Time to think about warmer weather, flowers blooming and rain...it's Spring! Here are a few ideas to get help you get outside and enjoy the season.

This post is in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Purple Butterfly Press . All opinions are my own.

Enter for a chance to win!
One (1) winner receives:
A classroom set (30 copies) of The Kindness Machine will be sent directly to the winners' school of choice, along with autographed bookplates personalized for each student and the teacher.
Five (5) winners receive:
A copy of The Kindness Machine, with bookplates autographed by author Christina Dankert
The giveaway ends April 22, 2022, at 11:59 P.M. MT.

Clicking on the book above takes you to an affiliate links. This means Me Two Books may earn a small commission should you make a purchase using the links. ​

This post is in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Bruce Nemovitz. All opinions are my own.

Enter for a chance to win a copy of The Leaf & The Tree, autographed by Bruce Nemovitz!
Three (3) winners receive:
An autographed copy of The Leaf & The Tree.
​The giveaway ends March 7, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT
​

This post contains affiliate links. This means Me Two Books may earn a small commission should you make a purchase using the links. ​

This post is in partnership with The Children’s Book Review, K. I. Knight, and Jane R. Wood. All opinions are my own.

~Ali Dunn, Me Two Books​

Finding Family Treasure
​Written by K. I. Knight and Jane R. Wood
Ages 7 and Up | 142 Pages
Publisher: Melting Pot Press LLC
ISBN-13: 9781737337102
Publisher’s Synopsis: “Who are we?” Ms. Johansson asks her class of fifth graders. Her perplexed students soon discover the lesson she wants them to learn. While studying the founding of their country, the class is challenged to understand the melting pot that makes up the American people-both past and present.
With the help of a genealogist, students learn to navigate websites that introduce them to written records that have documented their families’ histories.  One by one, the young people hear family stories connecting them to America’s earliest immigrants and settlers. 
As the story unfolds, some personal conflicts occur among the students, long-standing family tensions surface, and intergenerational relationships evolve. Complex issues such as privacy, adoption, diversity, immigration, slavery, and antisemitism are addressed in an age-appropriate manner.
As a result of their research project, the students not only discover personal connections to the past but also, in some cases, to each other.

Kathryn Knight, who uses the pen name K I Knight, is an international award-winning Author, Genetic Genealogist, American Historian, Keynote Speaker, and Cemetery Preservationist. Over the last thirteen years, Knight has documented more than 20,000 hours researching the first recorded Africans to arrive in the English settlement of Virginia in 1619. Her passion is unrivaled and strongly evident in her published writings.
Her literary work includes Fate & Freedom, a five star – Gold medal historical trilogy detailing the lives of the 1619 Africans, as well as her nonfiction work, Unveiled – The Twenty and Odd, for which she was awarded the Phillis Wheatley Literary Award by the Sons and Daughters of the US Middle Passage. The mother of three adult children, Knight, lives in North Florida with her husband, Tom.
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Jane R. Wood is the author of five award-winning juvenile fiction books where she weaves history and science into stories filled with mystery, adventure, and humor for young readers ages 8-14. Students like her books because they’re fun. Teachers like them for their educational value. Wood is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and television producer. She has a BA from the University of Florida and an MEd from the University of North Florida. Wood lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and is the mother of two grown sons and five grandchildren.

Themes: adoption, diversity, immigration, slavery, and antisemitism

This educational chapter book begins with a class assignment to learn about American History and ends with a 5th grade class that are bonded by their collective stories. Through genealogical research, the students discover their families' pasts and how the past affects the present.  Interwoven into the narrative are historical facts about the founding of America. This book doesn't shy away from issues like slavery, racism, and antisemitism, but instead serves as a jumping off point for conversations with your child. The students in this story learn they are more alike than they are different, and the reader will learn this as well. 

Enter for a chance to win a copy of Finding Family Treasure, along with a 1-hour genealogy consultation!
One (1) grand prize winner receives:

• An autographed copy of Finding Family Treasure
• A 1-hour genealogy consultation with Kathryn Knight, a genetic genealogist, and co-author of this book. Knight will provide guidance to establish a genealogy line for the recipient’s family, tailoring it to their needs.

Four (4) winners receive:

• An autographed copy of Finding Family Treasure

Giveaway ends February 25, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT

This post contains affiliate links. This means Me Two Books may earn a small commission should you make a purchase using the links. ​

This post is in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Jeanne Walker Harvey. All opinions are my own.

~Ali Dunn, Me Two Books

Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas
Written by Jeanne Walker Harvey
Illustrated by Loveis Wise
Ages 4-8 | 40 Pages
Publisher: HarperCollins | ISBN-13: 9780063021891
Publisher’s Synopsis: Celebrate the life-changing power of art in this inspiring and stunningly illustrated picture book biography of American artist Alma Thomas.
Meet an incredible woman who broke down barriers throughout her whole life and is now known as one of the most preeminent painters of the 20th century. Told from the point of view of young Alma Thomas, readers can follow along as she grows into her discovery of the life-changing power of art.
Ablaze with Color includes extensive backmatter with photos, an author’s and illustrator’s note, a timeline, and a list of sources and resources, which will be a great tool for parents, educators, and librarians. Perfect for Women’s History Month and Black History Month units.

Jeanne Walker Harvey has been a longtime docent at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Just like Alma Thomas, Jeanne believes that art brings us joy. Her other picture books include Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines and My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey. Jeanne studied literature and psychology at Stanford University. She lives in Northern California.

Loveis Wise is an illustrator and designer from Washington, DC. They are currently based in Los Angeles and their work often speaks to themes of joy and liberation. Their work can be found through the New Yorker, Google, Adobe, and the New York Times.

Themes: breaking down barriers, art, real-life story, female empowerment                           

How does a young nature-loving girl born in the segregated South become the first African- American woman to have a painting displayed in the White House? Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas is a biographical picture book that beautifully answers this question.  Alma learned early in life that helping others is important as her family and community provided the education and support that she was denied outside of her home.  After her family moved to the North, she studied art and devoted her life to helping children through art education programs and opportunities. It wasn't until she was 70 years old that she switched her focus to her own work. Work that was inspiring, uplifting, and ablaze with color.  Whether you already knew of painter Alma Thomas or are learning of her work for the first time, this inspiring true story is a celebration of art, joy and determination.

This book was a joy to read and a joy to look at. The illustrations by Loveis Wise  capture the colors and happiness that are a hallmark of Alma's work beautifully.

Enter for a chance to win a classroom set of the picture book Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas!
Three (3) winners receive:
A classroom set of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas, autographed and personalized for each student and the teacher by Jeanne Walker Harvey (no more than 30 books per set).

This post contains affiliate links. This means Me Two Books may earn a small commission should you make a purchase using the links. ​