5 Minutes For BooksBook and a Craft | 5 Minutes For Books

Klutz Guide to the Galaxy: Review

Elizabeth — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 16:00:11 +0000

At what age do you outgrow Klutz books for kids? 12? 15? 40? At our house anyway, no one is in any danger of that happening.

I think most people are familiar with Klutz books. They’re known for their layouts and bright colours, which pull their readers in, for being jam-packed with lots of facts and information, and for their great sense of humour. They always come with hands-on applications and materials, taking their topics from the theoretical to the practical, and ensuring that kids will be involved with their subject.

The Klutz Guide to the Galaxy is an excellent example of all that Klutz does so well. Packed with information about astronomy, the planets, constellations, and our galaxy, it includes kits to build-your-own sundial and a very cool working telescope, charts to figure out how old you’d be on Mars, and other fun additions. There’s a Tourist Guide to the Moon, and a map of the galaxy (with the prerequisite “you are here” annotation!). There are the phases of moon, illustrated, and the “phases of Dave,” also illustrated (My favorite was waxing gibbous Dave).

There are travel guides for the other planets (hint: you pretty much always have to pack your own oxygen) and instructions for how to navigate by the stars, along with star maps. There are instructions on how to test your night vision, which begin: 1. Drink a big glass of water before going to bed. 2. When you have to get up to go to the bathroom… There are instructions for telling time using a sun dial or using shadows, and explanations as to the difference between magnetic north and true north.

All this information is contained in a spiral-bound kid-friendly package. And, just between us, it comes in pretty handy for adults who want a fun and easy way to brush up on all that stuff they used to know, before they had to fill their heads with boring information like where their car keys are, and what time their kids need to be picked up.

It’s tempting to write about all that is included in The Klutz Guide to the Galaxy, but you really should just get your own copy. It’s educational fun for everyone. You can see some of the inside page spreads at the Klutz site.

~~And guess what? THREE of you get to win your very own copy! Lucky you! Leave a comment below to be entered to win (U.S. residents only). The giveaway is open until 5/11.~~

Elizabeth still has a ways to go before she outgrows Klutz books. Read more of her infantile pleasures at her blog Planet Nomad.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter or on Facebook or YouTube.

A Book and a Craft: Spring

5 Minutes for Books — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:00:29 +0000

Since Spring is in the air and St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, we read this fun colorful book called, What Makes a Rainbow. This is a fun story showing how colors come together to make a rainbow. It’s also a 3D book, where the colors come out of the book in the form of ribbons. Each page talks about a new color and shows a new rainbow. My daughter loves to turn each page and watch as the rainbow gets bigger and bigger with each new color added.

To celebrate this book and bring it to life, we made our own Rainbow Ribbon Rings. We used shower curtain rings and found some scraps of ribbon, representing all colors of the rainbow. Then we tied each color to our ring in the order from the book as we read it. Now it’s a fun playful ring that my daughter dances around with.

Here’s another version of Ribbon Rings we’ve made before, wrapping them around the whole ring and leaving the ribbon long and flowing to play with. These too would be fun to make with all colors of the rainbow to celebrate this book and the coming of Spring!

Marie is a crafter, foodie, and mother of 3. She writes over at her blog, Make and Takes.

Book and a Craft: A Book of Kisses

5 Minutes for Books — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:00:20 +0000

With LOVE in the air this Valentine season, we’ve been reading the children’s story A Book of Kisses by Dave Ross and Laura Rader. This story gives kisses all around, sharing why we give kisses and who we give kisses to. It even tells us how to say “kiss” in every language!

To celebrate this story and it’s many kisses, we made Giant Rice Krispie Treat Candy Kisses! These are fun and easy treats to make, helping to share a kiss with your loved ones!

Supplies for Giant Krispie Kiss:

Ingredients for Rice Krispies

tinfoil

wax or parchment paper

black permanent marker

Make your favorite Rice Krispie recipe and let them cool poured out onto wax paper. Then pick out a handful and start to form it into a tear drop shape (this works great if you spray your hands with vegetable spray first!) It should look like a Hershey’s Kiss when you’re done.

Then take a 1×15 inch piece of wax paper and write a fun phrase on it like, “I Love You” “UR My Sweetheart” in black marker. Then place the wax paper strip under your Kiss, letting the ends be longer than the actual Kiss. Now wrap your whole Kiss and wax paper strip in tin foil, ending with the top, letting the paper come out of the top. It’s now ready to give someone a KISS with! Happy Valentines!

Marie, who loves to read with her kids, is crafting up a storm at her blog, Make and Takes. She is also the editor of Blissful Kids, where you can find more kid-friendly fun.

A Book and A Craft: Is That You Winter?

5 Minutes for Books — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:01:25 +0000

I love the children’s story Is That You, Winter? by Stephen Gammell. Stephen Gammell is the both the author and illustrator of this magical tale. His splashes of paint make for a perfect snowy day, especially as my house is covered in 8 inches of snow.

This story is about Old Man Winter and how he gets up in the morning to make it snow. His truck flies off, trailing snow out the back. The whimsical flurry of snow makes me want to ride along.

For a fun activity and to enhance the story, my kids and I painted our own snowy scene using an old toothbrush and some paint.

Supplies for Winter Time Snow Paint:

old toothbrush

white craft paint

art paper

paper plate

newspaper & apron – for paint splatter

Optional: glue, paper, scissors, markers – for an object on top of painted snow

Cover your area with newspaper. Pour paint onto the plate. Dab a little paint onto your toothbrush. Then using your finger, flick the toothbrush close to the paper, and you’ll see the paint makes fun splashy spray marks onto the paper. (You may want to practice flicking your toothbrush with water first.) After flicking paint some, my kids wanted to scrub the paper with the toothbrush. I think it added to the snow flurry.

While you let your paint dry, create an object that can be glued in your snow scene. We have a red sled and a silly snowman. Once the paint is dry, glue the object onto your paper. Now you have a fun Wintery Wonderland.

Marie, who loves to read with her kids, is crafting up a storm at her blog, Make and Takes. She is also the editor of Blissful Kids, where you can find more kid-friendly fun.