When Ah-Fu's grandfather asks him to bring the ox home, Ah-Fu's confidence dwindles as various creatures instruct what he should not do as he bring the ox home. The ox is a gentle creature and assists Ah-Fu to gain confidence.
A feast for the eyes-the reader will linger on each page. The artwork is beautiful and offers unique perspectives.
A book that celebrates imagination
**Highly, highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
Three siblings pack a bag with sweaters, socks, mittens, and earmuffs and decide to live in different locations-a tree, a raft, a cave ,and by the sea, until an event occurs to convince them to move to the next place.
Would be a fun book to share with toddlers & preschoolers!
-Borrowed from the library.
A poem from Hieronymous Bosch's housekeeper's point of view. She is weary. Bosch's odd creatures create challenging days. She leaves but can't stay away!
A fictional account but based on Hieronymous Bosch's bizarre paintings. Bosch was a Dutch painter during the 1400s & early 1500s.
A fun addition to any medieval history unit. The Dillon family's talent is magnified in this book.
-Borrowed from the library.
As the author related Mary Oliver's younger years of wonder, my eyes welled up with tears as I recalled my childhood when I delighted in God's creation and relished being outside and being in awe of His creativity and beauty. I could also connect with Mary's love for poetry. As a teen, I loved the poets who celebrated creation (but they called it nature and seemed to worship it, not the Creator. Their poetry, however, caused me to worship the heavenly Father.). The author continues to reveal Mary's pursuit of poetry and wonder as she matured and entered retirement age.
Warning/consideration: Mary had a woman, Molly Malone Cook, as a lifelong partner. A couple of pages are dedicated to their relationship. In the timeline at the end of the book it mentions a book she wrote about her love for and her life with Molly.
-Borrowed via ILL
A dog is given a strawberry. This imaginative dog decides he and this strawberry are going to race. Throughout the story the dog narrates his progress vs the strawberry's progress. A surprise and funny ending.
Kids will love hearing this story. A fun read-aloud (especially if the narrator assumes the voice of a broadcaster)
Sort of a fractured Tortoise & the Hare tale
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
I love Chris Van Dusen's books! He, however, included two dads in the illustrations throughout the book.
Jack relays to Mayor McKay how he would build a town. Very imaginative (& modern-lots of robots doing the work of humans!).
Warning/ points to discuss: two dads (not mentioned that they are two dads in the text-just in the illustrations- walking together with a girl in between them), vs fossil fuels, robots doing most jobs, "everything is free" concept! 😉
-Borrowed from the library
In her book Glad and Golden Hours Lanier Ivester mentions books by Kate Douglas Wiggin several times. I then realized that I had never read this classic by her (nor any books by her)!
This book is a delight. Spinster aunts, Miranda and Jane Sawyer, agree to host one of their sister's children. They are hoping for Hannah. Rebecca, however, arrives at their doorstep with an imagination and a zest for life. Soon the town embraces her. Aunt Miranda continues to be harsh and strict. Despite this treatment, Rebecca flourishes and becomes a source of pride.
This book was published before Anne of Green Gables but does not receive as much recognition. I still like Anne better but this book is at the top of my "favorite classic list". Anne contains more drama, a meatier plot, and more flowery writing. I feel like by the end of these novels, readers know Anne better than they know Rebecca (plus there are more books about Anne than Rebecca).
I especially like this edition with illustrations by Barbara McClintock (one of my favorite illustrators). If I ever see this edition in a bookstore, I will most likely want to buy it!
*Highly recommend. I think every preteen and teen girl would benefit from reading this novel! 😉
-Borrowed from the library.
An Illuminated Alphabet of Medieval Beasts
My eighteen-year-old son would have loved reading this book as an elementary and junior high student!
Mr. Hunt creates an illuminated alphabet book depicting various creatures, both real and fantasical, from the medieval era. Thoroughly researching his subject manner, he exposes readers to the lore of that time.
*Highly recommend (but some of the creatures are evil and violent in nature! Not for sensitive readers).
-Borrowed from the library.
A young girl relates how much she loves spending two weeks at her grandmother's house. Spending two weeks crafting, baking, playing, acting out stories is glorious! This day, however, Grandma thirsts for a cup of quiet. Exiting the house, they find a quiet spot in the back yard where the girl collects sounds of nature in her imaginary cup. Grandma drinks deeply and is refreshed.
A delightful book I especially like that it features a Black family with no mention of race.
-Borrowed from the library.
Ms. Brett retells the Alice in Wonderland story by placing it in Alaska.
Alice follows a white rabbit down a moulin in a glacier and experiences events that are " almost right and not exactly wrong". I found the story odd and confusing, BUT the original story IS odd! The Alaskan wildlife and imaginative creatures Ms. Brett depicts are exquisite.
-Borrowed from the library.
48 minutes long
This DVD interviews various people who interacted with Tolkien or were influenced by his works (his publisher's son who told his dad to publish The Hobbit, Tolkien's biographer, Christopher Tolkien, artists, environmentalists, societies, children who love his books etc.) I loved viewing the places where Tolkien lived and worked. They also had video clips of Tolkien himself!
It was first filmed in 1998.
I would not show this to elementary age kids (it probably would not hold their interest anyway) since one interviewee mentions sex (the absent of it Tolkien's books) and people tripping on acid.
-Borrowed from the library.
I cannot find a photo of it that I can copy and paste.
For our "Poetry Treat", I featured Tolkien's riddles from The Hobbit plus riddles from The Exeter Book Riddles (Anglo-Saxon riddles from the 11th century Tolkien read these and inspired him in his riddle creating). We, of course, had to feast like hobbits. We only could eat through luncheon (some of us skipped elevenses!!).
While we feasted throughout the morning and afternoon, I shared facts about Tolkien from John Hendrix's new book, The Mythmakers. I have not read the entire book yet; I skimmed it for parts about Tolkien. So far I am impressed with it. A lion and a wizard take the readers through portals for more information. I am not sure if I like this aspect yet. At times I find them distracting (although the information is interesting).
When I saw Brandon Sanderson had written a picture book, I had to check it out since he is my oldest son's favorite author.
The words are certainly not very exciting or amazing, BUT, it is intentional (alas, the title!). The illustrations contradict the words. The author and illustrator had to work closely together to create this fun and clever book.
-Borrowed from the libray.
A girl and her mother visit the beach. The girl imagines all of the things a shell can be. Real shells are part of the illustrations. Ms. Sicuro offers ideas how to make art with shells after the main text.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
-A 1967 Caldecott winner
Sam, a fisherman's daughter, utilizes her vivid imagination to create stories. Only Thomas, her neighbor, believes her stories and asks her each day to see her baby kangaroo. Each day she sends him a wild goose-chase to search for the baby kangaroo. When one day she sends Thomas to the rocks near the lighthouse to find her baby kangaroo and a storm arrives, she realizes how detrimental her lying is.
Considerations/points to discuss: lying, Sam's mother is dead, Sam sends Thomas into a perilous situation, the reader thinks Sam's cat, Bangs, is dead for a short bit
-Borrowed from the library.
When Lucy's guardian passes away, she finds herself living at a lighthouse on Lake Superior with the large Martin family. She is afraid of water. Two years ago her father died in a shipwreck. Not only does she must battle with her fear of water while living there, all of her attempts to be helpful within the Martin family end in disaster. She may even cause Mr. Martin to lose his job as lighthouse keeper. Will the Martin family accept her as one of their own?
A search for a long-lost necklace, from a shipwreck, is an alluring dimension to the plot.
I liked the references to books I have loved-Little Women, The Story Girl, and The Country of Pointed Firs.
I enjoyed this story and its setting. I loved the Martin family and loved experiencing how a lighthouse family had to function. Although I am highly recommending it, I did find Lucy annoying (in the middle of the book, I did not like her). Her imagination reminded me of Anne Shirely's but not as credible or as well-developed. Also, all of the problems were too perfectly resolved by the end.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
I love this author/illustrator.
The story lines are simple but promote imagination and delight in the every day. Some extra appeals-that each book focuses on the boy's relationship with his granddad, the stacks of books, the meals/teas they share.
The boy and his granddad cat sit and attend a wild cat party. In the next book they help a bird and finally find a place where he will remain. Both are from his Nature Quartet.
**Highly, highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
What a delightful set of books!
In each book the main character, a boy (1st person narration) and his grandfather venture outside for an adventure. Each book ends with, "I hope it ____ again tomorrow.". I love the grandfather-grandson relationship depiction and the value of imagination. The coverings are stunning and creative.
**Highly, highly recommend all of them.
Ernest D. imagines what is at the bottom of his pond and the land BEYOND the pond. This book will encourage the imagination. The word choice is excellent and will develop readers vocabulary.
-Borrowed from the library.
What a creative, imaginative book!
Mr. Yoshida has drawn and described fictional homes from across the world and centuries. He provides brief bio sketches of each home's dweller. I can envision teachers and parents giving this book to their students and children as a story stimulator.
I noticed that the illustration with the forward contained items from the various houses. Very clever!
This gentleman, Mr. Yoshida, is talented.
**Highly, highly recommend.
Consider: once resident is a witch, a couple of residents are ghosts
-Borrowed from the library.
