Author Melissa Taylor started Imagination Soup in May of 2009 with the mission of making learning fun for kids. Each week, Melissa posts plenty of ideas to keep your kids learning every day. Posts are categorized into reading, writing, science, math, imagination, freebies, toddler, preschool and elementary. Obviously at Book Dads, we’re most interested in the reading and literacy category and I am never at a loss for finding great resources and literacy ideas I can pass on to our readers and followers. Recently, Imagination Soup has been showcasing some fantastic guest bloggers, most of whom are children’s authors or illustrators, to share their ideas, too.

Here are some examples of the things you can find on Imagination Soup:

* Want to Get Kids Reading? Try a Sit Down Comic - Guest post by author, Michael Spradlin. Does your child suffer from The Kid Who Doesn’t Like To Read Syndrome? The answer to why kids contract TKWDLTR Syndrome is multi-layered and complex. I meet many during school visits who come from homes where the parents don’t read themselves, not even a newspaper or magazines.

* Stories Shape a Child’s Heart – Guest post written by Mitali Perkins, YA author, mother, blogger and world traveler. As we seek to raise a generation of compassionate children, stories are powerful allies.

* Teaching Lessons Through Picture Books – Guest post by Suzanne Santillan author of picture book, Grandma’s Pear Tree. My favorite picture book as a child was “Mrs. Twiggley’s Tree” written by the late Dorothea Warren Fox. It was a quirky tale about a terribly shy woman who lived in a tree with her dog and some visiting bears.

If you’ve been following Imagination Soup you may have also heard they won an award from Scholastic for the Best Reading and Book Blog. Congratulations to Melissa Taylor for her hard work! This is indeed a well deserving award!

Papa and Me by Arthur Dorros & Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez

Reviewed by: Ryan LaLonde

About the author:

Arthur Dorros is a real-life papa. He learned Spanish while living in Latin American and helped teach his son, Alex, the language. One of Alex’s first words was “agua,” and Arthur called him “Agua Man.”

Arthur Dorros is the author of many books for children, including Julio’s Magic, a CLASP Americas Award Commended Title, and the popular Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science book Ant Cities. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

About the book:

From the time they wake up in the morning, a Latino boy and his father have fun. They cook breakfast, walk out to the park, and then take the bus to visit Abuelo and Abuela. The simple words, in both Spanish and English, and the bright, exuberant unframed double-page picturs celebrate the loving connection between parent and child — whether they are standing close together sharing stories on the crowded bus or the boy tells his father, “I am flying, flying” as he climbs a tree.

My take on the book:

Papa and Me is a beautiful bilingual expression of a full day of a father and son spending time with each other. While Papa may only speak Spanish to his son, the main language is the unspoken one between a father and son. Whether it be father and son making pancakes and eggs (Sabroso) in the morning or their trip to the park where tall trees bend and with a boost from Papa are perfect for a climb, the book takes the reader on a beautiful journey. The journey continues through a bus ride filled with stories and splashing in puddles and ending with a big hug from the grandparents. This is a story of the love and companionship that can exist between a father and a son.

And beautiful is the perfect word, because the story is reflected by the most lively, chalky paintings that consume the whole page and spread with color and non-stop movement. Rudy Gutierrez certainly did not hold back in these illustrations. Culturally, these paintings incorporate little hints of Aztec-like suns, carnival-like loops of color and warm tones that make you feel the whole book is a piece of Spanish Folk Art. The illustrations really make the book come to life and the story that much more powerful.

It does not go unsaid that this book is really for dads and sons everywhere – in fact the author, Arthur Dorros dedicates the book to all the Fathers and Sons.

Does Your Daughter Have Dad Hair? by Craig Lawrey

Reviewed by: Chris Singer

About the author:

Craig Lawrey is a Navy Distinguished Marksman, an accomplished ocean going Sailor, and a not-so accomplished Equestrian. He has been an Army Infantryman, Postman, Navy Reservist, and an Environmental Consultant. The hardest and most inspiring job he has ever had (his words), is being a stay-at-home dad. He resides in Southern California with his wife, two children, and a plethora of animals his kid’s call pets.

About the book:

Craig Lawrey’s book, “Does Your Daughter Have DADHAIR? A Step-By-Step Guide For Dads,” teaches dads how-to manage their daughter’ hair. Using color photographs, hints, tips, and psychology of the father-daughter bond, he humorously makes light of and helps abolish “dadhair.”  A book written by a real dad for real dads.

My take on the book:

According to the author, “Dad Hair” can be defined as a style in which hair is arranged so it is obvious that an unskilled stylist (namely the male paternal figure) is responsible for disaster you are looking at. Generally, moms can tell which girls have stay-at-home dads on the basis of seeing their “dad hair.”

Let’s face it dads: If you have a daughter, there’s going to be some point in time when you’re going to have to “do” their hair, especially if you’re a stay-at-home dad. I don’t know about other at-home dads, but I take pride in how my daughter looks because it’s also a judgment on my ability as a parent. A lot of dads might complain about this task or might not even think it’s their “job” to do, but I love what Craig says at the beginning of his book:

For men who know in their hearts that there is no such thing as a woman’s job.

It’s all about being a mentor, a parent, a father, and putting outside pressures behind you,

so you can truly “MAN-UP” TO THE JOB.

This book is an excellent step-by-step guide for helping dads with brushing, braiding and styling their daughter’s hair, but it’s much more than that as well. Craig also delves into the importance of building a strong father-daughter relationship and how time spent doing hair is also a great opportunity for some bonding time.

I’m thankful for a book like this to help me as my daughter gets older and it’s time to do more in terms of styling and managing her hair. I appreciate the step-by-step instructions and nice, clear photographs for visual learners like myself! Do yourself a favor and think of this book as an investment in your daughter. Get yourself a copy before your daughter leaves the house with the dreaded “Dad Hair!”

My Daddy is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Kids written by Baron Baptiste (Illustrations by: Sophie Fatus)

Reviewed by: Ryan LaLonde

About the author:

For more than twenty years, Baron Baptiste has been an impactful teacher, trainer, leader and catalyst in the realm of personal growth. Baron has impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of people from dozens of countries with his best-selling books, video/audio products, public speaking engagements, live trainings and workshop presentations and appearances. Baron’s books have been published and translated into more than 12 languages globally.

About the book:

My take on the book:

My Daddy is a Pretzel is a rare instructional story book that inspires you to stretch your mind, body and soul with your child in kid friendly yoga positions. Written by world-renown yoga teacher – Baron Baptiste, this book is a definite expression of a dad who wants other parents to get involved in yoga and its benefits.

The story revolves around kids in a yoga class that say what occupations their parents have. One kids says his Mommy is a gardener and his Dad is sometimes a tree, the an interlude that teaches parent and child the Tree Pose (like Daddy). The step by step instructions are enhanced by simple and delicately illustrations by Sophie Fatus.

The story continues on this theme of occupation and then the Daddy taking a related object that has a coordinated pose. Throughout, Dads take the form of dogs, triangles, airplanes, bridges, fish, plows and even as the title suggests – a pretzel.

Through the story you see empowered mothers with jobs and careers and present fathers who are connecting with their kids through yoga and various positions. The book also has tips for young yogis. It is a rare book for dads and kids. It transforms story time into an body experience that could be healthy, interactive and memorable for kids and dads of all ages.

MrsP.com is an award-winning FREE interactive digital storybook destination. Classic children’s stories are brought to life in the Magic Library by TV star Kathy Kinney (played Mimi Bobeck on The Drew Carey Show) as Mrs. P. The site was created with the goal of giving kids the wonderful experience of having a trusted, skilled storyteller read them classics of literature. Rather than simply presenting an audiobook, Mrs. P recreates the look and feel of “story time”, a magical ritual many kids might not otherwise get to enjoy.

For parents, you are able to sort through video stories to find the ones that are age appropriate, or time appropriate, under View Just Videos. There is also a Fun Activities link for you to be able to find coloring sheet downloads, activity guides, and other freebies!

For teachers, Mrs. P can be brought into your classroom for free since their is no licensing requirements. The same links above can be accessed by students. There are also activity guides which can be used in conjunction with chapter books like Alice in Wonderland. Every story also offers read along options so children can see the words, which is helpful to early readers, and ESL students. There’s also a cool game on the site: Reading Challenge Game

Yesterday, Mrs. P launched her annual Be A Famous Writer Contest. The contest runs from September 1st to October 15, 2010 and is for children ages 4 to 13 years of age. This is a great activity for the students in your classroom or for your creative storytellers at home.

I’ve already watched some of the videos with my 17-month-old daughter. She really enjoyed it and I look forward to exploring more of the Magic Library.