Like millions of people, I Love Lucy. Lucille Ball has always been one of my favorites and if I catch an episode of I Love Lucy on TV I still stop to watch, even though I've seen them all more than once. So when Penguin Kids asked me to check out Brad Meltzer's biography of Lucille Ball written just for kids, of course I said yes. He's one of my favorite authors too so it's really the perfect combination. I thought it would be fun to introduce my twins to Lucy with a super fun activity inspired by one of my favorite I Love Lucy episodes.
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I am Lucille Ball is part of the Ordinary People Change the World series written just for kids by Brad Meltzer. I'm a huge fan of his novels for adults, from The Tenth Justice to The Inner Circle, so I couldn't wait to check out his kid's books. In the Ordinary People Change the World series, he tells the stories of real life heros, from Lucille Ball and Amelia Earhart to Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King Jr., to help kids understand how they overcame obstacles to truly change the world.
I really enjoyed I am Lucille Ball. The illustrations were fun and engaging, and the story helped show how Lucy overcame difficulties in her childhood and discovered her gift for making people laugh. She never took "no" for an answer and makes a wonderful role model for boys and girls alike.
One of my all time favorite I Love Lucy episodes is from Season 5 (did you know you can watch for free on Amazon Prime?). In "Lucy's Italian Movie" Lucy ends up stomping grapes in Italy. I'm sure you've seen it, and if you haven't check it out here - it's hilarious. While I wasn't quite ready to let my boys stomp grapes I thought we'd try something similar (and less staining) - stomping water balloons!
The set up for this is super simple - you just need a large plastic tub (a baby pool would work too) and balloons. I used 40 (give or take). I will say that I am the WORST balloon knot tier ever, so next time we do this I am definitely getting a Bunch of Balloons water balloon maker to make it easier on myself.
Simply fill your balloons with water (not too full or they will pop really easily. Unless that's what you want!) and put them in the tub. Roll up your pants (just like Lucy) and jump in.
My boys couldn't wait to try it out! I'd love to do this outside in the summer but it's way too cold now to go out and get wet. So we grabbed a few towels just in case and went for it. The balloons were actually really tough to pop, so we had almost 2 hours of fun before anyone got wet.
They stomped and played to their hearts' content. And since it was just water, no purple stains like Lucy. But just as fun!
We're helping Penguin Kids celebrate the entire Ordinary People Change the World series with a really awesome giveaway. Five lucky winners will receive the entire series - all 8 books pictured above! Just enter below for your chance to win. (US residents only, valid February 1-29)
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Stay tuned for a Jackie Robinson inspired craft later this month! Be sure to browse our other book inspired activities too.