Building Liberty, A Statue is Born by Serge Hochain
ISBN 0792267656
This book originally written in French tells the fictional story of four young men who participated in different stages in the construction and delivery of the Statute of Liberty. The picture book is a historical fiction and provides the reader with many details regarding the origination and construction of our famous national symbol. Also included are detailed illustrations of the various steps as well as a final page that illustrates the actual framework and steps involved in constructing the statute. I picked this title up during Bookcloseouts.com’s Dollar for Dollar sale to add to our history collection. This book was published by National Geographic Society.
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I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss
ISBN 0307001466
As I was looking online for a picture of this book in order to add it to this review, my daughter said "Hey, we have that book. It's my favorite!" And it is. This book is so charming and so 'my little girl'. It's based on the song by the same name and the music to the song is provided. This is a Little Golden Book and still readily available new or used. "A bird can fly, so can I..." The illustrations by Mary Blair feature a young girl with dark hair doing all sorts of fun things, being "merrier than a terrier" or swimming like a fish. As a special touch, the little girl's clothing often coordinates with the other elements of the illustration. This book is a favorite of both my daughter and me!
My Nine Lives by Clio, written by Majorie Priceman (who also authored How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World and Hot Air, among others)
ISBN 0689846703
This story takes excerpts from the "journal" of Clio that cat as she lives through her 9 lives. She starts in 3000 B.C. where she names the constellations, proceeds to 1500 B.C. China where she helps create the first sundial, travels with Leif Erickson across the ocean, then spends time in England, Italy and France before finally landing in the United States to become a mother and create 9 new "lives" (kittens). The illustrations offer lots of visual interest to keep your young listeners occupied. If you are familiar with Ms. Priceman's work, she takes a quirky approach at introducing real history and this book follows that pattern. The final pages of the book include some very brief historical facts about the relevant times and locations. This would make an excellent go-along for someone using the Five in a Row curriculum, or a great starting point for your own unit study on history. Our copy is a paperback from Bookcloseouts that was on sale for less than $3.
Prayers and Graces, A Lovely Collection for Boys and Girls; compiled by Gail Harvey
ISBN 051709276X
This truly is a lovely collection of prayers for children. The illustrations have an old fashioned feel to them and are done in a variety of styles from simple line drawings to full color illustrations. Prayers by Blake, Emerson and Wesley are included as well as poems and the 23rd Psalms. The book is a large hard cover picture book with 88 pages of text and pictures. This is a quality collections of prayers and illustrations that I was blessed to find at a used book sale.
Smoky Night, by Eve Bunting
ISBN 0152699546
Written after the Los Angeles riots of the 1990s, this story tells the fictional tale of a young boy who witnesses the mayhem from his apartment window then has to evacuate to a shelter when his building catches on fire. The story resolves with his family and a shopkeeper from a different ethnic background getting to know each other for the first time. This story provides a great moral lesson and gentle exposure to a tumultuous time in our country’s recent history. The illustrations are a combination of acrylic painting and photographs of collage materials for a very textural and interesting effect. .jpg)
Sun Moon Star, by Kurt Vonnegut and Ivan Chermayeff.jpg)
ISBN 0060263199
This was another used book find and a rather unusual one. According to the cover note on this book, it was first illustrated by Chermayeff and the given to Vonnegut who was to write the story with no hint as to the meaning of the illustrations from Chermayeff. The results are an illustration of an eye, followed by varied drawings of bright circles, stars and crescents interspersed with pages of solid color. The story is of the first night of the Christ Child’s life here on earth. What his weak human eyes might have perceived and the colors he might have dreamed. In this telling Mary is the yellow circle “sun”, Joseph the white “star” and a midwife the crescent “moon” as they move in and out of the newborn’s line vision. While not the traditional “Christmas” story, the perspective of the author might help a child to better understand what it really meant for Christ to take on human form. It is definitely an unusual take on the topic.
The Seeing Stick by Jane Yolen
ISBN 0-690-00455-9
This is story set in China at a time when it was ruled by an emperor. In this story, the emperor's only child is blind from birth and very sad at her fate. She finds happiness and a way to help other blind children after a very poor old man comes to the royal city and shows her his "seeing stick." This book is one that you will want to read once with your children without comment, and then return to read again. I'll try not to give too much away as I want you to enjoy it for yourself. But some of the notable features of the book are the reference to sensory details. The author draws the readers attention to the variety of textures surrounding the characters throughout.
From a "Rower"s' perspective, this book would serve as an excellent unit study. Aside from the obvious opportunities to introduce the study of China and the experience of being blind, the story also offer great opportunities to study human behavior and interactions. The guards are polite to the old man, but insist that he move along because of his appearance. The old man is respectful but confident and caring to all he encounters. The emperor has given up crying about personal matters because of his stature. The princess has not touched another human face since she was a child. These behaviors are to some extent reflective of the culture of China at the time the story is based. There is ample opportunity to delve further into the history of the royal city and Chinese culture. The princess, for instance, wears embroidered shoes on her "tiny" feet. Finally, the story offers a unique study of geography and direction. The old man as he walks feels the sun on his right side in the morning and his left in the afternoon as he walks north to Peking. I read this story as part of an anthology of stories from around the world which unfortunately did not include the original illustrations. I am sure they are as charming as the tale about overcoming disability and finding joy in one's circumstances. (This title is OOP)
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
ISBN 0689842449 
This book, illustrated in Carle’s classic style takes the reader through the life is a seed. We follow the seed as it leaves it’s flower and is carried by the wind to a safe landing place. The seed then grows and flourishes until it becomes a new beautiful flower. I used this as a go-along selection when we read “The Carrot Seed” as part of our Before Five in a Row studies. It would be a great compliment to any study for younger children on plants. In fact, I’m sure if you search the Internet you find lots of great ideas related to this book.
