Young Reader in the Making

Young Reader in the Making

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Book 80: How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten?

How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten?, written by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague, Blue Sky Press 2004.   Toddler to Preschool

A few weeks ago I reviewed "How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You?" and wrote that it was my favorite dinosaur book so far. It still is. However, I think "How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten?" may be my son's favorite.

I'm still recovering from my badly broken leg, so although I can hobble around downstairs or upstairs wearing my boot and not using a crutch or a cane (I look like toddler walking!), and cannot go upstairs or downstairs without using a crutch or a cane and relying on the handrail. Therefore, I cannot carry anything upstairs or downstairs. I thought I was out of books downstairs to review until my son hunted through his library, found this book, and said "again". That "again" is the charm of this book.

The last question in this book is "Now that he's counted from one to ten, how does a dinosaur count again?" And the answer, which my son gave when he handed me this book, is "again". Next to "no", "again" and "more" are probably his favorite words. Because this book was written years before he was born, I'm guessing he is not alone in toddler world in favoring that word. And to have it at the end of a counting story, well, that's just perfection for him.

I love, love, love Mark Teague's illustrations (again!). My only complaint would be that he is so brilliant and I am so jealous -- but I can get over that and buy his brilliantly illustrated books.




For reviews on books to borrow, please see Louise's Blog in Blogs I Follow.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Book 79: Over in Australia

Over in Australia: Amazing Animals Down Under, written by Marianne Berkes, illustrated by Jill Dubin, Dawn Publications 2011.   Toddler to Preschool to Elementary

Marianne Berkes' books are an absolute delight to read. Not only are they entertaining, as all good pre-school books should be, they are extremely informative. Whenever I read one of her books, I, as well as my toddler, learn something. I can't even imagine how much research must go into these books. So when her newest book about Australia was released this year, I had to buy it. And, of course, have her sign it, because as I've mentioned before, she is very gracious about that.

The illustrators for her books are amazingly creative, especially for the "Over in..." books, using polymer clay for some titles and for this one, paper cuts. The depth created by these three dimensional media is rich and breathtakingly lovely.

Over in Australia, like the other "Over in..." previous titles is set to the tune of Over in the Meadow, so once you work it out for the first one, the following books pretty much fall into place. Over in Australia, also like the other "Over in...", is a beautiful book and an educational and fun (really!) read. I would recommend the entire series for any toddler/pre-schooler.



For other reviews on book to borrow, please see Louise's Blog in Blogs I Follow.