Earth Day Tour: Stephanie Lisa Tara's Turtle Book + What our family does for conservation + a Give@way!

Today is my last time posting for the Earth Day tour.  The tour ends on Earth Day, April 22nd, and the giveaway's will run through the end of the month so everyone has a bit more time to enter. You can find all that good stuff at the bottom of this post.

Find the tour page with all the books and the tour schedule HERE.

This tour runs from April 1st-22nd and features Gwynne Fair and Shining, Snowy White World, I'll Follow the Moon, Little Library Mouse and middle grade novel, Eliza's Forever Trees.  This tour includes enormous giveaway's of a total value of $700!  This includes a kindle fire giveaway for reviewers and purchasers only. 
 

You can find my review of I'll Follow the Moon and Gwynne, Fair and Shining HERE.  My reviews of Snowy White World to Save and Little Library Mouse HERE.  And my review of Eliza's Forever Trees HERE.

Today I'm excited to share with you Stephanie Lisa Tara's BRAND NEW TURTLE BOOK!  Yep, this baby just came out and I was lucky enough to get a PDF of it to check out.  I'm still waiting on the paperback, so I'm sure I'll just rave about it more once I do, but for now I can definitely say that this book is gorgeous!

 Dear Turtle Activists,

I want to thank each and every one of you for your tireless dedication and love to our cause! I have written this book FOR YOU! I dedicate this book TO YOU! 120 pages of fotos, facts and fun!

Stephanie Lisa Tara's Turtle Book has a primary goal: SAVING SEA TURTLES FROM EXTINCTION. A portion of proceeds from this book go to charitable organizations like the Turtle Foundation (www.turtle-foundation.org) of whom my first turtle book, I'LL FOLLOW THE MOON—is a proud sponsor.

If you are new to us—please join with us, for together, holding hands, we can effect change. Yes—really! xoxo. SAVE GREEN SEA TURTLES on Facebook (www.facebook.com/.../Save-Green-Sea-T...) is our hugely popular hang-out—tens of thousands of Activists-strong. Please join us!

NOW—prepare for something totally new and amazing!

Stephanie Lisa Tara's Turtle Book is not your typical scientific turtle book: my special book is all about having FUN! Enjoy the mini FLIP-BOOK in the corners and create a movie of your own! Click the ebook pages—or thumb through manually in the paperback—YOUR CHOICE!

I've written these chapters in a fun, chatty voice—you know, the one YOU use when talking up your favorite topics! Don't be surprised if you find yourself giggling as you turn pages! Enjoy breathtaking photography, incredible facts, and way-out wow'ing surprises that these millennium-old creatures have to share.

AND: TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE! Yep! Stephanie Lisa Tara's Turtle Book is my second turtle book—it's a perfect TWIN to my first international bestseller, I'LL FOLLOW THE MOON: buy BOTH TOGETHER for your shelf. Two little twins; one a fable, one fotos, facts & fun.

So, in closing...please accept this deeply personal gift from me, your faithful sea turtle leader, the turtle-lady, or Stephanie Lisa Turtle - as I was renamed recently by a fan—from my heart to yours.

GOD BLESS EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED THE CAUSE TO SAVE SEA TURTLES FROM EXTINCTION!

You may have noticed, I didn't label this one as a children's book.  Yeah, this is a picture book, but it's more than just a children's book.  This is one that people of all ages will enjoy!

This book is GORGEOUS! Full of real photographs and real facts, everyone, young and old, can learn all about sea turtles! While Stephanie's other turtle book is an adorable read for the younger crowd, and a perfect bed time story, this book is perfect for the entire family. It's a longer book, it's filled with so many interesting and fun facts that we linger over each page relishing the gorgeous photo's and ingesting all the details presented. I just read a PDF of the book, so when my gorgeous paperback arrives I'll update with my thoughts on it. As it is I can definitely say I recommend this one book to everyone! I mean, who doesn't love sea turtles?!

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book for review purposes, all opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.

Now I have really wanted to do something on my own Earth Day related, but it's been SO busy around here I haven't found the time to write it up.  So I'm going to cheat a bit and instead of talking in depth about something I'm just going to list the things that I do that are better for our environment and ourselves.  It's possible I'll forget quite a few though.

• I'm vegetarian.  Mostly vegan actually, but I cheat and eat cheese once in awhile.  Ranch was my weakness but I found a vegan ranch that's YUM.  Reason I'm vegetarian~ Animal agriculture makes a 40% greater contribution to global warming than all transportation in the world combined; it is the number one cause of climate change. {This was taken from Lori's blog post HERE (please check it out!) and was from Eating Animals by Johnathon Safran Foer}.  Another reason is animal cruelty, which is another story, for another time.  Check out Lori's post for a much broader picture and do your own research on the matter.  Even if you cut back on your meat intake, it makes a difference! 
•  Juice, eat organic, grow own veggies and stay away from GMO foods!  Reason~ I want myself and my family to be healthy.  And GMO's, don't we all know the harm in those?  Read some dystopian or post apocalyptic books.  I think you'll get it then.
• I used cloth diapers.  My 'baby' is now potty trained but I used cloth diapers on him.  Reason I used cloth diapers~ Disposable diapers take hundreds of years to decompose.  Since more babies are always being born, more disposable diapers are ending up in the landfill.  Another reason, I'd rather not poison my baby with the chemicals inside the disposable diapers.  I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, I just don't know how to word it any other way.
• Use cleaning products that aren't filled with harmful chemicals. Reason~ not only are those chemicals bad for us, but they are bad for the environment as well.  Cleaning with things like vinegar or natural oils works just fine.  And I'm a clean freak!  I'll admit I do splurge on the fancy 'green' cleaners though, I like the smell!
• Use reusable bags.
• Reuse items or buy used items.
• Recycle

I'm always looking for more that I can do so if you have any handy tricks or ideas to add, please do so in the comments!

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Earth Day Tour: Reviews of Snowy White World to Save and Little Library Mouse + Give@way's!

This Earth Day tour is hosted by me! It's to celebrate all of Stephanie Lisa Tara's children's books that are to empower kids to care about the planet, themselves and each other!

Find the tour page with all the books and the tour schedule HERE.

This tour runs from April 1st-22nd and will feature Gwynne Fair and Shining, Snowy White World, I'll Follow the Moon, Little Library Mouse and middle grade novel, Eliza's Forever Trees.  This tour includes enormous giveaway's of a total value of $700!  This includes a kindle fire giveaway for reviewers and purchasers only. 

You can find my review of I'll Follow the Moon and Gwynne, Fair and Shining HERE.  And my review of Eliza's Forever Trees HERE.

Each Wednesday for 3 weeks I'm hosting a tour stop and will be reviewing a couple of the books each week.  

This week I'm reviewing Snowy White World to Save and Little Library Mouse.

 Snowy White World to Save by Stephanie Lisa Tara and Illustrated by Alex Walton

 It s a headline we all have seen: Global warming is melting the Arctic. Once the Arctic sea ice has vanished, the majestic polar bear, a magnificent creature who needs the sea ice to survive will vanish, too. The ice is home to the bears, as well as to their primary food source, the ringed seal. Polar bears feed, mate, travel, den, and give birth on the ice. Some scientists say polar bears will be extinct within fifty years if something isn t done, and soon.

Actress and Activist Sharon Stone says ~
"Snowy White World to Save cleverly introduces young children to environmental awareness and global warming by making them aware of what is happening to our planet, and what they can do to help save it. Ms. Tara provides a wonderful resource guide at the back of the book that encourages young readers to further educate themselves on the subjects so they, too, with their parents, will become global citizens."

This story is about a mother Polar Bear and her cubs and their search for food.  Their home is melting and food is scarce so they walk far and find unsavory piles of garbage but humans yell at them to go away so they walk farther trying to find food but it's so hot and there's no food. 

This story, like her others, is in verse.  It's rhyming and rolls right off the tongue.  It's fun to read for that reason, but the story itself is very sad because there's not really a happy ending.  However, I think this book helps children really think about things and maybe inspire them to grow up and help DO something about it.  And there's actually a Learning Page for helping the Bears in the back.  It is a simple list of things that we can do (and children too) to help.  There's also a list of Global Warming Organizations so kids can do their own research.  Like Stephanie's other books there's also an Academic Lesson Plan for Ages 5 and up.  This book is told in a simple way and is easy to read and while it's great for the very youngest children, even the older children should enjoy it and especially if they have a particular fondness for Polar Bears.

When I was reading my 8 year old started talking about how sad it was and got really passionate about doing things to help.  She said she's going to watch less TV and learn to turn off the lights so she can do her part to help with global warming.  Having that conversation with her made me really happy as I feel like she finally 'gets' it.  My 4 year old informed me that he would cut up his meat and feed it to the bears.  Yep, he's helpful too! 

The illustrations are gorgeous full color watercolors that bring out the world that the Polar Bears live in very well.  It's very eye catching and really seems to inspire my children.  My 8 year old decided she wanted to do some painting just like it after reading this book.  

I love the discussions this book brings about.  I'm always telling my kids they need to turn things off and they always ask "why?" and I'm always giving some half hearted answer, not really feeling like getting into it.  This book (particularly the end where it tells us what we can do) explains why we should.  While there are many reasons, this is certainly one that really hits home for the kids. 

I believe this is a book that should be in every school and public library.  I highly recommend it.

Little Library Mouse by Stephanie Lisa Tara and illustrated by Alex Walton

Even when you are little, you can imagine big. At closing time a key locks the library, and unlocks the dreams of a little mouse who waits in the shadows. Skipping, sliding, down the pages of books? he steps inside magical stories, inviting readers to come along for the ride. Witty verse and fantastical illustrations celebrate the joys of reading in this tale with innovative charm.

What do a mouse, a trapeze and a library have in common? The answer lies within the pages of the Little Library Mouse, by Stephanie Lisa Tara.
A nameless mouse jumps into action, through rhyme, as the library is closed for the evening. We're invited on a journey as the mouse "sails on a sentence" and becomes library book characters, including a ship, a wild animal and a circus act.
Tara enchants us with her storytelling as she makes a library tour exciting, encouraging literacy and reading. Little Library Mouse is to be applauded for its light-as-a-feather rhymes, a style Tara undoubtedly perfected while earning a B.A. in English.
The illustrations, by Alex Walton, are bold, confident, full-page drawings of a mouse as he takes on the identity of the story he becomes.
This exciting adventure is sure to please the preschooler set and would also make a great baby shower gift. It would also be an excellent jumping-off point for parent/teacher and child to create new rhymes, based upon Tara's format.
Armchair Interviews says: This story, as with the Man on the Flying Trapeze, "floats through air with the greatest of ease." Bravo, Little Library Mouse...bravo! -- Armchair Interviews, "armchairinterviews.com", 2006

If I was a teacher I'd be all over reading this book aloud to the class.  This book is SO fun to read aloud!  I actually announced to my 4 year old we were going to read a story so I could read it one more time before I wrote this review.  I was SO into reading it and making those words just POP.  The words are in verse and all flow so well.  All of Stephanie Lisa Tara's books shout to be read aloud (even her middle grade book, Eliza's Forever Trees) but this one was maybe the most fun out of the books I read today.  

This is a book that any book lover will connect with.  So as an adult you'll be saying "YES!" in your head the entire time.  Books do bring you to amazing places, you can experience ANYTHING in a book! 

The illustrations are very cute.  There's an illustration on the opposite page from the words that's full color and gorgeous.  On the page with words is a more simple black and white illustration.  These are simpler illustrations from her other books, but I liked them just as much.  And I think the words are easier to read for those who are just learning to read since they aren't flowing over the page like the others, but are in paragraph form all together.  

Like all of Stephanie's books there's a Lesson Plan in the back for activities you can do with your children that are related to the book.  I really like this in all of her books because doing things other than watching TV and playing video games is always a plus.  Getting together to do family activities is great! 

I very highly recommend this book!

Disclosure: I received this book for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.

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Earth Day Tour: I'll Follow the Moon and Gwynne, Fair and Shining by Stephanie Lisa Tara + Give@way (Kindle Fire & Amazon Gift Cards)

This Earth Day tour is hosted by me! It's to celebrate all of Stephanie Lisa Tara's children's books that are to empower kids to care about the planet, themselves and each other!

Find the tour page with all the books and the tour schedule HERE.

This tour runs from April 1st-22nd and will feature Gwynne Fair and Shining, Snowy White World, I'll Follow the Moon, Little Library Mouse and middle grade novel, Eliza's Forever Trees.  This tour includes enormous giveaway's of a total value of $700!  This includes a kindle fire giveaway for reviewers and purchasers only. 


Stephanie Tara Lisa has been nominated for many awards including the Mom's Choice Award, DIY Award, The Chocolate Lilly Award, Golden Ink Award and more. 

Each Wednesday I'm hosting a tour stop and will be reviewing a couple of the books each week.  

To start it off I decided I'm going to review I'll Follow the Moon which is Stephanie's most successful children's book and has sold millions of copies.  I'm also reviewing Gwynne, Fair and Shining for you all.

I'll Follow the Moon by Stephanie Lisa Tara and illustrated by Lee Edward Fodi

On a quiet, moonlit beach, a baby green sea turtle stirs from a dream of home. Slowly, slowly, with a tap, crick, crack, the baby turtle embarks upon a mysterious nighttime journey. Gentle, tender verse and enchanting illustrations carry this tranquil tale from sand to sea.

First thing I notice when reading any of Stephanie's books, is the verse.  The story flows so well and is so fun to read.  It's also easy for younger ones to memorize, and eventually read themselves, because of the repeated phrases and the easy flow to it all.
The other thing I notice immediately is the gorgeous illustrations.  They calming and are all relaxing colors.  They are very eye catching and with the lilt of the story on your lips and the relaxing illustrations I found this to be a perfect bed time story.
This story is about a little baby turtle who is going to find his mama by following the moon.  It's adorable and memorable.  It's a story I love to read to my kids and they love to hear it.  My 4 year old son enjoyed it a lot and frequently hands it to me for the bedtime story.  It's one I would recommend to boys and girls alike, especially those who are especially fond of animals.  I also love that it inspires some great discussions with the kids about sea turtles and the hazards the environment may make for them.  How they are endangered and that we need
As with all of her books this includes academic lesson plans and this book even includes a coloring page in the very back!

A Note From the Author:

I'LL FOLLOW THE MOON:
One night in 2001, about a month after I brought baby Madeline home from the hospital, I noticed something quite strange on the beach in front of our south Florida home. It was late and Mom was tired, doing a last-one-of-the-day bottle feeding on the deck after a long day of new mom activities. As Maddie slurped down the final ounce of her formula with that familiar glup, glup, glup sound, I noticed dark, tiny shapes scurrying across the sand. What was this? I wondered and went down for a closer look. There they were! Baby turtles streaming out of hundreds of small nests, gentle rises in the sand were their markers. The babies made fanciful patterns in the sand as they dashed on little green legs in a remarkable race to the sea. I watched them hop, one by one, into welcoming waves that sparkled under the beautiful moonlight. "I'm coming Mama..." they seemed to be saying, and I realized that I was witnessing one of nature's sacred events, the love bond between mother and child. It is this precious feeling that inspired me to write I'll Follow the Moon, that came into being a few years later. 

With love, 

Stephanie Lisa Tara

Gwynne Fair & Shining by Stephanie Lisa Tara and illustrated by Lee Edward Fodi

Gwynne, Fair & Shining is a twenty-four page children's book, written in verse, about a young girl who learns she is special and can be anything she wants to be.

Once again this book is in verse.  As with her other books it's easy to get swept up into the adorable story.
Gwynne is a servant in the palace who discovers music and learns to believe in herself.  Her very own magic.
Once again the illustrations are eye catching and beautiful.  This one is full of vibrant colors that fill the pages and make you excited to read more and find out what Gwynne does.
This one is more for the girls, but younger boys often don't differentiate that stuff, and I think it's good for them to get the message that they should believe in themselves and their dreams. 
Once again it includes an academic lesson plan at the end of the book which includes a song and dance as well as other activities.
This is definitely a book that should be in every classroom library!

GWYNNE, FAIR & SHINING:
A traditional Connecticut childhood might have had something to do with my love of fairytales, Hans Christian Anderson, Grimm, Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, Mother Goose and Aesop lined the shelves of my bright pink bedroom to be sure. Stories told aloud for thousands of years…goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants, gnomes, fairies, pixies, brownies, wizards, witches and mermaids teaching children with their clever moral-of-the-story endings. Why, they were a parent’s best friend. Passed down from one generation to the next, and shared in front of the hearth at the end of a long day sounded like bliss to me. And so my own daughter and I carried on the tradition, sharing tales aloud, and even creating some new ones of our own. Of princesses, castles, forests, and magic flutes. So I really must credit a preschooler with the story of Gwynne, a brave girl who believes she can do anything she sets her heart to doing. In today's neon digital world, it seems nice to reflect back to a simpler time, when imagination was all a child needed. Just one mom's opinion, anyway.



With love,

Stephanie Lisa Tara

Disclosure: I received these books for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or compensated in any way.

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Earth Day Post~ Review of Compost Stew, and more!

Today I'm on the tour stop for the fabulous childrens book, Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals and illustrated by Ashley Wolff.  I'm suppose to show you some of the fabulous spreads (illustrations) but blogger isn't letting me :(  Let me tell you though~ this book is full of fabulous illustrations!  And Amazon lets you inside to see some of the illustrations, just go HERE.

Apple cores
Bananas, bruised
Coffee grounds with filters, used
Just add to the pot
and let it all rot
into Compost Stew!
From eggshells to wiggly worms, this delightful recipe in bouncy verse features items — some familiar and some not so — that are fit for the home compost bin and will nourish Mother Earth.
Vibrant collage illustrations use recycled and found materials to further a timely message. And to keep young environmental chefs fully informed about composting do’s and don’ts, there’s a note in the back about what’s not fit for the bin.

Composting is something we did when I was growing up.  We lived in the country a lot of the time and we just had a pile we dumped it in and every once in awhile someone would go out and mix it up.  Now as an adult I've forgotten what is compost-able, other then coffee grounds, eggshells and banana peels.  So although we've been composting it wasn't even half of everything we could have been adding.
We have horrible soil here.  This was a rock pit before they dumped in some dirt and built houses, so we have very rocky soil and very little dirt.  On top of that our house was a repo and the previous owners had used the backyard as a garbage dump so every time I dig I find garbage.  I'm determined to get some better soil and hopefully have some beautiful gardens.  One thing I can do to help that soil is make my own compost.  And it's keeping all that I compost out of the landfill, always a good thing! 
Compost Stew tells us what can be put in the compost, and it's done in a fun and rhyming way.  My kids LOVE this book!  It's interactive in the way that they can get involved in composting; the illustrations are cute, vibrant and really catch the eye; and the story is fun!  And guess what?!  Adults can learn from it too!
Some things I learned that could be put in the compost are hair snippings, laundry lint, paper shreds, quarry dust, and seaweed strands (a few).  That's just a few of the items listed that I wouldn't have thought to put in.

Mary McKenna Siddals has a great website where she has activities for kids listed under the books.  So be sure to check out her website.  She's also giving away five copies of Compost Stew and two prints so go HERE to enter before April 25th. 

Purchase: Compost Stew on Amazon , Compost Stew on Indiebound

Earth Day!

Today, my friends, is Earth Day.  On my giveaway I asked what exactly do you do on earth day, or what do you do through out the year that is 'green' or earth friendly.  I didn't say what I do though and this post is mostly dedicated to that.  If your looking for a book review or something book related I apologize.  I will have more reviews posted soon!  And I have plenty of past reviews for you to read if you haven't already.
Earth day around my house has never been a big deal.  The reason for that is because we are always quite 'green'.  But I realize that I need to teach my children more about the earth and not littering, and how trees are good for us and all that good stuff.  In the past we lived in apartments (this is our first Earth day in a house!) and so we'd go out and pick up garbage in the parking lot.  This year we're going to plant trees and flowers (we're beautifying the yard anyway so that's not a biggie) and then we're going to make a worm home!  My daughter LOVES worms and everyday begs to go out and find worms.  Most days we do because I'm gardening anyway.  But building a compost bin/worm house will be something new and fun to do.  I have plenty of coffee grounds saved up!

Things we do all year around that are green and earth friendly are:
Cloth Diaper
Recycle
Use reusable shopping bags
Use reusable water bottles and coffee cups (when going to Starbucks, etc)
Limit electricity (hang dry clothing and diapers when possible, turn off lights, tv, computer, etc)
Use one car most of the time. (Our second car isn't dependable so I refuse to drive it. When I NEED a car then my husband drives it to work. He also carpools so he doesn't always have to drive.)
I use only green cleaners.  Vinegar and water work great for many things. I use a laundry detergent that is eco friendly and allergen free (and cloth diaper safe!).  My dishwashing soap is also eco friendly.
I buy used clothing as often as possible and buy organic and /or unbleached cotton clothing when I'm able.
We limit meat intake (I rarely eat meat anymore) and this is why.
When getting rid of items I think are junk I list them on freecycle (so far everything I've listed has been taken!) instead of throwing it in the garbage to go in the landfill.
What else is there?  Hmmm.... I'm sure there's more that we do, but that's most of it.  I hope if you don't do these things that you will consider doing them!
Have a wonderful Earth Day!  And don't forget to enter my Earth day contest to win Avatar (the movie), stainless steel waterbottles (BPA free!) and reusable shopping totes.  When I reach 175 followers I will be adding The Adoration of Jenna Fox to the giveaway.