by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com Recently I realised that after ten years of regular writing, creating, reviewing and sharing, it's time for me to take a long break. Maybe even a permanent break, I’m not sure yet. Being part of several warm and friendly internet communities, being able to immerse myself in children’s literature, having the fun of playing with apps and tools, brainstorming ideas that encouraged kids to read, write, think and create - all these and more have made life at The Book Chook a pleasure. I’ll truly miss them. But to balance that, there has also been the di ..read more

by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com Make a Hat Day is January 15 in the USA. There’s a Hat Day in Australia on October 7. But any day we choose is a wonderful time to celebrate the fun and practicality of hats. Indeed, the hat is an excellent concept to base all sorts of learning activities around. Teachers can bring in Sun Safety, History, Art/Crafts, Performing Arts, Literature and more. Activities for Make a Hat Day Design a hat relay. How many teams? How many people per team? What is the aim of the activity? Will there be a winner? Is it a competitive or co-operative activity? W ..read more

Children's Book Reviews by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com Did you know that July 10 is Don’t Step on a Bee Day in the USA? Why not take your kids to the library to look for books about bees, think of words that start with B, sing songs about bees and celebrate with honey sandwiches? Failing that, check out all the great books reviewed bee-low! Car, Car, Truck, Jeep is a children’s picture book written by Katrina Charman, illustrated by Nick Sharratt and published by Bloomsbury (2019.) RRP: $Au 14.99 From the publisher: This book is bursting with cars, buses, planes, trains, truck ..read more

by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com Last year I began a series of Writing Tips for Kids. This is the eleventh in the series. Over coming weeks you’ll see more short articles, each of them addressing young writers and dealing with a topic helpful to them. I’ve created a new List for these articles and will add to it over time. The List is embedded below. How to Write Great Dialogue In real life, people have conversations. Listen to your family chatting and you might hear: "Hi Mum." "Hello Jack. How was school?" "Okay I guess." "Did you hand in your homework." "Yes." "Good." It might ..read more

Children's Book Review by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com Nullaboo Hullabaloo is a children’s chapter book written by Fleur Ferris, with occasional illustrations by Briony Stewart, and published by Penguin Random House (2019.) RRP: $Au14.99 PB. I have previously reviewed Ferris’s YA book, Found. From the publisher: A spark of magical fairy dust causes a hullabaloo in one Australian country town! In faraway Nullaboo, Gemma Hart's day isn't going well. Her family might be evicted from their farm, and her science competition topic is march flies. How can she possibly win against per ..read more

by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com Here is a round-up of the apps I’ve reviewed in the first half of 2019. Fiete Choice Build with Grandpa Toca Kitchen Fiete Islands Presto Bingo Shapes  You can browse through all the apps for iPad I’ve reviewed in the last few years on my Pinterest board. You might also be interested in App Reviews and Articles January to June 2018, and App Reviews and Articles July to December 2018 ..read more

Children's Book Review by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com How to Build the Perfect Cubby House is a children’s picture book, written and illustrated by Heath McKenzie, and published by Scholastic Press (2019.) RRP: $Au 17.99 HB. From the publisher: Ollie is building THE PERFECT CUBBY HOUSE! Everyone has some great ideas, and pretty soon, the whole family is involved! A fun and funny story about the importance of family and togetherness—and always having a plan! Kids LOVE to make cubbies. With good reason - they are achievable with everyday materials, are fun to build, and can be ..read more

by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com A regular feature on The Book Chook is where I look at popular articles from previous months and years. Today my focus will be on posts from, you guessed it, April, May and June of 2018. Don't forget you can use the right sidebar to find more useful resources. Click Creating, Learning, Reviews, Reading, Writing and Celebrating to explore those themes, or try the Blog Archive to browse by months. The Free PDFs button takes you to my other website where you can download any of the free educational PDFs I’ve created. I hope you find something useful h ..read more

Children's Book Review by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com When Billy Was a Dog is a children’s picture book, written by Kirsty Murray, illustrated by Karen Blair and published by Allen and Unwin (2019.) RRP: $Au 24.99 HB. From the publisher: 'Can I please, please, please have a dog?' asked Billy. 'Would you walk it every day and wash it if it got dirty?' 'I would, I promise!' said Billy. Billy wants a dog. He really really really wants one. Billy's parents aren't so sure. So one morning, Billy takes matters into his own paws. A gloriously funny, warm and true story from the cre ..read more

by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com Grandparents are great, aren’t they? Lots of countries have a special day to celebrate that. In the USA it’s September 19, 2019 and in Australia it’s 27 October 2019. But of course any day can be set aside to remind us all how special grandparents are, and how very fortunate WE are to have them in our lives. Whichever day you choose to call Grandparent’s Day, here are some ideas to help you celebrate. And below you will find a list I’ve begun to create featuring books about grandparents. Activities * All family members love to see what kids do in ..read more