Martha Speaks: Fireworks for All/Martha Habla: Fuegos artificiales para

Help your older children celebrate the 4th of July with the latest release in the Martha Speaks series, Fireworks for All/Fuegos artificiales para todos!

Barrs, Karen
Meddaugh, Susan.
Martha Speaks: Fireworks for All/Martha Habla: Fuegos artificiales para todos.
April 2011.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Everyone is looking forward to summer - every that is, except for the dogs. And the culprit for the excitement and hesitation? Fireworks. Most all of the people and families are looking forward to the endless Saturdays of fireworks. However, those same fireworks that spark excitement cause the dogs to feel scared, as the loud noises bother their ears. While one community member works to ban the fireworks, all the dogs join in, until they see how upset their owners are over the cause. Together, the dogs and their owners team up to come up with a compromise that will please both sides.

Written as a bilingual text, Martha Speaks: Fireworks for All/Martha habla: Fuegos artificiales para todos will appeal to many, as it is simple and readable by both English and Spanish speaking children. The Spanish, which nearly matches word for word with the English version, will also foster a curious interest in bilingualism among children. The book is also perfect for the upcoming 4th of July holiday and great for summer reading.

Learning/Reading Activity:

• In their summer reading journal, have children write about their favorite firework pattern (shape, color, what it looks like). (I always pick the weeping willows as my favorite!) Then, after they've written about their favorite firework, have them use glitter and glue to create fireworks on the paper by pouring a blob of glue and then tipping and twisting the paper to allow the glue to flow into "firework" shapes. Sprinkle generous amounts of glitter on the glue and allow it to dry, then tip the paper and blow away the loose glitter.
  

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Curious George: Parade Day

Introduce the youngest of children to the celebrations surrounding Independence Day with Curious George: Parade Day!

Perez, Monica & Cynthia Platt.
Curious George: Parade Day.
May 2011.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Curious George: Parade Day introduces children to the iconic symbols of America and Independence Day. It doesn't get more American than the classic apple pie... or does it? From apple pie to the traditional 4th of July fireworks, families across America will participate in a variety of traditions this Independence Day. The text in Curious George: Parade Day is simplistic and in some cases rhyming... each symbol representative of America's independence has it's own page and significance in the story, making it perfect as a stand alone read (each page a different day) or as a book in it's entirety.

This is definitely a book you'll want to use if you have a little one who is old enough to begin recognizing July 4th as an American holiday! It's simple and fun to read with a much-loved character returning to introduce American traditions and for this $7.99 board book edition, how could you go wrong? It'll last for years to come!

Learning/Reading Activities:

• Work together to bake an apple pie.
• Pack a picnic.
• Head to a local parade.
• Enjoy a picnic in the park, and turn it into a "counting picnic" as Curious George does, counting all of the fun things around you... kites, hats, trees, dogs, etc.
• Spend some time at a local playground, playing as a family.
• Create your own "Lady Liberty" costumes or make patriotic parade wear!
• Put on some "jammies" and head out to the local fireworks display!
  

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If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Have a fun, safe weekend -
and share some holiday literature with the children!

Kimmelman, Leslie.
Happy 4th of July, Jenny Sweeney!
2003.
Albert Whitman & Company.

Jenny Sweeney's entire neighborhood is busy preparing for a 4th of July celebrations. Flags have been hung. Festive clothing has been pulled from the dresser drawers to wear! A new family is celebrating after they officially become American citizens. Baton twirling practice. Men getting dressed in their uniforms, the mayor writing a speech. A family barbecue. Even a parade and fireworks!

This book is patriotic in every sense of the word and 100% appropriate for sharing with children. The only thing I would have liked to see was a little emphasis on the true meaning of the 4th of July... why do we celebrate this day (even though we're pretty much all guilty of just enjoying the day for the 3 F's - family get-together, food and fireworks)!


Osborne, Mary Pope.
Happy Birthday , America.
2003.
Roaring Brook Press.

Mary Pope Osborne is probably most well know for The Magic Treehouse series... however, she's written more than just that best-selling series, one of which includes Happy Birthday America.

Three generations of one family, along with Bud (the dog), set out for the day to celebrate the Fourth of July. At the park they enjoy parades, popcorn, tap dancing, watching firemen fight water battles, barbecue, listening to the band perform "Yankee Doodle" and "Stars and Stripes Forever", catching fireflies and watching the fireworks.

My favorite part of the story was when the family, together, named the fireworks,

"There they go!"
"Oooooh!" "Ahhhh!" "Wow!"
"Like a palm tree!"
"Like tadpoles!"
"Like a weeping willow!"
"Look how pretty, Jess," says Grandpa,
his first words all day.

A moment of silence.
Then huge bursts of light,
one on top of the other,
and a million pieces of gold
rain down on the trees
near the flag that is still there.

My family always discusses what the fireworks remind us of, so that was my personal connection to this text! However, there's so much that this family experiences on the 4th of July, that you'll all be able to make some connection between the story and your own life! That definitely makes this book worthy of a readbut again, there's no description about the real reason that we celebrate the 4th of July...

Wong, Janet S.
Apple Pie 4th of July.
2002.
Harcourt Books.

A young Chinese-American girl is a bit upset with her parents... the family store is open three hundred sixty-four days a year (and three hundred sixty-five in a leap year)... a Chinese Restaurant... open on 4th of July? An American holiday? The little girl knows no one is going to want Chinese food on 4th of July in apple-pie America!

However, we quickly discover that everyone has different ways of celebrating - including eating Chinese food on this American holiday! They spend the entire day serving up chow-mein, sweet-and-sour pork, and egg rolls. When it's time to close, this Chinese-American family heads up to the rooftop, where they sit together, eat apple pie and watch the fireworks!

This is a cute story showing that even Chinese-Americans partake in the festivities of July 4th - in a truly American way! I think the children will enjoy it!

But wow... three books and not one makes mention of the real reasons for celebrating the 4th of July? I'm slightly shocked...

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.