I was given two beautiful David A. Carter pop-up books to review and it’s been a treat to read them!

White Noise: A Pop-up Book for Children of All Ages is the fifth and final installment in the author’s acclaimed color series. Each page features a special design that reaches high above the page.

From the press release: “Each spread features modern, elegant paper structures that fans and critics have both come to love, but this time with a twist! Each spread also creates a unique sound!”

Snow Bugs: A Wintery Pop-up Book (Bugs in a Box Books) is equally beautiful, but published in a smaller board-book design which appeals to younger readers. Children can open doors and flip pages to reveal colorful pop-ups and touchable surfaces that give loads of sensory input.

It’s a perfect gift for your favorite toddler or preschooler.

From the press release: “Carter’s wacky Bugs are also back, and snow days have never been so much fun! With hilarious text and pup-ups on each page, having a snowball of a good time with the Bugs is the perfect way to stay warm during the chilly days.”

I would consider each of these books a work of art, particularly White Noise. The full-size pages of the book make the pop-up artwork especially beautiful, and something that will tickle the senses of readers of all ages.

John Carter Cash’s book, Momma Loves Her Little Son, is a darling fantasy re-telling of a small but beautiful tradition between June Carter Cash and her son, John. Like the terms of endearment we use with our own children, this rhyming story tells the loving expression John heard every day of his childhood, “Momma love her little son.”

I personally love books that rhyme and this one does so in a musical way – which is not surprising with the musical talent behind the author’s lineage. Reminiscent of the story of th little nutbrown hare, the reader finds herself thinking about the depth and breadth of her love for her children.

Marc Burckhardt’s beautiful paintings illustrate each verse, realistically depicting the magical adventures of this mother and son. It will strike a cord with any reader who has or longs for a loving relationship with his parent.

From the publisher:
John Carter Cash, the only son of music legends Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, shares a lyrical story inspired by the intimate words his mother shared with him as a child. In Momma Loves Her Little Son, the first children’s book from this author and five-time Grammy Award-winning music producer, little ones are swept away on a magical adventure over mountains and skyscrapers and through forests and streams in a tender and joyful celebration of the enduring bond between mother and child. Illustrated in Americana art style by Marc Burckhardt, the picture book is an expression of love between a mother and her son, which comes to life in vibrant simplicity.

Did you know May 5 is National Teacher Day? Here’s the perfect gift to help your child’s teacher celebrate!

Author and veteran teacher, Phillip Done, sent me a review copy of his joyful book, 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny. What a treat!

A teacher for more than 20 years, Done has many classroom experiences to draw from, but these chapters weave the story of his very first classroom – both the ups and downs — with humor and wisdom. From the madness of his first day after being hired late in the year, to those final weeks in spring, his hilarious anecdotes will leave both educators and non-educators laughing. The dialogue will sound familiar to anyone who connects with kids, and you’ll soon be retelling your own stories to those around you.

Here’s an excerpt most third-grade teachers could relate to:

Why, when there are 20,000 books in the library, do they just want I spy?

Why can’t kids tell me twelve minus nine, when they can figure out exactly how old I am in less than two seconds when i tell them the year I was born?

Why do my students just stare at me and say nothing when they run into me in the supermarket?

His humorous style also delivers a message, about the most important parts of teaching — so often the ones that don’t get measured on standardized tests. There’s no question after finishing this book, that the 32 students in his first classroom found a permanent place in this author’s heart.

If you’re looking for the perfect “thank you” gift for your child’s teacher, look no further! You’ll know you’ve hit the mark when you hear your child’s teacher laugh out-loud in response to the light-hearted retelling of situations he or she has certainly experienced.

For another fun book celebrating the first year of teaching, please check out Mr. Teacher’s, “Learn Me Good.”

The Obama stimulus package provides funding for school districts through numerous programs, including IDEA (special services) and Title 1 reading and math. Half of this one-time funding — which totals somewhere in the billions — was distributed in March and the rest will reach school districts in October.

SPARK Peer Tutoring is one method of utilizing youth as resources in our schools, so it’s a sustainable program, even with one-time funding. Districts can use stimulus funding to purchase the manual and then train middle school or high school youth to tutor younger or same-age students.

Here’s an article about the stimulus funding breakdown, if you’d like more information.

Here’s a description of SPARK:

The S.P.A.R.K. Peer Tutoring Handbook and Training Manual® is a field-tested curriculum “kit” designed to help high school and middle school peer tutors and advisors.

The lessons, discussions and activities make up a four-hour training curriculum that benefits both new and well-established peer tutoring programs. After completing the training, peer tutors are better prepared to handle the situations that they will face as they serve their school in a tutoring role.

The kit is a three ring binder that includes 55 pages of text, 12 overheads, reproducible forms, study skills brochures and activity card sets in an appealing, complete, easy to use manual.

The S.P.A.R.K. Peer Tutoring Handbook® was created by the advisor of a successful high school peer tutoring program and its design helps advisors support a strong peer tutoring program with minimal effort.

For more information, please visit http://www.empowering-youth.com/spark.html .

The S.P.A.R.K. Peer Tutoring Handbook and Training Manual® also received a professional review in the Peer Facilitator Quarterly, the official publication of the National Peer Helper’s Association. To read this review click here.

An excellent and efficient use of your stimulus package funding!

***GUEST POST BY SIXTH GRADE DARLA***

Darla read this story as a part of her social studies/literature class. She wrote this review after reading only a part of the book. She later finished it and loved it.

In the story, Mara, Daughter of the Nile, there are quite a few main characters – Mara, Sheftu, Nekonkh, the new master, and maybe Zasha. Mara is the main character. She was a slave, but was just bought to be a spy for Pharaoh Hatshepsut. She is boarding a ship called the Silver Beetle, and has just met Sheftu and Nekonkh. Mara has her own personality and really doesn’t seem to be like anyone else.

If anything, I think she and Sheftu both have adventure in their veins. Nekonkh is the captain of the ship and does not like Hatshepsut at all. He is a bit suspicious about Sheftu, and maybe a little about Mara. Nekonkh adds suspicion to the book and a more interesting ride to Thebes, but we don’t know what yet. Sheftu is a man on the ride to Thebes on the Silver beetle. He seems to be hiding something, but we don’t know what. Nekonkh and Sheftu are both sailor-type people and that is how they are alike.

Zasha is Mara’s old master. He is terribly mean and seems to be a bit afraid of her. Zasha helps the fact that Mara was a slave and how terrible that masters can be. Zasha and the new owner are alike because they are both slave owners of Mara. The new master is very mysterious. He will probably be a very confusing character. In my opinion, he doesn’t seem very nice. I think between him and Sheftu, they will add much confusion to the book. Mara has her own personality and really doesn’t seem like anyone else. She and Sheftu have adventure in their veins.

There is a lot of action that has happened in the story. One of the main events so far is that Mara got a new owner and that she met Sheftu on the boat. The problem so far is that she is working for two “masters” at the same time, and that one master has her against Hatshepsut and for Thutmose, and the other is against Thutmose and for Hatshepsut.

In my opinion, the story is very exciting. I really like the character Mara, she is clever and adventurous, and like many of the characters in the books I have read. I think Sheftu is a very confusing character, and is a bit challenging to read about. I think the new master is very reserved and secret, with many secrets and opinions- just like a spy would be.

I have a few predictions. First of all I think Mara will come into huge trouble with the double masters because they will probably find out about each other and will be very angry, although I also think that Thutmose will end up becoming king, after some fatal death of Hatshepsut. I think that because Hatshepsut is older and is spending money like crazy, and that is a reason not to like her, where Thutmose hasn’t done any thing to get on anyone’s bad side. The only reason not to like him is if you only like Hatshepsut.

This review is a part of the Carnival of Kids Book Reviews.