Long Time No See

I've been absolutely horrible about blogging! Not just here, but over at my personal blog as well. A steady stream of new babies, out of town company and a week long jaunt to Colorado are to blame :-)

I still don't have time for a full post today, but here is what is coming when I do find the time...

I've read 2 more Newbery titles since I last posted. I'm afraid they were both rather dismal affairs and I'm not really looking forward to posting about them at all, but I am still firmly committed to this project!

I also have 2 more 'Izzy Pick' lists forthcoming - one for Young Classicists (part 1 of 2) and one for Young Anatomists. We had so much fun exploring both topics that it's really been a bit difficult to leave them behind!

As for my personal reading, I've read some really great stuff lately! I sort of accidentally started the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins (of Hunger Games fame) over the Christmas break and then proceeded to devour them in a matter of weeks. Absolutely fantastic! I also read and loved The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie - a really surprising and thought provoking piece of literature! Together Izzy and I read The Doll Shop Downstairs by Zona Yeldis McDonough and The Five Sisters by Margaret Mahy - both incredibly delightful books! And finally, I am currently reading Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farms by Kate Douglas Wiggin and finding it very enjoyable!

Books for Young Ornithologists

We just wrapped up a rather lengthy unit on birds. It lasted a bit longer than I had planned because we had so many great materials to use! I simply couldn't move on until we'd explored everything we had at our disposal.

The Giant Golden Book of Birds
by Robert Porter Allen

An absolute gem of a find - thanks to Vintage Books my Kid Loves. It's out of print, but SO worth searching for a used copy! The illustrations are stunning, the information thorough and fascinating!


Birds Do the Strangest Things
by Leonora Hornblow

Another find I owe to VBmKL. I appreciated that the entries are short and simple so Izzy could read a couple out loud to me each day.



What Makes a Bird a Bird?
by May Garelick

This was an awesome find - a favorite book from my own childhood!


It's less about birds (although still very informative on that point) and more about building logic and reasoning skills. Not too shabby! And, of course, I absolutely love the late 60s vintage illustrations by Leonard Weisgard!



The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon
by Jacqueline Davies

Another great read - about a brief period in the famous naturalist/artists's life. Really lovely illustrations! I recommend pairing with Audubon's Birds of America Coloring Book. I also scored a used copy a nice large coffe table art book for pretty cheap.


Also, our streaming Netflix membership came in very handy as we watched the following through out our course of study:

March of the Penguins - delightful documentary about the annual mating ritual of Emperor Penguins.
The Life of Birds - fantastic 10 part documentary on a varity of bird-realted topics.
Fly Away Home - sweet movie about a girl who helps a flock of Canadian Geese migrate south for the winter.

Mountains are Free (1931 Medal)

It's unfortunate that I am starting to approach so many of these titles with trepidation because there really are some little gems to be found - even among the out of print titles. And after the previous month's stinker, I really *needed* a gem! Thank goodness for Julia Davis Adams - author of Vaino. If you'll recall, I had a pretty favorable reaction to Vaino, but I can't say I loved it and so I'm actually glad, that for the first half of the book, I was ignorant of the connection. Ultimately, I enjoyed this one even more than its predecessor. I'm not sure if it was the story/characters that drew me in more or if Adams skill as an author improved that much in a short time. Whatever the case, this was really a nice little treat.

Here is the plot description (via goodreads): This treatment of the legend of William Tell endeavors to place it in its historical setting, and to show the difference in ideals and manners between the Swiss and the people against whom they were struggling; that is to say, between the feudal system and the first faint stirrings of democracy.

Not the most inspiring plot description if you ask me. It makes this book sound rather dull and academic, but it's actually anything but! What I particularly love is that Adams made William Tell a rather minor character and his bit with the apple is a fairly small incident among many. This actually serves to illuminate the bigger picture of the struggle between the Swiss and the Austrians - making Tell's role all the more significant. Because, I'll be honest, before I read this I didn't even really know Tell was a Swiss patriot and that the little stunt with the apple had much political significance.

So, who is the main character if not Tell? It's a young boy named Bruno - an orphan taken in by the Tells who sets out to seek his fortune and ends up keeping company with the Austrians for a time. Another clever device in that we're able to get both sides of the story - although don't expect an even handed account! The Austrians are pretty much pure concentrated evil in this story. I found that I really cared intensely for the main characters - not just Bruno, but also Kyo (the mercurial, but good hearted court minstrel) and Zelina (the Austrian duke's headstrong ward).

My conclusion is that this is one Newbery that does indeed hold up to a modern read (hallelujah!!) - although I can't imagine many very young children reading or enjoying this. Instead I would recommend this for older readers with an interest in medieval European history or for a reader who likes tales of action and adventure involving knights and princesses!

There are also some really delightful illustrations through out this book, but (alas!) I couldn't find any images to share.

Queer Person (1931 Honor Book)

No, I haven't abandoned my Newbery challenge! Although at times it does look rather bleak. November was one of those months. Queer Person was the selection and I knew by the title that it was going to be a slog - a dated, out of touch with modern sensibilities mess - I just didn't know *how* bad it was going to be. It started off okay by introducing the reader to two fairly interesting characters - the titular 'Queer Person', a deaf-mute Indian boy and his self-appointed caregiver, an old hermit woman simply called 'Granny'. Both are outcasts for a variety of reasons. Tribe members believe the boy is posessed by evil spirits due to his disabilities and the old woman has been living on the fringes of tribal life since the loss of her husband and sons. A promising set-up....but one that ultimately didn't deliver. It really was a convoluted, trite, racist mess from start to finish. Only recommended for those with an interest in tracking racist attitudes in children's literature. Blah! (Thankfully, the following selection was *much* better - stay tuned!)

Movie Project: Hugo v. Hugo

I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret earlier this year. I've been a fan of Brian Selznick's for quite some time. The Houdini Box in particular really wowed me and I've enjoyed his illustrations in Eleanor and Amelia Go For A Ride and The Doll People.

I'm not sure if it was the hype or what, but I was just a wee bit disappointed by Hugo Cabret. Now, let me state for the record I was (and still am) absolutely blown away by the art. It is simply stunning. I truly appreciate the 'form', but I'm afraid I failed to make an emotional connection with the story.

But I didn't dislike it and was eager for the film, particularly when I saw the previews. I assumed, however, that I'd feel about like I felt about the book - that movie would be beautiful, but that the emotional component would be missing for me.

I was totally wrong!

It's obvious that Scorsese has a deep connection with the material and he was able to translate that to the screen for a simple soul such as myself to appreciate. It's actually made me reconsider my initial reaction to the book. Just brilliant!

Books for Young Entomologists

We just finished our unit on invertebrates - which included some study of insects, but also other types of bugs - including earthworms, snails, etc. This really was a fun unit of study. Again, there are more books about this subject than you could ever read, but here are some of the good ones we found:

I like to start every unit with a few good 'overview' type books and below you will find my favorites. Each had its own unique strengths.

Bugs
by Nancy Winslow Parker
This book was featured on Reading Rainbow and is one of the few that we decided to purchase. This book is uniquely suited to a wide range of children as small children can appreciate the simple poems and older children will enjoy the more detailed descriptions and diagrams. Highly recommended!


The Best Book of Bugs
by Claire Llewellyn

I think the very best thing about this book were the uber-realistic illustrations. Very nice!



Do You Know About Insects?
by Buffy Silverman

I love that this book uses real, high quality photographs!





There are two series we found that I think are really fantastic.

First, the Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science series published by Harper Collins. You can check out the Level 1 titles here and the Level 2 titles here. We find that both levels work for us. We've found at least one great book for every unit that we've covered so far and our Bug unit was no exception. Our favorite titles in this series were as follows:

Fireflies in the Night: Revised Edition
by Judy Hawes






Wiggling Worms at Work
by Wendy Pfeffer





Ant Cities
by Arthur Dorros





The other series I want to mention is the Backyard Book series (also called Up The Garden Path in the UK). In this excellent series children are immediately engaged and asked to imagine life as a particular insect. It is a highly effective method and each book is just fantastic! I can't recommend them enough! We read the following titles in the series:

Are You an Ant?
by Judy Allen

A good one to pair with the above Ant Cities!




Are You a Dragonfly?
by Judy Allen

My personal favorite!!




Are You a Grasshopper?
by Judy Allen





There are many more in the series and I imagine they are all worth checking out!

And just for fun I think the following series by Dorren Cronin is totally silly, but lots of fun!
Diary of a Worm
by Doreen Cronin








Diary of a Fly
by Doreen Cronin






Diary of a Spider
by Doreen Cronin








We read many, many more, but this is about all I have time for!

Books for Young Egyptologists

My daughter and I just wrapped up (pun totally intended! har har har!) a four week unit on Ancient Egypt. Not surprisingly, it was a blast! We did hieroglyphs, mummified Barbie, built a pyramid and much more! But mostly we read, read, read! There are so many books on this topic that it's almost overwhelming. We divided our unit into five main areas of study - daily life, hieroglyphs, gods & goddesses, mummies and pyramids. The following are my top picks for each category:

Daily Life:
Adventures in Ancient Egypt
by Linda Bailey

Uses time traveling to place three siblings in ancient Egypt so the reader can experience what life was like.




Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Ancient Egypt
by Joanna Cole

This one is so similar in style/format/scope to the book above that I almost didn't include it, but I think it's still a good pick - particularly for kids who are already familiar with Mrs. Frizzle (via Magic School Bus).



Hieroglyphs:
Fun with Hieroglyphs
by Catharine Roehrig

Aimed at slightly older readers, but the hands-on nature of the stamps can't be beat! Hours of fun!

Seeker of Knowledge: The Man Who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs
by James Rumford

Title pretty much says it all!



The Shipwrecked Sailor: An Egyptian Tale with Hieroglyphs
by Tamara Bower

A real winner! Informative and entertaining!



Gods and Goddesses:
I'm afraid I didn't find a book I absolutely loved on this topic, but we did love Jim Weiss's storytelling recording Egyptian Treasures: Mummies and Myths.

The following book was also a good supplement:
The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
by Leonard Everett Fisher






Mummies:
Now this is where it gets good! This is what most kids love about ancient Egypt!
Mummies Made in Egypt
by Aliki Brandenberg

A great place to start! This book was also featured on Reading Rainbow and it's a great episode if you can get your hands on it!



You Wouldn't Want to Be an Egyptian Mummy!
by David Stewart

One of my favorite series! Great for kids who love gross-out stuff!



Cat Mummies
by Kelly Trumble

A fun, short supplemental chapter book read about cat worship in ancient Egypt.



I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert
by Eve Bunting

A strange, somewhat somber, but interesting and humanizing look at mummies.



Pyramids:
I'll admit I was feeling a bit petered out by the time we got to pyramids, plus truthfully architecture (at least the mechanics bedhind it) isn't really my 'thing'. However, we still found some good reads!
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pyramid Builder!: A Hazardous Job You'd Rather Not Have
by Jacqueline Morley

More of my favorite series! Not quite as great as some of the other titles, but still fun and informative.

Who Built the Pyramid?
by Meredith Hooper

A good examination of how pyramid building was both a lengthy and highly collaborative effort!




Pyramid
by David Macaulay

Like all of the Macaulay books, this one is not for sissies! This is best suited for kids who really want to go deep into pyramid study!




Just for fun:
I think these are good picks to read after you've finished a unit study on Egypt so the kid can place the stories in their historical context.
Egyptology
by Dugald A. Steer

Second in the very popular 'ology' series - this is a really visually stunning book, but not one I'd recommend for 'beginners'.




The Egyptian Cinderella
by Shirley Climo

A really great Cinderella variant - one of the oldest known!



Chapter Books:
Mummies in the Morning
by Mary Pope Osborne

I'll be honest - I was pretty unimpressed with this one, but I've never read Magic Tree House and maybe it's just not my thing. I know it's very popular and so I wanted to include it here anyway.



The Red Pyramid
by Rick Riordan

We actually haven't read this one yet, but have plans to start it as soon as we finish our current chapter book. I hear great things about it!

Izzy Pick - The Gilgamesh Trilogy

This series is a truly phenomenal picture book adaptation of one of the oldest stories ever told - The Epic of Gilgamesh. Mesopotamia is such an important, but often neglected, ancient civilization. It influenced all that came after it - the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, etc. Sadly there's just not as much kid-friendly material out there so thank goodness for Ludmila Zeman for creating this fantastic series. The stories are engaging and really help children gain a deeper understanding of Mesopotamian culture. And the illustrations....wow! Just wow! The covers give very little indication of the delights contained within. I was floored to discover that our library system doesn't carry these titles, but I'm also glad that it forced me to buy my own copies. In my opinion that these belong in all picture book and/or legend collections. Highly, highly recommended!

Gilgamesh the King
by Ludmila Zeman






The Revenge of Ishtar
by Ludmila Zeman







The Last Quest of Gilgamesh
by Ludmila Zeman