Kid's book reviews
Michele Moss
Hello everyone,
We get 20 books from the library every two weeks. I always intend to
share some of the better selections with others but next thing i
know, we are rushing them back to the library before i get a chance.
well this time, i'm doing it! <G> Most of these are written simply
enough for a 3 yo to enjoy and understand the content being read to
them or a beginning reader to read, but with enough complex ideas to
draw on that a 9+ yo (or adults! see "Twisters!" description) would
enjoy and pick up entirely different concepts. my apologies to anyone
that is on more than one of the same list that i am sending this to
and will get a dupe. here goes...
My First Columbus Day Book by Dee Lillegard
a nice trip through the history of Christopher Columbus as a boy with
a dream, on up through his explorations and discovery. broken into
short stories of all the historic phases of one story per page. some
are a little poetic. simple enough for a very young child to
understand and pictures that are appealing to the younger eyes. i
think this is a great one for encouraging an interest in history.
A Polar Bear Can Swim (what animals can and cannot do)
by Harriet Ziefert
A Viking Science Easy-to-Read Level 2 book
Series of "can" lead into "cannot" and then lead into who "can"...
"A honeybee can make honey, but a honeybee can't make milk"
"A cow can make milk"
I learned a few things from this one - did you know that a cow can
drink 75 gallons of water in a day? that a bat can catch 600 insects
in an hour? WOW!
In the back, it gives ideas for related projects
Twisters! by Lucille Recht Penner
A Step into Reading step 2 book.
Another WOW! "I" learned a lot from this book too! i never heard of
water tornadoes called waterspouts that can suck all the water out of
a pond, or a "dust devil" tornado, or how hurricanes are named, or
about special planes called "hurricane hunters" that fly right into
hurricanes to study them! A great, simple yet informative
introduction to meteorology and history too! there are many
references to famous storms in history.
People by Peter Spier
A sort of "people" encyclopedia that portrays differences in people
and cultures in everything like clothes, food, religions, games,
languages, famous people in history, etc. an older book copyright
1980 but still worth a look if your library has it. ends on a note
of "isn't it wonderful that we are all different from each other?".
Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make by Kathy Ross
Excellent Crafty book! The ornaments are easy and require very few
materials, most of which you probably have around your house or might
otherwise throw away (a reindeer from a toilet paper tube, angel from
coffee filters, and my favorite for "cute" - dog face made from a
doggy biscuit!). has about 30 ornaments with simple directions and
good illustrations.
How to be a Friend (A guide to Making Friends and Keeping Them)
by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown.
A Dino Life Guides for Families Book
A fun way to present an often difficult situation for kids.
The "how" and "why" is stated followed by cartoonish type examples using
real dialogue.
Enjoy! Anyone else have some to share?
Michele Moss
Mom of Sterling Tyler age 3 yrs old
Parents of Spirited Kids Resource Web site:
http://www.icstech.net/~michele
Parents of Spirited Kids Discussion Group:
http://www.egroups.com/list/psk
We get 20 books from the library every two weeks. I always intend to
share some of the better selections with others but next thing i
know, we are rushing them back to the library before i get a chance.
well this time, i'm doing it! <G> Most of these are written simply
enough for a 3 yo to enjoy and understand the content being read to
them or a beginning reader to read, but with enough complex ideas to
draw on that a 9+ yo (or adults! see "Twisters!" description) would
enjoy and pick up entirely different concepts. my apologies to anyone
that is on more than one of the same list that i am sending this to
and will get a dupe. here goes...
My First Columbus Day Book by Dee Lillegard
a nice trip through the history of Christopher Columbus as a boy with
a dream, on up through his explorations and discovery. broken into
short stories of all the historic phases of one story per page. some
are a little poetic. simple enough for a very young child to
understand and pictures that are appealing to the younger eyes. i
think this is a great one for encouraging an interest in history.
A Polar Bear Can Swim (what animals can and cannot do)
by Harriet Ziefert
A Viking Science Easy-to-Read Level 2 book
Series of "can" lead into "cannot" and then lead into who "can"...
"A honeybee can make honey, but a honeybee can't make milk"
"A cow can make milk"
I learned a few things from this one - did you know that a cow can
drink 75 gallons of water in a day? that a bat can catch 600 insects
in an hour? WOW!
In the back, it gives ideas for related projects
Twisters! by Lucille Recht Penner
A Step into Reading step 2 book.
Another WOW! "I" learned a lot from this book too! i never heard of
water tornadoes called waterspouts that can suck all the water out of
a pond, or a "dust devil" tornado, or how hurricanes are named, or
about special planes called "hurricane hunters" that fly right into
hurricanes to study them! A great, simple yet informative
introduction to meteorology and history too! there are many
references to famous storms in history.
People by Peter Spier
A sort of "people" encyclopedia that portrays differences in people
and cultures in everything like clothes, food, religions, games,
languages, famous people in history, etc. an older book copyright
1980 but still worth a look if your library has it. ends on a note
of "isn't it wonderful that we are all different from each other?".
Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make by Kathy Ross
Excellent Crafty book! The ornaments are easy and require very few
materials, most of which you probably have around your house or might
otherwise throw away (a reindeer from a toilet paper tube, angel from
coffee filters, and my favorite for "cute" - dog face made from a
doggy biscuit!). has about 30 ornaments with simple directions and
good illustrations.
How to be a Friend (A guide to Making Friends and Keeping Them)
by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown.
A Dino Life Guides for Families Book
A fun way to present an often difficult situation for kids.
The "how" and "why" is stated followed by cartoonish type examples using
real dialogue.
Enjoy! Anyone else have some to share?
Michele Moss
Mom of Sterling Tyler age 3 yrs old
Parents of Spirited Kids Resource Web site:
http://www.icstech.net/~michele
Parents of Spirited Kids Discussion Group:
http://www.egroups.com/list/psk
[email protected]
In a message dated 8/13/99 12:05:33 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
michele@... writes:
<< Most of these are written simply
enough for a 3 yo to enjoy and understand the content being read to
them or a beginning reader to read, but with enough complex ideas to
draw on that a 9+ yo (or adults! see "Twisters!" description) would
enjoy and pick up entirely different concepts. . >>
Thanks for this, Michelle. I made note of the books I thought would interest
my son and added them to our library list. We too bring home usually 30+
books from the library every couple of weeks, plus CD-ROMs and music CDs. I
usually look for a few specific books from our running list, and then gather
the rest randomly. I enjoy browsing through the
recently-returned-but-not-back-on-the-shelf-yet carts of our library for a
good variety of topics and authors and styles without having to travel up and
down each row of shelves. I LOVE the library!!!!! Peace -- Debbie
michele@... writes:
<< Most of these are written simply
enough for a 3 yo to enjoy and understand the content being read to
them or a beginning reader to read, but with enough complex ideas to
draw on that a 9+ yo (or adults! see "Twisters!" description) would
enjoy and pick up entirely different concepts. . >>
Thanks for this, Michelle. I made note of the books I thought would interest
my son and added them to our library list. We too bring home usually 30+
books from the library every couple of weeks, plus CD-ROMs and music CDs. I
usually look for a few specific books from our running list, and then gather
the rest randomly. I enjoy browsing through the
recently-returned-but-not-back-on-the-shelf-yet carts of our library for a
good variety of topics and authors and styles without having to travel up and
down each row of shelves. I LOVE the library!!!!! Peace -- Debbie
Michele Moss
> From: LivnLetLrn@...i've always loved the library and i'm glad Sterling does too. He
>
> Thanks for this, Michelle. I made note of the books I thought would
> interest my son and added them to our library list. We too bring
> home usually 30+ books from the library every couple of weeks, plus
> CD-ROMs and music CDs. I usually look for a few specific books from
> our running list, and then gather the rest randomly. I enjoy
> browsing through the recently-returned-but-not-back-on-the-shelf-yet
> carts of our library for a good variety of topics and authors and
> styles without having to travel up and down each row of shelves. I
> LOVE the library!!!!! Peace -- Debbie
>
knows exactly where some of his favorites are and heads right to
them - Curious George? <G> We often sit right down on the floor in
the aisles and make ourselves at home to pick out books.
I just learned something new after visiting the kid's room for
almost 3 years! i would notice new non-fiction books but with the
limit of 4 on new books, we wouldn't be able to get them at the time.
i would watch for them on later trips and think "geez, must be good
books, they're never in!". well, i found out that they only stay in
the kid's room for two months and then are moved upstairs into the
adult section in the appropriate category - science, history, crafts,etc.
i found this out on a day that i wasn't having very good luck finding
anything exciting in the kid's room and did i ever end up having a
BLAST picking out some really fun books!
Michele Moss
Mom of Sterling Tyler age 3 yrs old
Parents of Spirited Kids Resource Web site:
http://www.icstech.net/~michele
Parents of Spirited Kids Discussion Group:
http://www.egroups.com/list/psk
[email protected]
Thank you Michelle! I'll be checking out a couple of those books you
mentioned. Here's some reviews I've written up over the past year. A few of
them are adult books, but the majority are story books. I'm really oriented
towards learning first through characters and fiction. I guess that's one of
the reasons why I ended up unschooling :-)
http://members.aol.com/jfetteroll/worldreligions.html
Joyce
mentioned. Here's some reviews I've written up over the past year. A few of
them are adult books, but the majority are story books. I'm really oriented
towards learning first through characters and fiction. I guess that's one of
the reasons why I ended up unschooling :-)
http://members.aol.com/jfetteroll/worldreligions.html
Joyce
Thomas and Nanci Kuykendall
I LOVE the library!!!!! Peace -- Debbie
A recent favorite at bedtime for my 2.5 year old is "Before I Go to Sleep",
(Don't have the author handy right now.) It's a lovely book all about a
little boys imaginings on a hot summer evening at bedtime. It's all in
verse and has wonderful illustrations.
Nanci K. in Idaho
A recent favorite at bedtime for my 2.5 year old is "Before I Go to Sleep",
(Don't have the author handy right now.) It's a lovely book all about a
little boys imaginings on a hot summer evening at bedtime. It's all in
verse and has wonderful illustrations.
Nanci K. in Idaho
Thomas and Nanci Kuykendall
At 05:30 PM 8/14/99 +0000, you wrote:
family! I can harldy wait until the boys are really old enough for the
library. Although my 2.5 year old loves books and loves to be read to as
often as possible, his brother is not yet ready for the library. At
16months and just barely verbal, he still eats books more than he looks at
them. He will sometimes sit and look at a book or sit still for a quarter
of a story, but I cannot take both of them to the library. That would be
an adventure! They would both be running in opposite directions, and the
baby would be emptying the bookshelves (one of his favorite pastimes.)
Luckily we have more kids books around here than they will be able to get
through in a LOOOOOONG time, and aquiring more all the time.
Nanci K. in Idaho
>From: "Michele Moss" <michele@...>I do this in Book stores as well...<g> They are like candy stores to this
>
>
>> From: LivnLetLrn@...
>>
>> Thanks for this, Michelle. I made note of the books I thought would
>> interest my son and added them to our library list. We too bring
>> home usually 30+ books from the library every couple of weeks, plus
>> CD-ROMs and music CDs. I usually look for a few specific books from
>> our running list, and then gather the rest randomly. I enjoy
>> browsing through the recently-returned-but-not-back-on-the-shelf-yet
>> carts of our library for a good variety of topics and authors and
>> styles without having to travel up and down each row of shelves. I
>> LOVE the library!!!!! Peace -- Debbie
>>
> i've always loved the library and i'm glad Sterling does too. He
>knows exactly where some of his favorites are and heads right to
>them - Curious George? <G> We often sit right down on the floor in
>the aisles and make ourselves at home to pick out books.
family! I can harldy wait until the boys are really old enough for the
library. Although my 2.5 year old loves books and loves to be read to as
often as possible, his brother is not yet ready for the library. At
16months and just barely verbal, he still eats books more than he looks at
them. He will sometimes sit and look at a book or sit still for a quarter
of a story, but I cannot take both of them to the library. That would be
an adventure! They would both be running in opposite directions, and the
baby would be emptying the bookshelves (one of his favorite pastimes.)
Luckily we have more kids books around here than they will be able to get
through in a LOOOOOONG time, and aquiring more all the time.
Nanci K. in Idaho
[email protected]
Hi...
I'm getting into this late, but I just got home from vacation and am reading
OLD messages.
Michele wrote:
<< I just learned something new after visiting the kid's room for
almost 3 years! i would notice new non-fiction books but with the
limit of 4 on new books, we wouldn't be able to get them at the time.
i would watch for them on later trips and think "geez, must be good
books, they're never in!". well, i found out that they only stay in
the kid's room for two months and then are moved upstairs into the
adult section in the appropriate category - science, history, crafts,etc.
i found this out on a day that i wasn't having very good luck finding
anything exciting in the kid's room and did i ever end up having a
BLAST picking out some really fun books! >>
Also, don't forget to check out the adult non-fiction section on a regular
basis for books for your kids. As one library fiend to another, I have
realized that some books written for adults on particular subjects appeal
more to my children than the children's versions. Although, I do have to say
that children's non-fiction choices have improved dramatically over the past
few years.
My son loves anything about woodworking and tools, so we find lots for him in
the adult section. I also find that adult titles about wildlife, art,
crafts, cooking, etc. tend to interest my children more than the children's
books. So, don't forget that you don't have to stay in the children's room.
(even if some library workers try to keep you there!) Fortunately, at our
library, they don't!
Have fun 'brary hunting...
Carol B.
I'm getting into this late, but I just got home from vacation and am reading
OLD messages.
Michele wrote:
<< I just learned something new after visiting the kid's room for
almost 3 years! i would notice new non-fiction books but with the
limit of 4 on new books, we wouldn't be able to get them at the time.
i would watch for them on later trips and think "geez, must be good
books, they're never in!". well, i found out that they only stay in
the kid's room for two months and then are moved upstairs into the
adult section in the appropriate category - science, history, crafts,etc.
i found this out on a day that i wasn't having very good luck finding
anything exciting in the kid's room and did i ever end up having a
BLAST picking out some really fun books! >>
Also, don't forget to check out the adult non-fiction section on a regular
basis for books for your kids. As one library fiend to another, I have
realized that some books written for adults on particular subjects appeal
more to my children than the children's versions. Although, I do have to say
that children's non-fiction choices have improved dramatically over the past
few years.
My son loves anything about woodworking and tools, so we find lots for him in
the adult section. I also find that adult titles about wildlife, art,
crafts, cooking, etc. tend to interest my children more than the children's
books. So, don't forget that you don't have to stay in the children's room.
(even if some library workers try to keep you there!) Fortunately, at our
library, they don't!
Have fun 'brary hunting...
Carol B.
Michele Moss
> From: Burkfamily@...Thanks for the tip Carol!
>
> Also, don't forget to check out the adult non-fiction section on a
> regular basis for books for your kids. As one library fiend to
> another, I have realized that some books written for adults on
> particular subjects appeal more to my children than the children's
> versions.
Although, I do have to say that children's non-fiction
> choices have improved dramatically over the past few years. My sonyes, even out of our own bookshelves at home i've been surprised by
> loves anything about woodworking and tools, so we find lots for him
> in the adult section. I also find that adult titles about wildlife,
> art, crafts, cooking, etc. tend to interest my children more than
> the children's books.
what Sterling has pulled out and sat down with for quite some time -
the gardening books, home repair books (but then he loves to take
things apart!), etc.
Michele Moss
Mom of Sterling Tyler age 3 yrs old
Parents of Spirited Kids Resource Web site:
http://www.icstech.net/~michele
Parents of Spirited Kids Discussion Group:
http://www.egroups.com/list/psk