0 Love Books Exchange : The Tantalizing Turtle's Tall Tale :

We received our package from A Spoonfull of ideas - An awesome pairing fitted to the "T" to the non-crafty Bubble Ink. Like we said in this post, A Spoonfull of ideas is one of those crafty-blogs we have been pinning and bookmarking for the simplicity in her craft ideas. The blogger being India based, the craft supplies are also easily available and all her activities seem so doable and are creative too.

We received Turtle's Tall Tale* and 2 activities in our package. 
*Buy your copy here on Amazon or on Flipkart
The Book:
A lovely story by Aimee Sald and illustrated by Lisa Kerr - a story of a turtle who loves exploring in the ocean and is always on adventure journeys. The turtles friends dismiss his adventures and explorations as "Tall Tales", till one day they decide to follow him and are surprised with the Sun Fish . From that day on, they indeed start believing his stories. 

The book with its repetitive text and the bubbling's love for fishes was a great hit. We loved the beautiful illustrations too. 

The Package:
The package was very well planned with 2 activities. 

Make your own turtle with Walnut shells:

We got 4 walnut shells( to give us enough tries to break the shell in exact halves) , green foam, googly eyes and a turtle template to make this one. The Bubble Ink got to eat the walnut too with the bubbling dismissing it , being eager to do the activity. 

With the bubbling so much into googly eyes these days, this activity was an instant hit and she waited patiently holding those googly eyes for me to cut the turtle template. 

Foam sticker activity:
This went perfectly with the theme of the books, with octopuses and fishes as foam stickers to take off and stick on to reproduce an ocean scene. With a little help, the bubbling was all engrossed and finished an octopus and a fish at one go.


A Spoonfull of ideas had it all right with the bubbling - Her love for fishes, her recent fascination with googly eyes and her i-never-get-bored approach for stickers. We loved every bit of the package. 

It was a lovely experience packaging something like this for another kid - a surprise package, that too a one involving books and activities for them to enjoy! This was part of the Love Books exchange 2014. See all other packages here to get do them at your own home. 

See a Sneak Peek of what we sent to On Board the Mommyship -  blogger, story teller and a superb crafter herself - See her work here.

0 Love Books exchange : Sneak Peek - Because it's all Good

We @ The Bubble Ink love books and have been always been a teeny-bit guilty of giving other equally enjoyable things a lesser priority - one of it being Crafts. While we bookmarked and pinned a host of websites - we didn't get down to doing them as often as we would have liked to. One such website was The Educators' Spin On It. We really love how they make books, activities and the whole deal of bringing up toddlers - so enjoyable. The website really creates that vibe in you to get you enthused about kid-lit and craft related with children.

When I came across the Love Books that they have been hosting - I was interested in participating in it even cross country - By making arrangements to deliver and receive my package through close family living in the USA. I wrote to them and to my surprise, they agreed to host an exchange India, provided I get a few interested bloggers in India. [Kim had agreed to host it even if there was 1 other person to play exchange with me]. But, when I have these awesome bloggers in my network like A Spoonfull of ideas, Cuddles and Reads, Parenting Mantras, On board the Mommyship, Chooku Booku and Prajakta - All of them book lovers and most of them even story tellers. It was a super response and the exchange happened for the first time in India with 7 participants.

More than half of the participants were those with whom we have already been exchanging books especially Parenting Mantras, Chooku Booku and Cuddles and Reads. So we wished to send it to the awesome story teller, lovely crafter and a blogger:  "On Board the Mommyship" from Golpo whose blog and articles on Parentous I have been following for a over 2 years. The wish came true, Kim paired me with her.

We love what Golpo is doing - the choice of books, the stories, the craft - the pictures say it all. 

Our package :

The child to whom we are sending the package is around the same age as the bubbling - So we chose to send the book which was an instant hit and is still her favourite. We also believed the book can serve as a great choice for Golpo sessions, if On Board the Mommyship prefers it to be. The choice of the book was an easy one, we were lucky to find a copy easily too. Every day, since the last 1 week - making the package has been at the back of the mind. I had been mentally planning this throughout last week - with each day giving me a new idea. With On Board the Mommyship, being an awesome crafter and a creative story teller herself, we wanted to make it extra special for her. Hope she and her son enjoy the package as much we did making it for her.

Here is a sneak peek of what we sent, We just have one statement to say,
"Because it's all good"

A note of thanks to The Educators' Spin on it for this idea - It is such a lovely gesture making a package like this for a kid! -

Now does anyone want to guess the book!

0 Doodle with Dad : Father's Day

Doodle With Dad
Celebrating Daddy Dearest with our Dearest things Books.

Doodle with Dad - Theme being Art.


Bubble Ink Book Picks : These are picture books which feature dad and/or those have art in them.

Beautiful Oops : Barney Saltzberg : A beautifully message and intelligently crafted book. When you think you have made a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make something beautiful. The book lists all such mistakes and what creative and beautiful things they can be turned into.

The Dot: Peter Reynolds: A story of a girl who thinks she can't draw but her teacher believes she can. She starts off with one little dot which starts her journey as an artist.. A lovely read for any wanna-be artist. Self discovery!

Activity Ideas:

Beautiful Oops:

http://imaginationsoup.net/2010/09/beautiful-oops-moments-barney-saltzberg/

http://alittlezhuzh.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/beautiful-opps/

The Dot:http://www.lifelessonsforlittleones.com/the-dot-by-peter-h-reynolds-book-review-and-activities

0 Dine with Dad : Father's Day @Bubble Ink

Dine with Dad:
Celebrating Daddy Dearest with our Dearest things Books.

Dine with Dad - Theme being Food.

Bubble Ink Book Picks : These are picture books which feature dad and/or those have food in them.

Every Friday - Dan Yaccarino - Story of a father-son who go for breakfast together every Friday morning - the book narrates their walk down to the diners. The book is beautifully illustrated to show how the father-son slow down their busy life, taking time off to watch things around and it ends beautifully to say "Can't wait for the next Friday"!


The Tiger who came to Tea : Judith Kerr - A beautiful story of a Tiger who comes for Tea and eats and drinks up everything in the house leaving neither dinner or anything in the pantry to cook a dinner up. The father frets not and takes the family out for dinner and shopping to buy Tiger Food.

Activity Ideas:
Tiger who came to Tea : http://rainydaymum.co.uk/the-tiger-who-came-to-tea-fun

You can cook up a meal or go for a Saturday breakfast with the daddy - That counts too!

As always, not mandatory to read only Dad-child books , not mandatory to read only Food related book, not mandatory to read only with the dad.

0 Date with Dad : Father's Day at Bubble Ink

Celebrating Daddy Dearest at Bubble Ink - Today we Date with Dad.

"Love you to the moon and back" - Guess How much I love you - by Sam McBartney and Anita Jeram - 

- If saying those words to your little one everyday is not enough, then go on a Book Date. 


Date with Dad picks from the Bubble Ink. The Theme is "Love".

1. Guess How much I love you. - by by Sam McBartney and Anita Jeram  - A lovely story featuring a father bunny and little bunny in which they tell each other how much they love each other. Every time, the little bunny stretches his arms or feet to show "This Much" - the father bunny goes higher, longer and much more than the little.a Father-child love that!
and the book ends with "Love you to the moon and back". 

2. Papa, Please get the moon for me. by Eric Carle - A daughter wants to play with the moon and the father sets out to get her the moon - Is he able to? How does he solve the problem - A lovely story that reminds us of all that daddies are ready to do for their children. They say, Don't call it lost till Mom can't find it. Don't call it quits, did Dad can get it for you, Even, The Moon Be it!

And if your birthday is nearing, this is an excellent read too
3. How many sleeps till my birthday by Mark Sperring and Sebastien Braun. A story of a father bear planning a surprise party for the baby bear and how the baby bear goes on tirelessly to ask How many more sleeps till my Birthday? - Lovely gesture that.
Read CuddlesAndReads' Review here on Divya's blog.

Here are some more that we shared for our "Daddy Dearest" during our 30day reading challenge.

Activity Ideas:
These are links from various sites across the internet.

Guess How much I love you http://havingfunatchelleshouse.blogspot.in/2013/02/guess-how-much-i-love-you-book-and.html

Papa, Please get the moon for me: 
http://mstremlsteachingblog.blogspot.in/2011/07/papa-please-get-moon-for-me-by-eric.html


You could read any of your favourite books on this book-date with daddy. You could read your daddy's favourite too. You could read any book on love theme. You could read just about anything!!

There is a maximum of 5 points to be won for this theme.

It is not mandatory to read these same books or do the same activities. 

Reading any book gets you 2 points.
Reading a book either on "Dad" as theme or with "Date/Love" as the theme gets you 2 more points.
Doing any activity on any theme gets you 1 point.

If the dad does any of these with you, give him a Hi-Fi instead of an additional point!

Send us an email to bubbleink.writes@gmail.com with your reads as text or pictures or post on our FB Page post.

0 Father's Day @ Bubble Ink

Bubble Ink celebrates Dad's Day with our dearest things, Books. We will read and share with each other books that we read, book or craft related activities that we do.

Date, Dine, Doodle and Dine with Dad!. For each of these these, we'll post book picks / reviews along with links from the internet for activity ideas.

Date With Dad:
Go on a book date with Dad. The theme is "Love". Read the book you love, a book about parent-child love,pets-love, toys-love anything, adventure-love, sports-love or just read anythings - as reading is all your love. Take your dearest book to Daddy Dearest to gain those extra points.
Eg: Love you forever , Guess How much I love you.
Also books like We're going on a Bear Hunt - which features the father going on a adventure with the family.
Activity idea: Make a card for Daddy.

Dine With Dad:
The theme is "Eat/Cook". Read any book related food. Cook a meal with him. 
Eg: The Tiger who came for Tea, Gruffalo is good too :).

Activity idea: Host a pretend play tea/dinner party along with your favourite book character. Cook up a dish for daddy. Create any craft around food theme. 

Doodle with Dad:
The theme is "Art". Read any book related to art. Make a doodle with him. Draw your favourite book character with him.
Eg: Beautiful Oops, Harold and the Purple Crayon, ish.

Doze with Dad:
The theme is "Sleep". Read any sleep theme book or any book at bedtime with daddy or a book having dads putting children off to sleep.
Eg: Ten, Nine,Eight by Molly Bang 
Interrupting Chicken by Erza Keats
Owl Moon - Jane Yolen.

The blog post for the day will detail the theme for the day and will include picture books featuring dads or which relate to the theme . It can occasionally include internet / Pinterest links with activity suggestions. Doing the very same activity or reading the exact books in the blog are not mandatory to qualify for the points.

Rules:
1. It is not mandatory to read only "Dad" themed books, neither is it mandatory to read only with the "Dad". Like we always say, Just Reading will suffice.

2. Every day starting Wednesday June 11, a blog post and a wall post on the FB page will be made announcing the theme for the day. Books read/Activities done can be posted as a comment there or can be sent as an email. The comment can be pictures or simply mentioning the book and the activity. There is no time restriction to post or email. The contest will run till June 17. Any theme can be done on any of the days. Doing multiple themes on the same day is allowed too. If you are not doing that same activity as in the blog, it is easier to email the activity to us than looking for the right FB post. We would appreciate if you send email(s) for the theme. 

3. Each theme can win you a maximum of 5 points. 
Break up of points:
Read any book : +2
If the book is on the theme like Dining/Doodling/Dozing/Dating or if it is dad themed :+2
Do an activity around the book or the theme : +1

So a maximum of 20 points for the 4 themes mentioned above.
The points table will be posted on a timely basis.

4. The one who gets maximum points will win a Rs 200 flipkart voucher. International participants can opt for a equivalent 5$ voucher on amazon if available in their country or will have to go with the INR voucher. Indian residents can also opt for a book of their choice to be shipped. In case of a tie, a lucky draw will be done to pick one winner. Prizes are self sponsored by Bubble Ink and have no association with Flipkart. If the contest sees very inactive participation, Bubble Ink will decide not to give out the prize voucher.

5. The contest closes on 17 June 2014 and winner announcement will be made on or before 22 June 2014.

0 N is for Nancy Tafuri

N is for Nancy Tafuri
Nancy Tafuri is best known for her "Have you seen my duckling" which is a 1985 Caldecott Honor.

Books that the Bubble Ink has read:
Have you seen my duckling?, Who's counting?, You are special, Little One.

Books read to the Bubbling:
Have you seen my duckling?, Who's counting?

Bubble Ink pick:
Have you seen my duckling?

Bubbling Pick:
Have you seen my duckling?

Some more that we think are great:
Good night, My Duckling.

We will review "Have you seen my duckling"


The Book:
Have you seen my Duckling is written and illustrated by Nancy Tafuri and is a 1986 Caldecott honor

Buy yours here on Flipkart.

The Bubble:
The story is told in illustrations than in the words. The first page has the text "Early one morning.." and shows how a duckling wanders away to catch a butterfly and his sibling ducklings calling out to him. Mamma duck goes around asking everyone "Have you seen my duckling". While the Mama duck asks everyone, seen in the illustration is the duckling hidden away so subtely but the mama duck unable to see it. There is a also a page in which the duckling is just behind the Mama - Brilliant that!

A mom-child theme book where the story is told by illustrations.

Bubble Ink Verdict:
We love this almost wordless book with a simple story line yet wonderful. We love picture books that double as a game of hide and seek. Our love for the book is the reciprocation of the bubbling's delight in the book on its first read and every subsequent read.
We love the first page that forms the basis for the entire story - the duckling wandering away to catch a butterfly and the other ducklings calling out to it.

This is one of those books that can very well be your child's first book and the most loved one. A must-have in every child's library.

For us, it is on the list of the Bubbling's favourites.

We borrowed ours from Hippocampus, Bangalore.
We give it 5-bubbles.

Bubbling's verdict:
It is undoubtedly a bubbling-full-five.
This is one of the books that she just didn't want to return back to Hippocampus. We brought it back the first time we went to return it. Bubbling is a lover of lift the flaps, pull tabs and she loves surprises. She delighted at finding the duckling on every page , even in the subtlest of the hiding places. She used to squeal in delight and we have read this one atleast 8 times back to back on the first read and one every other day for all the days it was with us.
Somehow, the bubbling thought that the duckling is hiding from the Mama and did not think that it got lost. Well, wordless books are wordless for this reason, it is left to the imagination of the reader.