TheMommyBlog

Sunday, January 11, 2009 Family, Fun Finds

I will be the first to admit that I am not always thrilled to feature products I receive in the mail. Some days it’s like Christmas around here, with all the boxes cluttering the hallway—I have no idea what the UPS thinks I do for a living. Actually, making a living has nothing to do with it; I am never paid to talk about products or offers. I only pass them along if I would enjoy or use them myself. There is no paid content in this blog - that’s what sidebars are for. It’s not worth sacrificing integrity for trinkets.

Once in a while, though, I get so excited about something that I can’t stop talking about it. (NO—really?) The other day, a huge box came with a note from Stacia at Steven Style Group. In it were eight or so books that I could give away. Trouble is, once the kids see these, they won’t give them up. I may compromise and donate them to their school library so that more children can enjoy them longer. Besides, marketers? I hate re-mailing stuff you send. It costs time and money and always involves the post office. Got to cut down on favors that cost me out of pocket.

Getting back to the books, I want to spotlight two sea life themed books, Oceans, a Kaleidopops Book, and Uncover a Dolphin (The Inside Story on the Ocean’s Smartest animal!) by David George Gordon. I wrote back this morning to say thanks:

I am absolutely loving the collections of books you sent! …these are beautiful, extremely well-done, informative books. …My fifth grader is studying the digestive system and was able to give an highly coherent, accurate account of how it all works, using the dolphin as a visual aid. Of course the first and third graders got stuck on the elimination stage, but I was very impressed that a) he understood it so well, and b) that he was able to use every page as a talking point. Well done!

Uncover a Dolphin is a cleverly constructed tour through the anatomy of a dolphin, with each system revealed as a page is turned. The cover peels away the outer layer, and then you see the skeleton with tons of facts about how and why things are used and shaped. The next page talks all about respiration, and revels the lungs and heart. It goes on and on until finally we see a baby dolphin inside the mother’s womb. Our favorite part was the massive muscle that powers the dolphin through water. First reaction: “Whoa! Look at the size of that muscle!” Second reaction: “Mmm, reminds me of sushi!”

Oceans is a wonderful pop-up book for a slightly younger set, geared toward a basic understanding of the different ecosystems (seacosystems? I dunno, I nearly failed Biology freshman year). The pop-ups are spectacular, and we were all shouting out and pointing to things we recognized.

On the reef page, Phil commented, “I’ve eaten that! The octopus, I mean.” Daphne looked at him, unsure whether to believe him.

On the next page, I said, “Clownfish! I’ve never eaten one of those. They taste funny.” Both Daphne and Phil shook their heads and kept reading.

Three pages later, Daphne shouted, “Seahorse!”

I said, “Never had a seahorse. I wanted one, though, when I was a little girl, but mom said we didn’t have room.” I caught her eye.

“I got it, mom.” Eyeroll. Now she’s just waiting for me to shut up.

I have a feeling Monday will be caught up in exploring dragons and Medieval castles.