Charlie Cat Tries Earmuffs on Independence Day!

It's here! Charlie Cat's Independence Day book!

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3eq4ElS

Ebook: https://amzn.to/2AERbrH

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54082922-charlie-cat-tries-earmuffs-on-independence-day


When Momma Cat offers Charlie and Susie earmuffs for the loud fireworks, Susie Dog doesn’t need hers, but a new friend does! Learn about hearing protection and individual preferences in this rhyming picture book for ages 0-8 & special needs.

ISBN: 9798653251535
ASIN: B08B5KDB68

See Inside:

Charlie Cat picture book series explores challenging social situations through rhyme and fun illustrations. For ages 0-8 and special needs.

Join our author mailing list for free printables you can use at home or in the classroom.

Charlie Cat Draws His Personal Bubble on Easter

Susie Dog is so excited to hunt Easter Eggs, she forgets to look where she is going! When Susie Dog spills Charlie Cat's Easter basket, Charlie Cat teaches Susie Dog about personal space.

Charlie Cat Tries Earmuffs on Independence Day

When Momma Cat offers Charlie and Susie earmuffs for the loud fireworks, Susie Dog doesn’t need hers, but a new friend does! Learn about hearing protection and individual preferences in this rhyming picture book for ages 0-8 & special needs.

Charlie Cat Does NOT Like Halloween

Charlie Cat does not like scary monsters and ghosts. Charlie's friend Susie Dog loves to dress up for Halloween. When Susie Dog scares Charlie Cat, Charlie uses his strong voice to tell her STOP. Find out how these two friends get along on Halloween.

Charlie Cat Takes a Break on Thanksgiving

Charlie cat loves Thanksgiving, but when noisy guests arrive, Charlie needs a quiet room. Find out how Momma Cat helps Charlie enjoy Thanksgiving.

Charlie Cat Keeps His Paws Off at Christmas

Waiting to decorate the family Christmas tree is hard! Momma Cat helps Charlie Cat learn how to tell when he should keep his paws to himself, and Charlie is happy to find something he can play with safely.

Fantastic Storytellers Series Launch!

We've got a new release in a new series of workbooks that encourage writing and literature skills, the Fantastic Storytellers series.

How to Tell Fantastic Stories: A Fantastic Storytellers Activity Book, the first in the Fantastic Storytellers series.

Nourish your child’s creativity with Narrator’s upbeat help. Narrator will show students the parts of a story and give students the framework needed to develop creative writing skills. Students fill in blanks, answer review questions, and fill out brainstorming sheets similar to those used by adult writers. Includes silly black-and-white illustrations to color. Ages 6-9.

Available in handbound paperback ($11, includes shipping) and in printable PDF.

For Fantastic Stories in handbound paperback, use Paypal's "Note" to let me know where to ship it and to whom to sign it. You can also pre-order "Visual Writing Prompts," for $1 off the release price, coming out soon.

Coming soon...

Reader's Club subscribers get prompt notification of new releases, preorders, and discounts!

Make Your Own Booklet Project

Hand-sewn Booklet: Make Your Own

It's no secret that we're book lovers and storytellers over here. We've been studying the 7 continents in our homeschool co-op and, as one of the teachers, I've gleefully brought our family's passions to class, introducing the kids to folk tales from each region. Later, I'll post a mega list of all the picture books we've used.

Oceania/Australia presented a unique challenge. For Africa, we chose a particularly hilarious Anansi story and performed a puppet show for my son's presentation at co-op. But for Australia, we struggled to get a hold of picture book at all. 

So, we made our own!

I wanted to do a true booklet so my 3rd grader could hand sew it, which he enjoys, and because booklets like this are more durable and feel more like a "real" book than simpler projects. We already had a manual craft drill, a darning needle (they are blunt), and strong thread.

What we do NOT have is a wonderful but expensive program like InDesign to order the pages for easy printing. When you make a booklet, you lay the sheets on top of each other and sew through the middle, so each page becomes two half-sized pages--the numbering can get complicated. I've made pdfs and docs with blank, numbered pages ready to print using standard programs like Word and Open Office. Get them along with instructions and other booklet project ideas on my teacher pay teacher site to Make Your Own Booklet.

You could staple it if you don't want to sew it, but for us, the sewing is half the fun.

For Australian mythology, we used the story of Crow Steals Fire, broke it down into plot points, and rewrote it in my son's words using his illustrations. He enjoyed retelling the story and sewing the book, so we'll be doing more booklet projects in the future!

Have fun!

Halloween Book Sneak Peak!

Say "Hi" to Charlie Cat!

I mentioned in another post that we have spent many years searching for Halloween books that were appropriate for our young kids - one of which is particularly sensitive to "scary" things. So, if you enjoyed that post, now is the perfect time to join my mailing list and check the "for children" option. Mailing list subscribers will be the first to have access to my upcoming book and free coloring sheets of Charlie Cat.

You see, Charlie Cat does not like Halloween.

Sensitive children are often misunderstood for the simple fact that they don't like scary things. My goal is not to shelter them from the entire world, but simply to respect them for who they are.

This picture book is for children who don't like scary things.

It's ok to not like scary things. There is no magic potion to drink to make you "brave."

It's important that our friends respect when we say "stop." It's important that they respect who we are, and that can be a difficult concept for young children. What better way to share this message than with a book?

Without further ado, here is a sneak peak of Charlie Cat!

Join my mailing list to be the first to hear about Charlie Cat's picture book and other upcoming educational products and books. 

Happy Halloween!