Comments (1) We love this book about Elmer the patchwork elephant. In addition to an uplifting message about celebrating our differences, the illustrations are so cute!
Other Elmer books are available, including some baby board books.
This makes a great gift along with the adorable Elmer stuffed toy pictured at right (for more details, see my Elmer the Patchwork Elephant stuffed toy post).
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!
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.
Book Recommendations, animals, award winner, children's books, exceptional illustrations, nature, older children, picture books
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A Symphony of Whales, award-winning book, book, Book Recommendations, children's books, children's music, music, Steve Schuch, Wellspring, Whale Trilogy, whales, whalesong
The Tomten is a very old little elf-like creature who lives in the hayloft on a wintry Swedish farm.
No one has ever seen him, and only the children know of his presence. He comes out at night and checks on all the animals, and the family, making sure they are safe and comfortable, reminding the animals that spring is on the way.
This is a simple story with gentle, rhythmic text and soothing, muted illustrations. A wonderfully peaceful bedtime read by Astrid Lindgren, author of Pippi Longstocking
and The Children of Noisy Village. (See my post on The Children of Noisy Village.)
Awards: An ALA Notable Book, and a Parent’s Choice Paperback Award Winner.
Also:
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.
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