Kids Celebrate

It's time to celebrate! From Christmas and Thanksgiving, to Diwali and Halloween, kids won't want to miss out on all the festivities. Embark on an exciting journey through the most interesting and important festivals, celebrations, and holidays enjoyed by people around the world. Stunning original illustrations and fascinating facts will inspire and inform children about cultures and religions from the countries of the world. Witness a camel marathon in a celebration of the Sahara Desert, and devour some delicious dumplings to celebrate Chinese New Year. Discover why skeletons dance at the Day of the Dead in Mexico, and get messy at Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors. Children will love poring over artist Katy Halford's beautiful illustrations, which showcase every celebration in absorbing detail. Engaging factual writing introduce young readers to the most interesting aspects of each celebration, from the costumes worn to the food eaten, and encourage an understanding of other cultures and religions.

Christmas is more than just gift-giving. It holds a much deeper meaning that has something do with Jesus Christ and the history of Christianity. If you trace its historic roots, you can see that the first Christmas was actually the beginning of a worldwide change. Treat this book as a prelude to the Christmas celebration. Grab a copy today!

Parenting strategies you can be proud of You know the feeling. You got frustrated, desperate, or overwhelmed and you reacted before you could think it through. Whether it’s a one-time thing or it becomes a habit, we all parent in ways we don’t like. But it doesn’t have to continue. Whether it’s bribery, yelling, counting to three, or threats of punishment you didn’t mean to make, reacting never feels good. But if you can learn to act with intentionality, you’ll feel better about your choices and be grateful for the results. Dr. Kathy Koch (pronounced “cook”), author of Screens and Teens and 8 Great Smarts, will teach you proven strategies for training your child’s heart and parenting in a way that honors God. She’ll help you move your child from, “I can’t, I won’t," to “I can, I will, and I did.” We can do better than “Because I said so.” or “No screen time for 3 days.” We can do better than mere behavior modification. We can change our children’s hearts and teach them to do what is good, godly, and right even when we’re not around. Once you’ve learned to put these motivation strategies in place there’s no more need to nag, you’ll be astounded at what your kids will do without being asked. Dr. Kathy doesn’t offer a quick-fix. Starting with the heart is all about changing what children believe in order to change their behavior. And learning to use this kind of motivation takes effort, consistency, and strategy, but it works. And it’s never too late! If you’re willing to commit to a little hard work up front, you’ll enjoy your kids, your life, and yourself much more when you learn to start with the heart.

Everyone loves a reason to have a good time, and although culturesaround the world have their own unique feasts and festivals, we allshare many of the same reasons to celebrate. Now you can learnabout the many ways people from around the globe celebrate theirspecial days, and join in the fun! Celebrate Chinese New Year while making chiao-tzu dumplings, thenpop over to Saudi Arabia and taste delicious date-nut cookiescalled ma amoul while celebrating Eid ul-Fitr. Make an elaborateVenetian mask to wear at a masquerade ball in Venice duringcarnevale, then pound out a festive rhythm on the Igbo drum you vemade and celebrate the Iriji festival in Nigeria. Eat, drink, andmake merry with the many diverse and exciting crafts, recipes, andactivities in this book. No matter what language you say it in,celebrations are fun!

Children love learning about special days and celebrating them with arts and crafts. Skipping the typical green shamrocks, orange paper pumpkins, and red doily hearts, Kids Celebrate! lists 100 days to remember with 200 related activities for children and grown-ups. There's a Hansel and Gretel walk for Jakob Grimm's birthday, a Mexican fiesta for Cinco de Mayo, and a first aid kit to make in honor of Clara Barton's Birthday. The significance of each special day is explained in this educational tribute to the holidays, history, and accomplishments of many cultures and many people.

Lyrical, sensory nonfiction text and vibrant illustrations invite readers to experience a child’s-eye view of 13 holidays around the world, such as the Spring Festival in China, Inti Raymi in Peru, Eid al-Fitr in Egypt, Día de Muertos in Mexico and the New Yam Festival in Nigeria. Includes pronunciation guides, a global festival calendar and educational notes about why we celebrate.

“A subtle, deceptively simple book about inclusion, hospitality, and welcoming the ‘other.’” —Kirkus Reviews “A boundlessly inclusive spirit...This open-ended picture book creates a natural springboard for discussion.” —Booklist “This sweet extended metaphor uses an umbrella to demonstrate how kindness and inclusion work...A lovely addition to any library collection, for classroom use or for sharing at home.” —School Library Journal In the tradition of Alison McGhee’s Someday, beloved illustrator Amy June Bates makes her authorial debut alongside her eleven-year-old daughter with this timely and timeless picture book about acceptance. By the door there is an umbrella. It is big. It is so big that when it starts to rain there is room for everyone underneath. It doesn’t matter if you are tall. Or plaid. Or hairy. It doesn’t matter how many legs you have. Don’t worry that there won’t be enough room under the umbrella. Because there will always be room. Lush illustrations and simple, lyrical text subtly address themes of inclusion and tolerance in this sweet story that accomplished illustrator Amy June Bates cowrote with her daughter, Juniper, while walking to school together in the rain.

A book is magical; it transcends time and space. We hope to capture this magic with the publication of Westerville Kids Celebrate the Written Word, a collection of writing completed this school year by students in the Westerville City Schools Math/Science and Language Arts Able and Talented Program. Whether writing individually or in small groups, writing to solve problems or to amuse, students scaled the peaks of their imagination to discover the satisfaction of the written word. We are delighted to present our students' work with the publication of this anthology. Joan Grundey and Linda Mitten, Able and Talented Teachers