Showing posts with label 3 Stars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3 Stars. Show all posts

How Music Came to the World



How music Came to the World
Hal Ober
©1994

32 Pages

Ages 4-8

Summary

This book is a retelling of an old Mexican myth. It tells about how the sky god and the wind god got together and realized that the world was too quiet. The sky god told the wind god that what the world needed was music and that the only place to find it was in the house of the sun. So the wind god climbed a bridge to the sky and snuck into the house of the sun. There he found musicians and singers, but when he was about to make his move, he was spotted by the Sun. The sun told the musicians to be silent or else the wind god would steal them away. The wind god cried out the musicians to come to him. The they did not move. Again the wind god told them to come with him. They remained silent. Finally, the wind god let out all of his fury in a mighty hurricane. The musicians and singers jumped into his lap and he carried them to the earth. And that is how music came to the world.


I think what I liked most about this book were to elaborate pictures. They're not detailed in the way that a master piece is. However, the book is illustrated in a style that closely resembles aztec art. It's blocky and has many similarities to wall carvings. Over all, this is a wonderful book and would be beneficial for teaching children about myths and legends.

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Lincoln: A Photo biography



Lincoln a Photo biography
Russell Freedman
©1989

160 Pages

Ages 9-12

Summary:

I have never really been one fore biographies. I love stories of fantastic or imaginary places. Therefore, it is no wonder that this book didn't really capture my imagination. This book details the life of President Abraham Lincoln from when he was but a small lad right up and past his assassination. You learn things about Lincoln such as his fierce drive in businesses that ended up failing and how he became a successful lawyer with less than one full year of formal education. All in all it is a good book. It has wonderful pictures of the time that few have seen before--many of which did pull at my heart. However, unless you thoroughly enjoy reading biographies, I wouldn't recommend this book.
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Tuesday




Tuesday
David Wiesner

©1997

32 Pages

Ages 4-8

Summary:

Tuesday evening around eight toads begin to fly on their lilly pads. They fly throughout the town, in and out of houses, and around pets. However, when day breaks, the lilly pads fall and the toads are forced to return to their marsh. The police are confused as to why there are lilly pads all over the town. The following Tuesday at eight, pigs take to the air.


Other Books by the Author:

Loathsome Dragon

Free Fall

Hurricane

Tuesday

June 29, 1999

Sector 7

The Three Pigs

Flotsam

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The Day It Snowed Tortillas

The Day It Snowed Tortillas

Joe Hayes

©2003

144 Pages

Ages 9-12

Summary


Questions


Activity

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Coraline




Coraline

Neil Gaiman

©2002

163 Pages

Ages 9-12

Summary

Coraline is the the remarkable adventure of a little girl who wanted more excitement in her life. Coraline particularly liked exploring. She enjoyed exploring the out doors and was therefore at a loss as to what she should do when the rain trapped her inside of her new house. As suggested by her father, she took to exploring the house, counting how many things were blue, the windows, and the doors. Upon further investigation, she discovered that all of the doors in the flat opened except for one. When she got her mother to open it, there was nothing but a brick wall on the other side. At night, however, she found that the brick wall vanished and was actually a passage to her other world. Strangely enough, the "other world" resembled her real world with several significant improvements. Everything was more interesting and everyone loved her and wanted her there. Her other mother in particular wanted her to stay with her always and forever. She told Coraline that all she had to do was to allow the other mother to sew buttons into her eyes. Coraline refused and ran back to her real world. However, she was forced to return upon discovering that the other mother abducted her real parents. Coraline struck up a wager with the other mother: they would play a game. If Coraline won then she, her parents, and the souls of the other children she had imprisoned would be freed from "other world." If she lost, Coraline would stay and allow the other mother to care for and love her forever. Coraline set out to find the souls of the three children and completed each of the three tasked she faced. She realized that even if she found her parents, the other mother would never let her go home. Coraline found her parents in a snow globe but did not reveal her knowledge to the other mother, instead tricking her into opening the door to the real world and escaping through it. Coraline set free the souls of the children and released her parents from the snow globe. It would seem like all her nightmares were over except for the fact that one of the hands of the other mother had followed her through the door and was out to get the only key to the door between the worlds. Coraline tricked it into falling down an old well and through the key in after it. The door would stay locked forever.


Other Books by the Author:

Stardust

The Graveyard Book

Never Where

American Gods

M is for Magic

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Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Judi Barrett

©1978

29 Pages

Ages 4-8

Summary

In this story, we see a grandfather telling a bedtime story to a brother and sister. He tells them of a far away town where the people never have to worry about food. There were no grocery stores but the people never went hungry. You see, three times a day the weather brought food into town. Everything from spaghetti to orange juice to eggs and toast fell from the clouds. The people were happy until one day when the food started getting bigger and bigger. The food began wrecking the town and the citizens became concerned for their lives. The build boats out of the over-sized food and sailed to safety.


Other Books by the Author:

Old MacDonald Had an Apartment House

Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing

An Apple a Day

Benjamin's 365 Birthdays

Peter's Pocket

I Hate to Take a Bath (illustrated by Charles B. Slackman)

I Hate to Go to Bed (illustrated by Ray Cruz), Four Winds Press

The Wind Thief (illustrated by Diane Dawson)

Animals Should Definitely Not Act Like People

I'm Too Small, You're Too Big

A Snake Is Totally Tail

What's Left?

Pickles Have Pimples, and Other Silly Statements

Pickles to Pittsburgh: The Sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Old MacDonald Had an Apartment House

The Things That Are Most in the World

I Know Two Who Said Moo: A Counting and Rhyming Book

Which Witch Is Which?

Never Take a Shark to the Dentist and Other Things Not To Do

The Marshmallow Incident

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The Knight and the Dragon

The Knight and the Dragon

Tomie DePaola

©1998

32 Pages

Ages 4-8

Summary


Questions


Activity

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