It's Time for Fun in the Sun for Everyone!

I hope you've had time for fun in the sun this summer! And surely you have wondered how fairies enjoy this season. In How Do Fairies Have Fun in the Sun?,  Liza Gardner Walsh and Hazel Mitchell give you the answers to the title's question.

Walsh's rhyming text offers possibilities aplenty, and it turns out that fairies have fun in the sun in much the same way as humans. Mitchell's magical, detailed illustrations bring the text to life.

I won my copy from Hazel Mitchell in an online contest. (Thanks, Hazel!) The package itself was "sqee"-worthy-- 

Yes, I now have a Hazel Mitchell original on bubble mailer! 

Hazel very kindly autographed the book to my granddaughters, ages 5 and 2, and I was delighted to read it with them. They had made a fairy garden but most of it got washed away in a heavy rain. Had any fairies lived in the garden? I asked. The five-year-old thought. "Maybe the tooth fairy." Walsh includes tips for making a fairy garden on the book's last page. So what did the girls think? Walsh's lilting rhymes suggested lots of fun, and as I read we talked about what they thought fairies would do and whether the girls would do that activity, too. When I turned the page to the fairies' pool scene, the five-year-old gasped and said, "Wow!" A great endorsement. You can see part of that scene in the "Look Inside" feature here.

Walsh & Mitchell have spent time at fairy festivals this summer. Take a look here and host your own! 

Still want more? I wrote about Walsh, Mitchell, and spring fairies here.  

One thing is certain, summer is made for fun in the sun, whether you are a human or a fairy. How are you have fun in the sun?

Get Ready for Summer Fun with these Reads and Songs!

It's a crisp 32 degrees here this morning, but that doesn't keep me from thinking about outdoor fun. It WILL warm up eventually, and families will take trips and do fun things together. Here are three new books covering that territory in ways that are fun for kids and adults.

Beach time! Even if your state is land-locked like mine is, you probably have beaches at lakes & rivers. (And here's a fun fact--South Dakota has more miles of shoreline than Florida!)

Magnolia is at it again (#MagnoliaSaysDont) in Elise Parsley's second book, If You Ever Want to Bring a Piano to the Beach, DON'T!. I was happy to attend the book launch, where Elise read the book (wearing water wings), gave a brief art lesson, and offered snacks and coloring pages.

The text and pictures work together perfectly to create a hilarious story about obedience, persistence, and creativity. Naturally, when Magnolia's mother suggests a trip to the beach, Magnolia chooses to take along a non-traditional beach "toy," the piano. Naturally, because it's Magnolia, things go awry. But she ends up content and brings home a more traditional treasure from the beach itself. What cracked me up: Magnolia's expressions throughout, the silly situations, and how Mom remained completely unbothered by the whole thing! The cover is a good hint at the mayhem within!

Another great beach book aimed at very young children (my three-year-old granddaughter giggled all the way through) has only 1 word repeated several times. It's the title word in this book by Shutta Crum, illustrated by Patrice Barton.

Uh-Oh!  follows the adventures of a boy and girl playing at the beach. Their moms are in the background, unbothered by the day's events where uh-ohs happen at every turn, and then turn out just right.

If your family is ready for hikes, smores, and campfires, this book/CD combo is for you! I was pleased to win Can You Canoe? from Sterling Publishing via Dylan Teut's blog. 

The book features the lyrics to the twelve songs contained on the accompanying CD by the Okee Dokee Brothers. Each song, illustrated by Brandon Reese, is in keeping with the music's acoustic Americana style. Within minutes, everyone will be singing along, making the travel miles more fun! Here's a taste of the title song: 

Happy summer planning, reading, and singing!

Summer Is...

(http://www.keloland.com/weather/)

Summer is hot!

This summer is also dry. How can we have 41% or more humidity and still face drought conditions?

In spite of that, summer is also flowers...

(copyright 2012 Jane Heitman Healy)

and produce...

(photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/krossbow/4896048130/sizes/m/ by F Delventhal)

and Shakespeare in the park...
(and here's Falls Park, the old mill, before the play.)

(copyright 2012, Jane Heitman Healy)

Summer is upcoming concerts in various parks around town....
First up at Music Monday at McKennan Park on July 16 is the Crabgrass Crew.

and vacation...


and, of course, reading!

(photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/2449070766/in/photostream/ by brewbooks) This is someone else's stack, but you can keep track of my current reading by viewing the Shelfari widget on the right side of the screen.

What defines your summer this year? Do post a comment and let me know!

June's Perfect Summer Days

(Knot Garden, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, copyright 2012, Jane Heitman Healy)

What is your idea of a perfect day?

Here is James Russell Lowell's:

And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays;
Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten;


(Isle Royale trail, copyright 2008, Jane Heitman Healy)

Every clod feels a stir of might,
An instinct within it that reaches and towers,
And, groping blindly above it for light,
Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers;


(Clematis, copyright 2012, Jane Heitman Healy)

The flush of life may well be seen
Thrilling back over hills and valleys;
The cowslip startles in meadows green,
The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice,
And there's never a leaf nor a blade too mean
To be some happy creature's palace;

(pronghorn antelope, http://www.public-domain-image.com/fauna-animals-public-domain-images-pictures/antelope-pictures/pronghorn-antelope-pictures/pronghorn-antelope-runs-gingerly-across-a-meadow.jpg.html)

The little bird sits at his door in the sun,
Atilt like a blossom among the leaves,
And lets his illumined being o'errun
With the deluge of summer it receives;
His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings,
And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings;
He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest,
In the nice ear of Nature which song is the best?

(Song Thrush, © Copyright Brian Robert Marshall and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence, http://www.geograph.org.uk/reuse.php?id=682555)

Read the entire poem, "The Vision Of Sir Launfal," from which these selections were taken. Learn more about James Russell Lowell . And do let me know your idea of a perfect day or which of Nature's songs you think is best.