Yoga Pretzels

Yoga is becoming more and more popular - and not just with mothers looking for a break! Children are getting in on the action, and many teachers are beginning to use yoga moves in the classroom as well. I was a vendor recently at a teacher's conference, and the first 3 things to sell were my only two copies of Yoga Pretzels and my last copy of My Daddy is a Pretzel. I spoke with the teachers about it, and they are using yoga for everything from helping the students settle down before class to helping students relax before a big test. Particularly in these high-pressure days of No Child Left Behind, anything that can help the students reduce their fear of the upcoming exams can only be a good thing.

Recently, the Yoga Pretzels cards were featured on a great website for moms called Posh Little. They did a wonderful review, complete with link to purchase the cards. These cards work synergistically with the book My Daddy is a Pretzel, as well as with the upcoming Yoga Planet cards.

Yoga Pretzels cards have been used by Helen Hunt, Ali McGraw and Catherine Zeta-Jones who says:

"Yoga Pretzels is a fantastic way of spending quality time with my kids. Together, we exercise our bodies and minds leaving us feeling energized and refreshed! I'd highly recommend it to anyone with children."

And really, spending quality time with your kids is what it's all about!

Introducing Barefoot Young Fiction!

Just in time for the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Barefoot Books has released “Little Leap Forward—A Boy in Beijing”. Our first chapter book, written by Guo Yue, is a semi- autobiographical story about a young boy growing up in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution. Yue writes eloquently about his childhood and what it was like living in Beijing at a time when books were burned, poetry was banned and music was used to advance the Communist Party agenda. Written for ages 8-14, “Little Leap Forward” can help children understand a culture vastly different from ours, while telling a wonderfully engaging tale.

Author Guo Yue has recorded a video excerpt of his book that shows many of the photos and the beautiful illustrations that enhance the book. This video has been posted on YouTube (Ah, technology today!), as well as the Barefoot Books website. However, I have it here for your viewing pleasure!

My Granny Went to Market

Well, now that you’ve gone on a Magic Train Ride, it’s time for a magic carpet ride with Granny! She has some shopping to do today…but it’s not just any shopping. Oh, no! Ordinary shopping is not for Granny. She has some very specific items on her shopping list, and to get those items she will have to travel around the world! I can hear you asking why Granny needs to travel the world to go shopping…so I will do my best to answer that question for you.

Her first purchase is in Istanbul, where the very best of flying carpets are to be found! Thailand is next for two new special friends, followed by Mexico for three one-of-a-kind painted masks. After Mexico comes China for four new items, then on to Switzerland for five. Africa soon follows with six, Russia with seven, Australia with eight, Japan with nine and Peru with ten! What do you think she buys at each stop?

And of course, if you’ve carefully read about Granny’s purchases, you will see that each time she stops, she buys one more of something than she did before! When Granny is finished with her shopping, she hands off the flying carpet…and leaves it to YOU to decide where it travels next! Clever Granny has not only visited parts of the world, but has practiced her counting as well.

So, with your new magic carpet - what’s on YOUR shopping list?

*Note: Granny wanted me to add that her hardcover story has lovely map endpapers that show the progression of her fabulous journey!

Activity available!

Available in: Hardcover, Paperback (Spanish version available)

Magic Train Ride

“Quickly, quickly, down the track,

Clickety, clickety clack!”

What’s that sound you hear? That, my friends, is the Magic Train Ride! What? You’ve never heard of the Magic Train Ride? The best ride in all the land? How is that possible?

This train will take you on a wonderful trip! Of course, you’ll start out at the station like every train ride - but nothing else will be like any journey you’ve ever taken before….

First stop – the jungle! How many monkeys can you count hiding in the trees? Oh, no – it’s already time to go! We’re off to be underwater explorers. Can you find the treasures hidden below? Wow! Whistle’s blowing…hop back on that train to head to outer space! “What bright stars!”. How many aliens live on Mars? Next station, coming up! Look, “we’re in a magic wood”! What kinds of special things can you see? I’ll give a hint – look in the tree! What? You’re hungry you say? What perfect timing – the Land of Cakes will be our next location. Pick something quick, we’re on our way again. Our ride is almost done, but first a stop in Fairyland! If you could make a wish, what would it be? Grab a wand, and let us see! It is time to board for one last station. The train…is slowing…for…the…stop.

“Look! It’s somewhere new…

Where has your magic ticket taken you?”

Available in: Paperback, Paperback w/CD

One Moose, Twenty Mice

So, I figured I would start off with the family's first Barefoot Book. It was given to my son going on 7 years ago now (and still going strong, though with a bit of wear to it). We loved it (as did he) and kept it for our next child. When I pulled it out for our daughter, I looked up the publisher to see if I could find any more of their titles - that's how I found out about their home-based business portion.

One Moose, Twenty Mice is a sturdy board book that helps children learn and reinforce their knowledge of counting from 1 to 20. The images in the pictures were all created out of felt before being photographed, and the colors are bright and lively to help catch the interest of a little one.

As you can see with the excerpt, each page has a different number of animals that children can count, as well as trying to find the cat. Some part of him will be hiding on each page, and kids love to repeat "...but where's the cat?" to be involved in the story. As you get to number 20, it is finally revealed where the cat is and why he has been hiding!

Barefoot Books has even created a small activity that can be printed to go with the story (several of their books have this). So, it's a fun story that encompasses counting, number recognition, observational skills, and can even be used for beginning reading. There is also a copy written in Spanish - great for classrooms, in addition to home use!

Welcome!

Thanks for taking the time out to visit my blog. I'm just beginning with this, so I'm sure I'll have some quirks to work out, but I'm anticipating this turning into a place where teachers, educators and homeschoolers can look for lesson plans using the wonderful stories published by Barefoot Books.

A little bit about me - I am a certified Elementary Education teacher, and have also homeschooled for two years. I am a book fanatic - I will try to read just about anything. I heard a term once, "biblioholic", that seems to describe me perfectly. I served in the Coast Guard for a little over 7 years, and I am now married to a Coastie. We have two terrific (most of the time) kids that I LOVE to buy books for.

Now that I'm getting this started, I plan to review books that Barefoot carries - this way, people can really get a feel for whether it is in their best interest to purchase. If you have any questions about them, please feel free to ask. Little-by-little, as I find the time, I plan to create lesson plans around specific books. These plans will be available for any educator to use in their home school or their classroom. Any educators out there who may have lesson plans based on Barefoot Books, please feel free to share those!

*DISCLAIMER* I sell Barefoot Books as a part-time business. I want that to be known up-front. However, I truly believe that these are some of the best children's books on the market today. They have a global perspective, teaching children about other cultures and the environment while helping them learn about math, science, sharing and all the other important things children must know.