Dear Patient Readers,

My apologies for falling off the face of the planet for the past few months. Looking back, it’s amazing how many big things have just flown by over the past 3.5 months: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s, Chinese New Year, my birthday, Valentine’s Day.

I hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends over the holidays and celebrating the new year. I spent New Year’s Eve on a cruise ship with my husband in the Caribbean Sea, watching 4 or 5 different sets of fireworks explode over various cities of the Bahamas. The air was warm, the music was loud, and people were happy and dancing. It was a magical time.

So, other than being busy with my book launch in November 2011, which kept me going from store to store, holiday fair to holiday fair, talking to parents, sharing the books with kids, and hearing such lovely and wonderful feedback from parents, kids and teachers, the other reason I have been away from this blog is because I found out I was…pregnant!

All of a sudden, all the things I had to do felt a little overwhelming, and I decided to focus my energy on getting my books out there instead of indulging in writing out my thoughts. Also, since I was still in my first trimester, it was hard for me to write a blog without revealing I was pregnant yet, so I just didn’t. Not saying it’s okay, but that’s how I was feeling.

Separately, but related, I started a new, personal blog: www.yishaun.com. “Started” is the operative word here. Once I started it, I also failed to do anything with it, like write blog posts. I’m still trying to figure out how to juggle these two blogs, or whether or not to just combine the two of them. I’m not sure yet, but hopefully the answer will come to me. In the meantime, I’m going to try to write more at yishaun.com, so I hope to see you there! ~YiShaun

P.S. And this is a big P.S. for me: people have been so wonderful and have purchased over 2000 copies of my books since the book launch! Thank you so much!

Jimmy Kimmel asked his viewers to play a prank on their children by telling their kids that they ate all their Halloween candy while video taping it.  Some of their reactions were angry, some immediately started crying, and a couple were calmer than expected.  Would you play this kind of prank on your kids? ~YiShaun

It is raining here in Manhattan, and I really wish it wouldn’t!  Especially this Saturday, when I’m supposed to share my new books at my first outdoor street fair along Amsterdam Avenue in the Upper West Side.

When I signed up for the booth originally, the weather forecast said it would be sunny and temperate.  Now, as we get closer and closer to the weekend, the forecast is saying it’ll be cold, rainy and windy,  which is not a good mix for boxes of books!

To help see rain as a more benign visitor, I thought this cute bag from Sewn Natural and this art print from Laura Di Francesco would be sweet and cheerful for a child to carry and to display in a child’s room… ~YiShaun

Imagine peacefully kayaking in the ocean when suddenly a blue whale surfaces right next to you!  This is a great video that shows what it feels like, and the kayaker even dives into the ocean to see the whale underwater.

You know my love of the underwater world, and it’s amazing that the kayaker, Rick,was able to video tape his experience and share it with us… ~YiShaun

{via The Kid Should See This}

M.A. Leslie, a husband and wife writing team, wanted to have a good, ol’ fashioned book fair… on the internet, and they corralled a bunch of writers, including me, to give a synopsis of our books.

I am thrilled to share with you that I received an email last night saying the books are arriving at the end of this week!  So for all the folks that pre-ordered books, you’ll be receiving them sooner than expected.  On to the books…

Astronaut Adventure: I love this book because it shows kids what it’s like to be an astronaut, from walking down the tarmac, to preparing for take off, to floating in space.  There are beautiful water color illustrations of the planets in our solar system based on NASA photos, along with an amazing spread that compares the size of the planets to each other. I think that’s my favorite part in the book.

Ballerina: When I wrote this book, I wanted to show kids what it was like leading up to a dance performance.  We can all imagine what it’s like to actually be on stage, but what about before that, when you’re still getting ready to go on stage?  So I included all the little parts of actually getting ready for the performance and how it would feel, along with the actual performance all the way to the ending bow in front of the audience.  And, I included the 5 basic ballet positions as well as additional ballet movements and positions for all the aspiring little dancers out there.

Chef: One of the things I love most about getting kids involved in cooking is how tactile it can be.  Also, getting them involved makes them more interested in eating the food on the table since they’ve had active participation in making it.  In this book, I include a child-friendly dessert recipe that allows kids to use their hands to pat the dough, sprinkle ingredients, use a rolling pin, etc. And the best part is, they get to each the fruits of their labor afterward.

Visit The Dentist: What actually happens at the dentist?  And how can we make it fun?  Those were the main questions I asked myself when I was writing this book.  This book shows kids that a visit to the dentist can actually be pretty simple and that there are benefits to following your dentist’s orders.

On The Farm: Where does orange juice come from?  From the super market.  Yes, and no.  This book shows your child where the oranges for orange juice come from, where milk and eggs come from, and what wheat looks like before it’s baked into a loaf of bread.

Firefighter Adventure: We know that firefighters ride firetrucks and fight fires.  But does your child know that sometimes firefighters are woken up in the middle of the night to go fight a fire?  This book gives your child a look at what firefighters have to go through, from being woken up by a loud ringing bell to sliding down a pole to fighting a fire.

Mermaid Adventure: I love scuba diving.  If you’ve never had the chance to go, I highly recommend getting certified and going to Cancun or some other beautiful tropical place to see how amazing the underwater world can be.  In the Mermaid Adventure book, I included illustrations based on beautiful underwater photography so kids can see what it looks like under that giant mass of water we call the ocean.  There is so much diversity underwater, and the mermaids in this book also learn a very important lesson on being true to your own unique self.

Pirate Adventure: I wanted kids to be able to be involved in the stories as much as possible.  With this book, I thought it would be so much fun if the kids could get involved in helping figure out the clues during the treasure hunt, so I included Rebus puzzles, which are word picture puzzles, that kids can figure out as they’re reading along in the book.  I also love how Rebus puzzles give you a chance to think and look at the world differently than usual.

Oh, and by the way, did I mention that the books are mainly written in iambic quadrameter and they rhyme?  My books were written to help you nourish your child’s happy mind, nurture your child’s dreams, and inspire a love of reading and discovery.   Parents have been telling me over and over again how much they love the books because the books are both fun and educational, and super portable for their families when they’re on-the-go.  Thank you for sharing them with your children… ~YiShaun

To help start off the week with a smile on our faces… ~YiShaun

{via Etiquette Hell}

Zero gravity is endlessly fascinating to me.  Objects floating in air?  Wow.  But what about things like water, that are a liquid instead of a solid?  How do they behave in zero gravity?  See this video to see an astronaut playing with a big blob of water in zero gravity.

Do your kids love astronauts and outer space?

I want to see what it’s like to float in zero gravity… ~YiShaun

At first, I had no idea this was a baby octopus.  I thought it was a jelly fish since it was clear, but now I can see their big bulgy eyes and the beginning outline of an octopus.  I have to say, even a baby octopus manages to be cute.

This video from the Vancouver Aquarium shows 6 week old baby octopi octopuses eating thawed krill, and even occasionally fighting over a piece of krill with their incredibly adorable and rhythmic version of tug of war.

Do your kids dream of underwater exploration and seeing all the amazing underwater creatures in the ocean?

I’ve had the opportunity to scuba dive in underwater national parks, and I love how diverse and gorgeous the underwater world is… ~YiShaun

{via The Kid Should See This}

I love how colorful and friendly this Space Surfin’ print is from Flutter Brush.  Imagine how exhilarating it’d be to be able to surf through the Milky Way!

Do your kids like space and astronaut-themed things?

I think this children’s art print would launch me into beautiful, adventurous dreams if I were a child… ~YiShaun

Whale Fall (after life of a whale) from Sharon Shattuck.

I found this simultaneously fascinating and chilling, so watch it first before you decide whether or not to share with your little ones.  It’s equal parts educational: what happens after a whale dies and the many lives it feeds + creative: it’s done completely in paper cutouts.  Fascinating, right?

I think I was slightly scared only because the ocean, especially the depths of it, can be such a dark, overwhelming mystery, but this video seeks to shed some light on the subject… ~YiShaun