A charming picture book for preschool and primary grade children that stimulates the imagination and shares basic scientific information about the moon. This book also encourages parents to use everyday conversation as an opportunity to mentor and expand young minds.
The illustrations are simple but colorful and expressive. I appreciated the extension activities at the end of the tale. Different exercises allow the young reader to expand vocabulary and reading comprehension skills, while employing visual and spatial discrimination skills.
Highly recommended to parents, teachers, and librarians who work with children in the three to seven age range.
SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG FOR NEW BOOK REVIEWS EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY.
Barnaby, a young badger, is eager to explore the wonders of his environment for the first time. As he awakens to face the night, he marvels at the moon. His mother takes him on a tour to explore the woodlands at night.
Barnaby discovers marvelous sights and sounds. He finds owls, insects, mice, grasshoppers, and flowers. Then his mother introduces him to a puddle and he discovers the greatest gift of all.
A cute book with beautiful illustrations appropriate as a bedtime story for toddlers and preschoolers.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED button in the upper right hand corner of this page.
This book is a series of short stories to encourage empathy and acceptance of differences among members of the human race. The protagonist is named Flower. She is the daughter of the Sun and Moon.
Flower struggles to find her identity. She has trouble and sometimes disrespects her parents who try to teach her. When Flower becomes a bit older, she goes off to search why others do not accept her. Along her journey, Flower discovers that the most beautiful part of our Earth is the ability to respect and accept our uniqueness.
The illustrations in this book are beautiful. Cortes’ sends her readers many worthwhile lessons. However, young children may be confused and need guidance as to how to interpret them.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking the word Follow or hitting the RSS FEED button in the upper right-hand corner of this page.
Mia is very short. This distresses her because her classmates often make fun of her and exclude her from activities.
Mia reveals her problem to her father. He tells her a fairytale about the sun and moon and how they became friends. One day a situation unfolds at school that proves to the other children there is value in being small. The other children learn an important lesson from Mia. They now understand she also has many special talents. Size does not matter.
This picture book is written in rhyme. It works, for the most part, but the story would have been just as effective if written in prose. Recommended especially for students in the six to ten age group but an important lesson for middle-school students as well.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED button in the upper right-hand corner of this page.
Enter for a chance to win two of Carole P. Roman’s award-winning picture books, plus a $100 gift card!
Sponsored by Carole P. Roman
Presented by The Children’s Book Review
One (1) grand prize winner receives:
An autographed copy of Can a Princess Be a Firefighter?
An autographed copy of Rocket-Bye
A $100 Amazon gift card
Three (3) winners receive:
An autographed copy of Can a Princess Be a Firefighter?
Giveaway begins November 27, 2019, at 12:01 AM PST and ends December 19, 2019, at 11:59 PM PST.
Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, who are eighteen years of age or older in their state or territory of residence at the time of entry. Void where prohibited by law.
Carole P. Roman is responsible for prize fulfillment.
Carole P. Roman travels to the stars, orbiting the moon and rocketing past planets in this delightful journey to the far reaches of the galaxy. A beautiful bedtime poem, this verse is sure to delight any child before they go to sleep.
“Just as the text and illustrations gently curve and sweep across the pages, so do the calming and effortless rhymes in what could be Carole P. Roman’s finest book yet. “—The Children’s Book Review
Two little girls pepper their father with questions about whether or not they can be a profession and still be a princess. Motivated by her granddaughter’s fascination with all things ‘princess,’ Carole P. Roman penned this adorable poem celebrating all the wonderful possibilities waiting ahead for them.
“Can a Princess Be a Firefighter? is an important must-read for both girls and boys.”—The Children’s Book Review
Carole P. Roman is the award winning author of the nonfiction series of children’s books, If You Were Me and Lived in … . The first title in the collection, If You Were Me and Lived in…Mexico, won the Pinnacle Award for Best in Children’s Nonfiction in 2012. If You Were Me and Lived in…Russia and If You Were Me and Lived in…France were finalists in the Indie Fab Foreword Review Book of the Year. Norway and South Korea have also been named as Book of the Year with Rebecca’s Reads and Children’s Reader’s View Book of the Year. Roman has also found success with her Captain No Beard children’s books. Her debut, Captain No Beard: An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate’s Life, was named a Kirkus Best of 2012, received a Star of Exceptional Merit, and won the Pinnacle Award in 2012. Roman lives on Long Island with her husband and very near her children.
Publisher’s Synopsis: Away We Go Land is a picture book that launches kid’s imaginations to a carnival on the moon, where there are no tickets needed, and it’s fun for all.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS FEED button in the upper right-hand corner of this page.
This book is a charming tale that will appeal to young children as a bedtime read aloud. Children six and up will enjoy reading it for the adventure and learning element. It is a fantasy trip every young boy and girl would love to have the opportunity to experience. While the illustrations are stylized, they are bold, large, and extremely colorful making them appealing to a very young child. Even though the train is moving fast and the ride is a wild one, this does not come across as a scary story. It is interesting to note that the children are worried about what their mom would say about not having coats to keep them warm at night and catching a cold when out in a rainstorm. Dolly warns Timmy, “Don’t look directly into the sun or you will hurt your eyes.” So the author displays a parent’s perspective as well as the child’s viewpoint.
At the beginning of the story Timmy and his sister Nelly are in bed sleeping with their teddy bear and doll beside them. On the floor lying next to them the family dog and cat are sound asleep. Suddenly, they are awakened by the barking of the dog and the sound of a train. The flying train arrives at the window urging them to come aboard. Their trip involves some fantasy elements like fairies flying through the sky and little grey men that look like robots waving to them from Mars. On the other hand, the author manages to introduce a lot of knowledge about weather, the sun and the planets. The siblings learn that it is very cold in the sky, that the moon reflects the light of the sun, the sun gives us light and keeps the planet warm, and that there are many other stars in the sky that are really stars like “our” sun. Their flying train is out of control and crashes into a rain cloud. The children are frightened by the thunder and wind. They see all the planets revolving around the sun. As the out of control train nears the sun, Timmy and Nelly can feel scorching heat from the ball of fire. How will they be able to escape? Will they find a way to return to earth or are they doomed to be lost in space forever?
This book is available as a pdf on freekidsbooks.org or may be purchased online from amazon.com.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please subscribe to my biweekly blog by clicking on the follow botton at the bottom right of the screen or the orange RSS feed button on the top right.
This is a story about a girl named Lucy-Go-Lucky. It is written in rhyme and composed of much beautiful poetry. Lucy has a vivid imagination. She has trouble sleeping, but when she dreams, her dreams are so real! One night she decides that she wants to dream of birds singing, of sun and of snow. She finds the Planet Ping where there are birds with purple eyes and beaks who sing while they are upside down. She dances and parties all night and does not want to leave. They give her a baby Pingle; but when she wakes up, it is gone. Feeling depressed, the following night Lucy decides to be a queen in a land of dragons and castles. She meets the Pongles who have buttons for eyes and teeth and rubber tires for skin. But they don’t want her to rule them in the land of Pong, and she must fight the Pongles all night long. She traps them in her sack, but when she awakes in the morning, they are gone. She is grumpy and does not pay attention in school. That night she resolves not to sleep. When she does succumb, she is dreaming of riding on a horse through the forest. There she meets the Shadow Grudge who lives in the Planet of Lost Hope. He presents her with a huge stinky cake to eat. After eating it all night long, she begins to look like the ugly Grudge who has peppercorn eyes and feet made of moldy bread. In the morning the Grudge is standing beside her bed. Lucy draws a picture of the Grudge and tries to flatten him in a book. Her father wakes her and tells her it is time to go to school. She does not want to get out of bed. He reassures her that night dreams are not important, we can make our dreams reality by working hard and using our brains. So Lucy decides to face her fears.
The author informs us that she has been influenced by Dr. Seuss, Edward Lear, Jim Henson, and the Sendaks. You can certainly see this influence in the poetry she writes, The mostly black and white illustrations and rambling script stand in stark contrast to the explicit vivid images in her dreams. The book needs strong parental or teacher guided discussion, but it will serve as a starting point for lots of interesting conversations and comparisons for older children. I recommend adding it to your poetry collection.
You can download this book as a pdf at http://freekidsbooks.org or purchase it in Lulu Marketplace (see Link below)
You must be logged in to post a comment.