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Summertime Activities

June 4, 2009 by Carrie

In keeping with our Summertime Fun Giveaway, we have a couple of fun new things to share with you and, of course, to giveaway!

I recently received a copy of Let’s Do Nothing! (published by Candlewick Press) by Tony Fucile. The name didn’t ring any bells for me at first, but Fucile’s other works are certainly familiar. Fucile has worked on several animation projects such as The Incredibles and Finding Nemo. He is an incredibly talented artist and now presents us with his new book, Let’s Do Nothing! This is the story of two boys, Frankie and Sal, who really don’t know what to do with themselves. They’ve already played every sport ever invented, baked cookies and played every board game that they could find. Finally, they decide to do nothing. They discover that doing nothing is actually harder than doing something. The end result is, of course, that they decide to take their wild imaginations and DO SOMETHING! This is a really cute book and perfect for a summertime read (once the kids have decided that there’s nothing else to do and are bored). I thought this book was pretty clever and the illustrations are well-done and curious.

Secondly, you’ve heard me talk about Usborne books before and you’ll hear me talk about them again. (I really do love them.) Their books are wonderful and my son has enjoyed every exposure to them. I was delighted to discover that they offer things other than books, namely, 100 things for little children to do on a trip. Going on a trip? You’ll want these cards. There are 50 “wipe-clean cards” (with dry erase pen included) inside the box. Each card is two-sided and they offer a variety of activities, from mazes and dot-to-dot to creative drawing projects. Each card is bright and cheerful looking and covered with things that spark children’s imaginations and creativity: snakes, dragons, pirates, airplanes, robots and sea life explorations. The cards are sturdy and well-made – certainly deserving of the Usborne label. The cards are 6 inches long and less than 4 inches wide (and their storage box is just slightly bigger than that) making these cards easy to pack and carry with you wherever you go. They take up very little space while offering plenty of activities and ideas for things to do with children in contained spaces. Whether you are flying or driving somewhere this summer, or even if you just want to have these cards on hand for doctor visits or for during church when you are trying to keep wiggly children quiet in the pews, these cards are awesome! Easy to pack, easy to carry, easy to clean and easy to love. I HIGHLY recommend them!

Carrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know.

Because both Candlewick and Usborne are such amazingly cool and generous companies, they have each agreed to give away one of the above items to a 5 Minutes for Books reader. In order to win a copy of Let’s Do Nothing! and a package of 100 things for little children to do on a trip Activity Cards, all you need to do is leave a comment below. U.S. residents only.

Click on the banner above to enter our other Summer Fun Giveaways. All winners will be announced on June 11.

Filed Under: Carrie, Children's Books, Fun and Games, Picture Books

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Comments

  1. clemens says

    June 8, 2009 at 10:20 am

    as a kid i was always bored, now my kids are LOL

  2. Heather H says

    June 8, 2009 at 11:46 am

    We would love these for our road trips coming up later this summer!

  3. Brooke says

    June 8, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    How great are those.. I have been looking for new and different things to do this summer…

  4. Beth says

    June 8, 2009 at 12:32 pm

    Would love to be entered – thanks!
    pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

  5. Dave says

    June 8, 2009 at 1:23 pm

    My little nephews will enjoy this book and the activity cards will keep them busy on upcoming summer trips. Thank you for the fun give-away.

  6. Christine says

    June 8, 2009 at 1:25 pm

    This would be great for my son!

  7. Elli says

    June 8, 2009 at 2:55 pm

    with four little ones and lots of camping/car trips this summer, this looks perfect!

  8. Jenny Martin says

    June 8, 2009 at 5:12 pm

    I love it! My kids are always bored…so this will be just the book to read to them. And I love the idea behind the cards…I may have to sneak out to get those today!

  9. Kathy D says

    June 8, 2009 at 10:45 pm

    Summer fun….. I bet it has a lot of great ideas….

  10. Dena says

    June 8, 2009 at 11:19 pm

    I would love these!

  11. Christine Walker says

    June 8, 2009 at 11:49 pm

    I would love to win this!

  12. Erma H says

    June 9, 2009 at 6:37 am

    I would love the chance to win, thanks.

  13. Sharon A says

    June 9, 2009 at 9:18 am

    Need this for the grandchildren.

  14. Ali Hammons says

    June 9, 2009 at 9:44 am

    Looks like a lot of fun things included! Great Idea!

  15. Kristyn Martin says

    June 9, 2009 at 9:59 am

    I would love to win this! We have a trip planned to go to Michigan this summer… which is a 12 hour drive with a 20 month old! Lord knows I could use these prizes on that trip!

  16. Pamela S says

    June 9, 2009 at 12:03 pm

    We always do long driving vacations each summer so these would be great to use on those trips. Anything to stop the “Are we almost there yet?” question. thanks.

  17. Candis Hansen says

    June 9, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    I could use this prize – I need help in trying to entertain a 4 old year.

  18. LaVonne says

    June 9, 2009 at 12:40 pm

    We are taking a summer vacation and these books would be perfect!

  19. Kate says

    June 9, 2009 at 12:41 pm

    This will definitely be useful. Thanks for the giveaway!

  20. shawna says

    June 9, 2009 at 1:28 pm

    I could definetly use this with a three year old.

  21. Cynthia Mercado says

    June 9, 2009 at 1:57 pm

    These would be great for summer travelling.

    mercsmercado at yahoo dot com

  22. chantelle says

    June 9, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    Thanks for another great giveaway! -ChantelleSabino at mac dot com

  23. Bekki Lindner says

    June 9, 2009 at 2:37 pm

    Thank you so much!! My kids would be so grateful!

  24. Denise says

    June 9, 2009 at 3:01 pm

    Great for my kiddos!

  25. chastidy says

    June 9, 2009 at 4:59 pm

    This would be perfect for the boys, our drive to grandmas house is 3 1/2 hrs long. Thanks 🙂

  26. Gabriel J. says

    June 9, 2009 at 5:56 pm

    This would be great for my kids!

  27. Marianna says

    June 9, 2009 at 9:43 pm

    Thanks for the chance to win!

  28. Colleen Yamamoto says

    June 9, 2009 at 10:42 pm

    thanks for the chance!

  29. Chrysa says

    June 9, 2009 at 11:52 pm

    This looks fun! Thanks for the giveaway!

  30. Susan Ledet says

    June 10, 2009 at 12:15 am

    This would be great for my 3 nieces. We all could have fun with it.

  31. Melanie says

    June 10, 2009 at 12:25 am

    The card set looks like something that would be great to have, when your taking a trip with a little one!

  32. Mollie G. says

    June 10, 2009 at 1:09 am

    Wow — the best of several worlds… The kids’ menu (with crayons) at [pick your favorite family restaurant] and the dry-erase boards at school. AND a prime example of “ZEN Mind in Action” (i.e., learning about attempting to do Nothing, eh?)… Come on, random numbers!

  33. Michelle H. says

    June 10, 2009 at 1:38 am

    These cards look great and I am sure my kids would enjoy them.

  34. Angie O says

    June 10, 2009 at 2:15 am

    These look great – i’d love to try them!

  35. Jessica says

    June 10, 2009 at 2:53 am

    This would be awesome entertainment for my daughter on drives to grandma’s house. She gets bored and drives me CRAZY!

  36. Molly Capel says

    June 10, 2009 at 4:17 am

    I would love to win this!

  37. Ann says

    June 10, 2009 at 8:55 am

    What a wonderful treasure trove of ideas

  38. Veronica Garrett says

    June 10, 2009 at 10:52 am

    My granddaughter would enjoy these cards.

  39. kathy pease says

    June 10, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    Thanks for the GREAT giveaway
    please count me in 🙂

  40. Leslie S. says

    June 10, 2009 at 12:23 pm

    My kids have been out of school for less than 2 weeks and I am aleady hearing how they are bored. I think the cards may give us some new ideas.Thanks!

  41. dorothy l says

    June 10, 2009 at 12:34 pm

    Please enter me in the book giveaway

  42. Jennifer M says

    June 10, 2009 at 2:05 pm

    My daughter would be thrilled with these, please enter me.

  43. Brittany Rebello says

    June 10, 2009 at 2:16 pm

    This is so cool!

  44. sandra says

    June 10, 2009 at 3:37 pm

    this will be perfect for our upcoming road trip

  45. Gianna says

    June 10, 2009 at 4:49 pm

    Please enter me 🙂

  46. Lily Kwan says

    June 10, 2009 at 4:49 pm

    Please enter me into the contest. Thanks!

  47. Sherry says

    June 10, 2009 at 6:59 pm

    Perfect for our grand daughter, thanks!

  48. israel y says

    June 10, 2009 at 7:44 pm

    awesome! Thanks for another great giveaway.

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