is just filled with gorgeous pictures, and the colors are extremely vibrant. The pictures are rather whimsical and the perfect complement to the text.

Trust me -- this book is fun and educational!

Summary: All ages will enjoy this timeless game featuring a selection of Patrick Hruby’s bold and imaginative illustrations.

How to play: For younger children, play with nine pairs or fewer. For a more challenging game, geared toward older children and adults, play with all 36 pairs. Mix and spread cards face down. Players take turns flipping any two cards up. If cards match, player continues. If cards do not match, player’s turn ends and cards remain in the same position. When all cards are matched, player with the most pairs wins. -- Ammo

After thoroughly enjoying the ABC IS FOR CIRCUS book, I was extremely excited to learn that there is also a PATRICK HRUBY MEMORY GAME which features many of the bold illustrations from the book. The images are fun and sure to capture youngsters' attention -- there is a monkey, giraffe and fireworks to name just a few. And children can even expand on this memory game by referencing the ABC IS FOR CIRCUS book and the pertinent letters.

I have always loved playing memory games with my children, although I admit that they beat me more times than not! I truly believe that educational games, like memory ones, really teach children a great deal; and I'm of the opinion that every family should have at least one version. PATRICK HRUBY MEMORY GAME is especially delightful because kids and parents alike will be drawn to the gorgeous images.


Summary: Charley Harper’s whimsical and well-loved illustrations are featured here on this classic set of nesting blocks. The alphabet and numbers 1 through 10 are expressed with Charley’s colorful animal illustrations that wrap around the surface of each of the 10 nesting blocks. When completely stacked, the blocks stand almost 3 feet tall, and when they nest, they become a compact 6 x 6 x 6 inches square. These CHARLEY HARPER NESTING BLOCKS are interactive, decorative, and a great addition to the existing line of Charley Harper books and toys for kids. Perfect for brightening any nursery room! -- Ammo

My kids are a little past playing with blocks, but I fell in love with the CHARLEY HARPER NESTING BLOCKS. These blocks are both stackable and nesting and are covered with Charley Harper's vivid artwork. In addition, they have the ABC's and 123's printed on them so they are beautiful and educational.

For those of you not familiar with Charley Harper, he "painted beautiful, colorful, and graphic paintings of nature, animals and the word around him." I'm not an art connoisseur, but I find his artwork to be so unique. Since the images on each block are so bright, they are sure to capture even the youngest one's attention.

These blocks are the perfect educational gift for babies and toddlers! Plus they also work as wonderful decorations in your nursery... or even your family room!


Summary: This new Charley Harper Coloring Book focuses exclusively on his delightful and plentiful illustrations of birds. Charley's beloved birds are gracefully translated here into 32 black-and-white line drawings for young, budding artists to interpret in their own color palettes. As a reference, the back cover shows every one of the 32 images featured in their full-color original versions.

Each drawing is printed on white paper on one side only to help keep markers from bleeding through to another image. Each page is also perforated at the top, for easy removal to place your young artist’s drawing on the wall or refrigerator! -- Ammo

CHARLEY HARPER COLORING BOOK OF BIRDS is a beautiful and highly unique coloring book. I wasn't familiar with Charley Harper's artwork prior to receiving these products, but I definitely consider myself a fan now. I love his vivid graphic paintings and I can only imagine how much fun youngsters would have coloring these pages.

The images in this coloring book are clearly birds; however, they aren't your typical birds. These birds are more graphically represented. The perspectives are often times different and many of the angles are more clearly defined.

As a mother, I love that this coloring book is chock full of big pictures to color. The actual color versions of the paintings are included on the back cover of the coloring book. I can see children of all ages having fun with this book. The younger set will appreciate the large images to color, while the older kids can create birds with their own color ideas or imitate Mr. Harper's versions.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me these fantastic books and games.

Giveaway: Chicken Soup for the Soul Count Your Blessings Game

Summary: FROM THE CO-INVENTOR OF “BALDERDASH", ”The Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings” Family Game can help your family and friends connect and “play their way to gratitude” for years to come. You see, the trick is, in order to count the blessings in your life, you have to find them first. That’s why they’re called blessings-in-disguise.

The good news is that every cloud really does have a silver lining. And, once you start to play this insightful and often hilarious new game of “seek and find”, you’ll become an expert too!

Then, if you misplace your IPod, there’s sure to be other “music to your ears,” and if the computer crashes, you can be grateful it wasn’t the car! Do some time in the Thank Tank, and watch everyone’s glass go from half-empty to half-full. Give the “Look on the Bright Side” glasses a try, and see how clearly you can change your life by changing your outlook.

If it sounds easy, that’s because it is – and, more fun than you can imagine.

Play “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings” with your friends and family – it’s the game that has everybody going “from frazzled to dazzled, tired to inspired and stressed to blessed!”

Since it's the start of a new year and a time when I have certainly been counting my blessings, I thought it was appropriate to giveaway a Chicken Soup for the Soul Count Your Blessings Game. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me about one blessing in your life. Please leave a way for me to reach you. I will randomly select the winner from all of the comments. This giveaway will be open until Friday, January 22, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. ET. I will notify the winner the following day. This contest is open to those of you with U.S. addresses only. Good luck!

Thanks to Phenix & Phenix for providing this game for giveaway!