Saturday, November 26, 2011

10 Little Rubber Ducks

Dear Readers,

Life has gotten in the way of this blog lately. It's been four months since I posted last. I've never been away from this blog for that long! Emmy and I have continued to read wonderful books and I have a nice pile of books on my desk which I've been meaning to write about and share. SIGH! I have added two jobs (playgroup instructor and curriculum writer at Play Makers Family Enrichment Center and substitute teacher/floater at my daughter's school) to my life which has taken away a lot of my time to blog.

I hope to carve out some time for blogging each week. I really enjoy sharing the books we read and writing about them. Emmy and I have gone to three book signings in the past couple of months and we are both excited to share these experiences with you.

Forgive me for my absence from the blogging world! I hope you will continue to read Emmy's Book of the Day and share it with your friends!

All my best,
Amy

Now onto the post:

Emmy and I recently received a wonderful gift from my best friend and Emmy's "fairy" godmother. The gift was presented in a book bag from Strand Book Store in New York City where my friend recently visited at my suggestion. Emmy and I were both delighted at what we found inside the book bag!

For Emmy, the book 10 Little Rubber Ducks
written and illustrated by Eric Carle.
Emmy's favorite illustration is of the rubber duck with the whale.
Eric Carle continues to amaze us with his unique illustrations!
Thanks to this book's focus on ordinal numbers,
Emmy can be found lining things up and counting them
first, second, third, fourth, etc.


For me, the book Moby-Duck written by Donovan Hohn.
Hohn tells the true story of what happened to a large number of rubber ducks when they mysteriously start showing up on several beaches. Eric Carle's book is based on this incident.

Emmy loves "reading" my grown up books.
She enjoys marking her place with a bookmark.
Here she is reading Moby Duck.

For more about the book Moby Duck, check out this book trailer:



And for both of us...rubber ducks!


This was just the perfect gift for the two of us! Themed gifts are such a wonderful idea. It's a way to showcase your own personality and that of the intended recipient or in our case recipients.
Here are a few of our gift ideas using a book theme:

The Art Series Books along with colored pencils and a sketch pad all tucked inside a zippered portfolio type of bag (add a beautiful coffee table book by a favorite artist for the adult).

Tuck the book Bridget's Beret into a basket with a beret, sidewalk chalk or watercolor paints and paper (add a beret for the grown up and a travel book about France or a loaf of french bread and a bottle of Beaujolais).

Ballerina Books tucked inside a cloth bag with ballet slippers and a tutu (for the adult, add a framed print of one of Degas' works such as Dancer With a Bouquet of Flowers and a CD of music from a favorite ballet such as Swan Lake).

Beach Books tucked inside a pail with a shovel and a beach towel - if it's too chilly to visit the beach, add a small bag of sand and some seashells for some fun indoor play (add a pair of silver starfish earrings or a pretty seashell necklace for the adult).

Tuck a few Night-Night Books inside a pillowcase with a stuffed animal and a nightlight (for the grown up, lavender hand/foot lotion with a pair of comfy socks).

Put this Gardening Book or one of these Gardening Books in a gardening tool bag with kid sized gardening gloves and tools as well as a couple packets of seeds or bulbs - if the weather is not suitable for gardening, pack the book into a pot with soil and seeds for planting indoors (add a potted plant or a few grown up tools as well as a flower or vegetable planting guide).

For someone who lives far away, place this book about sending a letter into a large mailing envelope with paper, envelopes, stamps and colored pens (include a box of blank cards and a nice pen for the adult).


I hope these ideas spark some wonderful book themed gifts for the upcoming holidays!