Books: Week 2: September 8-12, 2008

Who Built the Pyramids? by Jane Struan and Chisholm Reid. Written in typical Usborne fashion, each page of this book presents an abundance of information on the pyramids and daily life in Ancient Egypt. My ongoing complaint with these books is that there is so much on one page, I find them distracting and difficult to read.

The Butterfly Alphabet Book by Brian Cassie & Jerry Pallotta. A colorful trip through the alphabet; each letter highlights another butterfly beautifully illustrated in realistic art work.

Ryan’s Book Adventures:

Pig on the Titanic by Gary Crew. A true story, told from the perspective of a “lucky” musical pig who was mistaken for a baby and tossed into a lifeboat as the Titanic was going down. This book manages to circumvent the actual sinking of the Titanic by focusing on the pig and containing no illustrations of the ship going down, perhaps a less emotional introduction to the tragedy of the Titanic for younger children.

Cam Jansen and the Ice Skate Mystery* by David Adler. Cam Jansen has a photographic memory which comes in handy as she sets out to solve the mystery of the missing skate locker key. Written on the second grade level, Ryan enjoys these shorter, less-intimidating chapter books that can be read in one setting.

Too Many Frogs by Sandy Asher. A surprisingly cute story with charming illustrations.

And a few of Connor’s favorites for the week:

The Napping House by Audrey Wood. We were first introduced to this book a little over two years ago. The story is fun, the repetitive text charming, but tit is he illustrations that keep us reading again and again. There is so much going on in each painting, we are still finding details we hadn’t noticed with previous readings.

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. A family favorite from our home library! The boys choose this one again and again, and I for one, don’t mind at all.

Will Moses Mother Goose by Will Moses, the great-grandson of Grandma Moses. Connor loves the traditional Mother Goose rhymes, so this book was sure to be a hit on that alone. Will Moses’ artistic talent and the high level of interest in the paintings of this book, (each painting highlights favorite nursery rhyme characters within the folk paintings) make it a special presentation of the traditional rhymes.