Usborne Books-Fun To Read

Usborne Book Club

2010-10-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

Once a month we will have an Usborne Book Club. The kids will come for an hour, we will read a book and make a craft. They will each receive an Usborne book to take home with them. The price will be $10 for the first child, this will include the cost of a new book. Additional siblings will vary depend on how expensive of a book you choose.

I have a list of books that go along with each month's theme for you to choose from. All the books are under $10, you will only be paying for the books for the additional children. You can choose to have each child have the same book or a different book.

October 29, 2010 at 4:30pm we will be reading a Halloween Story and doing a Halloween craft. Book being read is 13 Ghosts Of Halloween

November 19, 2010 at 4:30pm we will be reading a book about please and thank you and doing a Thanksgiving craft. Book being read is Say Please!

December 17, 2010 at 4:30pm we will be reading a Christmas Story and doing a Christmas craft. Book being read is The Nutcracker

January 14, 2011 at 4:30pm we will be reading a story about achieving goals and doing a craft. Book being read is Learning To Fly

February 11, 2011 at 4:30pm we will be reading a story about love and family and making Valentines. Book being read is Best Family In The World

March 18, 2011 at 4:30pm we will be reading a story about what makes each of us special and unique and then doing a craft. Book being read is Unique Monique

April 15, 2011 at 4:30pm we will be reading a Spring book and doing a spring craft. Book being read is In The Nest

May 20, 2011 at 4:30pm we will be reading a book about Butterflies, seeing live butterflies and doing a butterfly craft. Book being read is The Butterfly

June 24, 2011 at 4:30 pm we will be reading a book about volcanoes and making volcanoes. Book being read is Volcanoes

July 22, 2011 at 4:30 pm we will be reading a story about the beach and doing a beach craft. Book being read is On The Beach

August 19, 2011 at 4:30pm we will be reading a story about dinosaurs and doing a dinosaur craft. Book being read is The Dinosaur Who lost His Roar

September 23, 2011 at 4:30pm we will be reading Alice In Wonderland and having a Un-Birthday Party.

October 28, 2011 at 4:30pm we will be reading a Halloween Book and doing a Halloween craft. Book being read is Happy Birthday Oliver Moon

November 18, 2011 at 4:30pm we will be cooking and everyone will receive an Usborne cookbook.

December 16, 2011 at 4:30pm we will be reading Christmas Story and doing a Christmas Craft. Book being read is A Christmas Carol

Selections are subject to change.

I need to know a week before the class what book you want if you want to pick it up at the class. Late pickups are available.

Send me a message how many kids, boy/girl, and their ages and I will send you the list of appropriate books for each theme. Also let me know if they are above or below grade level, what you want to focus one and any other information that I might need when picking out books.

You are welcome to visit my Usborne site and look at the books we will be reading and such. Don't forget to sign up for the monthly giveaway to win $50 in FREE books. Also let me know if you are interested in earning FREE books for the kids in your life whether it's family, school, or an organization.

Unique Monique-Review

2009-07-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have not heard the great news, Usborne has bought Kane Miller Publishing! In the process of obtaining Kane Miller Usborne has officially changed their name and logo. We are now called Usborne Books and More.

How does all this affect you? And what does this mean to you the customer? It really doesn't affect you the customer at all, except now you get to purchase great Kane Miller books from your Usborne Consultant! Yay! Isn't that great news?

To celebrate the fact that we now have Kane Miller books I decided to spotlight one of my favorites, Unique Monique!

Unique Monique is a great story about a young girl who has to wear a uniform to school. The only problem with the uniform is that she doesn't get to be unique.

She ends up trying different accessories to show her own unique style. Each accessory then gets copied the next day by all her peers and is then banned by the principal.

Until at the end Monique does find something that will express her unique style that is all her and no one can ban! Aren't you just dying to know what it is? Well, you'll have to get the book to find out what she can do to finally be unique!

I love this story because it helps teach the principle of individuality as well as the fact that everyone is unique. I also like the fact that she keeps trying, and that the first few things she tries are not allowed but she doesn't give up.

The book measures 11.5 x 8 inches. It is suggested for ages 5-9, though I think all ages will truly enjoy this book!

It retails at $7.95! WOW! What a great price. For less then $10 you can add Unique Monique to your home library!

Visit my website http://www.socalusborne.com/ and see what other great titles Usborne has to offer!

Please, don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments you might have!

Cinderella--First Stories

2009-02-10T15:38:00.000-08:00

The Cinderella book from the First Stories collection is just delightful. It has 16 pages that have bright well drawn pictures done by illustrator Stephen Cartwright.

This book was written for young children who are just beginning to read. It is a dual reader, meaning that the line at the top of the page is for the child to read and the lines on the bottom of each page give more detail and are meant for the parent or an older sibling to read. The story is easily understood with just the lines written at top so the child can read it on their own. The illustrations are superbly done giving rich meaning to the story.

As many of you know I home school my two daughters. They are 11 months apart, and sometimes this gap is huge while at other times it is incredibly small. The gap never seemed as huge as when I was teaching them how to read. The younger one, who is almost a whole year younger, took longer to grasp reading. This was a perfect book for my daughters to read together. I told the younger one that she was to read the line at the top of the page and the older one was told to read the lines at the bottom of each page. They were ecstatic to read a book together, and neither realized that one part was easier than another.

Another added treat with this book, as is the case with most of the Usborne Books illustrated by Stephen Cartwright, is that there is a little yellow duck hidden on each page! The kids have a great time finding the duck. Some parents have discovered that it is easier to let the kids find the duck on each page before they read what is written! Regardless of when you look for the duck, the child can find the duck even if they are too young to read.

This book is part of the Accelerated Reader titles. Accelerated Reader (AR) is a reading management software that is used in over 60,000 schools. AR helps teachers by providing and easy way to monitor all forms of guided reading practice.

This book is recommended for ages 3 and up. My girls, ages 6 and 7, still enjoy reading and looking at this book.

Usborne Eggs And Chicks Review

2008-07-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

We love the book Eggs and Chicks! We are in the middle of doing a unit study on, you guessed it, eggs and chicks, and we have found the book to be an invaluable tool in our home school.

We started out our unit study by having a man from church bring us a couple of eggs and a couple of chicks to our house so we could watch them hatch. We will have the chicks for two weeks and then he will come back and pick them up. Anyway, when he dropped them off we had two new chicks and two eggs. One of the eggs hatched the day he dropped them off and one has still not hatched, I'm not sure if it will.

The girls were so excited about the chicks, all day long they kept calling me over to see the chicks or the new cracks in the egg. You should have heard the squealing when the egg hatched! They sat there for an hour watching the new chick dry off, the feathers fluff up, and the chick gaining more stability and strength.

The book is great because it is written on young reader level 1, so even my 5 year old can read and understand it. It talks about all different kinds of birds and their eggs. Birds that nest, birds that are in the snow, unusual shaped eggs. It also talks about how the chick grows inside the egg and about the chick hatching from the egg. About learning how to fly, eating and growing up.

This book is also great because it is an Internet Referenced book. Meaning that it gives you at the back of the book the Usborne Quicklinks Website, where you can go and discover more information about eggs and chicks. You can watch a movie about birds, watch a video of chicks feeding and more!

The book is recommended for children 6 and up but younger children will enjoy looking at the pictures and having someone tell them about what they are seeing!

The Chicks!

My girls with the eggs in the incubator!

Usborne First Book Of The Recorder Review

2008-05-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

Today my five year old daughter asked if I would teach them how to play the recorder as part of their home school lessons. Thankfully I already had the First Book Of The Recorder from Usborne, as well as two recorders on hand. So we were able to get started right away.

I only have the cheap recorders from the dollar store but I will be purchasing the Recorder Kid Kit really soon. The quality of the recorder looks better and it comes with a cleaning tool, carrying case, and what appears to be a chart.

I am extremely impressed with the ease that my girls, ages 5 and 6. are having using the book. They are learning how to read and understand music as well as how to play the notes on the recorder. There are familiar tunes and songs included in the book to develop their skills as a musician at a steady pace.

The book also includes games, puzzles, as well as fascinating facts about the recorder. The book is recommend for ages 6 and up and I would definitely recommend it to anyone, child and adult a like, who wants to learn how to play the recorder.

Usborne That's Not My Mermaid Review

2008-04-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

We love the That's Not My________ series from Usborne. I especially like the book from that same series titled That's Not My Mermaid.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has a baby girl at home or knows someone else who does. These books are designed with a young baby in mind, they are built sturdily and can withstand a lot of abuse from young hands. The recommended age is 9 months and up.

This board book, as well as the series, is a touchy-feely book with each page has a new and different texture for the child to explore.

Even though it is recommended for a much younger age than my girls who are 5 and 6, both still enjoy looking, feeling, and reading this book!

This is a great book to give to any new mother or mother-to-be!

Usborne What's Inside You? Review

2008-04-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

Usborne has this great series called the Usborne Starting Point Science. This series is geared towards young children ages 6 and up. The series has detailed pictures and easy to understand text.

I especially like the book from the series titled What's Inside You?
This book was extremely helpful in explaining to my kids when I had to go in for my second open heart surgery to replace the mitral valve. I started with this book to help explain to them why the heart is important, what the heart does, and what was wrong with mine making it not work.

Some of the topics covered in this book are eating, where does your food go, breathing, skin, hearing and touching. There are also parts that cover inside your head, your skeleton, muscles, eyes, and what makes up your body.

This is a great book to start teaching your children what a complex thing their bodies actually are, and yet it's simple enough that they can understand what is being taught easily.

If you have a child who is interested in their body and what it can do and how it all works then I definitely recommend What's Inside You?

Bloggy Giveaway

2008-04-20T20:29:00.001-07:00

Okay this is my first time participating in the bloggy giveaways. I actually won something last time, me who never wins anything! So , I thought that I would go ahead and give some stuff away myself.

How it works it really simple, leave a comment about what your favorite Usborne book is. If you are new to Usborne don't worry, just visit my Usborne site and take a look around and pick your favorite. (Don't forget to sign up to win $50 in FREE books while you are there.) I will randomly pick the winner on April 27th and you will win the Usborne Hotshot Computers.

You don't have to be a blogger to win, just make sure that you leave an email address so I can contact you if you win! This giveaway will be open to everyone. International visitors are welcome to leave a comment and try to win this book as well!

That's it, pretty simple! Just don't forget to leave a comment about what your favorite Usborne book (no "please enter me," or "I want to win," etc.)--if you don't you won't be entered to win.

Also don't forget to check out my other blogs for more chances to win more FREE stuff!

Usborne Creepy Crawlies Review

2008-04-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

I got the Usborne Creepy Crawlies book because my girls are fascinated with animals of any kind and size! Yes, even bugs. I will admit that this is not my favorite subject but I try to rein in my distaste for their sake!

They bought those cheep plastic bug viewer cage like things from the dollar store, and of course they wanted to go out and collect bugs. Luckily their dad was willing and able to take them on that adventure! After they got home from their bug walk, with bugs in tow, I was able to pull out this book and they were able to pour over the pages and learn more about bugs.

Usborne does have a Kid Kit that comes with a bug viewer that is made of much sturdier plastic, we have one the kits and I personally like the Usborne one because it is sturdier, though the cheaper ones,are bigger and well you really can't beat the price. And the kit comes with the book as well as the bug viewer. Usborne's bug viewer has the magnifying piece that is detachable so you don't even have to touch the bugs, more my speed! So it just depends on what you are going to use this book/kit for. If you already have the bug viewer, then go ahead and get the book from Usborne, you won't be sorry that you did! But if you don't have a bug viewer then I would spring for the complete kit, after all it's only a couple of bucks more!

Usborne Learning Palette Review

2008-03-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

I just recently purchased the Usborne Learning Palette base, and a few math cards to go with it. I admit I was a little leery about whether this would help reinforce what I am teaching the girls in our home school or if it would be just a waste of money and time.

Well, I can now wholeheartedly say that the Learning Palettes are great! The girls love them, my youngest now asks if we can play the math game with the circles! And I love it because it does really reinforce and help me teach new math concepts to the girls. The bonus is that it is self-correcting, once the kids know how to use it, they can use it when ever you and they want to.

That's right a little break for us busy moms to get something else done while they are having fun and learning at the same time! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a fun way to teach and reinforce math concepts.

This would be a great tool to use in the classroom at either a public or private school as well as in any home school.

You can either purchase the Base and the cards separately, thus giving you the chance to pick what your child needs to work on, or you can purchase one complete kit. Each kit comes with a learning base and a certain amount of cards, depending on what kit you choose depends on what cards you get.

With the Learning Palette base, pictured at the top left corner, you receive the base, 12 colored discs, instructions and a sturdy self-containing lid. The base works with all card titles that are available from Usborne books. You can even purchase replacement discs if any of your discs get lost! I just love the way Usborne thinks about the customers and their needs.

There are math and reading cards to choose from! I will admit that I do not have any of the reading cards, but we do have quite a few of the math concepts cards.

If you would like to check out the full line of Learning Palette cards, visit Usborne Books. Take some time and browse around!

Usborne Dinosaur Adventure Excavation Kid Kit Review

2008-01-30T10:20:00.000-08:00

In our Homeschool we have been studying dinosaurs and careers that relate to dinosaurs. My oldest has now decided that she wants to be an archaeologist!

To let them have a small glimpse of how much work it is to uncover dinosaur bones and fossils, I went ahead and ordered them each a Dinosaur Adventure Excavation Kit from Usborne.

I got my oldest daughter the Triceratops Kit and the younger one got the Stegosaurus Kit. They had a great time breaking apart the clay and finding all the different pieces. Every time they would find a new piece they would let out a squeal of excitement!

Just to be forewarned, you will want to have newspaper covering the work area as it does get extremely messy. And if your kids are anything like mine, they will continue to smash the clay even after they had found all the pieces.

The kit comes with the lump of clay that has the "dinosaur fossil" hidden within, goggles for eye safety, a small hammer that also has a screwdriver in the handle, and a small brush to brush off all the dust and small pieces of dirt.

Also, depending on how old your kids are you might have to help them snap all the pieces together. My girls did require some help in snapping the pieces together, but we did get them together.

I highly recommend this to anyone who has a child that has expressed any kind of interest in dinosaurs. It is a great way to supplement their learning of dinosaurs! Make sure that you child is old enough to use a hammer without hurting themselves, the recommended age is 6 and up. Though I used it with my youngest who is 5, use you judgment about whether your child is mature enough to do this activity.

The Usborne Fairytale Jigsaw Book Review

2008-01-22T16:52:00.000-08:00

My two girls love this book! Yes, I too am seeing a pattern here, all the books that I have reviewed so far are ones that my girls adore reading. I guess it makes sense that the ones that come to mind when I sit down to write a review are the ones that my girls read over and over again!

Yes, there are a few that are not on the "I love list" but I have not yet found an Usborne book that we did not enjoy. But, I do not own every book that they have published, there are so many choices! That's another thing I love about Usborne, the amount of great choices that they have.

Anyway, back to the review. The Usborne Fairytale Jigsaw Book has six classic fairytales along with six jigsaw puzzles to go along with each story. Yes, the stories are familiar ones but the favorite part of this book is the jigsaw puzzles that are included.

Each jigsaw puzzle has a great cute cutout in the middle that goes along with the story. For example Cinderella has a glass slipper, Goldilocks a bear and so on. It is so cute and clever that I just smile. Okay, so I'm a little impressed by cute, creative, and clever things.

Usborne Sticker Dolly Books Review

2008-01-16T21:04:00.000-08:00

I got the Sticker Dolly Dressing Fairies and the Sticker Dolly Dressing Princesses for my two girls for Christmas. We ended up taking a 6 hour car trip to visit family after the holidays. Both my girls get carsick if they read in the car, makes the drive a little more miserable and boring.

So, I took their sticker books with us, and they had a ball dressing the fairies and princesses with the stickers form the book. They both sat in the back seat working on their sticker books giggling and sharing with each other!

The stickers are not reusable but they are repositionable. Meaning that they won't stay sticky forever but you can remove them and put them on others for a few times. Only two of the stickers are not able to stick anymore, and those are because they got dropped on the floor. The other stickers are still being able to be moved on and off.

The Sticker Dolly Dressing Fairies book is about three fairies named Rosie, Willow, and Hazel. You can follow the fairies through the meadow, the forest, and even into a winter wonderland. The book has 24 pages and 10 additional pages of stickers to make this book a truly interactive adventure.

The Sticker Dolly Dressing Princesses book is about three princess named Bella, Anya, and Tasha. Dress them up to go to a masked ball, a horse ride through the enchanted forest, or even a carriage ride. This book also has 24 pages and 10 additional pages of stickers for a fun experience.

The recommended age is 4 and up but any young girl who loves fairies and princesses will love these books. I even had fun doing the one page that I was allowed to do in their book!

Usborne Starting Ballet Kid Kit Review

2007-12-27T16:23:00.000-08:00

The Starting Ballet Kid Kit was one of the first Usborne purchases that I ever made, and my girls still use it as much today as they did when it first arrived at our door.

The kit comes with the book Starting Ballet, which can be purchased separately from the kit. This book is one of Usborne Internet Linked Books, basically an Internet linked book gives the reader a chance to visit http://www.usborne-quicklinks.com/ and enter in the book and page number of the book that they want to learn more information about. This website provides safe content appropriate websites to visit to learn more about the subject you are reading about. It is important to understand that you do not need Internet access to enjoy the book.

The Starting Ballet book covers everything that a beginner will need to know and helps them practice their first steps of ballet. The book has beautiful, professional photographs as well as step-by-step illustrations that clearly illustrate the techniques and steps. The text is clearly written to allow all level readers and beginning ballerinas understand what is written.

The kid kit includes sturdy paper dolls with six interchangeable costumes. The dolls and clothing are made from a sturdy plastic material that stands up to play, travel, and love. (My girls have had theirs for over a year and they still look as good as they did when they first got them.) The costumes are easily changed with velcro that keeps the costumes in place while being played with. The kit also comes with durable background scenery with four different backgrounds to choose from.

This kit is sure to delight all young prima ballerinas!

Usborne Cars Book Review

2007-12-27T16:12:00.000-08:00

Usborne has a great chunky board book, Cars, that is perfect for little hands that will stand up to lots of use! The book is great for ages 9 months and older and has great pictures with just a couple of words per page that will keep little ones, especially boys interested in books. Why not give this book to a young person as a way to introduce them to the wonderful world of books. It has 10 thick and sturdy pages which will hold up through lots of play. This book measures 4 x 4 inches and is sure to be a hit! Costing under $5.00 it will be a hit with your budget as well!

Usborne Helps You Have Fun Playing With Your Kids

2007-12-21T17:27:00.000-08:00

Usborne also has a variety of fun card games. The name of the game is Snap and comes in many different varieties. You need to have two or more players for a game. The object of the game is to win all of the cards! Playing the game is easy enough that my two girls can get it out and play the game without me being there to help, though it's a fun game and once you play one time you might want to play every time! You start out by dealing out all the cards face down to the players. Then you take turns going around flipping over your top card and placing it in the middle. If the card matches the card right below it on the pile you yell out "Snap." The first person to yell "Snap" wins all the cards in the pile. The player who ends up with all the cards is the winner. My girls and I love to play this game especially on a rainy day, which we have been having a lot of here in sunny California! There is a Christmas Snap, Fairy Snap, Fairytale Snap, First Words Snap, Monster Snap, Pirate Snap, and Princess Snap. Our favorite version is the Fairytale Snap, but then again we are girls! As you can see there is something for both boys and girls alike. I think that you too will enjoy playing this game with your kids.

Usborne Fairy Jigsaw Puzzle Review

2007-12-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

My two girls love the fairy jigsaw puzzle! The puzzle comes in a box with a pink cord handle to carry it with. This is a great gift idea if you are in need of a present for a young girl. The recommended age is 3 but is suitable for older girls as well. The puzzle has 50 large pieces which make it easy for young hands to be able to pick up and put together. What makes this puzzle so fun is the fact that the puzzle has sparkly pieces! What girl doesn't love sparkly things? The puzzle measures 19 x 15 inches when put together. I highly recommend this puzzle for anyone who has a young girl in their home or is shopping for one!

Usborne Batteries And Magnets Kid Kit Review

2007-11-28T15:10:00.000-08:00

I used this kid kit to explain to my daughters, 5 and 6, about magnets and magnetic forces. They loved it and really enjoyed doing the activities that came along with the book.

The book has large pictures and easy to follow diagrams and instructions. I love the way that it teaches the concepts to the kids in a way that they can understand.

The activities were fun and easy to do. I did have to supervise and help with a couple of things and as I was using this as a teaching method I expected to do as much.

The kid kit is recommended for ages 8-12, but with supervision and help it can be adapted for younger ages and I thoroughly enjoyed the book and activities! If you have a budding scientist or engineer than this is one kid kit that you will want to get for them!

The book is 32 pages long, and teaches you how to make things that will move, glow, and flash. Kit contains paint, brush, propeller, magnets, pipe cleaners, motor, round hook, battery holder and wooden dowel.

You will learn about magnets, why they attract and why they repel. You will also learn about batteries and circuits, and you will even build a working lamp. They will also show you how to build a whizzing plane!

Our favorite activity that we did was the Hovering Bee found on pages 6-7 of the book. The girls still have it proudly displayed in their room even though we did it weeks ago!

To order visit

Usborne Kid Kits Make Great Gifts

2007-11-28T15:02:00.000-08:00

Just a quick word about our Kid Kits in general. The Kid Kits come with the book and the things you will need to complete the projects in the book. You get everything you need to start enjoying your fun and educational book as soon as you open it!

I like to have a few on hand in my "gift giving" closet in case the girls get invited to a last minute party or we happen to forget until the last minute. They are great to give as gifts as they have everything already provided in the kit. They also make great Christmas and Birthday gifts for the kids who already have too much stuff!

Check out our large variety of activities in topics that are offered as kid kits.