Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)i think that this book is the best kids book of all time.
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Showing posts with label childrens books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label childrens books. Show all posts
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Spider Kane and the Mystery Under the May-Apple (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)) Review
Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)i think that this book is the best kids book of all time.
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Friday, May 18, 2012
Nic Bishop Butterflies And Moths Review
Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought this book after one of my students at school brought it for show and tell. I had been thinking of writing a story involving butterfiles, and this book contains many facts not commonly found in other works. Gorgeous photographs depict the stages of life, making it easy for even the youngest readers to grasp. My own children at home are now enjoying this book as well.
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Award-winning author and photographer Nic Bishop brings his vast knowledge of biology to this eye-catching exploration of butterflies and moths. With breathtaking full-page images, Nic introduces young readers to the beauty and diversity of these amazing insects, from the shockingly bright blue morpho butterfly to the nearly transparent glasswing butterfly to the mouthless luna moth. The simple, engaging text presents both basic information and fun, quirky facts about the insects' appearance, habits, and life cycle--including a double gatefold spread of a butterfly in flight.
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Monday, May 14, 2012
El Ciclo De Vida De La Mariposa/Life cycle of a butterfly (Ciclo De Vida / the Life Cycle) (Spanish Edition) Review
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(More customer reviews)This is an excelent resource for unit studies of butterflies in content based or immersion Spanish classes. The illustrations are also great.
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This title is intended for ages 6-12. Text is in Spanish. A monarch born in the fall has two major challenges! In addition to metamorphosis, these butterflies fly 4,000 miles on a two-way migration trek! This book explains butterfly metamorphosis and migration in simple terms. The text is beautifully illustrated with photographs and art, making this book a joy to read. Topics included are: where butterflies lay their eggs; the "eating machine" caterpillar; the transformation from pupa to chrysalis to butterfly; monarch migration; butterfly facts and activity suggestions; and, how to protect butterflies.
Monday, May 7, 2012
The Big Book of Bugs Review
Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Lots of pictures and information but poorly organized and incomplete. For instance, on page 141 there is a section entitiled "The Fastest Bug on Eight Legs"....but the article never tells you HOW fast the windscorpion can travel. There is no index or table of contents making the book extremely frustrating to use. I would not recommend it!
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Why do bees make honey? How do spiders spin their webs? Which is the smartest bug? Its question like these keep you or your child up at night, this book on the creepy-crawly world of minibeasts is for you!The Big Book of Bugs is loaded with all the facts, figues, and lore any kid (or kid-at-heart) could ever want to know about bugs. And it's fun!This colorful, creatively illustrated volume, with in-depth explorations of bugs habitats and habits, gives you access to the various and entertaining ways in which bugs and people affect each other's lives.And its all done in the most user-friendly was possible with:Twenty 3-D illustrations paired together with the 3-d glasses Over 575 color illustrations and photographsPages and pages of profiles and close-up examinations of all kinds of bugsAnswers to all the most common (and uncommon) questions about bugsFacts about bugsQuizzes that test your bug knowledgeDozens of animal-friendly activities and experiements that kids can do at home
Monday, April 30, 2012
Fun With Nature (Take Along Guides) Review
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(More customer reviews)If you ever go camping, this book is a must!! Fun with Nature describes everything from trees to rabbits to snakes to butterflies to animal droppings - called 'scat'! I didn't know that - did you?? With colorful illustrations and fact-filled pages, you can look up and indentify all sorts of things found in nature. Each page describes an animal, plant or insect in easy-to-read detail and helps you to indentify and learn about what you might encounter. Fun facts dots the pages, too. The entries are divided into sections to make referencing easy and at the end of each section is a fun enrichment activity to do. Blank pages also create a place to record your findings on your outings. My family took this book on our camping trips and half of our fun was spent identifying the squirrels, butterflies, trees and insects that we came across. Even us adults were hooked - making this a great activity for all ages to get involved with. As an elementary school teacher, I can use this with my class, too! I can't recommend this book enough! You'll love it!
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Fun with Nature helps kids discover the incredible world in their backyards. It is a compilation of seven bestselling titles: Caterpillars, Bugs and Butterflies; Frogs, Toads and Turtles; Snakes, Salamanders and Lizards; Rabbits, Squirrels and Chipmunks; Tracks, Scats and Signs; and Trees, Leaves and Bark. This entertaining book is filled with fascinating facts and awesome activities.
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Monday, April 23, 2012
Everything Bug: What Kids Really Want to Know about Bugs (Kids' FAQs) Review
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(More customer reviews)Some kids only go to science books when they have to write a report. EVERYTHING BUG makes reading non-fiction fun! (My daughter took it to the couch and just read it because it was so captivating). The beautiful, enticing photos combine with the lively writing to make a fabulous read for anyone (current bug enthusiast or future one). It's not intimidating like some non-fiction. Just pop it open anywhere and find something fascinating. A great way to excite kids about reading science!
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Big Bug Search (Great Searches) Review
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(More customer reviews)EDC Publishing offers three outstanding Usborne "picture puzzle" titles beautifully illustrated by Ian Jackson for children with an interest in nature and wildlife that are as fun and they are informative. In The Great Animal Search (0746017391, ...) there are some 100 animals to spot and identify on every double-page of this oversized book. Each scenario showcases a different part of the world and the wildlife that lives there. In addition to countless hours of puzzle solving fun, there is a wealth of fascinating animal facts presented in succinct, easy-to-read captions. The Big Bug Search (0746027036, ...) follows the same format, only this time for insects ranging from hairy spiders and black slugs to dragonflies and leafcutter ants. With The Great Undersea Search (0746023413, ...) the focus in on live under water in the various puzzle pictures ranging from coral reef to ocean depths to sunken pirate ship, and more. With all three books, should young readers (or their parents!) get stuck trying to find all the hidden things, their are answers in the back. This wonderfully presented, magnificently illustrated series is especially recommended for home schooling curriculums, rainy day pastimes, or long road trip diversions.
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Packed with fascinating facts and up to 100 things to spot on every spread, helps children to develop reading, counting and identification skills. Ages 4+.
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Monday, April 9, 2012
Butterflies and Moths (Pocket Guides) Review
Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)My children love this book (even my six-year old) and so do I! It is not meant to be a complete atlas of butterflies and moths, but explains in straightforward terms many features of the lives and behaviors of these beautiful insects. The quality of content and production is what we have come to expect from DK Publishing! It is the perfect companion to an atlas of regional butterflies. Although the content is geared for the adult and older student, younger children will love to have the information interpreted for them. My six year old stands in the butterfly garden, this book open in her hands, waiting to spot a butterfly familiar from its pages.
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A fascinating guide to the behavior and life cycles of these spectacular insects. Back by popular demand, this series of information books for children ages 8 and over are the same handy size with a fresh new design. All the facts kids need to know about natural history, science, and history topics are in these information-packed little books. Also included are reference books everyone can use-dictionaries in English and Spanish, encyclopedias in key areas, a thesaurus, and a spelling dictionary.
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Sunday, March 25, 2012
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up Book Review
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(More customer reviews)This is one of my all-time favorite children's books. One sunny day, a caterpillar pops out of an egg. He is very hungry and begins searching for food. Now, many of Eric Carle's books have gimmicks--the tactile web in THE VERY BUSY SPIDER and the chirping in THE VERY QUIET CRICKET, for example. The gimmick in this book is that the caterpillar eats holes through all the food, holes that are actually punched into the pages of the book. It's a good gimmick, actually. Also, many of Carle's books teach conventions--telling time in THE VERY GROUCHY LADYBUG and animal sounds in THE VERY BUSY SPIDER, for example. This one teaches the days of the week. On Monday, the caterpillar eats this, on Tuesday he eats that, and so forth. Very cute. Eventually, he becomes a fat caterpillar. He then spins himself a cocoon, where he rests for two weeks. And when he emerges...well, you can guess the results. It's a wonderful story. Best of all, the text is very simple as are the illustrations, so the book will appeal to toddlers as well as the pre-K and kindergarten crowd. In fact, it may appeal more to toddlers, because the story is so very simple. I know I read it as a kindergartener. I loved the holes but found the story rather boring. I read it to my two-year-old this spring, however, and he went nuts over it. The days of the week were lost on him, but he was fascinated by the caterpillar turning into a butterfly--he had no idea! Can't tell you how many times we read it. We also re-enacted it, crawling on the floor and eating, spinning ourselves into cocoons, and popping out with fluttery wings. In fact, he was so taken with the caterpillar-to-butterfly phenomenon that I ordered some caterpillars (I used "Insect Lore"--they are on-line--but I'm sure there are lots of other places to get them). We read THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR at each stage of their development and then right before we released them as butterflies. It was the highlight of our spring.
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Saturday, March 24, 2012
Myro and the Tiger Moth (Myro Goes to Australia) Review
Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Never heard of this series before - but my kids love Myro. Currently ordering the next couple in the series... Very cool. Would definately recommend.
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Monday, March 19, 2012
From Caterpillar to Butterfly (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1) Review
Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I use this book every year when we do our butterfly unit in the spring. What's wonderful about it is that it not only teaches the kids all they need to know, but it's set in a classroom. So my students really relate to it. I've used it with every class I've taught from K-3. When I have the budget I buy a copy for every child and they take it home as a souvenir at the end of the unit.
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A caterpillar comes to school in a jar. The class watches the caterpillar each day as it grows and changes. Soon, it disappears into a hard shell called a chrysalis. Then the chrysalis breaks, and a beautiful butterfly flies out of the jar! This is a perfect beginner's guide to the mystery of metamorphosis. Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children 1997 (NSTA/CBC)
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Project Mulberry Review
Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)As of this moment in time the number of Linda Sue Park books I have read in my life amount to the following: two. This is rather shameful. If you're a children's librarian (as I am) and your job is to read and know all the hip young authors winning medals hither and thither (and thither and yon) then at the VERY least you could bring yourself to read the most recent Newbery winners. Ms. Park won a Newbery for "A Single Shard", and I have not read it yet. What I have read is her remarkable picture book, "The Firekeeper's Son". THAT, my friends, is a great book. So when I was handed a copy of "Project Mulberry", I dove into it with zero hesitation. The result was a bit confusing. What we have here is a clever book by a clever author who seems to be hooking far too many themes together all at the same time. Fortunately, you can appreciate this book without necessarily loving it. At least I could.
Julia and Patrick are best friends. Have been since the moment they met, actually. Together, the two of them have done all sorts of interesting projects for school together. Patrick's the ideas man and Julia's the person who likes to do the labor. In fact, these kids never had a single fight until they decided to do a WGGL project together. WGGL is a kind of 4-H for city kids and Julia and Patrick have chosen to do something with "animal husbandry". Finding the right kind of animal, however, isn't as easy as they'd hoped. When Mrs. Song, Julia's mother, suggests that they do a silkworm project Patrick is thrilled. Julia is not. Both her parents are Korean immigrants and their daughter has always shied away from things that strike her as "too Korean". Now, however, she's stuck with a mighty difficult and complex project. It will take some serious discussions with Patrick, a little reassessment of the soul, and some fights with the author (tastefully done, of course) before Julia comes to terms with something she doesn't want to understand.
This would have been a pretty straightforward tween tale had Park not decided to explain a little bit about the writer's process as directly as possible. "Project Mulberry" alternates chapters that detail Julia's silkworm struggles with 2-3 page sections in which Julia, the character, berates and talks to Linda Sue Park one-on-one. The result will be jarring to some, fascinating to others. It's as if Ms. Park has preempted any and all questions received on her book tours by putting them in the mouth of her main character here. When things go badly for Julia, she makes her opinions on such matters loud and clear towards her creator. For the most part, this conceit works well. It's almost a kind of "Sophie's World" for kids (in that a written character is aware of her state). The problem with it, though, is that the Julia who speaks to Ms. Park doesn't seem to be the same Julia that is working on the silkworm project. The Julia that belittles her creator and complains almost without cease seems to be a kind of bratty counterpart to her living-and-learning self. I did not like the Julia I met between the chapters. I liked the Julia who was trying to sort out her life very much.
A couple things save this novel from being yet another I-did-a-project-and-learned-something-about-myself type book. For one thing, Ms. Park gives Julia a racist mother. For a book in which racism isn't even particularly the focus of the story, this underlying subtext gives the tale a bit of nuance. Mrs. Song isn't a bad person. Julia even speculates (with Patrick's help) that perhaps her mother first met black people in the form of American soldiers back in Korea. This otherwise unassuming feature in Julia's life, however, offers a bit of complexity to an otherwise straightforward family interaction. Plus it makes for good writing. Duh.
By the way, I was utterly baffled by the Author's Note included at the back of the book. Ms. Park apparently makes reference to such classic children's books as, "The Mouse and His Child" and "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town". If any of you can figure out how these books are referenced then a tip of the hat to you all. Personally, I couldn't find so much as a sly reference to these two books. If any of you know where they are, please let me know forthwith.
Personally, I felt that the alternating Julia v. Author sections were more of a distraction than a boon to "Project Mulberry". Just the same, the book is a fun read and a truly fascinating look at the life cycle of a little remarked upon creepy-crawly. If you happen to know any kids that are particular science buffs (natural science, that is) then see if you can't finagle this book onto their reading lists. A great companion to fellow environmentalist title, "Hoot", by Carl Hiassen.
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Friday, March 2, 2012
The Day of the Iguana #3 (Hank Zipzer) Review
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(More customer reviews)The way I see it, any book that can keep a 10 year old boy away from his video games, gets 5 stars and then some. "Day of the Iguana" and the other eight books will do for boys what "The Babysitters Club" did for girls. I've been waiting a long time for something boys can relate to other than "Yu Gi Oh" comic books and "Captain Underpants." Henry Winkler has done that with Hank Zipzer and his friends, he's made reading fun for boys. You can count on Hank getting himself in a situation that would be best handled being straightforward and you can count on him going out of his way being anything but. The best part is watching you kid choose Hank over the TV. Parents all over will understand just what an accomplishment that is.
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Inspired by the true life experiences of Henry Winkler, whose undiagnosed dyslexia made him a classic childhood underachiever, the Hank Zipzer series is about the high-spirited and funny adventures of a boy with learning differences. It's science project time in Ms. Adolf's class. This is good news and bad news for Hank-he loves science, but he hates the report part. So Hank turns to TV to take his mind off things. But when the program directory scrolls by too quickly for Hank to know what's on, he decides to take apart the cable box to try to slow down the crawl. Great! Now Hank has found the perfect science project! But what he wasn't counting on was his sister's pet iguana laying eighteen eggs in the disassembled cable box. How is Hank going to get out of this one? Illustrated by Carol Heyer.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Thursday, March 1, 2012
The Green Book (Sunburst Book) Review
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(More customer reviews)I first read The Green Book in fourth grade and finally managed to buy a copy about eight years later. It is a simple but beautiful story that manages to convey the power of family and hope alongside of scientific technology and discovery that anyone can understand. Kids and adults will identify with the excitement and heartbreak of having to leave one's homeland with only a few possessions. The theme of having to leave one's homeland in the first place is full of eagerness, but also sorrow.
The descriptions of the planet Shine are perfectly drawn, enough for us to picture it but not overkill. The discovery of the rock people is excellent, reminding the reader of all the strange and wonderful beings that could be out there. And the twist - the gimmick of "the green book" - is perfectly executed, much the way Roald Dahl ends his beloved book The BFG.
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"We are at Shine, on the first day, " says Pattie, when, as the youngest member of the group, she is given the honor of naming the new settlement.Refugees from the dying planet Earth, they, along with other ships, have been sent into space in the hope that some of them will survive to continue the human race.But the success of Shine remains doubtful as crops fail and provisions brought from Earth dwindle.Even the excitement surrounding the hatching of the giant moth people from the "boulders" in Boulder Valley doesn't make the group forget the hopelessness of the situation.It isn't until Pattie and her sister Sarah make an important discovery that survival becomes a certainty.
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012
I Love Bugs Review
Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)NOTE: The professional reviewers have this book listed as appropriate for the 4 to 8 year-old age range; BUT as a mom of a boy and girl (4 and 6 years of age respectively) I'd say they were wrong. I would peg the book as being better suited to those 4 years-old and under.
"I Love Bugs" is a cute little book with nice simplistic pictures and text. One of points that I like about it is that there is a great deal to discuss. You can cover basic information like the names of the creatures, their colors, and what they are doing - crawling, flying, digging, etc.-- or you can discuss the 'environment' in which they live - under rocks, underground, etc.
In addition, on the front and back , there are drawings of various other bugs/insects with a factoid. For example:
"Ladybugs can have from two to more than twenty-four spots."
The bugs/insects covered include: woolly bear, millipede, grasshopper, dragonfly, beetle, water bug, butterfly, caterpillar, bee, spider, ants, praying mantis, cicada, deerfly, moth, cricket, ladybug, luna moth, firefly, and 'baby sister'.
Which brings up one of the cuter aspects of this book. One the last page there is a picture of a baby dressed up in a ladybug outfit. The idea is that the big brother (looks like a boy but I think you could 'fudge' to fit your circumstances and make it a girl if need be) is holding up a their crawling sibling saying "Bugs, bugs, bugs! I LOVE bugs!"
It is cute and touching, particularly so because on the back cover, along with the other bugs, there is a picture of the 'baby sister' with the following:
"If a baby sister "bugs" you, it's just because she loves you!"
Nice segway to explaining to older children why their sibling is into their toys and always following them around.
Four Stars. Cute book for older babies up to preschoolers. For Kindergartens could be used as a primer - with help.
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Betwixt Review
Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Have you ever had a young kid try to explain something complicated? They jump to places without to giving you important information and you have to coax them back into telling you the necessary details. That's how I felt after finishing this book, except unfortunately, I can't ask a book questions...and it wasn't exciting. A lot of people have said this was confusing and I'm glad to see it wasn't just me. The first 3/4 of the book could have been condensed to 1/4 and the end should have been greatly expanded to account for what the author was trying to convey. The supernatural ideas themselves had decent potential, but the reader is left with far too many gaps to fill for it to be satisfying.
There is a lot of swearing, drugs and references to sex in this book. This just struck me as unecessary, at least to this extent. I'm not a stranger to any of these things (well, maybe hard drugs), but I don't expect a young adult novel to be crammed with these themes. The characters were so inconsistent and poorly developed that swearing certainly wasn't going to add to their authenticy. It creates a catch-22 where the language is too old for young readers, but the story lacks the sophistication for older readers.
I have other series where an awful first book is redeemed by the sequels. There is still that potential here, but this book isn't worth reading unless the future sequels are greatly improved over this first effort.
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For three teenagers, dark mystery has always lurked at the corner of the eyes and the edge of sleep. Beautiful Morgan D'Amici wakes in her trailerpark home with dirt and blood under her fingernails. Paintings come alive under Ondine Mason's violet-eyed gaze. Haunted runaway Nix Saint-Michael sees halos of light around people about to die. At a secret summer rave in the woods, the three teenagers learn of their true, changeling nature and their uncertain, intertwined destinies. Riveting, unflinching, beautiful, Betwixt shows a magic as complex and challenging as any ordinary reality.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
The Months: Fun With Friends All Year 'Round (Read Me a Poem) Review
Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)In this cute book, each pair of facing pages has a bright and colorful illustration and a short poem on the month. It's quite a nice read - I like reading rhyming books to youngsters. (Though, personally, I could not get "roses" and "posies" to rhyme.) Also, I liked that it was somewhat educational, in introducing the young reader to thinking about the months of the year, and what they mean.
Yep, it's quite a nice book, one that I do not mind recommending!
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(ages 4 - 6) This cheerful picture book teaches the months of the year with rhyming verse and illustrations of children taking part in their favorite seasonal activities. Young readers can search for symbols of the season hidden in each month's scene. This is the second book in the Lobster Press series, "Read Me a Poem," in which poetry is given a contemporary artistic twist.
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