Welcome to our June 2008 children's books reviews
archive. We are always looking for new books to stimulate young readers. Whether it's a
simple children's storybook to read your kids to sleep, or a book that shows them the enchanting
worlds they can find only through reading, we continue to search for new treasures in
children's books, and hope you enjoy this backissue of our June 2008 reviews of books for children.
Tonight Show host Jay Leno brings his wisecracking skills to the aid of children who want
to learn how to be funny. It's filled with short jokes, one-liners and Knock-Knock jokes that will
evoke giggles without making the grown-ups blush. This would make a great gift for a child
in the 8-12 year-old range.
First there was Bina, and then came Pasquale, and Papa was taking pictures of them every
day! It's an amusing story of a growing family and how the parents felt that both
of their children were so wonderful that Papa wants to enter their pictures in a
photo contest! The pastel and pencil illustrations add to the
charm and humor of this story. It's a delightful story for pre-schoolers.
Written in a style that's a cross between Dr. Seuess and third grade limericks, we
have the story of Michael who comes home and tries his best to asnwer his mother
who had asked him about his schoolday. But she keeps interrupting him with the
refrain "Don't Say That Word!" You get the picture. It's a light-hearted lesson
in appropriate language for the early readers. Your kids will laugh and have
such a good time, that you can sneak in a lot of good advice before they realize it.
Just in time for the Fourth of July, this book is an ode to patriotic themes.
Every page is filled with purple mountains' majesty, and the best of American
ideals, complete with engaging illustrations that comically depict animals
preparing and baking an enormous pie until the end when... You'll just have
to see for yourself. It's the kind of book you should read to your children
every so once in a while so that they'll start to appreciate the meanings behind
the concepts of freedom, justice, and liberty when they recite The Pledge of
Allegience in school or sing "The Star Spangled Banner" at the ballgame.
Legendary ballet dancer and actor Mikhail Baryshnikov tells the story of a
small boy whose grandmother often embarasses him with her eccentric behavior,
starting with the Monday when she jumped over the next-door neighbor.
When people in the neighborhood ask her why she does those unusual things, his
grandmother responds proudly, "Because... I Am A Dancer!" The choice of
dancer would certainly be expected from Baryshnikov, but the point of the story is not to
encourage children to dance. The point is to be true to yourself. It's so important
to let children find their own path because there is so much pressure on them to
think within narrow boundaries and peer pressure to be like everyone else. This
book shows that there are rewards for independent thinking.
Based on the Disney/Pixar movie, we follow the cute little robot Wall-E and
his friend Eve. The storybook is accompanied by a playset with 8 scenes
and 20 magnetic pieces so that children can make up their own stories using
the characters from the movie. It reminds me of the Colorforms sets, only
the pieces are 3-dimensional. Very cute. For children ages 4 and up.
This gorgeous picture book tells the story of Eli Treebuckle, a young boy
who loves to fix things. He works on fixing the radio and the vaccuum cleaner,
and anything else to keep his mind off his father who has gone off to war.
But Eli hasn't been sleeping well because he
keeps having the same nightmare. Late one night when he couldn't sleep, he decided
to work on his design for a rocket-helicopter. While busily working, he's
visited by Mr. Moon who asks him to help fix the Moonpowder factory so that
people can have sweet dreams again.
It's a fantastic journey that's slightly reminiscent of Jack Armstrong the All-American Boy.
Eli has an enormous imagination and his world is filled with visions of exciting and
elaborate inventions. The amazing illustrations by author John Rocco make this book
a real treasure and a great gift for any child with a parent in the service.
Be sure to visit us again next month when we'll
review more helpful children's books. Our
children's book reviews are written by our Editor, Richard L. Trethewey.
Rainbo Electronic Reviews' children's books reviews are published monthly. Back issues of our
reviews are available from the Rainbo Reviews Backissues Archive.
We're proud to announce that the reviews archive is now searchable by category so you can find great children's books we've reviewed in the past.
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