"The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein This book was gifted to me for my graduation from my best friend -- my history teacher, Ms. Owen. The front cover has the most amazing inscription, sending me back into crazy years when life was full of crazy opportunities and many possible directions. While I have positive feelings towards this book, it may be a book needing more discussion instead of just a fun story time read. In searching the web for other fun resources to share, I stumbled upon some articles  talking about the possible negative reactions that can be taken, things like self-sacrifice and selfishness. I've always appreciated the ending relationship in the story, where the young boy and tree come to appreciate each other and can just be together again, like they were at the start before human wants interfered, but I do appreciate this new perspective. So, re-reading this book ended up being a more mind-opening experience than originally anticipated, and while fun,...

"The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales" by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith My kids are ridiculous, and they love these ridiculous stories! Both Brandon and I remember reading this book when we were little, and the insane, erratic behavior of the narrator is what truly animates the whole thing. You may feel a little dizzy after finishing the book, but you love it. Get It Here: Amazon  - Audible, Hardcover, Paperback; Barnes & Noble  - Hardcover;  Target  - Hardcover Giant Stories The giant from the book wanted to contribute so badly, that he created his own story! The original idea and homage to the giant for our activity morphed a few times trying to find the right fit, so now you have a plethora of options to choose from! You Will Need: (2)  Dice   - Borrow them from a board game, or buy a separate set I think our large assortment of dice is from an old version of Yahtzee we threw away. Notebook  - Or pieces of printer paper . Som...

"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" by Judi and Ron Barrett Let's kick off our first post for the Friendly Kids Book Club with one of the classics, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"! We didn't have this book for a long time, but Brandon noticed the error and requested it as a birthday present, so now it's ours. And it's oh-so-loved , as evidenced by the bent pages and cover, probably from the many times I've found it at the bottom of Aedan's blankets after he fell asleep reading it. Get it here: Amazon - Kindle, Audible, Hardcover, Paperback, Audio CD; Target - Paperback, Hardcover Pancake Flip After being indoors for far too long, we needed to get outside and run around. It's been getting hot WAY too early in the day, so we headed outside right after breakfast to trial this game!  You Will Need: ...