Give these books and keep young minds enchanted
Published 3:05 pm Friday, December 7, 2007
With so many great books worth mentioning for last minute shopping ideas, I’m stepping away from my editorial to make room for an extra book review this week and next. Happy holidays!
Books to borrow
The following book is available at many public libraries.
“Christmas Day in the Morning” by Pearl S. Buck, illustrated by Mark Buehner, HarperCollins, 40 pages
Read aloud: ages 4 to 5 and older.
Read yourself: ages 7 to 8 and older.
Rob, 15, and his family live on a farm. Rob helps his father with the endless chores, although rising before the sun isn’t Rob’s favorite task.
On Christmas Eve, Rob is in bed wishing he had had more money to buy a better present for his father, something more than the necktie he’d gotten. Suddenly he realizes he does have something more to give, something that doesn’t require money — a gift of true love from Rob to his father.
A beautifully wrought story supported with warm, inviting illustrations, “Christmas Day in the Morning” is everything it should be, and more.
Librarian’s choice
Monroe Library: 1070 Village Way, Monroe
Library director: Jonalyn Woolf-Ivory
Children’s librarian: Kate Johnson
Choices this week: “The Divide” by Elizabeth Kay; “How to Train Your Dragon” by Hiccup Horrendous Haddock II; translated from the Old Norse by Cressida Cowell; “Esperanza Rising” by Pam Munoz Ryan
Books to buy
The following are available at favorite bookstores.
“Maisy Big, Maisy Small: A Book of Maisy Opposites” written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins, Candlewick, 2007, 52 pages, $15.99 hardcover
Read aloud: birth to age 3.
Read yourself: ages 5 to 7.
Everyone’s favorite mouse, Maisy, presents opposites in an exciting and colorful way. You’ll find hot and cold, slow and fast, push and pull, happy and sad, clean and messy, and many other opposites. Vibrant colors and fun learning dash across every page with the irrepressible Maisy leading the way.
“How to Find Flower Fairies” written and illustrated by Cicely Mary Barker, Warne/Penguin, 2007, 14 pages, $19.99 hardcover
Read aloud: ages 5 and older.
Read yourself: ages 9 — 10 and older.
“I have discovered that there are five special places where fairies make their homes. Look within the pages of this book and you will find these magical places; the tree tops, the forest floor, the garden, the wayside and the marshes.”
Rich descriptions of how to find fairies, their habitat, clothing and behaviors are coupled with extraordinary pop-ups and illustrations that grace every double-page spread, revealing flower fairies and the world they live in. Bonus booklets, small flaps to lift, and holograms are also found on various pages.
Magical in every regard, “How to Find Flower Fairies” is certain to become a treasured book in every child’s collection.
“Paint the Wind” by Pam Munoz Ryan, Scholastic, 2007, 316 pages, $16.99 hardcover
Read aloud: age 7 and older.
Read yourself: ages 9 to 10 and older.
With her mother and father deceased, young Maya lives like a captive in Grandmother’s house in California. She’s forbidden to speak of her mother and must obey Grandmother’s endless strict rules.
Suddenly, events occur that take Maya from California to the Wyoming wilderness to live with her grandfather. There Maya learns about her mother and father, and what it is to be a family. She also learns to love a wild mustang, Artemisia, and in time, Artemisia comes to care for Maya, and that bond ultimately becomes the key to their survival.
Nationally syndicated, Kendal Rautzhan writes and lectures on children’s literature. She can be reached via e-mail: kendal@sunlink.net.
