Happy holidays to all!

http://www.illustrationcastle.com/blogimages/Kangaroos_Christmas.jpg

Santa arrived, just as we knew that he would. The presents have all been opened, everyone's belly is full and now we settle down to spend the day celebrating with family and friends as we wish everyone a very, very Merry Christmas.

The entire Kangaroo Crew (David Burd, Michael Karp, Jack Silbert, David Ryan, John Manigrasso, John and Clara Sayre, Michael Townsend Wright and Pat Cashin) hopes that the joyous spirit of the season remains within each and every one of you all throughout the coming year.

Whoa...the Captain just told me about this!

How cool is this? The Captain just posted it on his Facebook page, so you may have already seen it, but I wanted to re-post it anyway.

By the way, I hope your holiday season has been peaceful so far...thank you from the bottom of all of our hearts for your support of the Captain's upcoming show. It's been a tremendous amount of work on his behalf (and every one of us helping him has done what we can) and I think you're going to be really happy with the pilot episode.

Claraboo

We love Asheba!

Mem Fox Reads From 'GOOD NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT'

Reading Makes Cats Jealous by Author/illustrator Dav Pilkey

EMERALDALICIOUS! A Pinkalicious picture book by Victoria Kann

3000 Monkeys have a Buffet!

LOVINGKINDNESS by Charity and the JAMband - Mindfulness of the Heart

It's Wednesday (and the Captain's feelin' wacky)

Teehee. 

He looks at Eppy, Tutu, and me like this quite a lot...

I wonder if he's trying to tell us something...?

:)

Claraboo the Caribou

Blog Post #298, in which I share my most favorite photo of my two most favorite people!

That was a very long title for this post, but it's very true!

As far as humans go, the award for my two most favorite people would be given to the Captain (of course) and Don Q. Berrymosh, the most polite man in the world.  The two of them did some filming over the weekend and yours truly was there to help!

These two kept me laughing all day long...

I can't wait for you to laugh with them too!

And what do you think of the Captain's new blue shirt? Eppy & Tutu found it for him and though he wasn't sure how it would look at first, we all agreed that it finished the outfit perfectly!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!!

Claraboo the Caribou

Talespinner Tuesday: A new Skippyjon Jones book!!

And it's about the circus!!!

So I'm pretty excited about this weekend because the Captain is going to finishing up filming and I'M GOING TO BE THERE!  I usually don't hang around when he's working on his show, but this time I'm going to and I think it's going to be a lot of fun.  

I'll take some photos and if they turn out okay, we'll post them here, okay?

Enjoy the autumn weather...I love the colors and taking walks in the evening. 

So beautiful!

Claraboo the Caribou

It's almost Halloween!!

Sneaky non-video post here...

because it's October...

and it's my favorite month of the year...

because Halloween is this month!!

And I want to decorate the tree in front of the Captain's house with this:

Thank you to my friend Sage for passing along this photo!!!

Claraboo the Caribou

Swordfight Sunday: Jedi Cat and Dogs

I wonder if the cat can do Jedi mind tricks too...

Claraboo the Caribou

Psst...after you watch this video, come check out the latest on the Captain's Facebook page!

What is That? Wednesday: Celebration of Flight by Ibex Puppetry

So when you think of puppets, you think of hand puppets, right?  

Wait until you see this puppet video!

They look like kites, don't they?  

I want to make a dragonfly puppet like that!

(By the way, you know Jim Henson, right?  He did The Muppets!  His daughter Heather created the IBEX Puppetry company, which you watched above.  Pretty cool, right?)

Claraboo

Don't forget to visit the Captain on Facebook!

BILL THOMAS: Have a Good Day!

New blog design! This deserves a new post...

Bonjour all!

It's late at night where I am now, but I couldn't wait another second to post because the Captain gave our blog a 

brand new look!!  I love it.  He likes steampunk design, so we're going to try it out here and see how everyone likes it.

Yaaawwwwnnnn....it's been a big, crazy day here at the Acres.  I've been bringing in most of the harvest from my garden before it gets too cold out, still working on my unicycle skills, and teaching my cat Erma how to play fetch.

Time for bed...goodnight all...see you again very soon!

Claraboo the Caribou 

They Might Be Thursday: Kids Go! by They Might Be Giants

......
.........knock, knock.

knock. KNOCK.

KNOCK KNOCK!

Yes, yes....I'm coming!  So sorry to have kept you waiting.  

What?

WHAT??

I haven't updated this blog since the middle of August??!!?

sigh.

That's unacceptable... I am sorry, my faithful blog-reading Kangaroonies!   

Let me apologize with a  
They Might Be Giants video 
to make it all better.....

See?  Now we're bouncing and dancing all crazy-like and my lack of updates has been completely forgiven....

Right?

Whew...good.  Thank you.

See you soon...
Claraboo the (accidentally negligent) Caribou

Tale Spinner Tuesday: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Hello again!

Thought I'd forgotten you, right?  

Nope, I've been busy, the Cap's been busy, but we're still here!

I want to share one of my most favorite stories from when I was a little caribou...it's a little sad too, so you may want to grab some tissues.  But it's really, really good...and this video happens to feature the author, Shel Silverstein, reading the story:

Take some time this week to relax...lay in the grass, watch the clouds, count the stars.  Or snuggle up to your favorite tree.  :)

Claraboo

Tale Spinner Tuesday: IT'S A BOOK by Lane Smith

CAN IT TEXT? BLOG? SCROLL? WI-FI? TWEET? 
No. . . It's a book.

And that's okay! :)

I love books...I mean, I really, really love them.  I read as often as I'm able.  

Why?  

Because with a book, I can go on an adventure, I can learn, I can laugh, and I can become ANYONE I want to be.  Sometimes when I'm reading a really good book, I lose track of time.  Oops!  I was late once (or maybe twice...) for a meeting with the Captain because of a book.  He understood though.  He loves books himself and he has the most oh-so-BEAUTIFUL library.

What is your favorite book?  

Comment here, on our Facebook page, or drop me an email!

Claraboo

Musical Monday: Peanut Butter and Jelly by The Boogers

GOOD MORNING!

Are you having a hard time getting out of bed today?  Feelin' a little sleepy still?  Do I have a song for you....

If you're anything like me, you're now FULLY AWAKE and craving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Nom nom nom.

Off to the kitchen...have an oh-so-delightful day!

Clarabooooo 

They Might Be Thursday: Why Does the Sun Really Shine? (The Sun is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma)

Happy Thursday, Kangaroonies!

So I think this song gets the award for longest title ever (although if you know of one that is longer, let me know!

We're back with our friends, They Might Be Giants, and the truth behind what the sun is REALLY made out of.....

Claraboo

What is that? Wednesday: Amazing Northern Lights Time Lapse

Good morning!!

I got up early today,  had a little coffee, and sat down to work on the blog.  My cat, Erma, decided to help a little:

I haven't seen the Northern Lights (or the Aurora borealis) in caribou ("in person" for any of you humans reading), but I've seen plenty of videos and photographs...they are just BEAUTIFUL!

So what are the Northern Lights (or as the Southern Lights are called - Aurora australis)?  For that answer, I consulted The Northern Lights Centre's website:

The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. Auroral displays appear in many colours although pale green and pink are the most common. Shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet have been reported. The lights appear in many forms from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an eerie glow.

Pretty fantastic, don't you think?

Claraboo

 

Tale Spinner Tuesday: Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss

Today's Tale Spinner Tuesday book is a read-a-long!

Heehee.

I'm sorry...that was quite a tease, wasn't it?  :)

Claraboo

Science Sunday: The Higgs boson particle explained!

Bonjour, science enthusiasts!  

You may or may not have heard about the possible discovery of the Higgs boson particle.  I'm still trying to fully understand it - but as far as science goes, nothing is bigger than this!  Now, you may not understand everything in this video and that's okay.  But I wanted to share it anyway...this is a really important discovery!

Saturday Silliness: Dance Porcupine Dance by Parry Gripp

Farm Friday: Farmer Foggy - Fantastic Farm Machines

Hello Friday!

We keep changing our Friday themes, don't we?  I love working in my garden so much that I wanted to share a video about farms with you.  Have you ever been to a farm? 

Claraboo

Saturday Silliness: Lollipop Opera by Don Freeman

Funky Fridays: Gotta Get Up by Sugar Free Allstars

They Might Be Thursday: No!/Clap Your Hands by They Might Be Giants

What is That? Wednesday: Mieders Alpine Coaster

It's the middle of the week already?

So it is...bonjour and welcome to Wednesday!

Today's video is from Austria.  I'll let the guy who made the video explain what you're about to see:

This is a single-pipe alpine coaster in Mieders, Austria. You reach the summit via a cable car and then sit on a small car with a brake lever and off you go. Having ridden it once using a little braking, I decided to try it a second time without using the brakes. This is SCARY! Enjoy the ride!

Whoa!  I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of roller coasters, so watching one from the safety of my sofa was adventurous enough for me!  ;)

Claraboo

Tale Spinner Tuesdays: Chick Chicka Boom Boom

This one is for our friend Josh who begins kindergarten in the fall.

Musical Mondays: Tell Me a Story by Bill Thomas

Science Sunday: HEAD RUSH - Terminal Velocity

Oh, hello!

Running late today...such a busy day!  Sorry to post and run, but.....I have to post and RUN!  :)

Clarabooooooo

Saturday Silliness: In Tents by Recess Monkey

Recess Monkey... Teatro Zin Zanni... AND PETER PITOFSKY?!?

Awesome sauce! Complete and total AWESOME SAUCE!!!

Super Hero Friday: We R Super Heroes by Robbert Bobbert and The Bubble Machine

It's Friday!!!

I don't know about you, but this week's been pretty long.  Sometimes it's pretty easy to feel down or to feel like you don't have much to give.   
That's why I'm sharing this video today, even though the word "superheroes" doesn't start with an "F" for Friday:

Be a superhero today.  

Be one for yourself or for someone who needs one.  

It's one of the most important things you can do.

Love,

Claraboo

They Might Be Thursdays: Particle Man by the 5th Grade of the Kingsley Montessori School in Boston, MA

What Is That? Wednesdays: Milk In My Sippy Cup

Tale Spinner Tuesday: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

And a very happy Tuesday to you all!

Here's a book by a favorite author of ours, Mo Willems.  He's written a lot of fun Pigeon books, but this one makes me laugh most of all:

If you happen to stop by the library today, pick up some Mo Willems books!  If you haven't read his Knuffle Bunny books, you should start there.  :)

Claraboo

Musical Mondays: Good To See You Again by Bill Thomas

Another classic Captain Kangaroo clip from Mr. Bill Thomas, who wrote original music for Captain Kangaroo in the 1970s. This rare clip from the show has not been seen in over 30 years...

Our friend Mr. Thomas has a CD available with some of his music from Captain Kangaroo. It is entitled "Time Can Be So Magic" (also known as Bill Thomas and A Circle of Friends). It's available for download on iTunes and you can listen to the whole album on Spotify. It is also available on CD Baby, where you can purchase it as a gift for any special children in your life by clicking here.

Science Sunday: Kangaroo Island: a haven for Australian wildlife

Welcome to Sunday!  

I hope your weekend was restful, yet adventurous.  Were you able to go on a bike ride?  I rode my bicycle around the Acres with Tutu (she's Eppy's sister and has the GREATEST pink hair) and played in the sprinkler.  

You're never too old to run through a sprinkler!

In honor of the Captain himself, I'm sharing a video on kangaroos...did you know there is a WHOLE island off of South Australia that is a wildlife sanctuary for kangaroos, koalas, echidnas, and more?  Watch this video to learn more...

Claraboo

Friendly Friday: "Fine Friends are Here" by Dan Zanes

HAPPY FRIDAY TO YOU ALL!!

I'm sharing a video by the awesomely talented and extremely friendly Dan Zanes to welcome you into your weekend...I hope the sun shines, the flowers bloom, the wind gently blows, and your garden flourishes.  Let's make this the best weekend we've all had yet!

Claraboo

They Might Be Thursdays: Seven

What Is That Wednesdays: What Kind of Cat Are You by Billy Jonas

Tale Spinner Tuesday: Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

"We love our bread, we love our butter ...

but most of all we love each other!"

Today's story is about an adventurous little girl named Madeline who lives in Paris, France!  She attends a boarding school with eleven other girls and inspires them to use their imagination and creativity.

I loved Madeline's adventures when I was a little caribou and I still do! 

and here's the rest of the episode!

What fun adventures do you go on when you use your imagination?

Have a great week and I'll see you soon!

Claraboo

Musical Mondays: Something Good to Drink by Bill Thomas

Another classic Captain Kangaroo clip from Bill Thomas, who wrote original music for Captain Kangaroo in the 1970s. This clip from the show has not been seen in 30 years...





The very talented Mr. Thomas has a CD available with some of his music from Captain Kangaroo. It is entitled "Time Can Be So Magic" (also known as Bill Thomas and A Circle of Friends). It's available for download on iTunes and you can listen to the whole album on Spotify. It is also available on CD Baby, where you can purchase it as a gift for any special children in your life by clicking here.

Silly Saturday: Animal Olympians

Hello!

Yep, you read that correctly....Animal. Olympians. 

As in "animals playings games and competitive sports against each other". 

 I know, I had to watch it to believe it myself:

I finished planting my garden today!  

A little late to be doing so, but hopefully everything will grow just beautifully. I planted carrots, mesclun mix (a lettuce mix), basil, squash, onions, roma tomatoes, cream sausage tomatoes, peppers, and lavender. Whew! My hibiscus plant

is continuing to grow and produce delightful flowers that the bees like to visit.

Are you growing a garden?  What did you plant?  What are you most excited to grow this year?

Claraboo

Funky Fridays: Gotta Be You by Secret Agent 23 Skidoo

They Might Be Thursdays: The Mesopotamians by TMBG

Good morning Thursday!

And once again, it's the day of the week where we celebrate those crazy guys in a band we all love so well, They Might Be Giants.  I found a great video today...I guarantee it'll get stuck in your head and you'll be singing it all day long. 

You're welcome.  :)

Exciting happenings are....well, happening here at the Acres!  The Captain's had some pretty important-sounding phone calls lately, he's staying up late working on his TV show to make it oh-so-very BRILLIANT for all of you, and everyone else here at the Acres are getting caught up in the enthusiasm and hard work.

Soooo...I'll still be updating the blog, but only a few times a week.  I know, I know, I'll miss each and every one of you on the days I can't check in here, but it's all worth it, I promise you!

:)

Have a beautiful day!

 Claraboo

What is that Wednesday: The Busy World of Richard Scarry - The Snowstorm

Oh hello, hello, HELLO!

I'm not sure how many of you have heard of or appreciate/love/adore Richard Scarry and his marvelous books, but I couldn't wait another day to share them with you.

So today's "What is that?" is going to be a bit of a stretch....how about: "What is that? A video about snowstorms in June??"

I know, it doesn't REALLY work, but I hope you enjoy the video anyway... :)

Have a strong and beautiful day today!

Claraboo

Tale Spinner Tuesday: The Porcupine by Roald Dahl

Good morning everyone!

I took the weekend off (I didn't think you would mind at all, but I do hope you missed me a teensie-tiny bit), but I'm back with a funny video from one of my all-time favorite authors, Roald Dahl.  He wrote Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, and Fantastic Mr. Fox, just to name a very few.

He also loved to write silly poems and this is one of my very favorites:

Claraboo

Musical Mondays: Time Can Be So Magic by Bill Thomas

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls... here is a rare and genuine treat: Bill Thomas, who wrote original music for Captain Kangaroo in the 1970s, with a clip from the show not seen in 30 years...

The very talented Mr. Thomas has a CD available with some of his music from Captain Kangaroo. It is entitled "Time Can Be So Magic" (also known as Bill Thomas and A Circle of Friends). It's available for download on iTunes and you can listen to the whole album on Spotify.

It is also available on CD Baby, where you can purchase it as a gift for any special children in your life by clicking here.

Scientific Sundays: A Disneyland Time-Lapse Video That Uses Over 30,000 Photos

It took Daniel Navarrete more than a year and over 30,000 photos to create this wonderful time-lapse video of Disneyland (courtesy of Laughing Squid).

Saturday Silliness: Baby Baboon

Fairytale Fridays: Thumbelina

They Might Be Thursdays: Meet James Ensor

What Is That? Wednesdays: Rocket Powered Skateboard

Tale Spinner Tuesday: Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Oh, hello!

So which did you see first in the video: a duck or a rabbit?  Were you able to see both?  I saw a duck right away!  Optical illusions are pretty cool...if you want to see more, go here.

So what are optical illusions?  They're just as confusing to define as they are to see!  So I'm going to let my friend Sage (he's a stilt-walking performance artist who knows all about illusions and magic!) explain what they are:

"Something that confuses the eye into seeing something that is not actually there."

And...one of my favorite illusion artists is Kurt Wenner...have you seen his chalk drawings before?  AMAZING!!  

Click here to see some of them.

A very good Tuesday to each and every one of you...see you tomorrow!

Claraboo

Musical Mondays: When Harpo Played His Harp

Scientific Sundays: Tiny Urban Zoo

Saturday Silliness: The Captain & his Clown Car!

I can't believe I haven't shared this video on here yet!  

Last December, the Captain was in a parade in Wisconsin...I'm not sure who was sillier: his clown car or him!  But I do know that this video makes me laugh every time I watch it and if you haven't seen it yet (or even if you have), you're going to giggle, laugh, and possibly snort also...

My favorite part is at 1:20 when the car spins around!  

The Captain has been busy working on his new television show lately (we're all oh-so-very excited to not only SEE it, but be in it too!) and he can't wait to show it to you.  

Thank you for being our friend on Facebook 

and for reading our blog!

Claraboo

Fairy Tale Fridays: Divertimento, Danses Suisses by Igor Stravinsky

They Might Be Thursdays: Roy G. Biv

What is That?? Wednesday: Juggling 5 Basketballs

Whoa.  Just whoa.

And I was excited that I finally learned how to juggle three balls...

Now THAT is one talented lady!!  I love this!  She needs to visit the Acres on a Circus Saturday sometime.  

What is your hidden (or not-so-hidden) talent? 

What talent would you like to develop and what's the first thing you're going to do to accomplish it? :)

Keep dreaming & making those dreams a reality, Kangaroonies, 

I believe in you!

Claraboo

Author Tuesday: Blueberry Girl by NEIL GAIMAN

Good morning Kangaroonies!

Oh, I know what you're all thinking..."author" doesn't start with a "T"!  Well, I really, really wanted to feature some of my favorite authors on here, but I couldn't figure out a good day to do that.  So Tuesday it is.  :)

Today's author is Mr. Neil Gaiman.  He writes kids books and adult books, such as Coraline, The Graveyard Book, Blueberry Girl, and many more!  He has fantastic unruly hair, has the best storytelling voice ever, and he likes to sing songs with his musician wife, Amanda Palmer.   Oh, and did I mention he's a beekeeper as well?

This video is for his picture book, Blueberry Girl, and Mr. Neil himself reads it! This is another one of those videos that I like to watch to make me smile...

Oh! I just had a great idea...from now, when I want to do a post on my favorite author, I'll call it 

"Tale Spinner Tuesdays"!  

I like it.  :)

And don't forget...visit the Captain on his Facebook page and say hello!  We'd love to have you "like" the page and keep updated on all of our adventures!

Claraboo

Musical Monday: Three Little Birds by BOB MARLEY

I can think of no one better to start your week off with than Bob Marley and this song!

"Don't worry about a thing...'cause every little thing is gonna be alright!"

It's the time of the year at the Acres where the birds are all coming back from their winter hideaways, the flowers are bringing color back to our yards, and the sunshine is feeling glorious as I work in my garden.  

It's easy to worry; it's not as easy to remember not to get caught up in the worrying.  I have a hard time with that sometimes.  There will always be things to worry about and sometimes worrying is okay, but we have to remember hope.  Even when hope seems very far away...

My hope is that this video made you smile today and I REALLY hope that some of you who watched it really needed this pick-me-up.  Watch it again whenever you need!

Have a beautiful, hope-filled 

Monday everyone...

Claraboo

Scientific Sundays: Solar Eclipse today!!!

This is so exciting!

Have you heard about the solar eclipse today? This happens when the moon passes in front of the sun and blocks most of the sun.  The only part of the sun you'll see will be a "ring of fire" around the edges of the moon.

Now, the most important part in all of this is that 

YOU DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN!
  Doing so can hurt your eyes and you don't want to do that!  

So please promise me you won't.  :)

But you can still see the solar eclipse!  Watch this video and it'll tell you how to make a solar eclipse viewer out of household items:

This will be the first time seeing the solar eclipse since 1994! 

Enjoy and be safe, Kangaroonies!

Claraboo

Saturday Silliness: Lead-a-Band Act at the Big Apple Circus

It's the weeeeeeeeekend!!

I love everything about Saturdays...sleeping in, watching Saturday morning cartoons, eating three bowls of cereal, and....

Saturdays tend to get a little circus-y around the Acres.

A lot of us have a circus or performance background and Saturday is always our day to put on a show for each other, whether it's the Captain walking on stilts and juggling (he can spin plates too!), the porcupines tumbling through the air, or me performing on my unicycle! 

The Cap'n has a lot of performer friends who will stop by the Acres every now and then to say hello.  His one friend Glen is a clown who traveled with the Big Apple Circus a few years ago and he performed a very funny act for us that he did with them.  Enjoy!!

Wasn't that great??  If you had the chance to lead the circus band, what song would you want them to play?  

I think I'd choose a Beatles song.  :)

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Claraboo