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| Reviewer: |
Norma D. Kellam |
| Title: |
100 Science Experiments |
| ISBN: |
510763 |
| Review Date: |
August 2006 |
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Review:
Has your child ever made a foaming monster? A hidden benefit from this exciting activity is learning that mixing baking soda and vinegar produce a chemical reaction, thus forming carbon dioxide. By following a new book’s instructions, your child can do many science activities that are fun, as well as educational.
100 Science Experiments by Georgina Andrews and Kate Knighton, for ages 9 to about 12, provides numbered directions for a variety of experiments that children can do. This book belongs to the “Science Experiments” series. It’s flexi-binding is bendable but firmer and sturdier than paperback binding.
Two of the introductory pages explain general equipment that children will need for experiments. Most of the necessary items are ordinarily available at home, such as a plastic bottle, thick paper, vinegar, dishwashing liquid, food dye, and baking soda for the foaming monster experiment. Each two-page topic starts with an introductory paragraph. The introduction for the optical illusion topic begins, “Your brain uses short cuts so that it can process quickly all the things you see.”
The final step of the instructions frequently asks a question. For example, the directions for making a paper airplane conclude, “Curl the corner tips of the wings up or down around a pencil. How does this affect the plane’s flight?” Stella Baggott’s colorful drawings illustrate the steps of the instructions. The last two drawings for one of the experiments show a multicolored, tissue-paper butterfly hovering inside a shoebox. A red-and-blue magnet attracts the paperclip that is fastened to the butterfly.
When experiments result in a finished product, photographs of Katie Lovell’s models provide an idea of what it may look like. One finished product is a six-stringed rubber-band guitar for experimenting with sound. A shoebox painted red, blue, and yellow forms the body of the guitar. Rubber bands of different widths and lengths, stretched around the shoebox, form the strings. A blue star and strings drawn with red paint decorate the handle, which is the tube from an empty paper towel roll.
Another photograph shows recently sprouted cress plants in the shape of cookie cutters. Shapes include a heart, a star, and a person. The photographed plants are green because they received both water and sunshine. After each experiment, a ragged-edged box with the heading “What’s going on?” explains the reason for the results. For example, the explanation for the cress-plant experiment begins, “The dry seeds don’t grow at all, as seeds need water to sprout.”
Each double page of experiments provides a suggestion for researching the topic on the Internet. On one of these suggested websites, readers can click on different activities to see how changes in activity level affect a virtual girl’s heart rate. In addition to a glossary and an index in the back of the book, readers will find a topical list of the experiments.
As your youngster finishes constructing the monster and laughs upon seeing the foam pour from its mouth, you will know that the painlessly learned chemistry lesson has made the mess worthwhile.
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| Reviewer: |
Cindy Vallar |
| Title: |
1001 Pirate Things to Spot |
| ISBN: |
515133 |
| Review Date: |
5/09/2007 |
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Review:
Pirates fight, party, and search for treasure. What better way to demonstrate this than for readers to join the fun? Within the pages of this book pirates-in-training see what it’s like to live on a ship, feast at the captain’s table, attack another vessel, careen a ship, visit a safe haven, attend pirate school, participate in pirate races, explore an island of buried treasure, go to a pirate party, encounter monsters of the deep, interact with pirate ghosts, experience a storm at sea, and explore a shipwreck on the bottom of the ocean.
In addition to these adventures, readers must search for Jack. Clad in a yellow shirt with red polka dots and blue pants with patches on both knees, he is a cabin boy aboard the pirate ship. As he goes from scene to scene he collects treasure. At the end of the book, readers must locate the booty he assembles.
This fun search-and-find book is filled with surprises! The colorful illustrations are crammed with details and humor that keep readers transfixed for hours. Each double-page spread has a list of names and pictures of things to find within the drawing, and how many the reader should find. Some are a snap to locate, but others are so carefully hidden that I had to ask for my husband’s help! This is a delightful, entertaining book that belongs in the collection of every pirate no matter his/her age.
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| Reviewer: |
Norma Kellam |
| Title: |
Aztecs |
| ISBN: |
515799 |
| Review Date: |
April 2007 |
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Review:
If your children don't like washing their hair, they may wish they were Aztec priests. Such youngsters will delight in reading, "Priests dressed in black and never washed their long, tangled hair."
This and a number of other Aztec practices that your children will consider unusal appear in Aztecs by Catriona Clarke, for ages 6 to about 7. This hardcover book introduces children to the Aztec civilization from teh time these Latin American Indians arrived in what is now Mexico until the Spaniards conquered them.
A reading consultant and an Aztec consultant assisted with this level 2 book, which belongs to the social studies subgroup of the "Beginners" series. The reading level is appropriate for children who are approaching the end of the first grade.
Adam Larkum's drawings, in attractive colors, depict a variety of Aztec clothing and activities. The first set of four drawings shows a barefooted family gathered on a yellow mat. In front of them are two dishes of food and a pile of tortillas. The mother is wrapping food in one of these thin circular pieces of cornmeal bread. The father, who is wearing only a loincloth, and one of the children are eating rolled tortillas. The text says, "The Aztecs liked to wrap all kinds of foods in tortillas." The remaining three drawings show the mother making this staple food. One of the children is watching and in the second of these pictures, the child helps by pouring water into a bowl that contains ground corn.
Other types of illustrations include a photo of a turquoise mask for one of the Aztec gods and an Aztec drawing showing a profile view of three people walking. One of the people in the drawing has a baby on her back. Fancy decorations adorn their heads, including an imitation yellow-blue-and white snake with its bright tongue sticking out.
Modern kids wouldn't want to follow the Aztec dress code, whic required plain clothes for ordinary people. Only the nobles wore bright, patterned garments. neither would today's youngsters want to be spectators at an Aztec ballgame. A surprising caption appears beside a small drawing of a player chasing a bystander: "The winners could take any belongings they liked from the crowd."
A page provides instructions for accessign information about Aztecs on four websites, including a site where kids can listen to a reconstruction of one of their songs. By checking the glossery, youngsters can verify that the word "speaker" referred to the "ruler of the Aztecs." They can look up specific topics in the index, such as "cocoa beans" and "children".
Like many modern children's books, this one includes an emotionally difficult topic. You may wish to join your child in the first reading to give support in dealing with the part about human sacrifice, an appalling practice by which Aztecs tried to please their gods.
Reading about the Aztecs will help children realize that human cultures can vary greatly from our own. Whether differences are laughable or tragic, they are all part of who the Aztecs were.
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| Reviewer: |
John Smith |
| Title: |
First Picture Nursery Rhymes |
| ISBN: |
514891 |
| Review Date: |
2007 |
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Review:
Usborne's First Picture Nursery Rhymes is a 16-page, colorfully illustrated, board book compendium of popular nursery rhymes for children ages 9 months to three years. Perfect for parents to read to their young one, and for precocious children to begin to appreciate the use of language and as an introduction to the written word, First Picture Nursery Rhymes is enthusiastically recommended for family, preschool, day-care, kindergarten, and community library collections. Also very highly recommended are Usborne's companion titles for preschoolers: First Picture ABC (079450907X, $11.95); First Picture 1-2-3 (0794509398, $11.5); and First Picture Word Book (0794506453, $11.95).
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| Reviewer: |
The Folklore/Mythology Shelf (A section of The Midwest Book Review) |
| Title: |
Hide-and-Seek Dragons |
| ISBN: |
515904 |
| Review Date: |
February 2008 |
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Review:
Hide-and-Seek Dragons is an Usborne Touchy-Feely picturebook featuring stiff pages like a board book, flaps that young people can lift and search under, and perhaps most amazingly, a wide variety of different surfaces to touch, from fur to reflective fabric to scaly dragon bellies and much more. Cartoony dragons of different colors are playing a hide-and-seek game, and it’s up to the young reader to find the hiding dragon behind one of the paper flaps. A definite treat for young dragon lovers!
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| Reviewer: |
Norma Kellam |
| Title: |
Horse & Pony Treasury |
| ISBN: |
514310 |
| Review Date: |
March 2007 |
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Review:
"Teams of dedicated horses and riders delivered letters in relays crossing the continent in just ten days." As your children, who take telephones and e-mail for granted, read about the Pony Express, they may find it difficult to believe that people used to consider ten days to be fast communication.
This tidbit about the Pony Express is one of numerous fascinating facts that your youngsters will encounter in "Horse and Pony Treasury" by Rosie Dickins and Leonie Pratt, for ages 6 to about 9. This hardcover book presents a broad overview about riding, pony care, and competitions, children will read about famous real and ficticious horses, learn art techniques, and enjoy horse stories. They will also learn a variety of new terms from the glossary.
From the back flap of the dust jacket, readers will discover that the two authors have loved and ridden horses since childhood. A horse and pony expert's advice enhances the quality of this book. Norman Young and Barry Ablett, the main illustrators, have also had personal experience with these animals. The artist's illustrations in conjunction with numerous photographs make this a beautiful, colorful book.
Three sequential drawings illustrate basic procedures a new rider must learn by depicting a longhaired girl on a white spotted pony. For the third drawing, in which she is holding the reings taut, the text says, "To halt, sit deep in the saddle and pull back on the reins, gently but firmly." Another drawing depicts a boy carrying a red bucket full of water and under his right arm is a bunch of hay. The caption reads, "Horses need plenty of water, and fresh hay to nibble."
A photo in the section on competitors shows a brown horse jumping over a special fence that will fall down if the horse fails to clear it. The horse is wearing white leg protectors. The rider's outfit consists of a black helmet, a red jacket, white pants, and high black boots.
Four pages explain art techniques, including a double page that provides numbered instructions for using paint, chalk, and other media to produce a flying-horse picture. In the illustration of the completed project, the white horse's pink cheek and snout together with its gold streaked mane and tail provide a pleasing color contrast. Outstretched legs and the high position of its one visible wing give the impression of flying.
The stories and myths in the final section originated from various cultures. In a Chinese folk tale, a farmer's son complains that their valuable stallion has run away. he concludes, "It's such bad luck." His father answers, "Maybe, maybe not..." The story does a splendid job of showing how a particular event can be either good or bad depending on circumstances.
Even though mail delivery no longer requires the Pony Express, your children will learn that horses and ponies still play an important role in the lives of people who love them.
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| Reviewer: |
Norma D. Kellam |
| Title: |
Illustrated Dictionary of Math |
| ISBN: |
516291 |
| Review Date: |
May 2007 |
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Review:
MATH KIDS CAN USE
“I flipped this nickel three times and only got heads,” your daughter says. “The next one has to be tails.” She needs to learn more about probability.
Illustrated Dictionary of Math by Tori Large, for ages 12 and up, will inform your daughter that each time she flips a coin, the chance of tails is 50 percent, with no effect from previous coin flips. She will also learn many other useful and intriguing math facts. This new edition, which belongs to the “Illustrated Dictionaries” series, is available in flexi-binding or library binding. An education consultant assisted with this book.
Adam Constantine’s small drawings provide clarification of the abstract math concepts. Most of the drawings consist of geometric figures. Among drawings of various types of quadrilaterals—four-sided shapes—is one called a kite because it has the typical configuration of this toy. A pink piggy bank and three coins appear beside a handwritten calculation of compound interest.
The first of four sections presents numerous characteristics of numbers. The author includes the term top heavy to refer to improper fractions, those with a value of more than one, such as 7/3. Readers will find out that the use of a dot for a decimal point isn’t universal: “Some countries use a comma in place of a dot (e.g. 1,2) to avoid confusion with a dot that they use as a symbol for multiplication.”
The title of the largest section is “Shape, Space and Measures.” In this section, teens and preteens learn about an array of shapes and about graphs on which points have a position in relation to two lines labeled X-axis and Y-axis. Readers also find out how to draw triangles of different sizes by using a protractor and a set of compasses. The author defines this second item: “A mathematical instrument used for drawing circles and arcs.” Five pages deal with basic trigonometry, presenting a new way to calculate the properties of triangles.
In the section on algebra, readers discover that solving equations involves determining the value of letters that represent unknown numbers. Algebraic graphs represent equations with two or more unknowns. The examples in the book have two unknowns and show changes in the value of the second unknown based on variations in the first one. These graphs may contain straight lines, curves, or a circle depending on the type of equation represented.
The section titled “Handling Data” includes methods of collecting information, such as observation and questionnaires. In this section, young people also learn how to record data, to calculate three kinds of averages, and to determine the spread of the data. Various kinds of graphs offer alternatives for representing information, including pictographs and pie graphs.
Two pages define money terms, with frequent inclusion of an additional brief explanation. A page lists important symbols used in math. The index serves as a tool for hunting specific information, while recommended websites enable readers to go further in exploring the topics discussed.
As your daughter applies the principles of math to everyday situations, she develops a better understanding of the world around her.
For more information call EDC Publishing at (800) 475-4522.
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| Reviewer: |
By Sarah Courtauld, et al. |
| Title: |
Illustrated Fairy Tales |
| ISBN: |
517175 |
| Review Date: |
March 2008 |
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Review:
Expertly designed by the team of Nancy Leschnifoff and Helen Wood, the “Usborne Illustrated Fairy Tales” is co-edited by Sarah Courtauld and Rosie Dickins to provide young readers with 352 pages of classic fairytales drawn from popular sources as Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm, and others. Enhanced throughout with color illustrations, the ten individual stories comprising this outstanding volume include Sleeping Beauty; The Emperor and the Nightingale; Beauty and the Beast; The Dragon Painter; The Frog Prince; The Elves and the Shoemaker; Little Red Riding Hood; Cinderella; The Swan Princess; The Emperor’s New Clothes. An entertaining and handsome addition to any child’s reading list and community library’s fairytale/folklore collection for young readers.
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| Reviewer: |
Joan Schweighardt |
| Title: |
NIGHT ANIMALS |
| ISBN: |
516567 |
| Review Date: |
2007 |
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Review:
GET OUT ON THE NIGHT
Usborne's "Beginner's Series" includes a new release called NIGHT ANIMALS (ISBN978079451656-7), by Susan Meredith, for ages five and up. This is a very informative book for both kids and the adults who read with them, as it features not only the better-known animals of the night (such as bats and wolves) but also such lesser-know types as aardvarks and tarsiers. Moreover, the book explains, in straightforward language, why the animals within its pages prefer to be up and about when the rest of us are sound asleep.
Hippos, for instance, come out at night because it is cooler. Given their size, that makes perfect sense. Slugs are minuscule by comparison, but they too prefer night, because the sun would dry them up very quickly. Some animals have specific features that make them not only more comfortable at night but truly able to rule it! The famous flashing light that the firefly uses to send messages, for example, would not even be visible during the day. And the large, bulging eyes of the tarsier, which enable it to see (and hence to hunt) so well in the dark, would only be blinded by the light of the sun. Other animals, this book explains, have eyes that work best at night but can adjust to the daytime sun as well, like geckos and frogs, which can narrow their eyes to thin slits.
NIGHT ANIMALS, which features 30 pages of fun facts and wonderful illustrations and photographs of more than 30 animals, ends with a glossary (explaining relevant terms like "nocturnal" and "burrow"), a list of night animal websites, and an index. Young readers are sure to finish this book feeling confident of their handle on the subject matter and eager to learn more about the natural world through other books in the series (which can be viewed at www.edcpub.com). NIGHT ANIMALS is priced at $4.99.
NIGHT ANIMALS is reviewed by Joan Schweighardt, the author of GUDRUN'S TAPESTRY and other novels. Over the years Joan has counted among her closest friends Zelma, Cleo, and Speedy-Clark (all felines) and Heidi, Barnaby, Dirty Ben, Auggie Doggie and Smart Sartre (all canines). Currently Joan counts herself lucky to share her life and home with Nikki, a Belgian Shepherd who survived a near-death experience more than a year ago. Having been nursed back to life with drops of water from a turkey-baster and thereafter minuscule pieces of prime rib, Nikki is now the most spoiled 14-year-old dog on the planet.
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| Reviewer: |
Cindy Vallar |
| Title: |
Pirate Adventures |
| ISBN: |
514471 |
| Review Date: |
May 2007 |
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Review:
Experience adventure galore in these three tales about pirates. In “The Return of Captain Spike” the pirates are imprisoned in the dungeons on Rotters’ Isle. The wickedest of them is Sneaky Spike, who dares to steal from the pirates! Bobby Bones shares the captain’s cell and decides to teach the thief a lesson. Bobby owns a treasure map, and if Spike can escape from the island and remain free, he’ll win the map. If he ends up back in jail in less than a day, though, Bobby gets all of Spike’s ill-gotten treasure. Who gets the treasure?
The second tale centers around the annual “Pirate of the Year” contest. Captain Blackheart and Billy Booty vie for this coveted title, and there are only two rules they must heed: Cheating is allowed, and protect your mates from danger. True to his name, Blackheart is an expert in heeding the first rule, but will he win Pirate of the Year?
Sir Rollo Pinchley is a dastardly sea merchant who wants the farm Harriet Hill’s family owns. When her father refuses to sell, their sheep disappear. If they don’t recover their animals, they will be ruined. Harriet dons the disguise of a cabin boy and sets off on an adventure she never expects. While searching for the thieves, she finds herself aboard a pirate ship. Will she save her family and the farm?
This easy-to-read chapter book is a delight and perfect for reading aloud so others can share in the adventures. The layout is similar to that of a comic book, but with more words, and the illustrations grab your attention with their bold colors and humorous portrayals. The morals woven into the stories are subtly done, so as not to detract from the tale. These three stories will make young readers laugh and cheer. An excellent addition to a young pirate’s bookshelf.
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| Reviewer: |
Cindy Vallar |
| Title: |
Pirate Jigsaw Book |
| ISBN: |
514327 |
| Review Date: |
May 2007 |
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Review:
A pirate’s world is filled with both adventure and mundane tasks. Through the use of puzzles, search-and-find games, and colorful pictures, young readers learn about the life of a pirate. You begin your exploration with seeing how pirates lived on their ships. From there you experience the capture of a prize, marooning captives, hiding your treasure, spending your booty in a pirate town, and standing trial for piracy.
The left side of each two-page spread contains a jigsaw puzzle in a frame. The pieces come out easily and then readers reassemble the puzzle inside the frame. Underneath is a picture of the puzzle so that assemblers have a visual guide to reconstruct the ship, the island, the town, or the court room. The right page includes a brief paragraph about what the puzzle shows and the items readers must find in the puzzle.
Written for pirates-in-training who are older than 36 months, this book is constructed from pressed cardboard, so the puzzle pieces are sturdy and fit inside the book’s pages. Sometimes a puzzle piece is shaped to match something in a pirate’s life, such as a ship’s wheel, a parrot, or a cutlass, and all pieces are big enough for little hands to hold. The Pirate Jigsaw Book is a fun and educational way to learn about pirates. The illustrations are crammed with all sorts of little details that will keep young pirates searching for hidden treasure. It provides a well-rounded view of sea rogues without glamorizing them, but the cartoonish illustrations are entertaining.
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| Reviewer: |
Today’s Books / Bookweek |
| Title: |
Stories of Pirates |
| ISBN: |
515423 |
| Review Date: |
March 24, 2008 |
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Review:
Today’s Books/Bookweek puts Stories of Pirates on “The A-List.” Read-along and listen-along CD with music and sound affects accompanies tale of Masked Pirate and Charlie and his parrot. For ages five and over. Written by Russell Punter. Illustrated by Christyan Fox. Edited by Lesley Sims. Hardcover revised edition of 2003 title first published in UK, now with new binding; includes one CD narrated by Jonathan Guy Lewis. Color illustrated with drawings. “Usborne Young Reading with CD” series.
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| Reviewer: |
Today's Books / Bookweek |
| Title: |
The Billy Goats Gruff |
| ISBN: |
518677 |
| Review Date: |
March 24, 2008 |
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Review:
Today’s Books / Bookweek puts The Billy Goats Gruff on “The A-List.” Read-along and listen-along CD with music and sound affects accompanies retelling of Norwegian folk tale of troll under the bridge. For ages five and over.
Retold by Jane Bingham. Illustrated by Daniel Postgate.
Edited by Susanna Davidson. Designed by Russell Punter and Natacha Goransky. Hardcover revised edition of 2004 title first published in UK, now with new binding; includes one CD narrated by Jonathan Kydd. Color illustrated with drawings. “Usborne Young Reading with CD” series.
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| Reviewer: |
Today's Books / Bookweek |
| Title: |
The Frog Prince |
| ISBN: |
518684 |
| Review Date: |
March 24, 2008 |
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Review:
Today’s Books / Bookweek puts The Frog Prince on “The A-List.” Read-along and listen-along CD with music and sound affects accompanies humorous retelling of Brothers Grimm story of princess who must return favor to a frog who turns out to be a prince. For ages five and over. Retold by Susanna Davidson. Illustrated by Mike Gordon. Edited by Lesley Sims. Designed by Katarina Dragoslavic. Hardcover revised edition of 2005 title first published in UK, now with new binding; includes one CD narrated by Joanna Eliot. Color illustrated with drawings. “Usborne Young Reading with CD” series.
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| Reviewer: |
Today's Books / Bookweek |
| Title: |
The Princess and the Pea |
| ISBN: |
518752 |
| Review Date: |
March 24, 2008 |
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Review:
Read-along and listen-along CD with music and sound affects accompanies retelling of Hans Christian Andersen classic of a very sensitive princess who wins the hand of a prince. For ages five and over. Today’s Books / Bookweek puts The Princess and the Pea on “The A-List.” Retold by Susanna Davidson. Illustrated by Mike Gordon and Carl Gordon. Edited by Lesley Sims. Designed by Russell Punter and Natacha Goransky. Hardcover revised edition of 2004 title first published in UK, now with new binding; includes one CD narrated by Joanna Eliot. Color
illustrated with drawings. “Usborne Young Reading with CD” series.
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| Reviewer: |
Today's Books / Bookweek |
| Title: |
The Princess and the Pea |
| ISBN: |
518752 |
| Review Date: |
March 24, 2008 |
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Review:
Today’s Books / Bookweek puts The Princess and the Pea on “The A-List.” Read-along and listen-along CD with music and sound affects accompanies retelling of Hans Christian Andersen classic of a very sensitive princess who wins the hand of a prince. For ages five and over. Retold by Susanna Davidson. Illustrated by Mike Gordon and Carl Gordon. Edited by Lesley Sims. Designed by Russell Punter and Natacha Goransky. Hardcover revised edition of 2004 title first published in UK, now with new binding; includes one CD narrated by Joanna Eliot. Color
illustrated with drawings. “Usborne Young Reading with CD” series.
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| Reviewer: |
Norma D. Kellam |
| Title: |
The Shocking Story of Electricity |
| ISBN: |
512484 |
| Review Date: |
February 2007 |
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Review:
“It’s all gone!” says a man wearing blue overalls and a yellow hardhat, as he points toward an overturned, empty oil drum. His shocked coworker blocks the dreadful view by putting a hand over his eyes. This illustration in a new children’s book emphasizes the crucial importance of using alternative sources of electricity.
The Shocking Story of Electricity by Anna Claybourne, for ages 7 to about 8, explains the history and uses of this valuable form of energy. The final page tells how to access websites where children can have fun learning about electricity. A reading consultant and an electricity expert helped with the preparation of this book, which is available in paperback and a library edition. It belongs to the “Young Reading Series 2,” for which the reading level is middle to late second grade.
A conspicuous yellow box under the table of contents provides a warning: “… never play with electricity, and keep metal objects and water well away from live electricity.” Two pages provide safety tips, such as staying away from fallen power lines. After telling about Benjamin Franklin’s electrical experiment for which he flew a kite during a thunderstorm, the author wisely advises readers that Franklin’s experiment was exceedingly dangerous and that they must never try it. The book describes a safe experiment, which consists of making a snake out of tissue paper, rubbing a ruler on wool material, and using the static electricity generated on the ruler to lift the snake.
Readers will learn that motors and generators work in opposite ways. Motors use electricity while generators produce it. Numerous appliances, including washing machines and electric toothbrushes, use motors to produce motion. Other appliances, such as heaters and toasters, use tightly coiled wires to produce heat. The first electrical inventions had limited use because most homes didn’t have electricity.
Kevin Hopgood’s multicolored drawings will help children understand the written information. Speech balloons enhance many of the illustrations. Labels clarify other pictures, such as the labels indicating the motor and the belt on a drawing of an electric fan with part of the casing cut out.
A variety of small illustrations compare the use of electrical appliances with the way people accomplished the same tasks prior to the invention of electricity. For example, a modern man is vacuuming a small rug, and a woman from the past is using a carpet beater on a rug that is hanging on a clothesline.
Another illustration depicts a huge computer with numerous wires. The height of this computer from the 1940s is about three times the height of the men standing in front of it. Young readers will be surprised that the first computers “filled entire rooms.” Some modern computers are “small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.” For comparison, a boy stands in front of the men, holding a palm-sized computer.
While learning about the history of electricity and its safe use, children will also learn the importance of conserving natural resources. Hopefully, they will avert the tragic predicament of the workmen in the oil drum illustration.
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| Reviewer: |
Norma D. Kellam |
| Title: |
The Stinking Story of Garbage |
| ISBN: |
512477 |
| Review Date: |
December 2006 |
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Review:
By the time your children grow up, will accumulated garbage leave room on the Earth for them? A new book will help kids understand the problems that garbage causes and what they can do about it.
The Stinking Story of Garbage by Katie Daynes, for ages 7 to about 8, presents the history of garbage and methods of controlling it. A recycling manager served as a garbage consultant. A reading consultant also assisted with this 64-page paperback book, which belongs to the “Young Reading Series 2.” This second level is for children who read independently at a middle- to late-second-grade level.
In the first of eight chapters, readers learn that the history of garbage stretches back to the beginning of life on the Earth. Garbage wasn’t much problem when only plants and animals occupied our planet or when the human population consisted of primitive people. When masses of people moved to the cities, it became more and more of a problem. Town dwellers expressed their predicament: “In the country, people bury what the pigs don’t eat. But here we have no pigs … and nowhere to dig.” People used to throw their garbage, including human waste, in the street. Lack of proper garbage disposal resulted in diseases, including a plague called the Black Death in the 1330s and cholera epidemics as the middle of the 1800s approached. Landfill sites began when politicians said, “We’ll dig giant pits in the countryside … and bury all our garbage there.”
When the text advances to modern times, readers learn that landfills produce methane gas, which landfill workers have to remove to prevent explosions. Plastic items will remain in landfills for 500 years before dissolving. Burning garbage produces harmful gases. Solutions to the garbage problem include giving unwanted belongings to charity shops, repairing broken items, and recycling.
Uwe Mayer’s drawings, in pastel colors, vividly depict problems resulting from garbage, as well as the modern solutions. Cartoon-style rats often appear in or near the garbage. Children will get a laugh from a drawing depicting three airplanes with sides, wings, tail fins, and front wheels made from intact cylindrical aluminum cans. The text says, “In three months, Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild all their passenger planes.”
A double-page illustration depicts a recycling conveyor belt. Various techniques separate different kinds of items. Numerous holes in a large purple cylinder at the beginning of the conveyor belt let jars, cans, and bottles fall through onto the belt while paper stays behind. One of several large containers beside the conveyor belt has a magnet attached to it. The caption reads, “Magnets attract the steel cans.” Three people in white jackets and white caps sort items that arrive at the final section of the conveyor belt. One of these people is reaching onto the belt for a lady’s high-heel shoe.
As children learn to recycle and to give unwanted items to charity shops, they take control of the garbage problem. Long-term control of garbage depends on the new generation’s serious, consistent effort.
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| Reviewer: |
James Cox |
| Title: |
The Usborne Book Of Poems For Little Children |
| ISBN: |
514266 |
| Review Date: |
April 2007 |
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Review:
Poetry is a part of every child's cultural legacy and to instill a love of poetry within that child is to establish a foundation for a life-long appreciation of what the written word can do. "The Usborne Book Of Poems For Little Children" is an ideal introduction for preschools to the joy and fun of language expressed in simple, entertaining verse. Compiled by Sam Taplin and colorfully illustrated by Masumi Furukawa, here is a compendium of poetry that is perfect for parent-child bonding, rainy-day entertaining, and reading skill development. 'Mud': I like mud./I like it on my clothes./I like it on my fingers./I like it in my toes.//Dirt's pretty ordinary/And dust's a dud./For a really good mess-up/I like mud. – John Smith
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| Reviewer: |
James Cox |
| Title: |
The Usborne First Cookbook |
| ISBN: |
514792 |
| Review Date: |
March 2007 |
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Review:
Profusely and colorfully illustrated by Stephen Cartwright, deftly edited by Rebecca Gilpin, and designed by Sally Griffin, "The Usborne First Cookbook" by Angela Wilkes is a thoroughly 'kid friendly' compilation of recipes that are specifically intended to introduce children to the delight and accomplishment of simple but elegant dishes that are sure to please the palate and satisfy the appetite. Beginning with two informative chapters of instructions 'Before You Start' and 'Things to Remember', also includes chapters teaching young chefs 'Handy Hints', 'Preparing Vegetables', 'Kitchen Equipment', and even a glossary of 'Cooking Words'. From Baked Tomatoes; French Toast; Pizza, and "Ice Cream Sundaes; to Bacon and Potato Casserole; Chocolate Brownies; Hamburgers; Easy Breaded Fish; and Marmalade Gingerbread, "The Usborne First Cookbook" is an ideal addition to family, school, and community library cookbook collections for children.
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| Reviewer: |
Norma Kellam |
| Title: |
Under the Ground |
| ISBN: |
512644 |
| Review Date: |
January 2007 |
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Review:
Have your children ever dug holes in the yard? What if they kept digging and digging, forgetting to stop?
"Under the Ground" by Anna Milbourne, for ages 3 to about 7, acquaints children with numerous surprises, both living and inanimate, that they would find if they could explore below the Earth's surface. The text of this hardcover book in the "Picture Books" series speaks directly to the reader by using second person. For example, the question that begins the texts is, "Have you ever wondered what's under the ground?"
Serena Rigietti's multicolored illustrations each cover a whole page or a double page, with two to six lines of text per page superimposed on the illustrations. The picture for the first page of text depicts two children digging a hole in their backyard. The little girl in a pink jumper and the little boy in a two-tone blue shirt and short tan pants have chosen a spot beside a strawberry patch for this project.
The illustrations on the middle pages present various items that exist at different depths under the ground, beginning with plant roots, worms, and the inside of an ant hill. Items further down include a rabbit burrow, water and sewer pipes, subway trains, fossils in striped rock, and an underground gold and silver mine.
One of these illustrations depicts a cave with stalagmites rising up from the ground and stalactities hanging from the ceiling. Drops of water drip from several of the stalactites. Numerous bats with brown bodies and black wings are hanging upside down from the cave roof. Two flying bats have their wings spread wide. A yellow snake with large red spots curls around the spikes of a stalagmite. Finding an identical snake, whose head and tail stick out from behind the broad base of another stalagmite, requires a close look. The last of the four sentences on this double page reads, "Other caves are so deep and dark that no one's EVER seen them."
Toward the end of the book, an illustration shows the two youngsters with spades in their hands, deep inside the hole. The boy is digging with his spade. Above the children, the text says, "If you could dig even further undergroundm you'd be depper than anyone's ever been." Red and orange melted rock from the Earth's molten core appears on the same page, while the text alerts readers that they couldn't really be tehre without melting.
On the next page, a diagram shows the children's hole going to the center of a cross section of the Earth. Buildings, shrubbery, and oceans with boats appear around the outer edge, with a donut-shaped red ring surrounding a white circle to represent the boiling hot core. The two children continue digging. Readers will appreciate the clever surprise ending.
Only in a wild surge of imagination can children dig a hole to the center of the Earth. This skillful use of imagination can enlighten youngsters about a fascinating hidden part of their real environment.
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| Reviewer: |
Joan Schweighardt |
| Title: |
Usborne Cats Sticker Book |
| ISBN: |
515843 |
| Review Date: |
2007 |
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Review:
Wild about kitties? Get stuck on these!
Did you know that Manx cats are named for the Isle of Man, where they are mainly found? Or that some cats, like the Oriental Lilac Cat, actually have pink fur?
The new CATS STICKER BOOK (ISBN 0 7945 1584 3) by Sophy Tahta, features 24 pages of cats, grouped together by features/and or heritage. These groupings help young cat lovers to learn to distinguish, for instance, the markings that designate a Tabby cat from the those that designate a Tortoiseshell cat. Curly-coated cats, Tailless cats, Abyssinian cats, and Siamese cats, and lots of others, are all accounted for.
Along with a faded image of each cat (onto which the user will place the appropriate vividly-colored sticker) there is a paragraph further identifying each feline, and providing little-known facts like those mentioned above. There is also a place for cat watchers to record when and where they actually catch their first glimpse of a particular feline in real life. The stock of the pages in this book, therefore, is worth mentioning. These are heavy semi-glossy pages that should hold up just fine not only through the stickering process but also through all the years it can take to actually identify each cat, and then all the years beyond that that a cat lover might want to keep such a record.
The cat stickers (six artists created the 90 cat images) are not only expressive and well-illustrated but also easy to peel and easy to place. They are located in the middle of the book. A back-of-the-book check list provides page numbers for each sticker placement, ensuring that young cat lovers don't succumb to frustration before they are able to place all the cats.
CAT STICKERS BOOK is a must for anyone who loves cats. It is fun and informative, and gives young readers growing up in this age of 'sound-bites' an opportunity to work on a rewarding long-term project. Priced at $8.99, it's irresistible. (Other animal books by this publisher can be found at www.edcpub.com.)
CATS STICKER BOOK is reviewed by Joan Schweighardt, the author of GUDRUN'S TAPESTRY and other novels. Over the years Joan has counted among her closest friends Zelma, Cleo, and Speedy-Clark (all felines) and Heidi, Barnaby, Dirty Ben, Auggie Doggie and Smart Sartre (all canines). Currently Joan counts herself lucky to share her life and home with Nikki, a Belgian Shepherd who survived a near-death experience more than a year ago. Having been nursed back to life with drops of water from a turkey-baster and thereafter minuscule pieces of prime rib, Nikki is now the most spoiled 14-year-old dog on the planet.
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| Reviewer: |
Norma Kellam |
| Title: |
Vacation (Look & Say) |
| ISBN: |
513153 |
| Review Date: |
Dec. 24, 2006 |
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Review:
Your older children are excited as you plan your family vacation, but your youngest child, who has never experienced a trip, looks confused. A new book, which provides a simple presentation of several of the things families do on vacations, will help you and your little one talk about the upcoming adventure.
"Vacation", for ages 2 to about 3, belongs to the "Look and Say Board Books" series. Five colorful full-page scenes depict various families involved in vacation activiies, including playing at the beach and dining at a restaurant's outdoor tables. The families represent different ethnic groups, thus presenting multiculturalism as natural and positive. Jo Litchfield's skillfully designed clay models of people, animals, and objects will delight young children. Photos of these models superimposed on Francesca Allen's illustrations provide a pleasing effect to the resulting complete scenes.
Photos of clay models also appear on the pages facing the scenes, with each such page presenting five or six items from the corresponding scene. One of two words under each item identify it, such as "sleeping bag" and "menu". A rounded tag sticks out from the side of each page. A representative picture of one of the items on the respective double page appears on the tag. For example, if children want to find the camping scene, they find the tag that has a picture of a tent. The tags on each side of a double page depict the same item.
Instead of a picture, the back of the final tag contains the title for the last double page: "Look and say". Pictures of all of the items previously presented individually, along with each item's identifying word, reappear on this double page. Children will encounter the items in a different order from their original presentation, and they may enjoy locating the double page that presents each item.
A car's raised trunk lid, in the first scene, reveals a load of recreational equipment, including tennis rackets and a blue pail containing a shovel. Two children and their parents are preparing to get into the car. A place with red tail fins zips through the blue sky. Among items pictures on the facing page are a set of keys and a pink flowered suitcase with wheels.
In another scene, several adults and children are visiting a farm. Youngsters will enjoy seeing chickens and ducks scattered through the picture. One of the ducks runs from a small boy who is wearing blue overalls and red shoes. Mounted on a gray pony, an older boy in black boots, a riding hat, and a pink flowered shirt is ready for a ride. A lamb rests in lady's arms. After looking at the individual items on the adjacent page, children will have no trouble finding the black-and-white dog and the red tractor in the scene.
As your older children talk about the thrilling adventures they will have on vacation, your smallest child will also be able to look forward to a trip filled with delightful activities.
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