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By Mom Unplugged, December 14, 2007 12:54 pm

I just bought the whole set of these for my almost two-year old. They were so lovely that I couldn’t wait for Christmas to bring them out!

These books are refreshingly simple. There are four in the series, one for each season. There are no words, only lovely drawings of children engaged in fun activities appropriate to the season of the book.

There is lots to see and talk about, from picking out objects and colors, to discussing seasons, weather, clothing, nature, activities and play! My daughter loves these and will sit and pore of the pages with great interest.

Another thing I really like about these books is the fact that they are sturdy board books. This is good for us, since I think ours will get a lot of love and use!

Thank you to Greenemother of The Owl and the PussyCat, where I first learned of the series. I urge you to read her thoughts on these lovely books. I am grateful for your recommendation!

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By Mom Unplugged, December 1, 2007 11:00 pm

This award-winning book is based on a real incident occurring in the winter of 1984-1985 where nearly 3,000 beluga whales became trapped in a rapidly freezing narrow strait in Siberia. For seven weeks the local villagers and the crew of an ice breaker fought to save the whales, breaking up the ice so they could surface to breathe. Amazingly they succeeded in breaking a passage through the twelve foot thick ice and led the whales to the safety of the open sea by playing classical music!

This amazing tale with a happy ending is recounted here by musician Steve Schuch who narrates the tale through the eyes of the fictional Glashka, a little girl residing in the nearby Siberian village. Peter Sylvada’s amazing illustrations lend an eerie beauty that enhances this wonderful story.

Steve Schuch also created a piece of music called “Whale Trilogy” that I first heard on an NPR broadcast many years ago. This very original composition tells this same whale rescue story musically by melding violin and actual whale songs. That hauntingly beautiful music is what led me to purchase this book and the CD. I urge you all to listen to the MP3 excerpt from this piece online at Steve’s website. It will make you want to rush out and buy both the book and the album, Wellspring: Live at the Folkway, on which is recorded Whale Trilogy.

I think that Wellspring: Live at the Folkway is unfortunately now only available as a cassette, unless you buy a used CD - which I linked to below at Amazon, but try Half.com and Ebay too. It is a wonderful album of children’s music and I highly recommend searching for it on CD.

In addition to being a lovely book in and of itself, A Symphony of Whales is a good addition to a discussion about whales, or life in a Siberian village!

Awards: A New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year, A Parents’ Choice Honor Book, and Smithsonian’s Notable Books for Children.

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By Mom Unplugged, November 14, 2007 9:42 pm

Amazon.com, in its review, calls this book “the most cultured alphabet book around.” Play the game “I spy with my little eye” …with art!

Each page is a different famous painting and the reader is asked to find an object in the painting beginning with a letter of the alphabet. A fun way to learn the alphabet and gain some art-familiarity too.

My 5 year-old “find-it” book fan found this at our local library and he loved it so much that we had to buy a copy to keep. In the same theme Lucy Micklethwait also wrote I Spy Shapes in Art and I Spy Animals in Art. We have since acquired these, and they are equally as fun.

The find-its are not terribly challenging and children quickly learn where to find the object mentioned for each painting, but opportunities are limitless for finding other objects that you designate. Also, my kids just like looking at the paintings and pointing out details.

If you want an “educational” find-it book, then give one of these a try.

Comments (1)

By Mom Unplugged, November 8, 2007 10:11 pm

My friend Wishy lent me this Caldecott Honor book and I immediately had to rush out and buy a copy to keep.

The non-wordy story is very simple: the contrast between a typical dog and cat day. Hondo the dog goes to the beach and Fabian the cat stays home with “the baby.” Guess who has the better day!

The soft illustrations are very sweet and soothing. Yet the expressions on the cat and dog faces convey such nuances of emotion that everyone, adult and child alike, will enjoy this book.

(Paperback is eligible for Amazon’s 4-for-3 promotion.)

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By Mom Unplugged, October 29, 2007 7:59 pm

This is not a book that is going to change the world, but it is SO CUTE, you can’t help but love it! I am always pleased when this is my children’s bedtime choice.

The story is so simple. It is basically a comparison of an indoor mouse and an outdoor mouse. Each page shows a mouse in his house, or in his daily travels. The indoor mouse is always on the left-hand page, and the outdoor mouse is on the facing, right-hand page. Their activities are always comparable. For example while the inside mouse is asleep in a clock, the outside mouse is asleep in a stump. The indoor mouse runs between the socks while the outdoor mouse runs between the rocks. You get the idea. Simple. Plus there is a sweet little surprise at the end.

The illustrations are what REALLY make this book. As you can tell by the number of books to which I have given the label “exceptional illustrations,” illustrations are quite important for me and can sometimes even “make or break” a book.

These illustrations are incredibly bright and detailed, and so cute that you just want to keep looking at them over and over! Please, if you have a toddler or a preschooler, at least check this out of the library. Your little one, and you, will love it!

(Paperback is eligible for Amazon’s 4-for-3 promotion)