This post is in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Maria Castellucci Moore. All opinions are my own.
Book Information
Giveaway
Enter the giveaway for the chance to win a signed hardcover copy of Vivienne in Paris and a Kindle!
One (1) winner receives: - A hardcover copy of Vivienne in Paris signed by Maria Castellucci Moore - A Kindle (2022 release)
This post is in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Purple Butterfly Press. All opinions are my own.
Book Information
GIVEAWAY
Enter for the chance to win a 30-book classroom set of Famous Seaweed Soup!
One (1) grand prize winner receives: A 30-book classroom set of Famous Seaweed Soup Five (5) winners receive: A paperback copy of Famous Seaweed Soup This post contains affiliate links. This means Me Two Books may earn a small commission should you make a purchase using the link
This post is in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Sandrine Marlier. All opinions are my own.
Book Information
Odette’s Alphabet
Written by Sandrine Marlier Ages 5+ | 64 Pages Publisher: Belle Isle Books | ISBN-13: 9781953021519 Publisher’s Book Summary: One day, Odette the ant wakes up feeling stressed. After realizing that all she does is work, Odette decides to leave her anthill in search of the freedom to create her own world. Along the way, she meets Marcus, a lost mouse, and together they discover simple ways to feel better. Inspired by her journey and this wonderful new friendship, Odette finds her way back home to the colony with a new sense of being. Odette’s Alphabet is a mindful story that offers a map to handle big emotions with kindness, unity, and courage. Fun and easy activities support each of the chapters, along with letters of the alphabet to provide additional opportunities for learning while encouraging young readers to explore meditation practices. Author Interview
I'm excited to share my interview with Sandrine Marlier. She is a mother, meditation teacher, transformational coach, and Reiki practitioner. She shares free meditations about healing and empowerment onInstagram (@sandrinemarlier). You can connect with her through her website, www.sandrinemarlier.com.
Where did you get the inspiration for Odette's Alphabet? I had just completed a meditation teacher training, when I drew an ant with a larger speakerphone screaming the sound “A”, which is the original sound in the universe. Odette was self-realized! I showed the drawing to my friend, a film-maker, who thought I was writing a children’s alphabet book. I fell in love with the process of selecting all the concepts I thought were most meaningful and that I’d like to teach my child. What was your writing process like for this book? There were a few layers, over the years. I started writing letters at the same time I was drawing Odette. Sometimes the drawings came first. They always helped me get more specific in my writing. Brainstorming all the different possible words for each letter was a lot of fun. Upon a friend’s suggestion, I weaved in a story to connect the letters. Odette evolved a lot from the very first manuscript. It looked more grown-up at first. As I shifted towards a younger audience, I started writing some activities. What is your favorite part about writing books for kids? Understanding what they need and translating it into a simple and beautiful language, that allows them to dream and make the words theirs. That’s how it creates meaning to them. What are you working on now? I’m working on a course for mums. They need great support. They often feel like their life isn’t theirs anymore; I want to help them place themselves back in the center of their life, where they can choose how they want their life to feel like, instead of going on auto-pilot, doing what they feel they should be doing. What is your favorite book? I AM HUMAN by Susan Verde. It gave my daughter and I such a wonderful tool to help us relax when things were less than perfect. Giveaway
Enter the giveaway below for the chance to win a paperback copy of Odette’s Alphabet and a $25 Amazon gift card!
One (1) grand prize winner receives: A copy of Odette's Alphabet A $25 Amazon Gift Card Two (2) winners receive: A copy of Odette's Alphabet
This post is in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Caron Pescatore. All opinions are my own.
Book INformation
Giveaway
Enter for a chance to win a paperback copy of The Book Bandit, autographed by Caron Pescatore.
Four (4) winners receive: - A signed paperback copy of A Phoebe Chen Mystery: The Book Bandit 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 contains affiliate links. This means Me Two Books may earn a small commission should you make a purchase using the link.
"I literally felt torn in two pieces. I didn't want to leave one baby to go back to the hospital, but I couldn’t stay away from the baby still fighting in the NICU." There are many things about the NICU that no one tells you. And when multiples are involved the unknowns double. From the moment my twins were born at 28 weeks and admitted to the NICU, my first thought in the morning and my last thought at night was when will they come home. But during the 55 days that my twins shared the NICU, it had never occurred to me, nor had I ever been told that they might not go home together. But that is exactly what happened. One of my twins was ready to be released, and the other was not. It would take another ten days before they would be reunited again. Those days were the hardest part of the whole NICU experience. I literally felt torn in two pieces. I didn't want to leave one baby to go back to the hospital, but I couldn’t stay away from the baby still fighting in the NICU. Finding a balance was impossible, which led me to feel so guilty. Dealing with multiple discharge dates for your NICU babies will be difficult, but here are a few things that could help. It is Common
It is common that multiples will have differing NICU stays in terms of treatment and length. Understanding and preparing for this from the beginning helps. Consider Childcare Have a plan in place for childcare. Once a baby is released from the NICU, they are not allowed back as a visitor. Future hospital visits will have to be made alone. Make sure you have someone in mind that can watch your baby at home that is comfortable providing the level of care that a medically fragile baby could need. Continue to Bond You may feel that you are less bonded, or are losing your bond with your hospitalized baby because you are not spending as much time with them as before. But the parental bond is based in quality not quantity. When you are able, continue all those bonding activities like kangaroo care, reading, and talking to them. And if you can't make it to the hospital everyday, remember that bonding can still take place via technologies like FaceTime and Zoom. Get Support Having one baby home from the hospital will likely cause a flood of emotions, from happiness to guilt. It is important to seek help and support from your friends, family, partner, and professionals during this time. "Children need to see you being kind to students, staff members and parents. Children need to hear your kindness through compliments, encouragement and honesty. " ~ Christina Dankert, author of The Kindness Machine I am excited to share this guest post today, because it is the book birthday of The Kindness Machine. Last year, I posted a Beyond the Book Activity to use with this great book. ~ Ali How many t-shirts, coffee mugs and signs have you seen recently with the message, “Be Kind”? Those two little words seem to be on everything, but many people struggle to do just that. Kindness matters. Oftentimes we notice unkind actions more than kindness itself. We must shift our focus to intentionally being kind, point out kindness when we see it and model it for one another. Several studies suggest that kindness can improve self-esteem, reduce stress and help build connection and empathy with others. These positive benefits are another reason to intentionally put kindness as a focus in homes and classrooms. Children need to see kindness modeled through both actions and words. How we react and how we speak to each other does not go unnoticed by children. As a second grade teacher, I start my school year by telling my new class, “I will never yell at you.” The look on their sweet little faces is always that of shock. One year a student asked, “How will we know if we are in trouble?” I smiled and explained that I have high expectations for my students and that we will learn to use our words. Together, we brainstorm classroom rules and most students offer up a rule that begins with the word, “don't.” My mother-in-law has always said that the mind can not avoid a don’t. In college, we were taught to start classroom rules with, “be.” After brainstorming, I guide the students to have one classroom rule that takes care of it all, “Be kind with your hands, feet and words.” With this one rule we are using our hands to ask questions and to help each other up, we are walking in the hallways and using our words to speak kindly. Similar to teaching reading decoding or comprehension, kindness has to be explicitly taught and modeled. Children need to see you being kind to students, staff members and parents. Children need to hear your kindness through compliments, encouragement and honesty. I love pointing out my mistakes, because we all make them. Reminding children that even adults make mistakes and need to try again helps to humanize a teacher, parent or caregiver. This allows a child to understand that they too can make mistakes and try again. I wrote my first children’s book The Kindness Machine, in hopes of helping to start or continue the kindness conversation in homes and classrooms around the world. There are guided questions at the beginning of the book to ask questions before, during and after reading. There are little questions in the heart of the book at the bottom right hand corner to allow even the littlest listeners or readers to apply kindness to their own lives. By pausing and asking intentional questions, the adult helps facilitate the concept of kindness and allows the child to make a connection to their own lives. I am most proud that the book shines a light on not only kindness to others, but also on kindness to ourselves. I hope that children and adults reading the book get a reminder to love ourselves and to spread kindness. Kindness matters. Pass it on.
This post is in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Tabletop Teaching LLC. All opinions are my own.
Book Information
Giveaway
Enter for a chance to win a My Home Filled With Love tote, including stickers and a signed copy of the book!
One (1) grand prize winner receives: A My Home Filled With Love tote including: -A signed copy of My Home: Filled with Love -Stickers Two (2) winners receive: -A signed hardcover copy of My Home: Filled with Love Two (2) winners receive: -A signed paperback copy of My Home: Filled with Love |