NATURE (alphabetical by title)
Mom: Thumbs Down Nicholas: Thumbs Middle Julia: Thumbs Middle
TITLE: Alligator Sue
AUTHOR: Sharon Ames Doucet
YEAR: 2003
Alligator Sue is the bizarre story told in colorful Cajun dialect of a girl who lives on a houseboat in Louisiana, is washed into the swamp by a hurricane, and ends up being adopted by a family of alligators. We all like originality in a story, but this one goes a bit overboard (literally)!
TITLE: Alligator Sue
AUTHOR: Sharon Ames Doucet
YEAR: 2003
Alligator Sue is the bizarre story told in colorful Cajun dialect of a girl who lives on a houseboat in Louisiana, is washed into the swamp by a hurricane, and ends up being adopted by a family of alligators. We all like originality in a story, but this one goes a bit overboard (literally)!
Mom: Thumbs up Nicholas: Thumbs Up Julia: Thumbs Up
TITLE: Brave Irene
AUTHOR: William Steig
YEAR: 1986
If there is one children's book writer who can really weave a great yarn, it is William Steig. One of the things I like most about his stories is that there is no dumbing down either of the language he uses or the ideas he tackles. I think the effect is to give his young readers a sense of the respect he has for their ability to understand and enjoy his work. In Brave Irene he tells the story of a determined girl's battle with nature on her quest to deliver a dress that her sick mother sewed for a duchess. Highly Recommended!
TITLE: Brave Irene
AUTHOR: William Steig
YEAR: 1986
If there is one children's book writer who can really weave a great yarn, it is William Steig. One of the things I like most about his stories is that there is no dumbing down either of the language he uses or the ideas he tackles. I think the effect is to give his young readers a sense of the respect he has for their ability to understand and enjoy his work. In Brave Irene he tells the story of a determined girl's battle with nature on her quest to deliver a dress that her sick mother sewed for a duchess. Highly Recommended!
Mom: Thumbs Middle Nicholas: Thumbs Middle Julia: Thumbs Down
TITLE: Sugaring
AUTHOR: Jessie Haas
YEAR: 1996
This is a book about how maple sap is collected and turned into maple syrup. Julia was bored by it and Nicholas thought it was just OK, but I am a sucker for snowy winter-in-New-England pictures and pretty much anything to do with maple syrup!
TITLE: Sugaring
AUTHOR: Jessie Haas
YEAR: 1996
This is a book about how maple sap is collected and turned into maple syrup. Julia was bored by it and Nicholas thought it was just OK, but I am a sucker for snowy winter-in-New-England pictures and pretty much anything to do with maple syrup!
Mom: Thumbs Middle Nicholas: Thumbs Up Julia: Thumbs Up
TITLE: Owl Moon
AUTHOR: Jane Yolen
YEAR: 1987
Owl Moon is the Caldecott Award winner from 1987, and seems to be universally loved by kids, teachers and parents, but I have to admit to not quite getting what all the fuss is about. The pictures are pleasant (as noted elsewhere, I love anything with snow and woods), and the story is nice (a young girl finally gets her turn to go owl watching in the woods at night with her dad), but the hype seems a bit overblown.
TITLE: Owl Moon
AUTHOR: Jane Yolen
YEAR: 1987
Owl Moon is the Caldecott Award winner from 1987, and seems to be universally loved by kids, teachers and parents, but I have to admit to not quite getting what all the fuss is about. The pictures are pleasant (as noted elsewhere, I love anything with snow and woods), and the story is nice (a young girl finally gets her turn to go owl watching in the woods at night with her dad), but the hype seems a bit overblown.
Mom: Thumbs Down Nicholas: Thumbs Middle Julia: Thumbs Middle
TITLE: Stranger in the Woods
AUTHOR: Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick
YEAR: 2000
This book, billed as a "photographic fantasy" lists the many awards it has won on the inside cover. I am assuming these were all based on the photographs (which are indeed beautiful) because the story is awkwardly worded and not that interesting. It features a bunch of animals gossiping about strangers in the snowy woods, who turn out to be a little boy and girl building a snowman.
TITLE: Stranger in the Woods
AUTHOR: Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick
YEAR: 2000
This book, billed as a "photographic fantasy" lists the many awards it has won on the inside cover. I am assuming these were all based on the photographs (which are indeed beautiful) because the story is awkwardly worded and not that interesting. It features a bunch of animals gossiping about strangers in the snowy woods, who turn out to be a little boy and girl building a snowman.
Mom: Thumbs Up Nicholas: Thumbs Up Julia: Thumbs Up
TITLE: Planting the Trees of Kenya
AUTHOR: Claire Nivola
YEAR: 2012
Nivola tells the story of how Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathai, led a movement to repair the environment, the economy and the health of the people of Kenya by planting trees to replace those that had carelessly been cut down.
TITLE: Planting the Trees of Kenya
AUTHOR: Claire Nivola
YEAR: 2012
Nivola tells the story of how Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathai, led a movement to repair the environment, the economy and the health of the people of Kenya by planting trees to replace those that had carelessly been cut down.