Today Monsters, Inc., one of my favourite Pixar movies, hits theatres, this time in 3D. Sulley and Mike, the top scare team in Monstropolis, slip in and out of kids’ bedrooms collecting screams. Screams are the main power source in the monster world. But Sulley’s job is suddenly on the line when a small girl named Boo follows him back to Monstropolis. Check out this new featurette about the movie:
Last week, when I was walking around my neighbourhood, I saw crews flooding the ice rink near my home. That means we’ll be skating in the park soon! Do you like skating or playing hockey? If so, you might like Over at the Rink: A Hockey Counting Book, written by Stella Partheniou Grasso and illustrated by Scot Ritchie. Set to the bouncy rhythm of the counting rhyme Over in the Meadow, the book tells the story of a hockey match at the local rink. Count referees, goalies and defence players as you tap along to the beat. Let me know what you think of it!
Meet Renata Liwska. She illustrated the story “Jack Rabbit” in DecemberChirp. We asked her a few questions about drawing and creating her art. Check out what she had to say:
What’s your favourite thing to draw? Before I did children’s books, I drew mostly people. Then I started drawing pigs – lots of pigs and a few geese. But since then I would definitely say bears. Brown bears, panda bears, funny and sad bears.
Where do you get your ideas? Even though I draw bears and such, my drawings are often inspired by my real-life experiences – even when I am illustrating other people’s words. These experiences can be from when I was a little kid or something that happened yesterday.
If you could be one of the animals you draw, which one would it be? Bears might be good because they get to sleep through the winter. Birds travel all over, and porcupines get a lot of personal space, I would think.
What are your favourite colours? Quiet colours, probably brown.
Renata Liwska is the author of The Quiet Book, The Loud Book, Little Panda, Red Wagon and The Christmas Quiet Book.
Are you getting excited for the holidays? Do you like making your own holiday decorations? My daughter, who is six, LOVES doing crafts. This past weekend, she helped me make colourful paper chains out of patterned scrapbook paper to wind around our tree and loop along our stair railing. Then she snipped some of her colourful drawings into paper strips to make more chains of her own. They looked pretty cute. Next we’d like to try making handprint wreaths. Here’s how we’ll do it:
First, we’ll trace our hands on colourful paper or fabric, then cut out the handprints.
Next we’ll glue the prints together in a circle, alternating colours and patterns, with the fingers pointing out.
We’ll glue on a ribbon bow or some buttons, and ta-da! A new wreath to decorate our home.
And it will be fun next year to see how much my daughter’s hands have grown.
Have you had a chance to check out the Arctic fox in December Chirp? Here are a few fun facts about this month’s Amazing Animal:
The Arctic fox lives up north in the Arctic, where polar bears also live.
The fluffy white fox is built for life in the frosty Far North. It has extra-thick fur and lots of body fat to keep it warm. And unlike other foxes, it has furry feet.
Its coat turns white in the winter so it can camouflage, or blend in with, the snow.
Find out more about the Arctic fox in December Chirp!