Cricket Magazine Group

Cricket Magazine Group has magazines for everyone! From babies to teens.

Babybug. Ladybug. Click. Appleseeds. Ask. Spider. Cricket. Dig. Cobblestone. Muse. Faces. Calliope. Oddyssey. Cicada.

Those are ALL magazines! Maybe there's one that's just right for you! Check out samples here.

Highlights Highlights

I think it’s safe to say that Highlights is the big-daddy of kids’ magazines. They’ve been at it for over 60 years and have two-million-plus subscribers. And after all these years they’ve still got it goin’ on. Check out a sample issue.

But wait… there’s more!

The younger set is now in luck too! Highlights High Five has been created for two to six year olds (although older siblings and parents are sure to enjoy it). With read-aloud stories, Hidden Pictures, poems, activities, and puzzles this mag is sure to please. Sneak a peak here.

Highlights also has awesome, free email newsletters! They’ll send a free Hidden Picture each month, crafts, stories, discounts—you pick what you want them to send. Sweet.

Highlightskids.com rocks too. With the Game of the Week, Mystery Photos, crafts podcasts, and more. All the fun normally get from Highlights—check it out.

Reading—Fun With a Purpose

Magazine Reading

I’ve just been remembering the joy of magazine reading. When I was younger I had a subscription to Disneyland Magazine: “All-new stories with favorite Walt Disney characters… for Beginning Readers.” Every Tuesday I waited breathless and all hopped-up at the front door window. I think I left drool marks like our Basset Hound.

The mailman delivered my weekly bounty—fresh off the press and custom-created-for-me (well, it seemed like it). Week in and week out I poured over the colorful pages. There were comic-book-like stories, coloring pages, dot-to-dot, mazes, hidden object pictures, and more—all with my favorite Disney friends.

Disneyland Magazine was definitely one of my best early reading experiences—I loved it! As I’ve searched for magazines for my own kids, I’ve realized there are loads of them out there that most of us have never even heard of. Good magazines that are sure to delight even the most finicky reader. Magazines tailor-made for every appetite.

Magazines are definitely reading fun!

Stay tuned… I’ll hook you up.

Smithsonian—More Than a Museum

Walk on the moon. Build a light bulb. Stake your claim on the great American prairie.

Create a sculpture. Be a spy and read satellite photos. See a skeleton walk.

Check out the Smithsonian website for lots of fun, games, and downloadable activity sheets.

Learn how to play Hnefatafl.

Hnefatafl? Oh, come on… you’ve got to check this out! Click here—and here.

Chronicles of Narnia Giveaway

Aaaah! Tomorrow’s the last day to enter The Narnia Sweepstakes.

HarperCollins is giving away awesome Narnia stuff.

Check this out:

“Each winner will receive a copy of the new interactive gift edition, Narnia Chronology: From the Archives of the Last King; The Chronicles of Narnia Pop-up by Robert Sabuda; The Return to Narnia: The Rescue of Prince Caspian, illustrated by Matthew Armstrong; and The Chronicles of Narnia Box Set, which includes all seven books in the series and features cover illustrations by three-time Caldecott Medal–winning artist David Wiesner.”

Hurry! Quick! Enter here.

Plus, there’s games, an interactive timeline, and audiobook samples. You can even download a Narnia widget—now, that’s reading fun!

Cooking by the Book

It seems a few other people have been thinking along the same lines as I have. Wouldn’t you know it—there are already whole cookbooks with recipes from books.

Check’em out and have some reading fun!

Literary Smorgasbord or Book Buffet?

Summer still has me in par-ty-mode! I’m thinking a Literary Banquet would be fun. We could plan a whole meal or dessert around food from our favorite books.

Sam-I-Am has Green Eggs and Ham.

Charlie has a factory of chocolate delicacies.

Harry delights in Pumpkin Pasties, Licorice Wands, and Butterbeer (no, there’s not really beer in there).

Edmund is tempted by Narnia's Turkish Delight.

Mmm. Reading and food fun! How many food dishes from books can you think of?

Beyond the Deepwoods

At about one o’clock this morning I finished my latest read, the first book in The Edge Chronicles series: Beyond the Deepwoods.

Twig, a thirteen-year-old boy, was abandoned at birth and raised by woodtrolls. His mom is afraid the sky pirates will kidnap him so she sends Twig to live with an uncle. Twig doesn’t make it though. He does what woodtrolls never do—he strays from the path.

So begins this non-stop adventure! Bizarre creatures—hammelhorns, flat-heads, shrykes, nightwaifs, wig wigs, and more bring danger and intrigue at a breakneck pace. The beloved banderbear. The ever-watchful Caterbird. The evil Gloamglozer. Twig meets them all on his journey through the deepwoods.

Rocks float and trees eat people; British co-authors, Paul Stewart and Chris Riddel have co-created a completely new world—the line drawings bring amazing detail, further drawing the reader in.

This book is recommended for nine to twelve-year-olds, but I would say that those ahem, somewhat older will appreciate it too. I’ve already ordered Stormchaser, the second book!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the young lady at Barnes and Noble who made the recommendation!

Check out the Edge of Chronicles website, too. It’s awesome! Beyond the Deepwoods is definitely reading fun!

Christmas in July

Tuesday’s post made me think of a fun game our family plays at Christmas. Actually, it’s the way we exchange gifts when we get together with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins. I’m thinking we change it up a little and make it a Summer Book Bash!

First, send out invitations to your Summer Book Bash.

Ask your friends to shop for a new book that they would love to read.

Have them wrap it and bring it to the party.

Place all the wrapped books in a pile.

Fill a bowl with little pieces of paper with numbers (You need a number for every person) and have each person draw a number.

Now comes the really fun part! Number one picks a book, unwraps it, and shows it to all the guests.

Number two goes next. They can either pick from the pile, OR they can choose the already opened book from number one. If they pick the book number one opened, then they choose another book from the pile and number one gets to open again!

Each person takes their turn, either choosing a book that has already been opened or one from the present pile.

The last person can take any opened present or the last one from the pile.

We usually say a present can only be stolen three times, but you can make any rules you want, as long as everyone understands them at the beginning.

Make sure you remind everyone at the beginning that they might not end up with the first book they open!

Christmas in July—this definitely sounds like reading fun!

Book Exchange Party

Looking for more fun books to read this summer?

Looking for an excuse to have a few friends over?

Why not plan a book exchange?

Yeah, invite a bunch of friends over for a summer book exchange. Have each person bring five books (or however many you agree on) they want to trade. Set up a table or area to display the books. Then play games and let the winner pick a book. Or give out fake money and have an auction. Or pick your own fun idea to swap books.

Maybe you could even go to Michaels and get plain canvas totes to paint and make individual, customized book bags!

New books. No money required. A party with friends. This definitely sounds like reading fun!

What other ideas can you come up with?

New Seekers Series

Erin Hunter, the author of the Warriors books, has a new series. Seekers: The Quest Begins is about bears and the reviews are mixed. They range between “I love this book” and “seems quite relentless and brutal.” Check out the Amazon reviews here.

HarperCollins is giving ten lucky winners a free autographed copy. Free is fun! Enter the contest here.

Harry Potter Readers Speak

According to the 2008 Kids and Family Reading Report:

74% say of Harry Potter readers say reading Harry has made them “more interested in reading other books.”

69% say they, “Harry Potter books are my favorite books.”

70% say they are “‘very’ interested in re-reading Harry Potter books.”

66% of their parents say, “Reading Harry Potter has helped my child in school.”

Whoa... Harry Potter is like brain food!

Okay, maybe that’s a stretch, but they sure make reading fun! I just re-read The Sorcerer’s Stone. It’s the first time I’ve read a book more than once—ever! My plan is to re-read all seven before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes to theatres November 11th.

It’s a good plan. Care to join me?

Here's a sneak peak...

Get Healthy—Have Fun

I’m loving all the fresh fruits and veggies that are in season right now. It’s so much easier to make better food choices in the summer.

This got me thinking about feeling good and being healthy. When we eat right and exercise, we have a lot more energy to do fun things.

And you know I like to do fun things!!!

So... I found some fun games:

At the YouthZone you can build a healthy kid, help a mad scientist put Frankenstein back together, go on a food safari, and play with an interactive crossword puzzle. You can even have a food fight.

Nutrition Exploration has a World of Activities: Fueled for Fun, Little D the Draon, Arianna and Marcus, Monster Nutrition, and Shopping List. There are even jokes.

You probably guessed… there are some cool books on nutrition, too!

Win James Patterson’s Newest Book

James Patterson’s newest book, The Dangerous Days of Daniel X, isn’t due in stores until July 21st, but you can win a copy for FREE now!

“James Patterson's exciting new series is full of high wish-fulfillment fantasy, humor, and of course, all of the suspense that Patterson fans have come to expect--only this time, it's literally out of this world.” Read an excerpt here.

Enter the JamesPatterson.com Sweepstakes by signing up for the JP newsletter. You get entered in the contest and get the scoop on exclusive contests and content. Stuff like advance chapters of upcoming books, contests and special offers, the latest movie news, and James Patterson appearances.

Sweet.

Barnes and Noble Gives Books Away—For FREE

Summer Reading with Andrew Clements is on!

This is the deal for first through sixth graders...

Read eight books of their choosing
Print out the Summer Reading Journal
Tell about their favorite part of the books they listed
Do four fun activities (they really do look fun)
Get it all signed by a parent
Take it to a Barnes and Noble by September 2nd

The free book list isn’t on the site, but I was in the store the other day and there were some AWESOME choices. A nice selection of classics, award-winners, and new releases. Check out the rules here.

Don’t miss out on this one! I’m bummed; I’m too old to participate ;0(

Oh! When you turn in your Summer Reading Journal and get your FREE book, you are automatically entered in a drawing for an autographed copy of an Andrew Clements book. There’s an exclusive interview with him under the rules section and a store locater on the right. It just keeps getting better!

Seriously. I’m sooo jealous.

Independence Day

Happy 4th!

Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards

Have you heard of The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards? They’ve recognized excellence in children’s and young adult literature since 1967.

Dude, that’s a long time.

This is a really prestigious award, but it sure does have a funky name!

It turns out that like 300 hundred years ago kids didn’t have books (aaaaaaaaaah!!!); the monks taught them with a wooden paddle that had an alphabet and a verse glued to the surface. It got the name hornbook because a piece of transparent horn protected the verse.

Eeew.

Anyways, here are the 2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winners:









Nonfiction: The Wall by Peter Sis

Fiction and Poetry: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney

Picture Book: At Night by Jonathan Bean

Special Citation: The Arrival by Shaun Tan by Shaun Tan

Be sure to check out the cool author websites and the past winners, too.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

Kit is coming to theatres today!



Whew, I can’t keep up with all the movies that are coming out.

I’m still reading Meet Kit. I’d like to finish it before I see the movie, so if anyone wants to give us a review (on the movie or the book), I’d love it!

Just click on Comments below.

And be sure to check out all Kit’s other books. There are lots of fun project books and crafty books too!

We Have a Winner!

Last month I announced the cheriwilliams.com monthly drawing. Every comment made by you, my faithful readers, equaled an entry in a drawing.

Anonymous, who posted a one-word book review on June 2nd, is our winner!!!

Congrats, anonymous ;0) Please, email me and I’ll get your winnings to you.