Happy Thanksgiving! This is a fun book and very cute, simple treat to make with the kids this holiday!

Open A Book…

Title: Thanksgiving Rules

Author: Laurie Friedman

Illustrator: Teresa Murfin

Recommended Age: 4-8 years old

Book Brief: I officially command you to eat everything you see! Percy knows just what to do to get the most out of this very delicious holiday. And so will you if you follow his 10 simple rules. From, “the early bird gets the turkey” to “life is sweeter when you eat sweets” his rules will help you eat your way through the big meal. But is there more to Thanksgiving than stuffed turkey and sweet potatoes with marshmallows? See how Percy discovers the true recipe for a perfect Thanksgiving holiday.

About the Author: Laurie Friedman is the author of the popular Mallory chapter book series, as well as several pictures books, including, I’m Not Afraid of this Haunted House and Love, Ruby Valentine. Ms. Friedman says she loved writing about Thanksgiving almost as much as she likes celebrating it and wishes her readers a very happy holiday.

About the Illustrator: Teresa Murfin is the illustrator of several pictures books including, I’m Not Afraid of This Haunted House. She lives and works in Bristol, England where she does her best to follow Percy’s Rule #9.

Have a Blast!

Marshmallow Pilgrim Hats

from Disney’s Family Fun

From: www.familyfun.com

Cost: Less than $10 per batch of 30-40

Difficulty: Very easy but slightly messy

Instructions

1. Set the chocolate-striped cookies stripes down on a wax-paper-covered tray, spacing them well apart.
2. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave or double boiler.
3. One at a time, stick a wooden toothpick into a marshmallow, dip the marshmallow into the melted chocolate, and promptly center it atop a cookie.
4. Using a second toothpick to lightly hold down the marshmallow, carefully pull out the first toothpick.
5. Chill the hats until the chocolate sets, then pipe a yellow decorators’ frosting buckle on the front of each hat.

Celebrate National Grandparents Day! Nothing makes our kids happier than a day with one of their grandparents. Grandmas and Grandpas bring constant excitement, joy, and love into our lives. Not to mention that they are the best babysitter’s on earth, and we would be lost without them!

My Granny’s Purse is a fantastically fun book celebrating this wonderful relationship between grandparents and their grandkids.

The Book

Click here to visit our Amazon Store

My Granny’s Purse

Author: P. H. Hanson

Recommended Age: 3-8 years old

Book Brief: Open Granny’s purse (yes, she said it’s OK) and enter a treasure chest of mementos and magic. A unique, fourteen-page die-cut storybook crammed with interactive features and surprises for ages 3 and up, it contains a whole life waiting to be discovered.

Peek inside Granny’s notebook. Try on her sunglasses. Check yourself in the mirror. Play with her keys. Look at her photos, read her letter, tie a bow, try on Granny’s rings, wear her scarf. Not only is Granny’s purse a veritable playground for little girls, but piece by piece it creates a portrait of an adventurous, independent, contemporary grandmother, imbued with spirit and gumption. This Granny’s a traveler (and has the passport filled with stamps to prove it). A self-sufficient handyperson with her wrench and compass. A collector of lives and memories. And a genuine softie, with handfuls of treats ready to dispense.  Jam-packed with fun things, it’s really a story about love between the generations.

About the Author: P. H. Hanson has three children and lives in Oxford, England. Hanson has also written My Grandpa’s Briefcase and My Mommy’s Tote.

The Blast

National Grandparents Day

Date: Sunday, September 13, 2009

Official Site: www.grandparents-day.com

It’s a blast: Do something special for the Grandparents in your life! We celebrate Mothers Day and Fathers Day but Grandparent’s Day has yet to become an extremely popular holiday. Don’t let it pass you by this year; let your mom and dad know how special they are to you are your kids. And take the opportunity to tell your kids how important and valuable their grandparents; experience and wisdom is in their lives.

The Grandparents Day website has great ideas for projects to do with your grandparents.

“The impetus for a National Grandparents Day originated with Marian McQuade, a housewife in Fayette County, West Virginia. Her primary motivation was to champion the cause of lonely elderly in nursing homes. She also hoped to persuade grandchildren to tap the wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide. President Jimmy Carter, in 1978, proclaimed that National Grandparents Day would be celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day.”

Extra Tips for a Good Time!

• Older kids can do reports on their Grandparent’s Lives. They will be amazed at how much life has changed and just how much their grandparents have accomplished.
• Have kids make a card, a book, a poem…Personalized gifts mean more. Even if they aren’t spectacular, they are a great reflection of your child’s age and ability and will be fun for everyone to look back on.
• If you have really young kids, print out a photograph and create a photocard they can color and decorate. Finish it by adding their own dictation about what they love about their grandparents.

My husband recently brought The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School home from a business trip in preparation for school starting. It was an instant hit. Zoe starts the first grade and the rules just aren’t the same. She learns, just as all kids do, how to find her place in her new grade, new class, and new school year.

The first days of school can be very exciting or very tough (or a little of both) depending on the personality of each child. Extra anxiety has made our first days of school tough, but still exciting. Our daughter has enjoyed reading this book and others to help her know that everyone is nervous and a little anxious at the beginning of the year. Hooray for awesome teachers and fantastic kids! It’s going to be another great school year!

The Book

The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Illustrator: Ard Hoyt

Recommended Age: 4-8 years old

Book Brief: Mom and Dad Fleefenbacher think their daughter Zoe’s hair is wild and beautiful. And for her kindergarten teacher, Zoe’s vivacious tresses were a comfort. But Zoe’s about to start first grade, and her new teacher doesn’t fool around… “School has rules,” she says. “no wild hair in my class!”  So what are Zoe and her free-spirited hair going to do now? With exuberance and humor to spare. Laurie Halse Anderson and Ard Hoyt, The New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, tease up a terrific tale of hairy hijinks, classroom chaos, and the importance of teachers and students learning to work together.

About the Author: Laurie Halse Anderson is the author of numerous wonderful books for children and teens. Her highly acclaimed novels include Speak, which was a National Book Award finatlist. Printz Honor Book, and ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Her first novel for Silon & Schuster, Fever 1793, was named one of New York Public Library’s 100 Best Books of 2000, was selected as an ABA Kids’ Pick of the Lists title, and has won more than a dozen state awards. Her novel, Twisted, was a New York Times bestseller, Laurie’s picture books include Thank You, Sarah and Independent Dames, both illustrated by Matt Faulkner. Her most recent novels are Wintergirls and Chains. Laurie lives in Mexico, New York.

About the Illustrator: Ard Hoyt has illustrated numerous beloved books for young readers, including the utterly ebullient Utterly Otherly Day by Mary Casanova and the New York Times bestselling I’m a Manatee by John Lithgow. His otter illustration credits include two additional Mary Casanova-penned picture books, One-Dog Canoe and Some Dog! Carol Weis’s When the Cows Got Loose, Corrine Demas’s Saying Goodbye to Lulu, and the Kennedy Center’s Capital Kids chapter books.

The Blast

First days of school

Article: www.familyeducation.com

Achieving a Successful Start to the School Year

Brought to you by the American School Counselor Association

For some kids, a new year in school is old hat. For others, the idea of a new teacher, a new classroom, and new classmates can cause tremendous anxiety. Help your child make a smooth reentry to school with these tips from school counselors and teachers.

1. Review the Route
2. Visit the Classroom
3. Supply the Supplies
4. Label it All
5. Make Clothes Kid-Friendly
6. Adjust Your Clock
7. Set the Scene for Homework
8. Sign Up for a Library Card
9. Check In with Yourself
10. Celebrate!

This is one of my favorite times of year. We’ve purchased the perfect backpacks and new shoes, and I love all of the organizational boxes and notebooks! Like you, we are looking for ways to get the gears turning in the brain after a summer of pools, fun, and sun. Phantom Tollbooth is a crazy book all about Math, but it is so much fun! Another great way to brush up on their math skills is with all of the clearance sales. Let your kids calculate the new price of the items you buy. It might be crazy and a tad stressful, but have fun getting ready for school anyway. P.S. The Phantom Tollbooth might be a great book for you to read too, it will bring back a flood of memories of math and English you have blocked out for years.

The Book

Title: Phantom Tollbooth

Author: Norton Juster

Illustrator: Jules Feiffer

Recommended Age: 9-12

Book Brief: Readers of all ages will find much wit and wisdom in Norton Juster’s beguiling, offbeat fantasy about a boy names Milo “who didn’t know what to do with himself.”

Through the Phantom Tollbooth lies a strange land and a series of even stranger adventures in which Milo meets some of the most logically illogical characters ever met on this side or that of reality, including King Azaz the Unabridged, unhappy ruler of Dictionopolis; the Mathemagician; Faintly Macabre; the not-so-wicked Which; and the Watchdog Tock, who ticks. In his quest for Rhyme and Reason, Milo helps settle the war between words and numbers, visits the island of conclusions (which can only be reached by jumping), and ventures into the forbidden Mountains of Ignorance, whose all-to-familiar demons menace his every step.

The Phantom Tollbooth is a remarkable story whose humor, irony, sense and non-sense (illustrated with nearly 100 superb Jules Feiffer drawings) make it one of the most unusual and appealing books of the twentieth century.

Author: Norton Juster is an architect and planner, professor emeritus of design at Hampshire College, and the author of a number of highly acclaimed children’s books, including The Dot and the Line, which was made into an Academay-Award winning animated film. He has collaborated with Sheldon Harnick on the libretto for an opera based on The Phantom Tollbooth. An amateur cook and professional eater, Mr. Juster lives with his wife in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Illustrator: Jules Feiffer is the author of two books for young readers The Man in the Ceiling and A Barrel of Laughs, a Vale of Tears. He has won a number of prizes for his cartoons, plays, and screenplays. Mr. Feiffer lives in New York City.

The Blast

Back to school shopping with your kids

Location: Your favorite store with great sales.

It’s a blast!

For kids, it’s Christmas in August. New clothes and shoes; sharp pencils and even sharper back packs. Make it educational this year. Allow your kids to calculate the price of their clothing after the sale discount. Better yet, give them a budget and have them keep track and plan out how they will use the money wisely to get what they want. It will be a great experience to get those wheels turnin’ and ready for class again.

For fun I’ve included some statistics from the US Census Bureau about Back to School Shopping.

Back-to-School Shopping

$7.6 billion
The amount of money spent at family clothing stores in August 2008. Only in December were sales significantly higher. Similarly, sales at bookstores in August 2008 totaled $2.4 billion, an amount approached in 2008 only by sales in January.
Source: Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services

For back-to-school shopping, choices of retail establishments abound: In 2006, there were 25,430 family clothing stores, 6,417 children and infants clothing stores, 26,699 shoe stores, 9,425 office supply and stationery stores, 23,270 sporting goods stores, 10,989 bookstores and 9,969 department stores.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2006

Extra Tips for a Good Time!

• Take it slow; make a day out of it. Talk about peer pressure, grades, expectations, drugs, and other school-related topics. Give them time to talk and think, and they will open up. Help prepare them emotionally for going back to school too.
• Lunch or ice cream makes anything special. Clear your calendar for a few hours and spend some quality time with getting the kids prepped for the summer to end.

Children grow up too quickly, and I’m always looking for great ways to capture the magic of childhood. Enter Dr. Seuss’s My Book about Me! Pages of fill-in-the-blank questions extract both silly and useful information about your child, leading to the creation of a Seussical snapshot of your kid’s life. I was inspired to make another book devoted to my daughter and the fabulous person she is – an heirloom she would treasure (something I wish I had from my childhood). So, I tried my hand at something new. Scrapbooking!

Thanks to Scrapbook.com, my daughter and I had a fantastic time with our first foray into this fascinating world. An online superstore and community of scrapbookers, Scrapbook.com had everything we needed to make her “Book of Me.”  There is an amazing selection of products, tutorials, classes, and inspiring samples to get you and your little scrapbooker started. We decided on a small scrapbook in a very glittery Tinkerbell theme to reflect my daughter’s personality and nickname. We had a great time putting it together, and in my daughter’s words, “Scrapbooking is like an adventure for kids ‘cause you don’t know how it’s going to end up!” Using the Dr. Seuss book as a prompt, you will be amazed at the incredible art and story your child can create!

The Book

Title: My Book about Me

Click here to find the book and more in our Amazon.com store!

Author & Illustrator: By Me, Myself (with some help from my friends Dr. Seuss & Roy McKie)

Recommended Age: 4-8

Book Brief: In this twist on his classic style, Dr. Seuss encourages children to find out about themselves, while having fun writing and drawing their own biographies. The front cover gets you started by directing, “You paste your picture here. Then you write and draw you book about YOURSELF.” Playful prompts will have you laughing and enjoying some time with your child.

About the Dr. Seuss: Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 2, 1904. After attending Dartmouth College and Oxford University, he began a career in advertising.  His advertising cartoons, featuring Quick, Henry, the Flit!,  appeared in several leading American magazines. Dr. Seuss’s first children’s book, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, hit the market in 1937, and the world of children’s literature was changed forever! In 1957, Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat became the prototype for one of Random House’s best-selling series, Beginner Books. Brilliant, playful, and always respectful of children, Dr. Seuss charmed his way into the consciousness of four generations of youngsters and parents. In the process, he helped kids learn to read

The Blast

Make a “Book of Me”

Utilizing resources found on Scrapbook.com

Location: At home

Click the image to view pictures of our Tinkerbell Scrapbook.

Cost: $5-$30 depending on what you have a home and the size of the book

Save money on your project by using a Scrapbook.com promotion created exclusively for our Book|Blast readers! Save $5 on any purchase of $50 or more*. Just enter the promotion code “bookblast50″ when you’re checking out.

At the start, I was both excited and clueless about my scrapbooking idea. Scrapbook.com gave me the tools I needed to make a book with my daughter that was beyond our natural creative capabilities. If you are a beginner like me, the support tools are fantastic. If you are already an enthusiast, you will be amazed at the resources and large community of fellow scrapbookers!

Our first step was to decide on a theme. Start with the helpful “Book of Me” articles on Scrapbook.com that offer great prompts and ideas. One article suggested making books based on the child’s name. My children were given names and nicknames based on people or places significant to our family, so this idea appealed to me. We nicknamed my daughter Tinkerbell months before she was born, and the name stuck. Her nickname provided a fun theme for her “Book of Me,” and we drew colors from her elegant birth announcement.

Next I needed to find the products we would use. The exciting part of scrapbooking is weaving together the physical scraps around your house that represent your child and the well-designed products made specifically for this purpose. I spent an afternoon finding all of the materials we would need. Scrapbook.com allows you to search the site by product, brand name, category, and color. I searched for products in black, white, and violet. I chose an album just smaller than a 4”x6” picture that fit our theme and was much less intimidating for me as a beginner than trying to fill a book of 12”x 12” paper. I purchased a couple of coordinating papers and frames. I searched through a category entitled “embellishments” to find some fabulous glitter and bling to give our book a little pixie dust sparkle. Then I prepared and printed 10 pictures of my daughter at her fairy best.

When our package came, we excitedly opened our beautiful goodies and laid everything out on the table. Since it all coordinated, my daughter could pick things out, assemble them together, and decorate and embellish with very little direction from me . . . and the result was still beautiful. In addition to the Scrapbook.com products, we used bits and pieces from her birth announcement and concluded with a poem my daughter wrote just for this book.

As you know all too well, raising children is full of millions of precious moments, and it’s difficult to hold on to the memories. Building a “Book of Me” using Scrapbook.com resources is a fantastic way to allow children to tell their own story and create an heirloom book about their childhood.

Click here to see some pictures of our final product!

Extra Tips for a Good Time:

• Don’t try to scrapbook your child’s whole life at once. Pick a straightforward theme to keep it simple.
• Select self-adhesive items to make it easy for your little ones.
• Make sure your kids can’t go wrong by giving them color-coordinated pieces.
• Have your child write a quick piece of “poetry” to give the book a very personal touch.
• Letter stickers are great for those who don’t want to worry about perfect penmanship.
• Use the $5 coupon (details above) to get a financial jump start on your project!

*Coupon subject to expire at any time . . . so hurry up and use it!

My daughter is definitely a Fancy Nancy! I grew up as sort of a tom-boy, and even now making things “pretty” is not my top priority. My daughter is the one who wants a centerpiece of fresh flowers on the table and absolutely loved decorating our home with red and pink hearts for Valentines Day.  If you have a daughter who also loves princesses, ballerinas, and movie stars and you haven’t read the Fancy Nancy Books, go find one today! These books are adorable. My daughter loves to look at the pictures and memorize the amazingly fancy vocabulary that Nancy uses.

Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly is one of the later books in the series and it is a perfect pair with the Desert Botanical Garden Butterfly Exhibit. You and your family can visit this exhibit just as Nancy does in her book. Dress up and enjoy the day together! This will certainly be a day fit for your own ”Fancy Nancy”!

The Book

Title: Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly

Click here to buy Fancy Nancy books and merchandise!

Author: Jane O’Connor

Illustrator: Robin Preiss Glasser

Recommended Age: 4-8

Book Brief: Nancy thinks butterflies are simply exquisite. And that is why she can’t wait for her firend Bree’s Butterfly Birthday. Its going to be the fanciest birthday party ever! But when Nancy finds out she can’t go because her grandparent’s fiftieth anniversary party is the same day, she is furious. (Mad is way too plain for how she feels.) Will Nancy be able to overcome her disappointment?

About the Author: Jane O’Connor is not only an aficionado (that’s a fancy word for fan) of butterflies but a breeder as well. Years before she wrote the bestselling Fancy Nancy and Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy, Jane and her two sons hatched a beautiful monarch within the confines of their Manhattan apartment. Releasing it in the wilds of Central Park remains the culminating achievement of her career as a naturalist.

About the Illustrator: Robin Preiss Glasser did some early research for this book at age five as a butterfly in Madame Seda’s yearly ballet recital of Hansel and Gretel. She went on to dance professionally before becoming the illustrator of such bestsellers as Jane O’Connor’s Fancy Nancy and Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy and Lynne Cheney’s Our 50 States. Robin lives in Southern California with her husband, Bob; children, Sasha and Benjamin; and dog Boo.

The Blast

Desert Botanical Garden Spring Butterfly Exhibit

Location:

Marshall Butterfly Pavilion – 1201 N Galvin Pkwy, Phoenix, AZ

480-941-1225

Date & Time: March 7 – May 31st; 9:30am-5pm Daily

Cost:

Due to Chihuly:The Nature of Glass advance reservations are required for any admission to the Garden.

It’s a Blast!

The Desert Botanical Garden invites you to experience the magic and wonder of its beautiful Marshall Butterfly Pavilion. Butterflies will surround you as they flutter about sipping nectar from plants, perching in the sun, and landing on visitors. Visit the special display areas featuring butterfly host plants and a discovery station where you can view the scaly winged friends up close.

About Desert Botanical Garden:

Nestled amid the red buttes of Papago Park, the Desert Botanical Garden hosts one of the world’s finest collections of desert plants. One of only 44 botanical gardens accredited by the American Association of Museums, this one-of-a-kind museum showcases 50 acres of beautiful outdoor exhibits. Home to 139 rare, threatened and endangered plant species from around the world, the Garden offers interesting and inspiring experiences to more than 300,000 visitors each year.

A charter member of the Museum Association of Arizona and National Center for Plant Conservation, the Garden is fully accredited with the American Association of Museums and American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta. It continues to build on its 63-year legacy of environmental stewardship, and has become nationally and internationally renowned for its plant collections, research and educational programs.

Extra tips for a Good Time:

• Wear bright colors to attract the butterflies.
• There are 3 reservation times each day: 8-noon; noon-4pm; and 4-8pm please note that the butterfly pavilion 9:30-5pm daily and plan your reservation accordingly.
• Take time to enjoy the patio cafe with great food and a small kids menu.

We love activities that introduce our kids to culture through entertainment and humor. Seize the opportunity to spend a fun afternoon with your family while exposing them to the symphony. The Magic Circle Mime Company and the Phoenix Symphony are hosting an afternoon of mytery. This kid-friendly atmoshere is perfect for a little culture and a lot of fun!

The Book

Title: Jake the Philharmonic Dog

Author: Karen LeFrak

Illustrator: Marcin Baraski

Recommended Age: 4-8

Book Brief: Like most dogs, Jake loves playing fetch. Unklike most dogs, Jake loves music even more. He loves to wag his tail to the beat of an ordinary day and “sing” with the birds. When his friend Richie, the principal stagehand at the Philharmonic, brings Jake to work one day, Jake is treated to a lesson in real music. He “woofs!” to the tweeting woodwinds and “ruffs!” to the deep horns, but when he hears the entire symphony orchestra practice, he knows to be quiet and listen. And when a crisis develops at that night’s performance, Jake steps onstage and steals the show.

About the Author: Karen LeFrak is an active member of the New York Philharmonic Board of Directors. An avid dog-lover, she breeds and shows champion poodles and also visits pediatric units in hospitals to provide animal-assisted therapy with her retired champions. She is married to Richard LeFrak, president of the LeFrak Organization, and they have two sons, Harrison and James. Together they divide their time between Manhattan and Southampton, with their flock of poodles. Karen will be donating her proceeds from this book to the New York Philharmonic.

About the Illustrator: Marcin Baranski doesn’t own a dog, but after completing this book, he’s thinking about it. Over the past six years, he has become a well-known illustrator for Cosmopolitan magazine. Marcin is also a fine artist and lives in Krakow, Poland, with his wife and son. This is Marcin’s first children’s book.

The Blast

The Magic Horn

with the Phoenix Symphony + the Magic Circle Mime Company

Location: Symphony Hall

225 E Adams St

Phoenix, AZ 85004

(602) 262-7272

Date & Time: Saturday, March 7, 2009, 2:30pm

(Pre-concert activities at 1:30)

Cost: $10-$18 per seat

It’s a Blast! The renowned Magic Circle Mime Company joins The Phoenix Symphony for an afternoon of mystery. At the invitation of the conductor, “Sahara Bob”—an adventurer of questionable character—brings his collection of exotic musical instruments to the concert. Little does he know the invitation is a trap. Sahara Bob is about to meet “the genie of the magic horn” and the audience will witness the legendary powers of musical instruments.

Pre-concert Activities (1:30 p.m.) – Mystery and magic abound – make a magic horn and watch a magic show. Abracadabra! An afternoon of fun!

Extra tips for a Good Time:

• Take care of the essentials before the performance starts. Eat lunch before you arrive and have your kids take the opportunity to use the restroom. Nothing can ruin a pleasant afternoon of music and fun like constant potty breaks!
• Check out the other family-friendly concerts put on by the Symphony and sponsored by Target.

The Book

Click here to get the book and more in our Amazon store!

Title: Lives of the Athletes: Thrills, Spills (and what their Neighbors thought)

Author: Kathleen Krull

Recommended Age: 9-12

Book Brief: Babe Ruth was the world’s greatest slugger — and off the field snacked on pickled eels and chocolate ice cream. Johnny Weismuller swam to Olympic fame — and on land practiced the Tarzan yell. Babe Dickerson Zaharias won eighty-two golf tournaments — and when she beat a man, she gloated, “And me a little old gal!”

About the Author: Kathleen Krull has nimble fingers (from typing) and strong arms (from lifting research books). These activities have led to many successful books for young readers, including Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph became the World’s Fastest Woman, illustrated by David Diaz, and the previous books in the Lives of… series. When her athletic pursuits extend beyond her writing career, her sport of choice is swimming in her backyard pool. As a spectator, she most enjoys competitive ice skating. Kathleen Krull lives with her husband, an artist and swimmer, in San Diego, California.

About the Illustrator: Kathryn Hewitt is agile with her hands (most often occupied by a paint brush) and on her feet (which take her on a daily walk). As a child, when she wasn’t drawing she liked to play baseball and jump rope; these days her athletic endeavors include swimming, playing croquet, and watching baseball. In addition to creating the illustrations for the Lives of… books, she has illustrated Flower Garden and Sunflower House, both written by Eve Bunting. Kathryn Hewitt lives with her husband (a former football player) and their two athletic children in Santa Monica, California.

The Blast

NBA All-Star Jam Session

Dates & Times:

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, downtown Phoenix

Website: http://www.nba.com/jamsession/09_home.html

Cost:

It’s a Blast! Have fun and make history as Jam Session touches down on Planet Orange!

• Dribble, drive, shoot and slam all day
• Meet Your Favorite NBA and WNBA Players and Legends
• Get FREE autographs from your Favorite NBA All-Stars
• Get ready for over 500,000 square feet of NBA excitement spread over two huge floors of the Phoenix Convention Center
• Measure Up to Your Favorite NBA & WNBA Players
• Purchase the Hottest NBA All-Star Merchandise at the NBA Store
• Get Basketball Tips from NBA Players and Legends
• Be There for this Once in a Lifetime Experience

Extra tips for a Good Time:

What is it about this time of year that makes me crave sweets so much? I’ve just come off the Halloween sugar high, and now the Pumpkin Pie has found its place on the kitchen counter. Thank goodness for my daughter’s new love of cupcakes! These sweet morsels of goodness pack a punch of sweet and savory flavors. It’s not like eating a piece of fruit for a snack, but it keeps me from sticking my fork into another piece of pie.

The word on the street is that the best cupcakes in town are found at Sprinkles Cupcakes in Scottsdale. They’re a bit expensive, but they work as a great reward for finishing reading time. While you’re at it, make one of those books Pinkalicious, in which the main character eats so many cupcakes that her skin starts to turn colors!

The Book

Title: Pinkalicious

Click here to get the book and more in our Amazon store!

Author: Elizabeth Kann & Victoria Kann

Illustrator: Victoria Kann

Recommended Age: 4-8

Book Brief: Pinkalicious is a New York Times best-selling book about dessert, desire and discipline.

Pinkalicious can’t stop eating pink cupcakes despite warnings from her parents. Her pink indulgence lands her at the doctor’s office with Pinkititis, an affliction that turns her pink from head to toe — a dream come true for this pink loving enthusiast. But when her hue goes too far, only Pinkalicious can figure out a way to get out of this pink predicament.

The colorfully illustrated book will leave you salivating and giggling and is a must-have for the little cupcakes in your family.

About the Author & Illustrator: Victoria and Elizabeth Kann are sisters who grew up in New York City.

Children’s Book Author and Illustrator Victoria Kann’s award-winning artwork has graced the covers and pages of many magazines, newspapers, and books including Harper’s magazine, Business Week and the New York Times.

Elizabeth Kann’s writing has appeared in a variety of publications including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Chicken Soup for the Soul and the Chocolate for the Soul series.

Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann co-authored Pinkalicious, which was published by HarperCollins in June 2006.

You can learn more about the creative sisters on the official Pinkalicious website.

The Blast

Sprinkles Cupcakes

Location:

4501 N. Scottsdale Rd. (at Camelback across from Fashion Square)

480.970.4321

Hours: Monday through Saturday 9-7; Sunday 10-6

Cost: $3.25 per cupcake

It’s a Blast! No, it’s not the cheapest cupcake in town, but these are the cupcakes that the movie stars are eating! If that didn’t win you over, maybe the fact that they’re delicious will help.

Pastry chef Candace Nelson wanted to find a way to share her love of gourmet cakes with people on the run. She and her husband moved to Los Angeles from San Francisco to open the first Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills. It was a huge success! Sprinkles has even found its way into popular culture, with multiple refrences on television shows. Why? The blend of trendiness and tastiness. Dad . . . this is a great opportunity for Daddy-Daughter time. She’ll eat it up.

Extra tips for a Good Time:

• Check the Sprinkle Cupcakes website to see when different flavors will be for sale.
• From now until the end of March, enjoy some “drinking chocolate” with your cupcake.
• Use the experience to launch a fun tradition of experimenting with cupcake flavors in your house. Though the Sprinkles variety aren’t cheap, the homemade kind are!

I still remember with vivid detail the first time my mom took me to cast my vote in a presidential race. It set a precedent for the rest of my life and taught me the importance of being informed on issues and exercising my right to vote. Taking your children to a Kids Voting precinct will spur political conversation in your home and let you impress upon your kids the need to be involved in the political process. To initiate a conversation on the election that doesn’t bore the little ones to death, grab a copy of President Pennybaker.

The Book

Title: President Pennybaker

Author: Kate Feiffer

Illustrator: Diane Goode

Recommended Age: 4-8

Book Brief: What if a boy ran for president and won?

Being a kid isn’t easy, just ask Luke Pennybaker. Chores, school, homework, and more chores. Who needs it? Sent to his room for a time-out, Luke devises a plan to run for president and make life fair for kids once and for all.

As “Pennies for Pennybaker” builds momentum, Luke’s campaign takes hold across America. Being president of the United States is all a kid could hope for – or is it?

Completely plausible and surprising, Kate Feiffer and Diane Goode’s spirited collaboration is sure-fire inspiration for presidential hopefuls across the land.

About the Author: Kate Feiffer is the author of three picture books for children, Double Pink, illustrated by Bruce Ingman, which the New York Times praised for its “economy of style and understated wit,” and the recently published Henry the Dog with No Tail, illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Ms. Feiffer is also a filmmaker and a mother. She lives with her family on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, where she is at work on her next book for children. Visit her at katefeiffer.com.

About the Illustrator: Diane Goode is the illustrator of more than forty books for children, including several written by Cynthia Rylant, Alligator Boy; When I Was Young in the Mountains, a Caldecott Honor Book; and most recently, Baby Face: A Book of Love for Baby. She lives with her family in Warren, New Jersey. Visit her at web.mac.com/goodedog.

The Blast

Kids Voting

Date: Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Location: Local Kids Voting precinct or on the web

It’s a Blast! Participating in Kids Voting is simple. First, have a discussion with your kids about the issues that you think they’ll understand and that impact them. In this particular election, they’ve probably been hearing about the presidential race for a year. They most likely don’t know how the race could impact them or their family, though.

Next, visit www.kidsvotingaz.org to see whether your school is participating as a precinct. If so, schedule a time on election day to vote in person. If not, you may vote online . . . and discuss with your kids how an absentee ballot is just as valuable as a vote cast in person.

Finally, watch the results of the “grown-up” election come in throughout the evening on the various news channels and websites. Also be sure to check the results on the Kids Voting website and discuss with your kids why the results may be similar or different.

Extra tips for a Good Time:

• Help your kids practice before they show up to vote. This will make them feel more empowered when they actually vote, instead of having to rely on your assistance.
• Discuss with your children the things they’ve been hearing at school about the coming election. Take the opportunity to teach them to be tolerant, but to stand up for what they believe.
• Visit with an older relative and talk about the different presidential races they remember.