Review & Giveaway: If I Were A Park Ranger by Catherine Stier

Celebrate National Park Week April 20-28 with

 If I Were A Park Ranger! 

If I Were A Park Ranger 

By Catherine Stier 

Illustrated by Patrick Corrigan 

April 1, 2019 

Albert Whitman Company 

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If you were a national park ranger, you'd spend every day in one of the most treasured places in America. You'd have an amazing job protecting animals, the environment, and our country's natural and historical heritage, from the wilds of Denali to the Statue of Liberty! 

Park rangers help take care of some of the most important places in the USA- our national parks- and in If I Were A Park Ranger, author Catherine Stier introduces young readers to all the fascinating, amazing, and necessary work park rangers engage in on a daily basis. 

From leading tours, educating guests, keeping wildlife safe, taking part in important scientific work, and more, park rangers do so many things to help maintain and protect our national parks, and If I Were A Park Ranger does a superb job of explaining these tasks to young readers in accessible and captivating ways.  Patrick Corrigan’s colorful, detailed, and engaging illustrations wonderfully bring various national parks to life and perfectly capture Stier’s text. 

A beautiful and enthralling celebration of park rangers and national parks, If I Were A Park Ranger is the perfect way to celebrate National Park Week and get young readers excited about America’s national parks and the people who take care of them! 

As a child, Catherine Stier wanted to be an author or park ranger. She visited her first national park as a baby and has been a fan ever since. She is the author of If I Were President and several other award-winning picture books, and has worked as a magazine writer, newspaper columnist, writing instructor, and children's literature researcher. She lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband and volunteers with programs that connect families and children with nature and the outdoors. To learn more, and to download free activity sheets and curriculum guides, visit her website: catherinestier.com. 

Ten lucky winners will receive a copy of If I Were A Park Ranger by Catherine Stier. 

One Grand Prize winner will receive a signed copy of the book PLUS a Park Ranger Stuffed Doll, a “National Park Geek” Iron-on Patch, National Park Animal Cookies, Camping Stickers, Woodland Animal Mini Notebook, and Book Cover Postcards! 

Winners will be selected at random and notified via email. One entry per person, please. US addresses only. Entries are due by 5/3/19.  

Follow this link to enter! 

(this giveaway is not run by Word Spelunking)

The Line Tender Blog Tour (review and baking project)

The Line Tender 

By Kate Allen 

April 16, 2019 

Dutton 

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Heartbreaking but also filled with wit and hope, The Line Tender is the story of Lucy, the daughter of a marine biologist and a rescue diver, and the summer that changes her life. If she ever wants to lift the cloud of grief over her family and community, she must complete the research her late mother began. She must follow the sharks. 

Wherever the sharks led, Lucy Everhart's marine-biologist mother was sure to follow. In fact, she was on a boat far off the coast of Massachusetts, collecting shark data when she died suddenly. Lucy was seven. Since then Lucy and her father have kept their heads above water--thanks in large part to a few close friends and neighbors. But June of her twelfth summer brings more than the end of school and a heat wave to sleepy Rockport. On one steamy day, the tide brings a great white--and then another tragedy, cutting short a friendship everyone insists was "meaningful" but no one can tell Lucy what it all meant. To survive the fresh wave of grief, Lucy must grab the line that connects her depressed father, a stubborn fisherman, and a curious old widower to her mother's unfinished research on the Great White's return to Cape Cod. If Lucy can find a way to help this unlikely quartet follow the sharks her mother loved, she'll finally be able to look beyond what she's lost and toward what's left to be discovered. 

It's just been 12 year old Lucy and her dad since her marine biologist mother passed away. Luckily, Lucy has her best friend Fred to help her keep her head above water. The arrival of a great white shark sets off a chain of heartbreaking and life altering events that send Lucy on an unforgettable journey.

Kate Allen's The Line Tender is a heartfelt middle-grade novel about grief, friendship, and family. Allen authentically and carefully explores these topics, crafting a deeply felt story that will move and inspire readers. Readers will feel connected to Lucy's voice and relatable growing pains. The relationships in The Line Tender (Lucy and Fred, Lucy and her dad, their friends) are developed well and especially captivating. 

Along with Lucy's endearing emotional journey, The Line Tender is a great celebration of nature, marine life, and the coolest animals on earth: sharks!

And I was inspired by The Line Tender to create these fun shark cupcakes:

Kate Allen grew up in Massachusetts and lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her family. The Line Tender is her first novel. 

New Spring Titles From Silver Dolphin Books

From Silver Dolphin Books 

In 1990, author Amy Gary discovered a trunk of unpublished manuscripts and songs in the attic of Margaret Wise Brown’s sister’s barn. These manuscripts provided the source material for many of the titles in a new line of classics by the beloved author. Silver Dolphin Books—publisher of high-quality, activity-based books for children ages 2 to 12— will launch fifteen new Margaret Wise Brown titles in Spring and Summer 2019, with two more publishing in the fall. 

Count to 10 With a Mouse 

By Margaret Wise Brown 

March 19, 2019 

Silver Dolphin Books 

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Fun and playful story by Margaret Wise Brown, best-selling author of the children's classics Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. 

From the author of Goodnight Moon, this beautiful children's picture book with gentle illustrations is a perfect way to get your children reading (and counting) with a lovable, engaging storyline. Ideal for beginning readers, this book is sure to become a family treasure. 

The Diggers 

By Margaret Wise Brown 

March 19, 2019 

Silver Dolphin Books 

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Fun and playful story by Margaret Wise Brown, best-selling author of the children's classics Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. 

Dig, dig, dig! Join the animals and machines as they dig an incredible journey of discovery underground in this imaginative story from best-selling children's author Margaret Wise Brown. This amazing adventure is brought to life by French illustrator Antoine Corbineau, using a patchwork of texture and color in his vibrant illustrations to bring the fun and energetic world of the diggers to life. 

Sleep Tight Sleepy Bears 

By Margaret Wise Brown 

April 2, 2019 

Silver Dolphin Books 

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This beautifully illustrated magical story from best-selling author Margaret Wise Brown—creator of the children's classics Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny—will enchant children and parents alike. It's a perfect bedtime story for your little one. 

Follow the story of the sleepy bears in Sleep Tight, Sleepy Bears in this beautifully illustrated magical story from best-selling author Margaret Wise Brown—creator of the children's classics Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. It's a perfect bedtime story for your little one. 

Fans of the beloved classic Goodnight Moon are going to fall in love with these new Margaret Wise Brown picture books! Full of Brown’s signature whimsy and tenderness, and each illustrator’s unique and masterful renderings, these three books are sure to excite little readers. 

With its delightfully amusing pages, Count to 10 With a Mouse is a fun way to teach little ones their numbers. While, The Diggers is a lively and surprising celebration of nature and movement. And Sleep Tight, Sleepy Bears will charm and sooth little readers to sleep with its comforting bedtime routine. Through engaging rhymes, repetitive phrases, text of various sizes and movement, and captivating illustrations (bold bright colors and shapes, dreamy scenes, sweetly rendered animals) each of these stories is playfully and wonderfully brought to life. 

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Even though she died 45 years ago, her books still sell very well. Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way saw things. Margaret died after surgery for a appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else: a writer of songs and nonsense. 

William Sheepspeare 

(Wild Bios) 

April 9, 2019 

Silver Dolphin Books 

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William Sheepspeare’s plays were shear genius! 

Meet one of history’s greatest figures in this adorable board book with an animal twist! Dive into the life of the eloquent Baa-rd of Avon and the plays that shaped our language today. William Sheepspeare’s human themes have resonated with every generation. With hilarious puns and colorful illustrations, this book brings his legacy to life for babies and parents alike! 

Silver Dolphin Books continues their quirky and fun animalistic introductions to famous historian figures with William Sheepspeare. Through clever, laugh-out-loud puns and word usage, this perfect sized board book allows little readers to meet the infamous William Shakespeare in a really fun and accessible way. With colorful, amusing illustrations and irresistible text, William Sheepspeare is a delight. 

*Disclaimer: I received copies of the books above for review/feature purposes. All reviews, opinions, and thoughts are my own.