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| Reviewer: |
The Folklore/Mythology Shelf (A section of The Midwest Book Review) |
| Title: |
Hide-and-Seek Dragons |
| ISBN: |
515904 |
| Review Date: |
February 2008 | | |
Review:
Hide-and-Seek Dragons is an Usborne Touchy-Feely picturebook featuring stiff pages
like a board book, flaps that young people can lift and search under, and perhaps most amazingly, a wide variety of different
surfaces to touch, from fur to reflective fabric to scaly dragon bellies and much more. Cartoony dragons of different colors
are playing a hide-and-seek game, and it’s up to the young reader to find the hiding dragon behind one of the paper
flaps. A definite treat for young dragon lovers! |
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| Reviewer: |
By Sarah Courtauld, et al. |
| Title: |
Illustrated Fairy Tales |
| ISBN: |
517175 |
| Review Date: |
March 2008 | | |
Review:
Expertly designed by the team of Nancy Leschnikoff and Helen Wood, the “Usborne
Illustrated Fairy Tales” is co-edited by Sarah Courtauld and Rosie Dickins to provide young readers with 352 pages of
classic fairytales drawn from popular sources as Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm, and others. Enhanced throughout
with color illustrations, the ten individual stories comprising this outstanding volume include Sleeping Beauty; The Emperor
and the Nightingale; Beauty and the Beast; The Dragon Painter; The Frog Prince; The Elves and the Shoemaker; Little Red Riding
Hood; Cinderella; The Swan Princess; The Emperor’s New Clothes. An entertaining and handsome addition to any child’s
reading list and community library’s fairytale/folklore collection for young readers. |
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| Reviewer: |
Parent's Today: Norma Kellam |
| Title: |
Leonardo da Vinci |
| ISBN: |
515942 |
| Review Date: |
October 2008 | | |
Review:
Children often see things in absolutes and have trouble understanding that a genius
can have the same faults as other people. Reading a biography that includes a great person’s foibles can help your children
understand that even geniuses aren’t perfect.
Leonardo da Vinci by Karen Ball and Rosie Dickins, for
ages 7 to about 9, presents the life of this famous artist. Inclusive dates appear under each of the five chapter titles.
The first chapter covers from 1452, the date of Leonardo’s birth, to 1469; however, it mainly deals with the day in
his teen years when his father offered to let him become an art apprentice.
Upon discussing Leonardo’s
upcoming apprenticeship, his father advised, “When you start a project, get to the end of it.” Later, when Leonardo
was leaving his apprenticeship to establish his own studio, the master artist gave him the same advice. In spite of Leonardo’s
failure to follow this advice, he became famous for his superb artistic skills and his ingenious inventions.
Christa
Unzner’s drawing, in pastel colors, provide a view of the 15th and 16th centuries.
Men’s and boys’ outfits
resemble dresses; their hair generally reaches the middle of the neck and occasionally reaches the shoulders. One drawing
depicts Leonardo’s arrival at the art workshop to begin his apprenticeship. The artist, with a stern expression, is
looking up from chiseling on a statue. Leonardo is clutching his sketchbook to his chest and looking at the artist. Two teenage
boys are busy in the workshop, one drawing at an easel and other cleaning a table.
Various illustrations depict
Leonardo’s sketches. A page of domestic cats and other felines contains one dragon. Some of the sketches are plans for
potential inventions, such as a flying machine.
A photo shows an unfinished painting titled The Adoration of
the Magi. A monastery commissioned this painting for an altarpiece. Leonardo decided to move on the Milan rather
than
stay in Florence to complete it.
Photos also depict The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. As soon as Leonardo
finished The Last Supper, a wall painting in a Milan convent, flakes of paint started coming off. The
Text explains the
problem: “Leonardo preferred to use egg- or oil-based paints, but they needed
an undercoat, making the surface more
likely to flake – and to make matters worse, the wall
suffered from damp…” Leonardo spent four years
working on the Mona Lisa portrait for a woman, but when he finally finished this painting, he kept it.
A page
titled “My Life as a Genius” gives a first-person summary of Leonardo’s life. The final page directs readers
to the Internet for more information. A reading consultant and an art history consultant assisted with the 64-page hardcover
book, which belongs to the “Famous Lives Gift Books” series.
You might want to discuss with your children
the importance of good work habits and how much more spectacular Leonardo’s career would have been if he had consistently
finished his projects. Even though Leonardo wasn’t a good model for work habits, his accomplishments were significant.
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| Reviewer: |
Today's Parent: Norma Kellam |
| Title: |
Origami and Other Paper Projects |
| ISBN: |
518912 |
| Review Date: |
October 2008 | | |
Review:
What can children do with a piece of paper besides write or draw on it? Kids may
be surprised that by folding a sheet of paper, they can make models of animals and other items. Origami, a word of Japanese
origin, is the name of this paper-folding skill.
Origami and Other Paper Projects by Eileen O’Brien and
Kate Needham, for ages 6 to about 12, will entertain your kids for hours as they try out the numerous projects. In addition
to origami, the book also includes traditional paper crafts, which rely highly on cutting and pasting. The numbered steps,
along with John Woodcock and Teri Gower’s brightly colored drawings, provide easy-to-follow directions. Howard Allman’s
color photographs show the finished projects. An index directs readers to materials, techniques, and specific projects. This
48-page hard cover book with spiral binding belongs to the “Activity Books” series.
From the introductory
pages, readers learn the kinds of paper they should use, proper techniques for folding, and how to trace a template. Beside
an illustration depicting various kinds of paper is a caption stating, “Patterned paper, such as gift wrap, works well.”
The second part of the introduction, titled “Origami Techniques,” includes an explanation of symbols used to clarify
directions and a technique of folding a square piece of paper to make a preliminary base. This base can serve as the beginning
of various origami models.
The largest section, titled “Origami Projects,” presents the art of
paper folding plus suggestions for decorating some of the finished items. Readers must take great care to follow the folding
directions exactly. One of the origami projects consists of “Snapping Mouths.” With decorations, these origami
models take on characteristics of the head of the creatures they represent. Photos show several finished projects, all decorated
with eyes. The rooster has orange coloring to represent a beak and red finger-like attachments for his comb. A green, pointed
head frill decorates a lizard. One of the captions says, “To make the mouth snap, hold the back of the head between
your fingers and thumb and snap it closed.” As the mouth closes, it makes noise.
The second section,
titled “Other Paper Projects,” presents the common type of paper crafts, including various kinds of cards and
a “Snapping Crocodile.” The final two pages of this section contain templates for the crocodile and a spaceship.
One project consists of making three-dimensional farm animals. The introduction for this craft says, “This 3-D cow folds
flat inside a card.” The directions show how to draw the cow on a folded piece of paper with its back along the fold.
Making the udder and tail separately and attaching them contributes to the three-dimensional aspect. In addition to a black-and-white
cow, the photos of finished projects for the “Pop-Up Farm” show a sheep, a pig, a goat, and a hen. When the card
opens, the inside of it becomes the ground or grass and the animal becomes three-dimensional.
As children experiment
with this book’s many projects – both origami models and traditional paper crafts – they will feel pride
in their accomplishments. |
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| Reviewer: |
Today’s Books / Bookweek |
| Title: |
Stories of Pirates |
| ISBN: |
515423 |
| Review Date: |
March 24, 2008 | | |
Review:
Today’s Books/Bookweek puts Stories of Pirates on “The A-List.”
Read-along and listen-along CD with music and sound affects accompanies tale of Masked Pirate and Charlie and his parrot.
For ages five and over. Written by Russell Punter. Illustrated by Christyan Fox. Edited by Lesley Sims. Hardcover revised
edition of 2003 title first published in UK, now with new binding; includes one CD narrated by Jonathan Guy Lewis. Color illustrated
with drawings. “Usborne Young Reading with CD” series. |
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| Reviewer: |
Today's Books / Bookweek |
| Title: |
The Billy Goats Gruff |
| ISBN: |
518677 |
| Review Date: |
March 24, 2008 | | |
Review:
Today’s Books / Bookweek puts The Billy Goats Gruff on “The A-List.”
Read-along and listen-along CD with music and sound affects accompanies retelling of Norwegian folk tale of troll under the
bridge. For ages five and over.
Retold by Jane Bingham. Illustrated by Daniel Postgate.
Edited by Susanna Davidson.
Designed by Russell Punter and Natacha Goransky. Hardcover revised edition of 2004 title first published in UK, now with new
binding; includes one CD narrated by Jonathan Kydd. Color illustrated with drawings. “Usborne Young Reading with CD”
series. |
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| Reviewer: |
Today's Books / Bookweek |
| Title: |
The Frog Prince |
| ISBN: |
518684 |
| Review Date: |
March 24, 2008 | | |
Review:
Today’s Books / Bookweek puts The Frog Prince on “The A-List.”
Read-along and listen-along CD with music and sound affects accompanies humorous retelling of Brothers Grimm story of princess
who must return favor to a frog who turns out to be a prince. For ages five and over. Retold by Susanna Davidson. Illustrated
by Mike Gordon. Edited by Lesley Sims. Designed by Katarina Dragoslavic. Hardcover revised edition of 2005 title first published
in UK, now with new binding; includes one CD narrated by Joanna Eliot. Color illustrated with drawings. “Usborne Young
Reading with CD” series. |
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| Reviewer: |
Today's Books / Bookweek |
| Title: |
The Princess and the Pea |
| ISBN: |
518752 |
| Review Date: |
March 24, 2008 | | |
Review:
Today’s Books / Bookweek puts The Princess and the Pea on “The A-List.”
Read-along and listen-along CD with music and sound affects accompanies retelling of Hans Christian Andersen classic of a
very sensitive princess who wins the hand of a prince. For ages five and over. Retold by Susanna Davidson. Illustrated by
Mike Gordon and Carl Gordon. Edited by Lesley Sims. Designed by Russell Punter and Natacha Goransky. Hardcover revised edition
of 2004 title first published in UK, now with new binding; includes one CD narrated by Joanna Eliot. Color
illustrated
with drawings. “Usborne Young Reading with CD” series. |
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