by Sandra Murphy

Since the holiday season is upon us, here are some great suggestions of gifts for your young ones! These books are fun for the kids, but also teach them about recycling, eating their vegetables, therapy dogs & more. Also at the end of this article is a chance to win a copy of one of the books!

Tutu Goes Green by Tulani Thomas
32 pages, hardcover, ISBN-10: 0984601201, $15.95

Especially this time of the year, kids want everything they see. This book for children ages 4 to 8, will teach them another way—recycle, reuse, and repurpose.

Tutu is an African-American girl searching for ways to help the planet. Each project is simple enough for even the youngest child to learn—turn off the lights when leaving a room, recycle old notebooks and paper, repurpose soup cans into pencil holders. The illustrations are colorful and clear. Children too young to read the words can still follow along and be included in doing something important for the Earth.
Tutu’s story is a great way to teach awareness of the environment. It’s easy to make the book’s suggestions become a habit for a lifetime. Your child can make small changes that will make a big difference to the Earth.

Challenge children to find ways to help around the house, to reduce waste and discover new uses for old items. Instead of wanting everything new, show them other ways to enjoy what they have. Order the book early and let them recycle, reuse and repurpose gifts for family and friends. Soup can pencil holders anyone?

Support Indie bookstores & KRL-click here to buy this book!

Feeling Great with Jasper State: Eat Your Green Things Every Day by Judith Margaret Johnson
32 pages, hardcover, ISBN-10: 0982022859, $14.95

Jasper State is a small chocolate Poodle who loves his veggies. It’s his mission to teach children to eat their green things every day so they grow up strong and healthy. Complete with a CD of Jasper’s own song, the book explains the importance of veggies at every meal.

Jasper wears his signature blue jean jacket and sunglasses in the colorful illustrations. During his walks, he snacks on string beans. Kids will love the novel idea of a dog eating veggies and will want to join the fun by eating their veggies too. Children 3 to 10 will love Jasper State.
Let Jasper put your child on the path to good nutrition in a fun and colorful way.

Nurse Frosty and the Big Bingo Balooza by Lee Juslin
32 pages, paperback, ISBN-10: 1257951580, $19.99

For children ages 4 to 10, the Nurse Frosty books are entertaining and educational. Frosty is a Scottish Terrier and nurse to the residents of the Four Paws Retirement Home. When relatives move into retirement homes, children are often confused. The Nurse Frosty books let them know in a fun way, that enjoyment of life doesn’t end just because you get older.

In this fourth installment, the Four Paws is hosting a Fall Festival. Mrs. Fold’ear tells fortunes, Omar the Chef is cooking non-stop, and Rodney Rabbitsky is in charge of it all. The big finale is the bingo and all is going according to plan until three uninvited guests show up to ruin the fun and steal the money. Nurse Frosty is fiercely protective of her patients and shows the three rats they can’t get away with this crime!

Older folks have lives too, crime doesn’t pay and how to handle bullies are subtle messages embedded in a story children will love to hear over and over and adults won’t tire of reading aloud. Well written and beautifully illustrated, this book makes a great gift and a way to explain assisted living to younger children.

All three books will teach a child the love of reading, to focus on details as they look at the illustrations, and how to improve their lives and the lives of those around them—including the Earth. What a wonderful gift to receive.

To enter to win a copy of Nurse Frosty and the Big Bingo Balooza, simply email KRL at life@kingsriverlife.com with the subject line “Frosty”, or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen November 12, 2011. U.S. residents only.

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the arch, in the land of blues, booze and shoes—St Louis, Missouri. While writing magazine articles to support her mystery book habit, she secretly polishes two mystery books of her own, hoping, someday, they will see the light of Barnes and Noble.