Day 178: We're Sailing to Galapagos

I think if my son could go anywhere in the world, he might choose the Galapagos.  Home to some of the world's most unique wildlife, the Galapagos Islands are truly amazing.  We love exploring and learning about the world through Laurie Krebs' books, and this has been a favorite of ours since the very first time we read it.  We're Sailing to Galapagos, like so many of Krebs' stories, is bursting with fun information about this unique part of the world and the animals who live there.  Grazia Restelli's collage artwork is bold, colorful, and wonderfully intricate, and is the perfect accompaniment to Krebs' rollicking story.  Both of my children love everything about the book, and once again, my geography teacher self is always more than happy to read it with them.

As we sail across the sea to visit the Galapagos, we meet a different species on each day of the week:  "On Monday, giant tortoises, With weathered shells of green, Plod past us while they munch their lunch of vegetable cuisine."  Each day ends with the same chorus, too, for which I made up my own little rhythm and song:  "We're sailing to Galapagos, Galapagos, Galapagos, We're sailing to Galapagos, I wonder who we'll see."  You can also sing the each verse to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat, but I prefer to simply read the part about the animals and then sing the chorus.  Either one works, of course, or if singing is not your thing than just reading it all aloud works fine, too!  Along the way, we meet albatrosses, black iguanas, lava crabs, blue-footed boobies, sea lions, and frigate birds... and the learning doesn't stop there!  The back of the book features fabulous write ups about the Islands themselves, Charles Darwin, and 11 other Galapagos species.  I absolutely love the way Krebs' books grow with children and are appealing to such a wide age range.  The sing-songy verses and colorful illustrations make her books engaging for toddlers, while the additional information at the back is perfect for curious, older adventurers.  Someday, perhaps, we might even be able to go to the Galapagos... but until then, we'll just keep enjoying fabulous books like this one and imagining that we are there.

Day 124: Baby Beluga

A few weeks ago, I took my children to the fabulous Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT.  If you ever get a chance to go, you must!  It is such a gorgeous facility and both my son and daughter loved everything about it.  We also had the pleasure of going on a Friday in October, so there were no crowds whatsoever.  Some of the first marine animals you see when you enter the complex are the beluga whales.  Their tank is right inside the entrance, and you can watch them from above or below, through underwater viewing windows.  As soon as she saw a beautiful white whale swim by, my daughter was obsessed!  She LOVED those whales (as did I -- they are just so gorgeous), and would point enthusiastically toward them anytime she saw them that day, even if they were only in a photograph.  When I saw that the gift shop sold a Baby Beluga board book, I knew I had to get it for her.  It has been one of her favorite books ever since!  She held on to the book our whole ride home, and asks to read it whenever she sees it.  I knew the song before I realized that there was a book to go along with it, having first gotten it on cd when my son was my daughter's age.  We LOVE singalong stories, and Baby Beluga is a perfect book to read and sing along to at bedtime.  I usually find myself still singing the song to my daughter even after we've shut out the light.  The verses are soothing and simple, and the lyrics are accompanied by lovely illustrations of the baby beluga and his Arctic friends.  "Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea.  Swim so wild, and you swim so free.  Heaven above, and the sea below.  And a little white whale on the go."  My son usually comes running in to read with us if he hears us singing the song, too.  I particularly love the page that shows the baby belugas hugging fish under their flippers as night time draws near.  It's just so cute!  With soft, gentle lyrics and engaging illustrations to match, Baby Beluga is a wonderful singalong story that your baby is bound to love.

Day 90: A House for Hermit Crab

It was a beautiful day here yesterday, so after breakfast we decided to drop everything we had planned at home for the day and head to the beach.  I don't think there is any place on the planet where I feel more relaxed and rejuvenated than by the ocean.  The salty air and smell of sea roses, the sound of lapping waves, gazing out at the water and wondering what other shores it has touched around the world... It's heavenly.  Fortunately, my children love the beach as much as I do.   My son loves exploring around the rocks, searching for crabs at low tide, and following the tiny hermit crabs as they scuttle about.  Yesterday, he even got to hold several baby jellyfish that were floating around, which he thought was exceptionally cool.  He has been pretending to be sea creatures ever since -- mainly hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs, and stingrays (though just now he seems to have moved on to being different dinosaurs. It's hard to keep up sometimes!)  What better book to feature today, I thought, than Eric Carle's A House for Hermit Crab?  Like so many of his books, this one is informative and fabulous in many ways.  In January, little hermit crab decides that he's grown a bit too big for his shell and it's time to move into a bigger one.  He's a bit hesitant to leave his old home behind as he's always felt so safe there, but in February he finds just the right shell to take its place.  It's a simple shell, though -- a bit too plain for his liking -- so he sets off to decorate it with new friends he meets along the way:  a sea anemone, starfish, coral, sea urchin, and snails, to name a few.  He carries on, making friends, exploring new places, and making his shell his own, until in November, he realizes he has continued to grow and will once again need to move on.  There are so many lessons to be learned from this book -- I just love it!!  Through his masterful storytelling and gorgeous illustrations, Eric Carle manages to teach us about the months of the year, habits and lifestyles of hermit crabs and other sea creatures, and perhaps most importantly, ways to adapt to and embrace change.  Rather than be scared of having to leave his comfortable, safe home behind, hermit crab is excited about the endless possibilities that await him as he moves on; a valuable lesson for all of us, I think.  Be sure to read the introductory information about hermit crabs on the dedication page, as well as the glossary of sea animals featured at the back of the book.   I think of this book every time we pick up little hermit crabs or empty shells, and wonder what creatures might have called those shells home over the years.  Heading to the beach soon?  Pick this wonderful book up before you go.  It's a perfect summer read!