Summer 2008 – Beijing Olympics – Chinese/Asian Stories For Kids and Other News!

Semi-autobiographical story of lesson in freedom

 To watch the youTube video of Little Leap Forward (Barefoot Books first entry into YA – Chapter books) by the author with his own flute music background and in his own words < Author Go Ye > you can find it here!

Teachers – Need Current Facts About China?  <Click Here> for pdf on “Today’s China”.

 Find This & Other Asian Folktale Books At My Barefoot Books site HERE! <<<< Or Asia for Kids HERE! <<<< 

Oooh! It has been way too long since my last post! Let’s see what all has happened since I last wrote here.

• I spent 2 & 1/2 months organizing and running an American Legion Youth fundraiser ( a golf tournament, 3 meals, with a silent & live auction) to buy uniforms and equipment for Pony League Teams and provide scholarships for 2 Boys & 2 Girls (high School seniors) to go to Boy’s State and Girl’s State for a week to learn all about how government works. I have to say that charity org stuff is a heck of a lot of WORK – in more ways than one. My hat is off to those professional fundraisers; listen people – I wouldn’t want to do that for a living! However, if I do say so myself (ahem) we rocked! We raised over $32,000 dollars for a one day event; the most ever for any American Legion in Texas history. Oh! BTW – I will never, ever be responsible for that much admin of an event again!
• Had lots of Grandbabies birthday parties in the Spring & Summer. Way too much cake & ice cream ( I have gained ten pounds) and there is still one more for the year tomorrow evening at a park for the NASCAR kid. I don’t know if there is anything licensed by NASCAR that he doesn’t already have; so guess we will be shopping Friday morning for something!
• I have started another online store at Talulas Wagon but it will probably the end of August before it looks presentable enough to really market. It will expand the children’s book offerings of multi-cultural and environmental subject matter and I will be adding some of the links from here and other sources for parent & teacher tips & products. I want to add other toys, games, gift items and more companies to shop for childrens books. So many parents and teachers had asked for items I didn’t have; that it pushed me into expansion mode!
• On that note; I have dropped my Barefoot Books website; although I am still selling Barefoot Books. For now, at least; it was not getting the traffic I had hoped after 2 years, so I decided to build my own site. As it will take me a while to change all the linked buttons from here at Talula’s Blog; please bear with me. If you have any questions when a link doesn’t work – just leave me a comment and I will try to jump on that one for you.  I hope to see you there!
• Lastly — The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing are off to a great start this week. China and the U.S.A. are in a neck-to-neck battle for the most gold medals. It will certainly be interesting to see how the Chinese government will handle all this spotlight on their country. I do hope for all the athletes & coaches (from all the countries) the problems will be minimized so their individual & collective efforts shine through.

To honor the host country of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and to help children learn about the Chinese culture while it will be in the news and in peoples conversations for a few months; Barefoot Books is highlighting their titles with Chinese stories.   Teachers; these will make great additions to classrooms for units on China! Add the Red Dragon puppet for story time fun!  Teach your classes about Chinese culture AND enjoy the 20% Off Barefoot Books listed price for my limited time offer!*

To Purchase These Titles – Click On Talula’s Wagon above!

Follow the ancient trade route

Follow the animals of the Chinese zodiac

Simple Yoga for Kids

Great addition to story time

Great “Dad” Story

Heartwarming adoption story

From many cultures

Lullabye music for little ones

Small boy’s lesson about freedom during China’s cultural revolution

Chinese New Year! Celebrate with Barefoot Books!

 

This post is a little late in the day; due to a major wonkiness in my computer hard drive — will expand on that issue later.

Now for a proper celebration.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!   IT IS ‘THE YEAR OF THE RAT’!

WHICH MEANS THOSE WHO ARE EARTHY-TYPE PEOPLE AND HIDDEN TREASURES CAN BE FOUND TO BE GOOD AND PROSPEROUS THIS YEAR; BUT ALSO BE CAREFUL OF SECURITY (HIDDEN SECRETS, STOLEN ITEMS, BREAK-INS PARTICULARLY WITH HOMES WHICH HAVE AN ENTRANCE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE HOME).  CHINESE FOLKLORE IN THE YEAR OF THE RAT SUGGESTS TO ENJOY THE EARTHY  FOLKS AND HIDDEN TREASURES, WHILE BEING CAUTIOUS OF YOUR HOME’S SECURITY.  

Celebrate by reading some wonderful folk tales from Asian cultures. Here at Barefoot Books we have several Asian-inspired items with gorgeous illustrations and some quotes about certain titles from some very famous people! Have a fun look at the list below.

We’re Riding on a Caravan ( An Adventure on the Silk Road)

The Great Race (The Story of the Chinese Zodiac)

Stories from the Silk Road (an expanded anthology [collection] of stories from Asian folklore)

Tenzin’s Deer (“This beautifully illustrated story aptly reflects the values pervading Tibetan culture” The Dalai Lama)

My Daddy is a Pretzel (Yoga for Parents and Kids) (“This book conveys [yoga’s] wisdom to kids and grown-ups alike in a way that combines light-hearted humor with high purpose – try it and see!” —Deepak Chopra) 

Yoga Pretzels (50 Fun Yoga Activities for Kids & Grownups) (“Yoga Pretzels is a fantastic way to spend quality time with my kids. Together, we exercise our bodies and minds leaving us feeling energized and refreshed! I’d highly recommend it to anyone with children” Caterine Zeta-Jones, actor & mother.   

Putumayo Asian Dreamland CD ( …tranquil lullabies…)

Motherbridge of Love ( A story of the connection between the East [birth mother] & West [adoptive mother] and the child they shared in creating) Author: Xinran

folkmanis RED DRAGON PUPPET  (20 inches long , perfect for enacting our stories in your classroom )

All of these items are available on my Barefoot Books website in the ‘Children’s Books’ list. < CLICKABLE PHOTOS ON LANDING PAGE >