Summer Extravaganza Day 3

This is the final day of massive picture book reviews.  I believe I have most of them caught up.  The rest I will just sprinkle throughout my reviews.

 

 

Baffin’s Desire for Fire – Josephine Young

Baffin is a dragonasaurus who can’t breathe fire from his snout. He visits the firebird who lives on top of fire mountain. Read and find out if Baffin gets fire. This is a cute book about a young dragon who feels different because he is told he is different.  He wants to grow up too fast.  He learns a valuable lesson while up on the mountain.

 

 

Boo & Doo and the Crazy Clouds – Michael Yu

Boo and Doo live in the town of Oobaoo. Their houses are made of sugar. Every time it rains they lose their homes. One day an angry rain cloud came in and destroyed their homes. The town meets in a cave to figure out a way to stop the angry cloud. Boo and Doo step forward with a plan.  The question is, will it work?  Read this wonderful and brightly colored book to find out how they save their town.

 

 

 

 

 

The Bath Time Book – Michael Yu

It was bedtime and Alfie wanted to continue playing. As he prepares to take his bath his imagination is turned to high. This is a wonderful book to read to your child before bed time after they have taken their bath.

 

 

 

Emma Learns to Sprout – Shir Guez

This is a cute book about Emma and her mother who teachers her all about sprouting. I’m ashamed to say, growing up on a farm I was clueless about sprouting. I had never even heard of sprouting. The story explains the process so that it is simple yet fun. The best part is that the whole process encourages children to eat what they sprout, which is healthy for them.

 

The Honk of Zagonk – Pat Hatt

This cute story is about dragons gathering for the dragon games where they will learn what kind of flame they will get.  Zagonk waits patiently. When his turn comes all that comes out is a honking sound.  Of course all of the other dragons laugh at him.  He flies off ashamed of himself.  Trouble visits the other dragons.  It will be up to Zagonk to use his gift to help them all.  This is a fun read about using the talents you are given.

 

If You Were Me and Lived in Portugal – Carole P. Roman

This is a book that follows along I the same way the author’s other books do. In Portugal you learn the capital, what your parents are called, popular boy and girl names. The author always talks about where you would go on vacations and what you would see. My favorite part is learning about some of the foods you would eat. These are great books for getting children interested in learning about other countries.

 

 

 

 

 

Animal Friends: Floating Orange Cubes – Rob Towner

This is the story about a cicada and other creatures who accidently get on the bad side of a group of birds. By trying to get revenge on each other, something catastrophic happens. There is only one way to fix this situation.  It will require a sacrifice.  Read to find out what must be sacrificed and if it is enough to bring everyone together.

 

 

 

 

 

Matzo Frogs – Sally Rosenthal

This is a wonderful story of helping your neighbor.  A woman prepares some matzo soup for company that will be joining her later in the evening. She ends up spilling it.  She has promised to help a neighbor with something else and knows she won’t have time to remake the soup.  She leaves disheartened.  Imagine her surprise when she returns and finds new batch of soup made. Who could have done such a special thing for her and her company.  This was a fun book to read and can be enjoyed by young and old alike, whether you are Jew or Gentile. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous

 

 

 

The Little Seed – Martha Wolfe

A little seed drops from heaven and begins to grow. It grows strong and beautiful. Many things are made from the plant. One day the government comes in and destroys the plants.  Then it rains and more of the plant has grown.  Man can’t stop what God has started for a purpose. This is a great book teaching how plants start and mature.

 

 

Stars in the Pool and Other Stories – D. R. Tara

This book was filled with real short stories that had morals or lessons at the end of each one.  It starts off with a story of three brothers. Ned is the oldest and works hard. Ted and Zed are lazy and play all day.  One day Ned decides to go out into the world to seek his fortune so that he can bring it back and share it with his brothers.  Ted decides to do this as he has never been a help.  He finds an old woman and asks her for shelter.  She gives him a task to do and he decides it is impossible so he goes home.  Ned goes out and meets the same old lady.  He is given the same task as the other brother.  Ned sets to work to fulfill the task.  This story teaches we must use our hands if we want to reach our dreams and goals, we can’t sit around and wait for things to happen.  A second story tells of a man who has great riches.  He hears some robbers in his garden and tells his wife to listen to him and to answer yes to what he says.  Speaking loudly he tells his wife that it was a good thing that he hid all of their riches at the bottom of the well where no one would be able to get to them.  The robbers empty the well trying to get to the riches.  In the process they have watered the crops of the owner and find themselves arrested. The moral of the story is not to believe everything you hear.  The rest of the book is filled with similar stories. It was very enjoyable.

 

 

 

Billy’s Most Peculiar Hike – Sophia Aguilera

Billy is a young boy who loves to be outdoors. On this particular day of hiking he decides to walk a trail up a mountain. Along the way he sees many strange creatures. The book is written in rhyming form Much like Dr. Seuss the illustrator has used a limited color palette which actually enhances the story. This was a fun book to read. This would be great for a pre-writing book where you have students create their own blended creatures.

 

 

 

If I Were a Robot – Scott Gordon

A young boy describes what his life would be like if he was a robot. He has quite an imagination. This is a fun way to teach kids about using their imaginations.