This "The World of" is longer and more hefty than other ones I have read by Ms. Foster (nine parts/sections, 188 pp).
Readers will not only learn about William Penn's entire life but about other men who impacted the world during his life. The format is narrative and very engaging. Her transitions from man to the next man are clever.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed via ILL.
Ms. Foster, in a narrative and an engaging style, offers the readers an overview of the events in 1776, not just in the United States, but also around the world. Three parts: The American Colonies, Artists & Scientists, and Around the World.
Ms. Foster's books are known as "horizontal history".
*Highly recommend.
-I own this book.
Dust is vital to habitats and people all over the world. Starting in Chad, Africa, it travels over the ocean, falls into the ocean, filters down into the Amazon Rainforest, contributing to the vitality of these locations.
Fascinating!
Consideration: mentions global warming in the author's note
Readers will learn about the complicated process of creating a rug in this picture book. An Iranian boy and his grandmother make a Persian rug together (from wool prepping to dying to weaving). The subject matter fascinated me. When children are learning about weaving, the Middle East, or Iranian culture, this book would be perfect to share.
-Borrowed from the library.
When Luli stays in childcare while her mom attends an ESL class, she plays alone. Everyone plays alone.The children do not share a common language. Then Luli fills her backpack with items to serve tea. Tea connects all of the cultures represented.
A sweet story! I loved the endpages (tea cups from the each of the countries that the children in the classroom used to live).
The author's note about how the different cultures enjoy tea was interesting.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
While visiting his family in Palestine (Israel), Ali helps them harvest olives from his favorite tree, Hilwa. During his stay, he learns about the myriad of gifts Hilwa bestows on the family.
A sweet, multi-generational story set in a region not often featured in children's books.
Discussion: How the author calls the region Palestine, not Israel
-Borrowed from the library.
After WWII, in 1947 Europe faces a cold winter without food. The U.S. government proposes a plan to help, but government plans take a lot of time to enact/pass. So Drew Pearson, a newspaper journalist, rallies the American people to make donations to these countries. The U.S. sends 500 boxcars of food! Children contributed a lot of these donations and were a huge force for raising money toward the cause. In return, France expresses its gratitude by sending forty-nine boxcars with gifts to the U.S.
In the author's note, tinges of her political leanings peek through her writing.
*Highly recommend because of this little known piece of history! (at least to me!)
-Borrowed from the library.
I bought Music Study with the Masters by Sonya Shafer (Simply Charlotte Mason) to support my son's study of Beethoven. The booklet included a list of books for "further study". This book was on the list.
Ms. Foster connects many influential individuals during this time period and through narrative, points out how they impacted the world and interacted with each other. Children who love relationships and finding connections will appreciate this method of relating history. I recommend reading it in one sitting or over a couple of consecutive days. I read a half of it and then resumed reading it a couple of weeks later. As a result, I had forgotten some of the connections.
People whose stories are told: Richard Trevithick, Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon Bonaparte, Toussaint L'ouverture, Robert Fulton, Lewis & Clark, James Madison, George Stephenson
*Highly recommend.
-I own this book.
In an old apartment building people from various cultures are cooking a favorite dish. An illustrated recipe is to the right of each narrative text page. All the individuals/families meet in their shared yard to feast upon their delicious creations.
The narrative text is sparse, so I am not sure how much this book will appeal to kids. I loved viewing the clever ways Ms. Sala depicted the culture and personality of each individual and family. As an adult who loves children's books, I found this book delightful. Ms. Sala's newer book, What's Cooking in Flowerville? : Recipes from Garden, Balcony, and Window Box appears to be wonderful. The library, however, does not own a copy.
-Borrowed from the library.
The authors focus on holidays that utilize light in their celebrations. Featured holidays are: Diwali, Solstice, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, & Lunar New Year. The family depicted for Christmas has two dads. Christ is mentioned on the pages featuring Christmas, but not as the Light of the whole world.
An overly inclusive book.
I did not care for the art. The end pages were beautiful, though.
-Borrowed from the library.
I first heard of Jolabokaflod on RAR. My sons and I have held this tradition for a couple of years and look forward to it each Christmas Eve.
This whimsical picture book celebrates the season of book giving in Iceland with a lyrical text and imaginative, mixed media illustrations. The history of the tradition is shared at the end.
*Highly recommend for historical interests.
-Borrowed from the library.
The Sugar Plum Bakers, overseen by Sugar Plum and Mr. Gingerbread, are scurrying to finish their baking so treats can be delivered all over the world. A snowstorm threatens their success. The countdown is on!
-Explanations about each treat is shared. One recipe is included.
-Borrowed from the library.
Mr. Bradford shares the different ways people bathe around the world but also emphasizes the worldwide similarity how children resist baths(and then their resistance to getting out of the tub!). In the back Mr. Bradford gives more in-depth details about the places mentioned and how the people bathe. I love Ms. Archer's collage illustrations. Yes, kids/people are nude in various illustrations but she tastefully depicts it and covers up parts.
*Highly recommend.
Readers travel with a Chilean boy as walks nine kilometers to school. First person narration creates an intimacy with the reader as the boy shares his thoughts while he walks. Readers will be astounded about how early he arises to go to school and the variety of terrain he traverses. After the story the author includes extra information about how far other children travel to school in different countries and also includes about details about the birds featured throughout the book.
I liked the design and layout of the book. This book would be a great "first day of school" read aloud.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
Mrs. Oxenreider relates the adventures she, her husband and three children experienced as they traveled the world for a nine month time period. They plunged into unfamiliar cultures in China, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Morocco, France, Italy, Croatia, Kosovo, Turkey, Germany, and England. It seemed like she was going through somewhat of a crisis of faith during this trip. God was mentioned a few times but He was not the main focus. She seemed to emphasis saints.
Her writing is genuine and conversational. Although I found their travels admirable and interesting, her story confirmed my feelings about international travel!
If a teenager reads this book, the parent may want to discuss drinking alcohol with her. The adults drink alchohol throughout the trip but did not become drunk.
-Borrowed from the library.
Khosrou (Daniel) is a refugee from Iran. In Iran he was wealthy and was respected. People also did not accuse him of smelling and being a liar. As he responds to his teacher's writing prompts, his classmates (and the reader) learn about his family's ancient history and his journey to the United States.
This book made me think a lot about misconceptions I may have and evaluate how I treat others who are different from me. I loved learning about the Iranian culture.
The layout of the story is not totally linear. He follows Scheherazade story telling techinque. Although the book is marketed for middle grade readers, some parents may want to discuss some of the topics with their child (see warnings).
Warnings: physical abuse, bullies, unkindness/prejudice, drug abuse (opium), His mom converts to Christianity and flees with her children so they aren't murdered, divorce, murder, adultery
*Highly recommend (very unique/love the culture insight)
-Borrowed from the library.
Walt Disney Production featuring Jackie Chan.
Rated -PG
Recently my fourteen-year old read Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne for literature. For fun we watched the movie as a family.
The movie is funny and action-packed (thanks to Jackie Chan!). Although the events veer greatly from the book, it was entertaing and an enjoyable story. Most of the story revolves around Jackie Chan's character.
Warning: Jackie flies by a room with prostitutes, a ship's captain shares that shark bit off his testicules (but refers to them as another name . . .I don't think my sons even got it) and how his wife doesn't care for him since the event, a few times women's cleavages show
-Borrowed from the library.
Two books about bread-
1. Hooray for Bread by Allan Ahlberg illustrated by Bruce Ingman
Readers witness the "life" of a loaf of bread and the many lives it feeds throughout one day. Rhyming text
-Borrowed from the library.
