Helen's Big World

TITLE: Helen's Big World The Life of Helen Keller
AUTHOR:  Doreen Rappaport
ILLUSTRATOR: Matt Tavares
PUBLISHER: Disney Hyperion Books
COPYRIGHT: 2012

Even though Helen Keller was blind, deaf, and mute, she was able to experience much of the world around her due in part to her patient teacher, Annie Sullivan. She even went to college even though many thought it was foolish. 

This book was so enjoyable, and I learned a lot about this famous woman and her life.  One thing I particularly liked was that there was some of Helen's own words included with each page.  These were written in a different color and font from the other text.  I read this one to my son.  He thought it was more of a "girl book" he said. 

10 Easter Egg Hunters

TITLE: 10 Easter Egg Hunters
AUTHOR:  Janet Schulman
ILLUSTRATOR: Linda Davick
PUBLISHER: Alfred A. Knopf
COPYRIGHT:  2011

This is a counting book about children hunting for eggs. There are not a lot of words, but they do tell the story of the kids trying to find a variety of eggs of different colors.

It is appropriate for toddlers through preschool aged children.  It would be a good book to use to practice both counting and color identification. 

Spring Goes Squish!

TITLE:  Spring Goes Squish!
AUTHOR: Marty Kelley
ILLUSTRATOR: Marty Kelley
PUBLISHER: Zino Press
COPYRIGHT: 2008

Get ready for an adventure as you read this noisy book about spring.  In spring you will find the sniffles associated with spring allergies, the crack of the baseball bat, the bzzzz of a bee, the boom of thunder, and the whish of the wind while flying a kite. 

It is written in rhyming verse with lots of onomatopoeia.  I liked the author's style as well as the fun illustrations used here.  This would be a fun book to read to a class of 2nd or 3rd grade students in my opinion. 

How Do You Know It's Spring?

TITLE:  How Do You Know It's Spring?
AUTHOR:  Ruth Owen
ILLUSTRATOR: 
PUBLISHER: Bearport
COPYRIGHT:  2012

Learn about the signs of spring with this educational book.  Included is information about new plants, buds, baby animals, and weather.

This is a well done book and would be great for the primary classroom library.  The photographs are wonderful and clearly labeled.  Special words in the text are done with bold print, and there is a page at the end called "Science Words" with these pictured and defined..  Another thing I liked was how various activities are included for kids to try.  One of these is to record the time it gets dark for a week.

It is for ages 5-8.  The AR reading level is 3.6.

Spring is Here

TITLE: Spring Is Here
AUTHOR:  Will Hillenbrand
ILLUSTRATOR: Will Hillenbrand
PUBLISHER: Holiday House
COPYRIGHT: 2011

Mole realizes that spring has arrived and does all he can to wake up Bear.  Bear just continues to snore.  Then he comes up with a great idea to wake him up!

This book is appropriate for the primary grades.  It has a lot of descriptive verbs used I noticed as I read.  The pictures are colorful as well and young children will enjoy this fun tale.

A Perfect Place

TITLE: A Perfect Place  Joshua's Oregon Trail Diary
AUTHOR:  Patricia Hermes
ILLUSTRATOR:
PUBLISHER: Scholastic, Inc.
COPYRIGHT: 2002

Joshua and his family have reached Oregon in this second book in the Joshua's Oregon Trail Diary series.  After a long difficult journey from Missouri, things continue to be difficult for Joshua's family and fellow travelers.  Was the trip west worth it? 

These chapter books are in the 3rd grade reading range and would be of interest for students probably in grades 2-4.  They are written from Joshua's perspective so children will be able to relate to what he is feeling through all the trials his family faces. 
 
My son and I have read books 1 and 2 in this series and have enjoyed both of them. Once we started reading we did not want to put them down to find out what would happen to Joshua.  We look forward to reading book 3 as well as others in the My America series.

Dini Dinosaur

TITLE: Dini Dinosaur
AUTHOR:  Karen Beaumont
ILLUSTRATOR: Daniel Roode
PUBLISHER: Greenwillow Books
COPYRIGHT:  2012

Dini Dinosaur gets all dirty and has to take a bath.  He forgets to take off his shoes or his clothes or his hat.  His Mama has to help him clean up and get ready for bed.

This book will be enjoyed by toddlers--preschoolers.  The illustrations are big, bright, and colorful.  The rhyming text will be fun for little ones to hear and try to repeat and read along.  This would make a nice book to read at bedtime with your little one.

Cassie & Caleb Discover God's Wonderful Design

TITLE: Cassie & Caleb Discover God's Wonderful Design
AUTHOR:  Susan Hunt & Richard Hunt, Jr.
ILLUSTRATOR:
PUBLISHER:  Moody Publishers
COPYRIGHT: 2013

 About the book:May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace." Psalm 144:12

Boys and girls, from 5 to 8 years of age, will love the fun world of Cassie and Caleb, two energetic and inquisitive children discovering the beauty of God's wonderful design. Through twenty beautifully illustrated short stories, followed by an interactive time between parent and child, your children will learn:

• The creational principle that "God created man in his own image . . . male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27) is extraordinary!
• That Jesus is in all of Scripture. The Bible is not a collection of disconnected stories; it is the one big story of the Triune God redeeming His people.
• God's Word is our authority and His Glory is our purpose.
• That when we belong to Jesus we belong to His covenant family, the Church.
• A Biblical framework for living and thinking.

The authors do not underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit in the heart and mind of a child. This book intentionally uses the rich language of faith, and then builds meaning around the words and concepts as the stories proceed, providing children the words of life.

My thoughts:
This book caught my eye because of the title (since I have a son named Caleb) and because I thought the cover was cute. This book is enjoyable to read and is appropriate for a family with children in the 5-8 range. There are 2 page devotional thoughts followed by a page with a few questions and a verse.

Cassie and Caleb are inquisitive and seem to want to know more about God. They ask good questions that will make your own children think and ponder Biblical truths. I like the example of this family applying God's Word to all aspects of their life, not just something they talk about or read at church. As a parent this book gave me ideas of things from the Bible we can have discussions about with our son.

I thought the illustrations were very well done as well. They were colorful and added to the text of the book.

This book is available from Moody Publishers and will release May 1, 2013.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ebook version for my review.

A Picture Book of Sam Houston

TITLE: A Picture Book of Sam Houston
AUTHOR:  David A. Adler and Michael S. Adler
ILLUSTRATOR:  Matt Collins
PUBLISHER: Holiday House
COPYRIGHT: 2012

This biography shares information from the interesting life of Sam Houston.  Besides being a war hero, he lived among the Cherokee Indians for 3 years, was a lawyer and teacher, and eventually became the first president of the Republic of Texas.  He also was married three times and had eight children. 

This is an enjoyable book with wonderful illustrations.  It is appropriate for elementary aged students and has an AR level of 4.8.  My son enjoyed this biography and the battle images. 

Chester Raccoon's Favorite Color Game

TITLE: Chester Raccoon's Favorite Color Game
AUTHOR:  Audrey Penn
ILLUSTRATOR: Barbara L. Gibson
PUBLISHER: Tanglewood
COPYRIGHT: 2012

Chester Raccoon plays a color game where he finds objects of various colors.  Your child can learn their colors through this board board and learn to play the color game themselves. 

Just How Long Can a Long String Be?!

TITLE:  Just How Long Can a Long String Be?!
AUTHOR:  Keith Baker
ILLUSTRATOR: Keith Baker
PUBLISHER: Arthur A. Levine Books
COPYRIGHT: 2009

Ant asks Bird how long a string can be when he comes across a big ball of string in his way.  Bird shows him all the way the string can be used....to turn on a light, hold a kite, finish a necklace, and much more.  Ant sees that the string wasn't a problem after all.

I enjoyed this book.  I was drawn to it because of its beautiful blue cover and the way the title looked.  It was well done in all aspects I thought from the text to the illustrations.  I could see this book being used in a classroom to do some fun creative problem solving with string. 

The Alamo from A to Z

TITLE: The Alamo from A to Z
AUTHOR:  William R Chemerka
ILLUSTRATOR:  Wade Dillon
PUBLISHER: Pecan Publishing Company
COPYRIGHT: 2011

I enjoyed this ABC book all about the Alamo.  There was a lot of information and I liked the way it was presented in an understandable way.  Popular Alamo names are mentioned such as Bowie, Crockett, and Travis, but others are here too that I was less familiar with like William King, the youngest Alamo defender. 

This would be an educational book to add to your unit on Texas!  It is appropriate for elementary aged children. 

Coming in March!

Happy March!  Book reviews this month will be in honor of Texas Independence Day, spring, Easter, and of course a variety of other books. 

Thank you for visiting my blog!  Leave a comment if there is anything in particular you'd like to see here.