Consider a Different Gingerbread Man this Christmas

The Christmas season is almost upon us and with that comes plenty of opportunities for baking with the kids. Reading recipes can mean a lot of fun in the kitchen especially when the cooking ties in with a story as well. This Christmas instead of baking the usual gingerbread man why not consider a different kind of gingerbread man this Christmas? Think about the alternative fun baking Gingerbread Aliens instead while reading about the mischievous antics of three young boys as they cook a Gingerbread Alien and all the possibly antics that can go so unexpectedly wrong. This is just one suggestion in my post on "Batch of Books" for more information read the link below.

http://batchofbooks.com/2015/11/baking-for-kids-gingerbread-aliens/

Spreading a Helping Hand

The majority of us go through life lending a helping hand wherever we can, not really planning to try to save the world in any huge way. Most of us don't have the ability to make a huge difference in the lives of great numbers of people at any one time but in general we do attempt to make a difference in whatever small way we can. Whether that be by volunteering at a hospital, helping the homeless, reading in a classroom on a regular basis, or simply raising our own children to the best of our capabalitiies, we all hopefully make a difference in at least one other persons life during our lifetime. Although not everyone has the time to volunteer or the ability to provide their services somewhere, even a smile as we pass by a stranger can brighten someone elses day, a kind word to a child or a moment taken to listen to a friend's problems can change their outlook and make a problem that seemed insurmountable suddenly manageable.

When I began teaching primary school I believed my way of helping society was through increasing literacy skills in our youngest generation of readers. However as the years progressed I hoped to achieve this through writing children's books and spreading a love of reading with fun and laughter instead.

Imagine my surprise when just last week I discovereed I was also lending a helping hand in a completely different way with my books than I ever expected or planned.

I always enjoy spreading a helping hand by encouraging home reading through my facebook group "Raising Awesome Readers" as well as giving away many of my children's books to people in need. Earlier in the year I gave a copy of each of my books to a fellow who lives a somewhat difficult family life. He happens to be a "fly in/fly out" dad to three kids, one of which is severly Autistic and another with Aspergers Syndrome. You can imagine the difficulty and frustration not only for him livng away from his family three weeks at a time as well as his wife trying to manage while he is away. So I gave him copies of Gingerbread Aliens, Aliens Shenanigans and Emma the Eager Emu to take home on his R&R to read with the kids. He was so grateful to be given a simple opportunity to read aloud and share a few precious moments with his children.

I hadn't heard anything from him, nor did I expect to, until I ran into him just last week. I was delighted to learn that not only did his family enjoy all the books very much but his wife, who is a psychologist, found the stories were so good for her children she began taking the books to work.

Her clients are mostly children of parents going through break ups mainly from the rigors of the fly in/fly out life style. She is using my books on a regular basis with the children as they find the characters real and relatable. My stories are spreading a helping hand to help chidren overcome anxieties, fear, tension, sibling rivalry. lack of self-confidence and helping them to learn to face conseequences for their actions all in an entertaining and light-hearted manner. The use of the books have become so successful, she is now lending them to her colleagues.

It is not only nice to know that in my own small way I am making an imapct in childrens lives different to that which I had ever anticipated. It is also rather overwhelming to know that children that need love and understanding are gaining so much more than just a simple smile from reading the pages of my children's books.

What are you doing in your small way to spread a helping hand in your community?

Five Fun Facts About Emus

With my book launch almost here, for both "Emma the Eager Emu" and "Alien Shenanigans" meaning double the fun with double the books launched! I thought it was time to have a fun look at a few fascinating facts about emus. 

My very first memory of an encounter with an actual live emu was when I was ten years old and I visited Symbio or what it was then called, Helensburgh Zoo, nestled in a quiet little town in the middle of Sydney's Royal National Park. We were having a picnic lunch, (as you do) and I was happily eating my sandwhich, (most likely vegemite) when I turned away to look at a friendly hairy nose wombat that came wobbling towards me. Next thing I knew, an emu had snuck up from behind and stretched out its long neck and snatched my sandwhich from my grasp.

This leads me to fun fact no 1.

1. Emus love to steal food from unsuspecting picnicers and campers. If Emus are around when you are eating, keep an eye on your food at all times!

2. Emus have rather long necks and very sharp beaks which they can use to their advantage when sneaking up to steal your food.

3. Emus have big beady eyes, (all the better to see your food with). These eyes have two different eyelids. One is used for blinking just like you and me, the other is used to keep out the dust, and it gets very dusty in the Australian Outback.

4. An emus egg is enormous! They are very thick shelled, dark green and weigh about 1/2kg or 1lb. After the mother lays 7 or 8 eggs, it is actually the daddy who sits on them to keep them warm until they hatch.  The illustrated emu egg pictured here has been hand painted by an Indigenous Australian, beside it lays a chicken egg for you to compare their size.

5. The emu is the tallest bird in Australia, second only in the world to the Ostrich. An emu stands up to 2m tall or almost 6.5 feet, so her legs are very, very long! In fact she can run so fast, she has been said to "run the pants off a kangaroo!"

Below is the link to the Wiggles performing the classic song "Old Man Emu" who can "Run the pants off a kangaroo!" Love It hope you do too! :)

Old Man Emu by the Wiggles.

Don't forget the book launches.

1. Paperchain Manuka (Canberra) 11:00 am Saturday 16th May 15

2. Shine Gifts Cullen Bay (Darwin) 5-9 pm, Friday 22nd May 15