McGuffey's Eclectic Readers
ISBN 0442235607
What a fabulous set of books. I found a reproduction of these readers in a used bookstore in Florida for $10 and snapped them up without much review, as I know older readers usually have quality stories. I am so delighted with this find. They do smell a bit dusty, but the bindings feel and look as if the books have never been opened. As a very special bonus, when I showed them to my father, he announced that these were the same readers that he used in school as a child.
What a precious connection between the generations that will be. The first reader is a "Primer" and introduces the alphabet and proceeds with the teaching of three letter words. By the sixth reader, the student is reading such selections as "The Death of Little Nell" by Dickens and "Speech Before the Virginia Convention" by Patrick Henry. The reading assignments are an education into the founding of this country and its people unto itself. In addition there are advanced language instructions on articulation, inflection, instructions for reading verse and more. I am truly delighted with this set, all the more so because of its history and the price.
The Illustrated Book of Steam and Rail by Colin Garratt and Max Wade-Matthews
ISBN 1843092638
This book contains over 1500 photographs of trains and the locales they visit. The book starts with the early steam engines of the 1830's and explores their development through the present day. I purchased my copy from Bookcloseouts.com and the binding of this very thick book is a bit loose. I assume it was a "seconds" copy for that reason. Nonetheless, it will make a fine supplement to our library. My daughter loves trains and will find many pictures in this book that look like her favorites from Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends fame. This book is nearly 500 pages long excluding the glossary, address list and index and the type is very small. If you want to learn about trains, you can't help but do so with this book. I find the photographs and illustrations of the earliest steam engines particularly interesting since we studied steam engines during our Five in a Row time with Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.
Tracks in the Wild by Betsy Bowen
ISBN 0316103772
This is an excellent book in so many ways; I’m not quite sure where to start. I obtained my copy at a library sale for pennies. As always, I am shocked by what the library chooses not to keep but I am glad for the opportunity to enjoy such wonderful books with my children at our leisure. This book has a distinct Native American feel to it. The author quotes from various Native Americans about their thoughts on nature in small vignettes that precede the actual description of each animal’s tracks. For instance, quoting Chief Seattle she writes, “Man did not weave the web of life. He is only a strand in it,” and accompanies the words with an illustration of a spider web.
Ms. Brown starts her book by explaining that animal “tracks” are not just their footprints but any sign of their passing left behind. She gives concrete examples in a conversational tone that will help the youngest explore become more aware of his surroundings. She then proceeds to introduce several animals native to her homeland in the north woods of Minnesota. For each animal she illustrates the creature, its footprints and habitat. She then provides information about what the animal eats and where it lives. How it cares for its young and what time of day it might be seen in simple language. I was surprised at how much information she was able to slip into each paragraph without seeming to do so.
An especially unique feature of this book is that the footprints are illustrated in actual size. So, the picture of an ermine’s footprint is the same size as you would see in the wild. The deer mouse, snowshoe hare, raven and even the moose are all represented with actual sized prints. A second unique feature of the book is the illustrations themselves. Ms. Brown created all of the illustrations in the book using woodblock prints. She helpfully provided a brief description of the technique used. I was glad for the information, as I knew the illustrations were unique, but not how they had been made.
The information in this book is solid without being boring and the illustrations add an extra special element making this a fine addition to our home library. Hurray for library sales!
