Welcome 2015!

          Hello all! Just half an hour remains to tick off 2014 from our lives! What? It's going... going... gone. Welcome 2015!

          Well, to begin with, 2014 began with a steady start and ended on a very high note for me! (Not literally!) From being a home-maker and a mom to a 2-year old toddler, I went on to become a Mompreneur. I enjoyed my work since I was able to convert my passion for reading into an actual profession. My venture, Reading Rabbits Library is still in its nascent stage but nonetheless growing every day and now there is no looking back. When I look back at the year that went by, I am most satisfied how well it turned out to be. Do you know why? Because I had a ready-made list of Resolutions which I planned in the beginning of the last year and promised my readers that they will be kept posted in case any Resolutions do happen to get Resolved! And, seriously, I forgot everything in the daily humdrum of life but remembered again when 2015 beckoned.

          And thus, to continue the tradition, here I am going to list the goals called New Year Resolutions for 2015. This time, I am going to put a detailed list unlike last time which were just generalized wishes -

1. Everyday, I take 10 minutes from my schedule to just pause and ponder over things, thought processes etc. I will continue to do it this year too. Yes, sometimes, I give it a miss too. But, now, I really think over a situation. I should be frank, shouldn't I?
2. My no.1 Resolution of last year is still not complete. But, I'm happy to start my Classical Dance Training which was completely abandoned in my school days. And, there can be no better way than dancing and enjoying to your heart's content! That's the biggest gift I give myself thrice a week and leave behind all parenting worries and mundane things. I hope to continue it in 2015 too. So, in a way, this replaced my no.3 Resolution and my no.4 Resolution got fulfilled automatically.
3. My reading took a U-turn since for the latter part of the year, I was reading Children's Literature as part of my unending work. Hope to change that this year and try to find time to read adult fiction too.
4. I am trying to be a calmer parent but its so difficult. Still, I'm trying to incorporate new methods of parenting which will suit both my daughter and me and save me time from fussy behavior!
5. This year I'm going to have head-to-head conversation time with my daughter everyday. We converse and bond but I want to do it each single day. Last year, setting up my venture took a toll on our exclusive bonding time. So, I will be extra careful this year.
6. I was also not consistent with our bedtime reading routine. So, from this year, I will be reading daily to her. I also intend to read at least 2 new picture books to her every week. You may ask what's difficult in that - But, you should know that kids have their own moods and will most likely insist to be read the longest book if you are especially tired that day.
7. I intend to do at least one craft activity every week. I want to encourage her artistic skills. And, I don't want her to dread Arts and Crafts subject in school like me.
8. This goal will feature on everyone's list - To possess extra-ordinary organizational and time-management skills - Though I'm yet to Google on this topic.
9. The last Resolution was somewhat fulfilled if you go by the number of posts on my blog. Hope that number scales new heights this year!

          I think for the time being, this list will keep me busy. Hope to bring some additional goals next year! Before I retire for the night, here's wishing you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year full of health and joy!

 

Our 3 most favourite Christmas books!

HO - HO - HO!

          As I write this post, I just realize that there's just 1 week left for Christmas! Only 7 days! And we haven't yet finished school and term tests are hovering on our heads! It will be only Friday that we actually get down to prepare for our Christmas celebrations. I am immediately transported back to 10 years ago when me and my sister used to decorate Xmas tree and hang our stockings and wait for Santa Claus to bring in the gifts. (Obviously we both were big enough to know the unreal Santa Claus showering us with gifts - but so what?)

          This year, I'm pretty much excited to celebrate Christmas with my daughter who is 3 now. Unlike last year where I (The Santa Claus I mean!), just gave gifts, this year, I plan to deck up the tree and do everything related to Christmas - be it baking or cooking Christmas recipes with my kiddo, writing a letter to Santa or doing some simple craft to hang up our Christmas tree!

          But our bedtime ritual has already begun by reading Christmas books. And so, here I present 3 of our favourite Christmas books!


Stickman by Julia Donaldson -
          Oh, Julia Donaldson is our favourite in the household and I admire her for her simple stories which require a lot of imagination! How in the world can she transform a mere stick into a man with emotions is just out of my reach. In this book, a family of sticks is residing in a branch of a tree. One wintry morning, the Stickman goes jogging where a dog upon seeing him, uses him to play fetch and run with his master. The story goes on to describe how each of the characters use it for their profit without even once paying attention to the Stickman's emotions. I like Julia's way of using the stick as a twig for a nest, as a mast for a flag, as a toy for the dog, as a hook for a bag and so on. But alas, the Stickman is drifting away and away from home and here, his wife (Stick Lady) and his three kids(Stick Children) long for him as it's Christmas! Guess who helps to make him unite with his family - Of Course, the Santa Claus!! Axel Scheffler has done a wonderful job of carving a man out of a stick!

                                                            
Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner -
          Here is another author who gives life to snowmen in this story. A little girl has just erected her snowman and is now wondering how must they be celebrating Christmas? She concludes that they must be sneaking in the night to have a gala time with other snowmen when the humans are fast asleep! She imagines that the snowmen decorate their Christmas tree with balls of snow, the mommies lay all cold treats like ice cream and snow cones to eat (eating ice creams in the freezing cold!). With all the dancing happening, comes along Kris Kringle (Santa Claus made of snow) to distribute his snow gifts with reindeer (again of snow!) pulling the sleigh. After having a merry time they return to their homes with big dainty smiles spread on their faces! Charmingly illustrated by Mark Buehner, this books is a must-read especially now!

                                                  
How many sleeps till Christmas? by Mark Sperring
          This is a story of Daddy Grizzle and Little Pip wherein Little Pip is impatient and just wants to know when it will be Christmas. As all toddlers can't understand the difference between 5 minutes and 5 hours, Daddy Grizzle patiently explains to him that its still 4 more sleeps (read 4 nights) for Christmas to arrive. Daddy Grizzle has a lot of work to do each day but Little Pip just can't keep his excitement and wakes his dad early everyday asking if today is Christmas. Finally, Daddy Grizzle draws 3 suns and 3 moons to show how far is Christmas. They both decorate a tree, invite friends over for Christmas, and wrap presents for each other. Finally, on Christmas Day, it's Daddy Grizle who wakes up Little Pip and points that indeed today is Christmas! I loved this story for the fact that it shows a father, for once, as the main caregiver! How charming is it to read what all does he do for his Little Pip. I also loved the page where they wrap their 'No Peeking' presents to be given to each other by sitting in a way where their backs face each other! And if you have an impatient kid at home trying to know when will it be Christmas, do read this book!

          Well, these are our favourites! Do tell us about your favourite Christmas books which you read to your kid! Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!



Image Courtesy: Google, Amazon.com, www.sebastienbraun.com 

Come join a set of fabulous bloggers sharing their Christmas moments - Easy Holiday Crafts, DIY ideas, Recipes , Decor ideas and book recommendations with you .

Starting from today till Christmas and beyond, each one of us will be writing a post related to Christmas.
Participating blogs
ArtsyCraftsyMom - munniofalltrades - hfareensspace - roohiscollections - hellomommyhood - attachedmoms - totschooltotallyawesome - Themomviews - bumpsnbaby.com -
rugsoflife - oneandahalfminutes - shishuworld - ruskandtea - aspoonfullofideas - orangekitchens - obsessivemom - rachnaparmar - parentingmantras -
onboardthemommyship - kwikdekoblog - thekeybunch - momzspace - whatscookingmom - coloursdekor - happypeopleevents - fantastic-feathers - beingzoesmom

So sit back, relax and check out all the fabulous Christmas Bonanza posts from our participating blogs in the linky. Support us by sharing our posts using the hash tag #ChristmasBonanza


This Linky is for participating blogs only, but We would love to see your Christmas Crafts too. Come and link up your Christmas post at ArtsyCraftsyMom.com

An InLinkz Link-up

Mommy, I am bored! 9 practical tips to overcome this during Diwali holidays!

     - Mommy, I am bored!
     - So, watch cartoons.
     - No, watched it already.
     - Then, go and play on Ipad.
     -  No, I want to do something exciting. All my friends have either gone out for holidays or are unwell. What should I do?

          Come holidays and this situation is repeated in each and every household. I remember we used to get 3 weeks of Diwali holidays and we used to be out of our house at the first opportunity. All our colony friends used to gather around to practise for cultural programme, draw rangolis, make imaginary forts of Shivaji with mud and bricks, spring-clean our houses and stick ourselves on the kitchen counter to check what's going to roll out from the steaming kadhai! I think we never had time to say we were bored!

          Cut to today's situation - nuclear families, double income generating parents, kids living in daycare centres, and most importantly no time on hands for dabbling in simple creations has led the kids to get bored. Yes, the onus lies on us. Imagine for how much time will they watch TV? Or for that matter, play games on Ipad.

          So, I am listing here some ways for parents to enjoy your holidays with your kids without making yourselves fret out and the kids also can have a gala time.

• Shopping - Diwali is the time for shopping. Make sure that you plan your shopping well in advance so that there is no last-minute rush. Involve your kids in making shopping lists and try to take them along. Kids enjoy to shop for crackers, diyas, lanterns etc.

• DIY - Some things like diyas, greeting cards, sweets etc. can easily be made at home if parents have time. You can also draw rangolis in front of your house. Kids will enjoy in creating something of their own and it is also time well - spent. Be ready to supply all the materials to the kids. It can also be a great bonding time between you and your child.

• Movies - Watch some children's films related / unrelated to Diwali. This is the only time when children can spend 2 hours at a stretch. Have open-hearted conversations asking what did s/he like in the movie, what was the story about etc.

• Stories - Tell stories about Diwali to make them understand our culture - why do we celebrate Diwali?, What is it's importance? etc.

• Journey - If time permits, go on a short Diwali break. Encourage them to note down or make a scrap-book of what they saw, what did they do there. Tell them to note down important snippets like climate, food, people, culture, natural topography etc.

• Visit to an orphanage - Take your children to an orphanage or an old-age home since this is the best time to inculcate generosity in your kid. Explain to them that not all people are as fortunate as you and hence, you are liable to spread festive cheer in others too. Your kids will be humble and more respectful of what they have without you admonishing them for wasting things.

• Play-dates - Organise play-dates in your neighbourhood so that only one parent will have to look after all the kids instead of everyone having their kids at home. Kids also gain some experience in social behavior. Also, they themselves will be able to judge what liberties they have which are not allowed in other households.

• Help in the house - Involve your children and encourage them to help you in cleaning your home. Give them small tasks wherein their decision-making skills will evolve. Like, tell me where should we place our lantern?

• No TV - And more importantly, restrict their TV time by encouraging play through sports, board games etc.

          I hope these tips will help to tide over not only Diwali Holidays but also Christmas and Summer vacations fruitfully. So, what do you think of these tips? How would you like your children to spend their Diwali Break? Leave a comment if you also have some tricks up your sleeves.

Have a very Happy and safe Diwali!

Image Courtesy: Google Images

Come join a set of fabulous bloggers sharing their Diwali moments , easy Crafts, DIY ideas, Recipes and book recommendations with you .

Starting from today till Diwali and beyond, each one of us will be writing a post related to Diwali.

Participating blogs

Artsy Craftsy mom . Reading Rabbits Library . Food and fads . Cherish Dream Live . My little Moppet . On-board the Mommyship . Roohi's Collection . Colours Dekor . Bumps n Baby  . Hello Mommyhood . A spoonfull of ideas . CraftIsland . Perfect Skin care for you . ParentingMantras . Whats Cooking Mom . Orange kitchens . Quilts & Quills . Fun Activities for Children . Something’s cooking . Obsessivemom . The Design Enthusiast . Fantastic Feathers . Little aadi ali

So sit back, relax and check out all the fabulous Diwali Dhamaka posts in the linky.

An InLinkz Link-up

My darling, My Sunshine!

          This is an open letter addressed to my daughter on her 3rd birthday. She is so small to understand what I want to let her know so I'm writing for her which she can read when she grows up.

Dearest Swara,
          Hello my darling. It's your birthday today. I can't believe three years ago, you entered my world and made me a mommy. The term which is given a godly status - I am experiencing it to the fullest. 'Children are most dependent on mothers' is an apt saying. But here, I wish to tell you that even I'm dependent on you. Do you want to know how?

• I'm dependent on you to witness all those magical milestones which you have achieved till now and will continue to achieve.
• I'm dependent on you for laughter which is so contagious that one giggle from you when I'm in a foul mood melts my heart away.
• I'm dependent on you to enjoy childhood again with you. It gives me immense joy when I'm spending time with you - through reading, laughing, having silly conversations, watching movies etc. Of course, there are hair-raising moments or moments when I just don't want you to be near me. But, again, remember that this is because I may not want to hurt you or pour someone's anger on you.
• I'm dependent on you for that ray of sunshine which you have brought in my life.

Thank you for filling my life with joy and teaching me that happiness can be found in the most mundane of things.
Have a very happy birthday and looking forward to many many more with you!
God bless you my angel!

Happy 1st birthday!

          Time just flies!....    And now, it's time to rejoice!.......   

          Cause I complete one whole year of blogging here. Yes, I'm experiencing that feeling. How it feels that I have been blogging for the last one year! OK, so what if I have been a bit irregular in it. But still, looking back, it seems that I managed to achieve so much and sail through it.

          Now for the part where I couldn't be regular. Given my just-born professional venture, Reading Rabbits Library, parenting, family, etc., blogging took a backseat! Let me rectify myself here - this blog took a backseat, since I already have a blog dedicated to my venture and I post there often.

          When I started my blog, I was so raw, inexperienced, confused about what to write. I learnt so many things about blogging and continue to learn everyday. I made so many new friendships with awesome bloggers and asked their opinions and sought answers to my queries. I follow so many blogs and am amazed to read their wonderful posts secretly wishing why I couldn't think of that to write or when will I be able to write so well!

          For now, I'm being content and hope to improve myself in the coming year in terms of quality, quantity and my blog design.

          And now, folks, it's time to cut the cake. See you soon!

Image Courtesy : Google Images

 

#Lovebook Exchange - I can make things!

#Lovebook Exchange -

          As I already stated here that I'm taking part in a book exchange program hosted by The Educator's Spin On It! I'm so excited since it's happening for the first time in India and I am glad to have met so many good fellow mommy bloggers during this program.

          As I said it is a book exchange program, so we had to pack a complete set consisting of a book and some art and craft activities related to the book and send it to the recipient. You can browse here as to what did I send to Prajakta and her lovely daughter Kuhu.

          Along came a package neatly wrapped for me and Swara, my daughter by a well-known story-teller and a mommy blogger Rituparna Ghosh. It contained a bi-lingual book called 'I can make things' authored by Mini Shrinivasan and published by Pratham Books. Inside were not one, not two but four different activities and a beautiful hand-written note carrying all instructions for us! I loved her detailing where she drew some illustrations if we encountered a problem while doing the activities. She was very thoughtful to provide her contact no. so that we could call her if we got stuck! Thank you Ritu!

          Well, as for the activities, I let Swara do most of the things like sticking and pasting so you will have to please forgive her for not getting it up to the mark. I didn't interfere much as I wanted to give her complete freedom in choosing where to stick stars, embellishments, paper bits etc. So, you will see that the final craft is neither symmetrical nor color-coordinated as to everything depended upon her fancy. Oh, can you see all blue stars placed in one line over here?


          We had to do four activities - an octopus, a butterfly mobile, a princess crown, and  four fishes for a HOOK-LINE-SINKER game! We started off with the octopus and finished with the butterfly at last. Since there were four activities, I spaced them out over a week along with the book reading so she could get ample time to also play with her crafts. She was so excited every time to do something new as it also gave her ample opportunity to create something with her own hands. She would proudly show all her family members what she did that particular day!

          I am attaching our snaps here which are all self-explanatory and which also convey how much fun we had in creating these craft elements.

Well, what can I say! I had a wonderful time bonding with my daughter over this program! And I thank Ritu especially for sending us such a wonderful package. Last but not the least, thank you Kim for hosting this in India and BubbleInk for your efforts to make it happen here!

 

#Lovebook Exchange

   Love Book Exchange

                    A lovely opportunity for Indian Mommy Bloggers to participate in a book exchange was provided and I jumped at the chance. It was hosted by The Educator's Spin On It. Actually, it was hosted outside India but thanks to persistent efforts of a fellow mommy blogger Kim of The Educator's Spin On It hosted it here too.

                    I must say that I'm glad to be taking a part in this exchange. The books exchanged are fabulous. Along with the books, we need to create an activity circling around the theme of the book and also provide all the articles for it in the package.

                   Phew! The past days went so quickly that I was in a frenzy about which book to be given for exchange. The first difficulty was that it should not be duplicated. Second, it should be understood and liked by the exchange partner. Thirdly, you need to devise activities based on the book. I spent a lot of time hunting through Pinterest boards, Facebook pages, various blogs and finally came up with two activities.

                    Then came the part of arranging materials for the activities. It's done now. The book packed. Materials packed. The box packed and decorated. It's looking like this -

 

 

I hope my exchange partner Prajakta likes the book and the activities.

The after-effects of an online reading challenge!

           Phew! The past 30 days came and whizzed past by. Apart from the normal cooking, cleaning, part-time work, I was just into books and books. That too, children's books! Our daily routine always covered reading but I never accounted for it or for that matter read any books according to a theme! Reading happened according to Swara's whims or her inclination. Sometimes, it used to be just one book days on end, sometimes, one book throughout the day, especially if it were a brand new one. By participating in this challenge, I was thrown to the wonderful world of picture books which I hadn't known earlier!

          And hence, this post is dedicated to the after-effects of The BubbleInk Challenge. Just as there is a positive side to everything, there's also a negative one too! And I'm going to be very truthful about the negative ones too. And these are my views only. No one is responsible except me for the views which I'm expressing over here!

• I came to know many many wonderful books through this challenge.
• Many of my relatives and friends got encouraged to read to their respective kids.
• I never thought that books could be categorized according to so many themes. (The challenge host told me that many prompts were left behind since only 30 days was the limit!)
• All the participants were so enthusiastic and sportive to take efforts and search and read books related to each day's prompt despite their busy schedules.
• All the participants took the competition in their stride and posted the day's reads on time. I could feel that no one is doing this only for the prize. They genuinely were interested to read to their children.
• So many participants posted links everyday to good books and other book-related information was seen passing around among the participants.
• Many participants becoming online friends with each other is given if interaction is done on daily basis.
• I'm sure sale of books through online stores or bookshops or book exhibitions must have increased manifold thanks to this challenge. (The best example is me!)
• 4 days have passed after the challenge ended, still, I'm sure the book-reading routine is continuing at all participants' homes!
• The downside was that I started spending too much time online often leaving other things behind.
• My last month's budget overshot due to huge amounts of books being ordered!
• And last but not the least, I forgot to read my usual stuff and my so-called 'me-time'. (Since all the vacant time was spent in either reading to Swara or blogging about other's reads! Seriously, I did not touch a single book in the last 30 days!) 

          So, all in all, if the positive effects are bragging a lot than all the negative ones, then we can safely assume that the challenge was a hit! Kudos to BubbleInk Writes. And heartiest congratulations to all the winners! And thank you, BubbleInk Writes for this challenge. Otherwise, we would have been online friends only!

Happy Reading!

Day 30 : Favourite books!

          And finally, we arrive at our last day of the challenge! The last 30 days whizzed so fast that I had to put a full stop to my reading time and concentrate over here. An exclusive post on the effects of this challenge is in the offing! So, today, since it was the concluding day, we had to read favourite books of our kids. I felt a prompt would have been better since there are so many favourites that I had to read them all!

          Here is the list of favourites -

1. Little pea, little hoot and little oink series
2. Ranganna
3. Hello kitty books
4. Time to sleep
5. Pretty princess
6. Snow day fun
7. Make a wish
8. Anna carries water from Tradewind Books
9. Snoring Shanmugham
10. Gajapati kulapati
11. The Gruffalo's child
12. The three little pigs
13. Zero goes to Goa
14. Fuloos plays with the sun
15. Tales from Golden Goa
16. Spiderman vs. Green goblin sticker scene book from Marvel
17. Secret picture search - treasure hunt by Scholastic
18. Topsy and Tim learn to swim
19. Turtle story by Kartik Shankar
20. Three pigs, one wolf and even magic shapes by Grace Maccarone from Scholastic
21. Once upon a feast
22. The lion and the mouse by Jerry Pinkney
23. Elmer book
24. Curious George and the firefighters
25. Fix it duck
26. Rooster raga
27. The runaway wheel
28. Little fox by Brown Watson
29. Thomas and his friends
30. The shape game y Anthony Browne
31. Berenstain Bears and the sitters
32. The very hungry caterpillar
33. Green eggs and ham
34. The gruffalo
35. Geronimo Stilton
36. Room on the broom
37. Purple jojo
38. Greedy Karodimal
39. Birbal and the dishonest officer
40. The Brahmin and three rouges
41. Cat in the hat
42. Hic!
43. Thomas and Bertie and the bumpy line
44. Dad, I can't sleep by Michael Foreman
45. Peter's pebbles by Cherie Zamazing
46. What makes a rainbow?
47. The color kittens
48. Alphablock
49. Goodnight moon
50. My truck is stuck
51. Color color kamini
52. Wish you were here
53. Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
54. The thins you can say from a - z
55. Giant book of activities
56. After the storm by Nick Butterworth
57. Football fever
58. Emperor of Absurdia
59. Curiosity
60. From head to toe by Eric Carle
61. Goat goes to playschool
62. Toddle waddle
63. Thidwick - the big-hearted moose
64. Not Norman - a goldfish story
65. Touch and feel animals
66. Thomas and friends book

That's it! I enjoyed being a part of this challenge!
My next post is on the advantages and disadvantages of this challenge. Keep tuned!
Happy reading!

 

Day 29 : Regional books!

          Sorry for the late post! How weird it is! I'm writing this post after the challenge has ended and the winners declared! No, I didn't win! More on that later.

          Today's prompt honoured India in a way. We had to read books in our own mother-tongue! So, It was such a great day that participants took the extra effort to find books in their vernacular language and read it to their children! And I must say here, that, really, for reading a book and telling a story, language does not matter at all! I'm sure all the participants agree to it.

          And so, today, I will not list the books read. But I wish to say that books were read in Tamil, Urdu, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi and Kannada today. I hope I'm not missing any language!

          Tomorrow being the last day of the challenge, I'm a bit nervous that this is finally ending!
Till then,
Happy Reading!

Day 28 : Grandparents!

          How lucky are we here to have grandparents as an entity living with us or somewhere near us unlike abroad! They are there to ferry our kids to school, take care of them, feed lunch to them, and also play with them. Is it not? Kids overall like the company of grandparents rather than parents because there are no rules to follow when with the former!

          At my home, melancholy sets in as I get ready to go to my parents' place. Swara's maternal grandparents are jubilant at this time. The reverse situation takes place when I have to leave from there. Strange, right? Not really! Anyway, our day 28 of the challenge hence was reserved for grandparents. The books read were -

1. Aesop's fable
2. Hello Kitty 'pet puppy'
3. The never ending story from Tulika
4. Granny's sari
5. Grandpa goes on strike
6. My grandfather's stick
7. The story blanket
8. My family from Pratham
9. Rumniya by Rukmini Banerjee
10. Days with Thathu
11. Please write back by Jennifer E. Morris
12. Just grandma and me by Mercer Mayer 
13. Bubbles is careless
14. Grandpa cherry blossom
15. Wildred Gordon McDonald Patridge by Mem Fox
16. Hello, is that grandma?
17. The three little pigs
18. Granpa
19. Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Bruehner
20. Hide and seek pig by Julia Donaldson
21. The thinga-ma-jigger is coming today by Tish Rabe
22. Where's my baby's Valentine? by Karen Katz
23. Grandma's stories
24. Week at grandma's from Berenstain Bears
25. A laughing onion by Arun Elassery
26. A bond of love by Pushpa Saxena
27. The very hungry caterpillar
28. Sudha Murty's Grandma's bag of stories
29. The seed
30. Mama's new job from Pepper series
31. The ant and the chrysalis
32. The ant and the dove
33. My granny went to the market
34. Goodnight moon
35. The runaway bunny
36. Minu and her hair
37. Pepper learns to keep a promise
38. Little red riding hood
39. Growing up with Bubbles
40. Bubbles becomes greedy
41. Chhota Bheem in Damdaar dadaji
42. Dadu book
43. Snoring Shanmugham
44. Grandpa's stories from Om books
45. The Wednesday surprise by Eve Bunting
46. Three strange keys by Enid Blyton
47. Dorling Kindersley picture atlas
48. Just grandpa and me
49. Come over to my house
50. A day at the police station
51. Tracy and Snuggly blanket
52. Jack and the flumflum tree by Julia Donaldson
53. Spot goes to the fair by Eric Hill
54. Grandma's eyes
55. Zoe's first book of seasons
56. Letchworth's stories with grandpa

That's it for today.
Happy reading!

Day 27 : Birthdays!

          It's day 27 today an dour challenge is solely inching towards its finale! Today, we received Birthdays as our reading prompt. And who is not excited on their birthdays? Young and old alike enjoy this day with cake, candles and cheer! So, how can books on birthdays be left far behind. Here is the list of who read what -

1. The birthday box
2. The little pea, little Oink, little Hoot series
3. The secret birthday message by Eric Carle
4. Zubi's birthday from BPI publications
5. Today is Monday by Eric Carle
6. Peppa pig's dentist trip
7. My counting wheel by Libby Volke
8. Topsy and Tim have a birthday party
9. Busy little postman
10. Dilly the dinosaur by Tony Bradman
11. Thumbprints - art with your thumb - by Aravind Gupta
12. Postman Bear by Julia Donaldson
13. How many sleeps before my birthday by Mark Sperring
14. Happy birthday biscuit by Alyssa Capucilli
15. Surprise gifts by Asha Nehemiah
16. It's my birthday from Ladybird
17. Dr. Seuss' happy birthday to you
18. Charlie and Lola's It's actually my party
19. Party animals by Kathie Lee Gifford
20. The very lonely firefly by Eric Carle
21. Pepper is selfish
22. 10 little dinosaurs
23. The tiger in the tunnel
24. Count counts a party (Sesame street)
25. Who is afraid of the dark?
26. The tale of Peter Rabbit
27. It's amma's birthday tomorrow
28. Time - ETL
29. Ruskin Bond's Great Stories for Children
30. Yes Hutoxi
31. Nini at a birthday party
32. Nini's guest at home
33. A wonderful birthday - Princess series
34. Room on the broom
35. Hic!
36. Little Honey
37. Pepper and the new baby
38. Spot's birthday party
39. Teddy's birthday surprise - pop-up
40. The ribbon from CBT
41. Snappy sounds surprise party
42. Happy birthday little Pokie by Sandra Boynton
43. Alphablock
44. Prince Dev turns 1
45. Dancing on walls by Shamim Padamsee
46. A present for Papa from CBT
47. Hello from Tulika
48. Where is my bat? from Pratham
49. Kevin's birthday by Matt Ryan
50. The Wednesday surprise by Eve Bunting
51. Come to the circus - Fenella and Willie
52. Pepper learns to take the blame
53. Thumbelina
54. Cats ahoy!
55. Princess and the wizard
56. Princess and the pig
57. Gajapati kulapati
58. The birthday dance party
59. It's my birthday
60. The red lemon by Bob Stake
61. Playful little penguin by Tony Mitton
62. Baby's first library : words

Happy reading!
 

Day 26 : Gardens!

          The mere thought of gardens takes me back to the time spent in my childhood in parks and gardens which I and my sister would used to frequent. We were truly blessed to have them in our home's vicinity where all the children from nearby homes would come and play. Just one hour of play taught us so many things - co-operation, team spirit, victories and defeats, sportsmanship!

          Alas, today, there are very few gardens available in metros thanks to all the out-of-this-world-shopping-malls creeping up at every open place. Parents today, don't realize the importance of free play with fresh air and greenery doing wonders to their children. The weekends too are typically spent in this order - shopping, lunch, movie, dinner - that too in one mall!

          At least we have books to inculcate gardening and love of nature in us. Gardens was the prompt for today. Here are the books read -

1. Bondapur ki ek ajab kahaani (hindi) by Shamim Padamsee
2. Farm counting
3. Night sky wheel ride from Tradewind books
4. Spincy spider by Harminder Ohri
5. Brahma's butterfly
6. Storm in the garden
7. Magic vessels
8. The hedgerow circus by Ruth Thomson
9. Riki tiki tavi from Ladybird retold by Sampoorna Chatterjee
10. Hungry pants by Mary Batten
11. Topsy and Tim go green
12. Adam and Eve from Bible
13. The enormous turnip
14. The seed
15. The snail storm in the garden
16. The ugly duckling
17. Pinochchio
18. The green ship by Quentin Blake
19. Ruby Nettleship and the ice lolly adventure
20. The giving tree by Shel Silverstein
21. Tabby McTat
22. Room on the broom
23. The champa flower who took my strawberries
24. The tamarind tree
25. Oh, say can you seed
26. The prized pumpkin from Berenstain Bears
27. Tales of Peter rabbit
28. Flower fairies by Cicely Mary Barker
29. Sea in a bucket by Deepa Balsavar
30. Amelia Bedelia goes camping
31. Flowers - picture book
32. Farmer Donald's pumpkin patch from Mickey Clubhouse Storybook collection
33. The pig's egg
34. Geronimo Stilton
35. Cinderella
36. In the night garden
37. Wangari's trees of peace
38. Zhaad (marathi)
39. Teddy and a magic trick
40. A rainy day adventure
41. Bees and butterflies by Gina Philips
42. Little fox's picnic by Debie Glior
43. The oak tree
44. Pepper learns about recycling
45. Pepper learns to take turns
46. How does your garden grow by Disney
47. One mole digging a hole by Julia Donaldson
48. Alphablock
49. Eric Carle's ABC
50. The little gardener by Jan Gerardi
51. The butterfly children
52. Peekaboo in the farm
53. The tamarind tree
54. Busy bees' flower friends by Nicholas Hawkins
55. Come to the circus - Fenelia gets into trouble
56. Phonics first
57. The little mouse, the red-ripe strawberry and the big hungry bear
58. Tell me a story before I go to bed
59. Bubbles goes to school
60. Read and grow with Pepper series
61. A busy day with patches the puppy
62. Peppa's Easter egg hunt
63. Sid the seed by Daniel R. Panag
64. Hop on pop
65. Upside down
66. Even Stevens Odd Todd

          A whopping number of books were read today. While doing so, don't forget to take your kids to a little bit of greenery this weekend!

          AS for Swara, she is truly blessed to have a garden for herself and her friends in our backyard thanks to the green hands of my father-in-law.
 Happy reading!

 

Day 25 : Food!

          Food! The mere sight of something delicious on the table churns us inside when we are so hungry! If I am not satiated, I tend to lose my patience. Everyone at home knows this fact and so to calm me down, they always offer something to bite on!
 
          However, when it comes to children, we all know how they are so fussy about their foods, messy about their table manners and grouchy and not willing to gobble that food into their mouths. I am experiencing this and with time I have just learnt one thing - If Swara does not wish to eat I don't force her. I just leave the plate there and whenever she feels hungry, she comes on her own! Then, even if the plate is full of her unfavourite spinach, she will finish it. Try this - you will be seriously amazed. I should warn you though - you will have to take an effort to neglect your kid!

          And coming to this challenge, how can it be exciting without food as today's prompt. The books related to food are as follows -

1. Today is Monday by Eric Carle
2. Gajapati kulapati
3. Book on time
4. Blueberries for Sal
5. Lassi, ice-cream or falooda?
6. The magic melon from Usborne by Rosie Dickens
7. Junior Kumbhakarna
8. The dog and the bone
9. The talking cave - a Panchatantra tale
10. The silly story of Bondapalli
11. The fox and the goat
12. The magic porridge pot from Ladybird
13. The big pancake from Ladybird
14. Three for free by Greystone - Taiwanese folktale
15. Enna Seiyalam (tamil)
16. Adventures of Fixy the fox
17. The sandwich swap
18. Scrummy
19. 10 apples up on top by Dr. Seuss
20. I'm the best artist in the ocean by Kevin Sherry
21. The runaway bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
22. Pancakes, pancakes
23. Samira's awful lunch
24. Stone soup
25. Green eggs and ham
26. If a pig wants a pancake
27. Pepper eats too much cake
28. Jalebi curls from Tulika
29. Chocolate mousse for greedy goose
30. What shall I make? from Tulika
31. The why why girl from Tulika
32. Pepper learns about recycling
33. Pepper gets a new pet
34. Chatur yojana (hindi)
35. The gruffalo
36. Good night Alfie Atkins by Gunilla Bergstorm
37. Sushila's kolam by Sridala Swami
38. What does baby Mickey find?
39. The very hungry caterpillar
40. Food for a party
41. Monsters munch lunch
42. Where there's a bear, there's trouble by Michael Catchpool
43. The tiger who came to tea by Judith Kerr
44. The tiny seed by Eric Carle
45. Bubbles is greedy
46. Bubbles has a toothache
47. Alphablock
48. Happy birthday little pokie by Sandra Boynton
49. Lunchbox, the story of your food by Chris Butterworth
50. Billy Tibbles moves out by Jan Fearnley
51. Billy Bogglesworth and the road to Muffinville and other stories by David Whitney
52. Pink Pepparoni by David Whitney
53. Cookie rookie by Salem de Bezenac & Amy Upshaw
54. Pat the cat
55. Pat the puppy
56. Yummy yucky by Sandra Boynton
57. Apples are magic by Julia Seal
58. The ugly vegetables by Grace Lin
59. The lion and the mouse retold by Jerry Pinkney
60. Baby's first library : numbers
61. The runaway dinner

          And here is a choco chip cookie recipe which I made it with my daughter! Truly, we had an amazing bonding time. Its simple, attractive and healthy too! A Must-try!
Happy reading!

Day 24 : My body!

          Before our children step out in the big bad world by themselves (right from Nursery - they are alone without us!), let us take a pledge that we will properly introduce the subject of anatomy and explain them according to their age. Also, we must explain them right touch and wrong touch and encourage communication on this topic in order to not face any untoward situation later. I'm not propagating this because I have a daughter, but it is very much needed today in these testing times even if you have a son!

          Hence, I was very happy when we received Inside your Outside as our challenge prompt. We needed to read books based on our bodies. Here is the list of books read fro this prompt -

1. Ranganna
2. Listen to my body
3. Toes, ears and nose by Marian Dane
4. Brushing your teeth can be fun
5. Little fingers
6. Shiva and Arjun
7. Lizard's tail
8. Inside your outside
9. The foot book
10. The nose book
11. Minu and her hair
12. Head to toe
13. Picture book on body parts
14. Aesop fables
15. Childcraft - Body
16. The secrets of our body
17. The unboy boy
18. Peppa pig
19. Inside you
20. What's inside my body?
21. 101 first words
22. Things that go
23. Baby animals board book
24. Grandma's tales from Sudha Murty
25. Here are my hands by Bill Martin Jr.
26. The runaway puppy
27. Pepper crosses the road
28. Pepper has a fight
29. Kharghosh aur sher (hindi)
30. Jalebi curls
31. Litlle painters
32. I am not going to get up
33. Detective Arthur on the scent by Margaret Fulson
34. I am special
35. Where did it go?
36. The robot
37. Mia and her toothbrush from The Max and Mia
38. Where is love, biscuit?
39. Ten little fingers and ten little toes by Fox and Oxenbury
40. Potty by Leslie Patricelli
41. How many sleeps till my birthday?
42. Quincy and the dinosaurs by Susan Ring
43. A present for Papa from CBT
44. The hand book by David Whitney
45. I spy lightning in the sky
46. I can do it - Sesame Street
47. Eyes, nose, funny bones by Janet & Allan Ahlberg
48. I can read with my eyes shut
49. Baby's first library - Numbers
50. Look at me from Pratham

          From head to toe was read 4 times in a single day including us too! Don't forget to give a big hug and a sweet kiss when you finish reading!
Happy Reading!

Day 23 : Friendship!

          We cannot choose our family, but we can certainly choose our friends! goes a saying like this. And., it's so true. Maybe, that's why, friends occupy a special place in our hearts. And Friendship also occupied a place in our challenge as today's prompt.

          And now, it's so happening regularly, that there is a serious dearth of suitable books for the prompt at my place! Hope things change soon as I'm in a frenzy ordering so many books at one go that it's getting difficult to keep track (and I'm not kidding!). Perhaps, if there is a such a contest happening ever again, I will be better prepared! For now, let's turn to today's reads -

1. Best friends are forever by Richa Jha
2. All about the circus
3. George Baker
4. Morpurgo's Mudpuddle farm
5. Sonali's friend by Alaka Shankar
6. Nayana and the not so scary owl by Anita Vachcharajani
7. Granny's sari
8. Pepper gets a new friend
9. Charlotte's web by E. B. White
10. How koala got a stumpy tail
11. Why the bat comes out at night?
12. Handa's surprise
13. Panchatantra stories
14. The susu pals by Richa Jha
15. Night night little pokie by Sandra Boynton
16. Forever friends
17. Where are you going?
18. Amelia Bedelia makes a friend
19. Topsy and Tim make a new friend
20. Rocks and minerals easy natgeo reader
21. The Pied Piper of Hamelin
22. The four friends from 365 stories for boys
23.  Pokiri parrot and the needle nosed Ojha
24. Oscar the grouch
25. Pepper on the table
26. Heidi
27. Curious George goes fishing
28. Stories from Hippo by Mona Manjunath
29. Winnie the Pooh's grand and wonderful day
30. Pahuni by Madhuri Purandare
31. Mukhavate by Madhuri Purandare
32. The watermelon route
33. Mouse, mole and the falling star from Little Tiger Press
34. Krishna and Sudama from Bhagwat Purana
35. Noah's adventure from Stories for 5 year olds
36. The best den ever from Stories for 5 year olds
37. Maisy tidies up by Lucy Cousins
38. I love you all day long by Francesca Rusackas
39. Little blue truck
40. Goodnight moon
41. My truck is stuck
42. Magic pot magazine
43. Dharma and Adharma from Panchatantra
44. The four friends from Panchatantra
45. Everett Anderson's friend by Lucille Cliffton
46. Disney's Feelings and friends - WTP
47. Just my friend and me by Mercer Mayer
48. Insect friends - Sparkle fun set and beautiful butterflies
49. My adventures with Dora the explorer
50. Fox makes friends by Adam Relf
51. Squirrels' busy day by Lucy Barnard
52. Calvin and Hobbes
53. Immi's gift by Karin Littlewood
54. Hand hand finger thumb by Al Perkins
55. Best friends by Nina Sabnis
56. Dora loves boots

          Hope the friendships in your lives last forever!
Happy reading!
         
 

Day 22 : What I wear?

          Why do toddlers fuss so much about their clothes? In the initial stages, they just do not wish to wear anything whatsoever. A little later, getting them dressed is always a struggle between their moms and them. I face this situation not everyday but every time when there is a 'change of clothes' episode! Hope I'm not the only one in this!

          Long back, BubbleInk Writes and I were having a conversation when she recommended Hippo has a Hat by Julia Donaldson. She said that Swara will love the book. I bought it and when I read it, it was so much fun reading along with the added vocabulary of clothes and their description. The book is so vividly described and full of colours that Swara first listed all the colours on each page and then demanded me to tell the story. Then, we had an impromptu Ramp-walk kind of thing where Swara was draping all sorts of clothes and accessories on herself. Hmm.... I just pray that our battles on clothes have come to an end!

          And this was the prompt for today! Books about clothes! And I'm sure mommies too would have had fun reading these to their kids -

1. Green eggs and ham by Dr. Seuss
2. FunOkPlease's Alphabet dress-up
3. Cat's hat by Jillian Harker
4. Tania's Tutu from Stories for 5 year olds by Igloo Publishers
5. Granny's Sari
6. Hamilton's hats
7. My mother's sari by Sandhya Rao
8. I'm going to be the best super-hero ever by Moira Butterfield
9. Elliot's shoelace problem by Steve Griffiths
10. Mad about costume and fashion - a Ladybird mini series book
11. Where's the cat? by Manjula Padnabham
12. The very hungry caterpillar
13. The ugly duckling
14. Picture book on different types of clothes in different seasons
15. Clara Button and the magical hat
16. Naked rat mole gets dressed by Mo Willems  
17. Sloppy Joe by Dave Keane
18. The smartest giant in town by Julia Donaldson
19. Fanny by Holly Hobbie
20. Caillou's favourite T-shirt
21. Olivia by Ian Falconer
22. Chulbul's tail from Pratham
23. Water stories from Tulika
24. Hippo has a hat by Julia Donaldson
25. Pepper stays away
26. Beautiful bananas
27. Go dog go by P. D. Eastman
28. One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish by Dr. Seuss
29. If you give a moose a muffin
30. Jim's dog muffins by Miriam Cohen
31. Three little pigs
32. A friend of Ella
33. How many sleeps till my birthday
34. Things to wear
35. Little red riding hood (the Grimm brothers)
36. The Queen's nickers by Nicholas Allan
37. Room on the broom
38. Patch's coat
39. Thomas and Bertie from Thomas and the tank engine
40. The moon and the cap from Pratham
41. The smartest giant in town by Carolina Almeida
42. You look funny by Jim Kom
43. Dr. Seuss' Fox in socks
44. Under the ground from Usborne reading
45. Goldilocks and three bears
46. Llama llama shopping drama by Anna Dewdney
47. The shiny red shoes from Stories for 3 year olds by Igloo
48. Help Mia get ready for bed
49. Seasons by Sesame Street
50. Splish splash baby bundt
51. Norbus' new shoes

Happy reading!

Day 21 : Sing-along

          Babies often go to sleep when rocked to them in their mother's soothing lullabies. So. how can children not like rhymes and songs when the lullabies are often the first thing they hear when they are out in this big world?

          Frankly speaking, I didn't know many sing-along books existed until now. But, thanks to our challenge and for today's prompt, I came to know a wide variety of books. I bet I am going to order some after I finish writing this post! So, here is the list of sing-along books -

1. Old McDonald had a farm
2. This little guiding light of mine
3. The very hungry caterpillar
4. Karadi bear
5. Pepper takes turns
6. Are you my mother?
7. Sati and Shiva
8. The daffodils by William Wordsworth
9. The walrus and the carpenter by Lewis Caroll
10. Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening by Robert Frost
11. Where the mind is without fear by Tagore
12. The blue jackal (karadi tales)
13. Ten in the bed by Penny Dale
14. Wheels on the bus
15. Knick knack paddy whack
16. The camel and the pig
17. Beastly tales from here and there by Vikram Seth
18. 10 little monkeys
19. 10 green bottles hanging from a tree
20. Will you please go now by Dr. Seuss
21. Animal orchestra by Tiber Gergely
22. Over in the meadow by Jill McDonald
23. Owl babies
24. The snail and the whale
25. The owl and the pussy-cat
26. Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes
27. Cinderella
28. The Berenstain Bears go on a vacation
29. Noddy's unlucky day by Enid Blyton
30. A child's garden of verses by Rudyard Kipling
31. Pratham's Babloo bear's adventures
32. Pepper brushes his teeth
33. Tulika's Vaala meenukum vilangu meenukum kalyanam
34. Today is Monday by Eric Carle
35. Llama llama red pyjama
36. A kiss good-night
37. You are my little star
38. The Ugly Duck Thing
39. Doing the animal bop
40. Happy birthday little pookie by Sandra Boynton
41. Dr. Seuss' ABC
42. The very busy spider by Eric Carle
43. Chai-chai coffee coffee
44. Under the window by Kate Greenway
45. Ganesha goes to a party
46. Personal penguin
47. Brown bear brown bear what do you see?
48. From head to toe
49. We're going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen
50. wheels on the bus go round and round
51. Upar chanda gol gol
52. Amma Inge wa wa
53. Moin and the monster
54. Olugati tolugati

          We didn't have books suitable for the prompt so we read Doing the animal bop and danced to its song which came in a CD format along with a book.

Happy reading!

Day 20 : The very hungry caterpillar

          Today, the very hungry caterpillar completes 45 years of publication! What a book it is! The like-cycle of a butterfly, counting numbers, days of the week, everything is crammed into that book without overwhelming its readers! hence, at the Bubble-Ink challenge, this was our today's prompt.

          Today, it also happens to be World Storytelling Day. Here is the list of all the magnificent stories told by their mommies to their little kids -

1. The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle
2. Brown bear brown bear what do you see? by Eric Carle
3. The bad-tempered ladybug by Eric Carle
4. No, David
5. Feet problems from CBT
6. Tulika's water stories
7. The free mountain by Kaveri Chatterjee
8. Danny and the dinosaur goes to the camp
9. The story of Pradosham (how Lord Shiva came to have blue throat)
10. The very busy spider by Eric Carle
11. The little cloud
12. The tiny seed
13. The lizard's tail
14. Brahma's butterfly
15. Fancy Nancy sees stars by Jane O'Connor
16. The glass tree by M. Mukundan
17. Udte Udte (Urdu)  from Pratham
18. The annual haircut day
19. Hermit crab by Eric Carle
20. The three little pigs
21. The bird with golden wings by Sudha Murty
22. The dwarf and the long beard from Arabian Nights
23. The fisherman and the genie from Arabian Nights
24. The very quiet cricket by Eric Carle
25. From head to toe by Eric Carle
26. Pinochchio
27. Where do kisses come from?
28. Animal moral stories
29. My very first book of animal homes by Eric Carle
30. Today is Monday
31. Eric Carle's ABC
32. Gorillas : Gentle giants of the forest
33. Krishna rocks
34. The very fierce carpenter
35. Charlie Cook's favourite book by Julia Donladson

          You must be wondering only 35 books read today? That's because The Very Hungry Caterpillar was read 26 times in a single day in this challenge, by far, the most read one too! And yes, it was also the easiest compilation of everyone's reads till now!

          And to show our love and admiration to Eric Carle, we celebrated Eric Carle Day reading all his titles which we have so far - The very hungry caterpillar, the bad-tempered ladybug, the very quiet cricket, brown bear brown bear what do you see?, My very first book of animal homes and From head to toe. And if that was not enough, we also dabbled in a bit of craft. We made a colourful caterpillar using pom-pom balls.

Happy reading!

Day 19: Monsters and dragons

          No story is complete without a villain. Similarly, no fairy tale is complete without a monster or a dragon scaring the life out of innocent people! Hence, we had a whole day dedicated to Monsters and dragons as our reading prompt for this challenge!

          Barring a few, I came to know there are many many stories featuring good-hearted dragons too! Here is the list -

1. Where the wild things are by Maurice Sendak
2. The pleasant rakshasa from Tulika
3. The tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
4. The monsters who ate darkness
5. Tulika's water stories
6. Granny's sari from CBT
7. Rajah's moustache from CBT
8. The runaway wheel from CBT
9. Surprise gifts from CBT
10. Mrs. Woolly's funny sweaters from CBT
11. Wedding clothes from CBT
12. This little monster from Ladybird touch and feel
13. Puff flies by Sally Grindley
14. Bernard by David McKee
15. Tha abduction of Sita
16. Dragon's greediness
17. Monster stories
18. The gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
19. The gruffalo's child by Julia Donaldson
20. The dragon's scales - math reader level 3 by Sarah Albee
21. Goldilocks and the three bears
22. Monsters hunters by Parinita Shetty
23. Vile - a cautionary tale for little monsters
24. Zog by Julia Donaldson
25. Whacky Wednesday by Theo LeSieg
26. The susu pals by Richa Jha
27. The paper bag princess
28. It's Herb the vegetarian dragon
29. Folk tales from India
30. Room on the broom
31. There's a dragon at my school by Philip Hawthorn
32. The day Jimmy's boa ate the wash by Trinka Hakes Noble
33. Holi story from Indian festivals
34. Singh ane undar (gujarati version of lion and mouse)
35.  Monsters' munch lunch
36. Dancing dinos
37. The great goat chase
38. The return of the Jabberwock
39. The ravenous beast of Niamh Sharkey
40. A beasty story
41. How much I love you
42. When Vishnu became an arrow from Indian Mythological Tales from Nita Mehta Publications
43. Princess Azzurra and the gluttonous dragon by Wilsa Favi
44. The mountain monster
45. The old red stocking by Enid Blyton
46. Tyrannosaurus drip by Julia Donaldson
47. Disney's Monsters Inc.
48. Monsters University
49. The noisy night monsters by Julia Seal
50. The goblin who imitated the framer's speech from Muffin Stories
51. Moin and the monster
52. Monsters in my mailbox!
53. Dragons by Judy Tatchell

          Today, we read Where the wild things are before going to school and Room on the broom right after school! I told her we still have time to go to school. So, she said that we will read a book till then. I was so delighted when she came with a book to read.

Happy reading!