Festivals Books

This is probably going to sound strange, but there is a sweetness to Monica Wellington's simple book that makes me feel as if it were written and illustrated with an abundance of care and love - which makes it that much easier for me to lovingly read and share the book with my baby.

Bunny's Rainbow Day goes from a brilliant dawn to perhaps an afternoon shower and ends, of course, with a rainbow. The cut-out illustrations on each two-page spread are bright and bold, friendly with a touch of funky. Each illustration repeats four elements - a white bunny, rainbow-colored bird, blue butterfly, and red lad bug - which lend themselves for pointing games ("Where's the butterfly?" or "Show me the bunny.") The sparse words are full of imagery ("morning sparkles") and alliteration "plip plop splash") that have a fun, gentle cadence.

My one complaint, and it's a minor one, is that the pages are too long for my baby to hold the book easily (which she likes doing). I imagine she'll outgrow this problem before too long, though.

My daughter loved this book. We started reading it to her when she was about 6 months old. The combination of bright colors, distinctive pictures, cute animals and rhythmic words ensured that this was a hit with her. She would demand that we read this book to her multiple times a day. As she got older, we found that the book was good for "can you point to the bunny" and "who is that" type games. Now that my daughter is 2 1/2, she has pretty much outgrown the book--she wants books with more of a story. However, if you have a small child between the ages of 6 months and 2 years, I would strongly recommend this book for you.

My year-old son and I loved Bunny's First Snowflake. We have read that sooo many times and I went looking for more in the series. Amazon was out of print for Rainbow Day, but I bought from one of their resellers, with great results.

This book is cleverly written, just like Snowflake, the text is suggestive of sounds... woosh, rustle, etc. I'd say I like the illustrations in Snowflake a teensy bit better, but Rainbow day has lots more bright colors and action.

Recommend highly!

Our 11 month old loves this book. The bold colors and rhythmic text are appealing both to her and to her parents! We read to her several times a day, so it's great to find a book that we can stand to read over and over again...

My daughter loves this book! The bright colors and animals keep her attention! Excellent for infants and toddlers!

This is hands down our favorite Halloween book. We read and read our first copy until all the pages fell out! So we ordered another one.

Everyone in our family adores this book. It's got the singsongy rythym children love, great (if gholish) illustrations and a great message.

Message? Yes--- two, actually.
The story presents the supernatural world as a reality. However, it also shows the main character (the little girl) as being just as powerful as the supernatural creatures who 'threaten' her--- moreso, as all it takes is for her to say 'go away!) for them to leave her alone.

In addition, it teaches that a child's body is his/her own, and s/he has a right to tell people not to touch it. Subtlely done, but still enforced.

Great book. I'd recommend it to all, and hope it gets back into print.

Like most 4 year olds, my son loves scary stories. Just as typically, he freaks out if the scary stories turn out to be, well, scary. This is a perfect scary-but-not-really story that's been our number one bedtime read for several months now. The cumulative (every page repeats the previous page and adds a line) poetic structure does a lot to hold his interest, as do the wonderfully goofy pictures. Lots of fun.

We have checked this book out many times from the library and have found it a pleasure everytime. The illustrations are wonderful and the text rhymes enough to keep even my smallest child interested. The story line is about Halloween characters catching sight of a little girls toe as it is visable 'By the Light of the Halloween Moon' . Each wants this toe for himself/herself but is foiled but another creature coming upon the same scene. Lots of fun and a good book to read with your children.

This is a cumulative rhyming story that begins with a child's pair of bare feet dangling peacefully over the side of a bridge in the silvery moonlight of a Halloween night. One by one, various creatures of the night reach forward to grab one of the little, unsuspecting toes, but each attempt, in turn, is botched by the next creature. Black cats, bats, witches, ghouls and other spooky folk take a crack at the toe and the suspense keeps building in a delightfully fun and entertaining way. The Halloween creatures are all so funny that this story really cannot be considered at all scary but the level of suspense takes it out of the realm of the cute and deftly places it in the realm of the spine-tingly! It's high spirited Halloween fun for one and all.

A really great book to learn about the religion, customs and history of the Jewish faith. The storys are wonderful and the crafts and food are easy and meaningful.

Aimed at intermediate or slightly older readers (but also could be read aloud to younger readers) this is an excellent introduction to the major Jewish holiday, including traditional ways to celebrate the holidays, recipes, activities and history. Adults as well as children are likely to learn something new about each holiday - I know I did!

Good books on Jewish traditions and heritage are very hard, if not almost impossible, to find. This book is easy to read and understand - for adults and children alike.

I used this book to introduce my private-school, sixth grade students to some Jewish holidays. The stories are clear, entertaining, and accurate, explaining the history and religious reasons for each holiday without being educationally or spiritually overwhelming. They are written with love and care; even my non-Jewish students remembered and referred to the stories throughout the year. This book is a treasure!

This has proven to be the perfect book to help our own (Catholic) children learn about the holidays our Jewish friends and neighbors celebrate throughout the year. Thank you, Gilda Berger and Peter Catalanotto!

Tish is my hero. This book is filled with a lot of really great ideas and things to think about in a fun way. I've re-read it several times just to laugh at all the fun experiences. Having worked on festival planning staffs, this book should be required reading!

Chasing The Rainbow should be considered required reading for not only festival organizers, but also for those that attend festivals. Tish Owen's style of writing is easy to read, humorous and to the point. If you're looking to do something altruistic & want to improve the general quality of festivals being held all around the country, buy a truckload of copies of this book and hand them out to every organizer and attendee you know that can read! And her information can be applied to most festivals, not just the pagan-oriented ones. If you take the time to read it, you will have the information that is essential for running your own festival or how to be the perfect participant at anyone else's. Plus, it is an entertaining read, full of amusing stories of actual events. Buy this book, you won't regret it!

with over 10 years of experience Ms. Owen has taken all of her knowledge from the good the bad and the ugly and created a phenomenal manual for holding a pagan festival. But this manual can transcend to a higher level and be used by people of all religions and the such to assist in creating a great festival without reinventing the wheel.

Tish Owen's "Chasing The Rainbow: Facilitating a Pagan Festival" is a must-read for anyone planning a pagan festival or any other similar event. Having attended many pagan festivals all over the country, I must say that the Pagan Unity Festival is, without question, one of the best managed events I've ever attended. The logistics and activities are handled in a smooth and thoroughly professional manner. People know what they can expect and what is expected of them. As a result, they can relax, enjoy themselves and feel safe. When problems have arisen at PUF, they are handled in the same efficent manner with style and grace. In short, Tish Owen has a proven receipe for success outlined in this little tome. I only wish something like "Chasing The Rainbow" had been available in years past.

I once saw a sign posted outside an encampment at an SCA event that read "Only Pennsic is worth the hassle that only Pennsic is." Here in the Pagan world, the same can be said of almost any gathering or festival put on for the Pagan community. Anyone who has tried to organize such and undertaking knows the difficulty involved, and the tremendous feeling of relief when everything goes right and the event is a success.

Tish Owen's new book, Chasing the Rainbow: Facilitating A Pagan Festival is less a how to book than a conversation on paper in which the author relates through practical, been-there advice what to do and not do when organizing an event. Her experiences as the founder and organizer of one of the midsouth's most popular festivals shines through in this chatty, friendly tome. From what kind of festival you want to have to how many are coming for dinner, this book offers the best sort of advice to put a festival organizer, or anyone who might want to work at a festival, on the right path to creating a fantastic event.

This book should be useful not just for major festival staff, but for anyone putting on a Pagan event of any size. Tish relates not just the lessons she's learned as organizer of Pagan Unity Festival, but as a Coven leader and community organizer for everything from Pagan Pride Days to one day Sabbat celebrations. There are an number of things that can go right and go wrong with an event of any size; this book is great guide to how to make things go as right as possible.

My only complaint with this book is it could have gone into more detail on almost every subject, but at the same time, covering every possible aspect of festival management would require a book probably three or four times the size of this volume. We can only hope that this fine book is the first of many on the subject from this author.

Our family loves this book. My kids are 9 and 12 and they both love it, as do I! It was a great find for us and it will be for your family too.

I found the stories to be thought-provoking and fun to share with my kids. We got a lot of good ideas for meaningful things to do this Christmas season. It sure is good to remember what Christmas is really all about and with those that I love the most!

If you are looking for a way for your family to spend some time together each night during the Christmas season, then this is the book for you. It is filled with stories that make you laugh and cry. My 4 children ages 6 to 11 couldn't wait each night to see which story was next. It was like an advent calendar that we all could share in.

This is a great feel-good book. If you are reaching for the way to make the season more family-oriented and less about "things" this book is for you!

I am writing this review as a story contributor of this Chicken Soup book and a reader as well. I feel honored to be included in this book with such wonderful talent. These stories are just what a Mother needs to read to her children at night before they turn out the light. What a wonderful way to celebrate the Christmas season and what a meaningful tradition to start! This is a book to pass down for generations to come! I am proud to be the lead story of such a masterpiece.

Denise Peebles

Many, many years ago I purchased this book and with my daughter handpainted all of the lovely angels. Because my grandchildren now love to move the angels to various heights at Christmastime, I attempted to located several more of these detailed books - but they were out of print. However, magically Amazon located two more and I am having great fun painting the new angels to give to my grandchildren. The grandest gift of all!

This book is a great arts and crafts book to do with your kids or yourself. The illustrations are beautiful and there are so many ways to decorate the angels. I put them on my Christmas tree when I finished. I've ordered several more copies at my kids request.

My six year old and I did all the angels using either colored markers or inks and brushes. They are beautiful. I'm back to order more books because my daughter wants to do the angels I "got" to do.

This is a great project book if you have several ages to entertain. Even teenagers!

I am a great admirer of Catherine Stock's work. These angels are just wonderful and can make even the most "art-challenged" adult look good. It does take some serious investment of time to color and cut out all 12 angels, but you'll like the results. A little too advanced for my 3 year old, but I can see us decorating the angels together in a few years. Overall, well worth the price and effort.

Wonderful! We have had this book since the early '80s. My daugthers (then aged 5 and 8) colored these beautiful angels with water color pencils and added glitter. We hang them around the creche every year. Beautifully drawn. A wonderful project and a very special keepsake. I am ordering a book for each girl to save until they have thier own children. I hope it never goes out of print.

American Girl can be trusted to produce a great product. This book is well written and illustrated for the younger person in mind..however, Mothers will love this book also. Many ideas and a wide range of materials for craft making for the holidays. American Girls does it again!!

Yet another great Christmas craft book! This book has many great ideas, including snowmen you can eat! I would definitely buy this book for the Christmas season.

I think this book is one of the best ideas American Girls has come up with. The book has many, many ways for kids like me to use my creativity in a useful way at a low cost. People should buy this book because it has a lot of ideas for beautiful, useful gifts. I used some of the ideas last year, and my family loved them. They're still using them! It doesn't cost much to buy and use this book, but you get the best reward when the people you give presents to open theirs!!!!!

I love this book. It contains wonderful, quick and pretty projects. I have already choosen several to make up this year for Christmas. I organize craft projects for my mom's group at chruch and several of these project will be great and very economical for a large group of ladies. If you have a young daughter I imagine she would love this book too.

This is a great book with clear photos and directions for Christmas things from home made mint snowpeople to tree decorations, that appeal to kids and adults.

My family loves this book especially my 4 year old daughter. The illustrations are beautiful. It's the first night before Christmas story that is truly unique and doesn't focus on toys for once!

We began reading this right after thanksgiving when all the christmas stuff came out. We are still reading it with my 2 and my 4 year olds both requesting it. I read a lot of books to them and this one by far grabs their attention more than most. I do not normally write reviews but felt obligated to write something positive about something that has made such a positive impact on my children. Thank you Michael Garland.

I am 8 years old and this is my favorite book. I love the illustrations and my favorite part is when the Christmas Tree dances and when Katrina turns into a real person! I have a dog Max also so I liked when the cat and dog sing. This is a fun book and I think everyone should have this book to read at Christmas time!

Dancing on the lawn,singing cat's and dog's,mice making pies,snow men and women. You can find all of these in Christmas Magic by: Micheal Garland.
The main character is a little girl named Emily.This magical story takes place in a victorian house and her lawn. When she was building a snow woman, a new kid was moving in next door. When she was about to go to bed, she looked out the window and saw the new boy building a snow man.All of a sudden she hears a noise.What was it?Is something wrong?

You will find out when you read Christmas Magic.I recomended this book because if you like how many magical things happen in one day.

I would have given this book 5 stars if the story line had been a little bit stronger and possibly involved the next-door neighbor more into the plot. However, the illustrations are wonderful. They say you can't judge a book by it's cover but I was drawn to this book by the artwork on the front cover and was just as pleased with the beautiful illustrations inside. That alone makes the book worth purchasing.

Cliffords Halloween is about what Clifford wants to be for Halloween. The problem is, he is to big to fit into any costumes, so he decides to be a giant ghost. Emily Elizabeth finds a big sheet and cuts out holes in it for clifford to be able to see out of. This is a very cute book and its recommended for all ages and for both boys and girls.

this is a very good book for the younger readers. it is straight forward and gives good halloween costume ideas for little kids

This book is a great read to prepare your child for the fun and excitement of Halloween. It displays different American holidays and rates Halloween as Emily Elizabeth's and Clifford's favorites. They show Clifford in different costumes and let's your child interact by asking which would "you" suggest. My 3 years old really enjoys this one.

I thought this book was so adorable how on every holiday Clifford does something special like for Christmas he dresses like Santa and gives out gifts, on Easter he plays the Easter bunny, and on Halloween he always dresses up, in the book he dressed up as many different things such as the devil, a clown, a witch, and even a ghost! Hes the most adorable dog in the world!! At Emily's party he was a ghost and everyone loved him. How can't you love Clifford? I know I love him! This book is suitable from the ages 0-6. Everyone will love this book. This book teaches people to help other people and still have fun, like most Clifford books he always shows people how to love, share, and get along.

Clifford feels like he never gets to enjoy the holidays and celebrate with the other children. Halloween allows Clifford to have fun with the holiday and dress up like the other kids in the neighborhood. Clifford joins in the fun with his ghost costume. Although things don't go exactly as planned, Clifford has a good time celebrating the holiday. It is funny and cute as Clifford performs his antics during Halloween so he can be part of the crowd.

Probably my daughter's favorite book of all. She loves it so much, she's been able to recite the entire story since she was 2. Great illustrations and so creative. Highly recommend!

Emily Loves To Bounce is an enthusiastic picture book written and illustrated by Stephen Michael King about Emily, a young girl who loves to bounce around. Playful color illustrations and upbeat words make Emily Loves To Bounce an engaging book for young people just beginning to learn how to read.

This is a book of very few words, however it is incredible! My 2-year old daughter Shani loved it thoroughly, and so did I. King's illustrations are absolutely out of this world. It's a fun book to read -- we've laughed our way through it many, many times.

There aren't a lot of words in this book, but the art work is absolutely fantastic. Stephen Michael King has done a fabulous job, and his drawings alone made me and my 3-year-old daughter LOVE this book!

Take a moment to slow down and read your child a book about what they love to do... BOUNCE! My son (3 1/2 yrs) loves to read this book and the best part is that every time Emily goes BOUNCE! so does my son. It's a great book and you can get very interactive with the book which you don't find many books that relate to what kids truly love to do. A must have for any active toddler or preschooler.