Great trip through children's books
927439
I love "quote" books and this one has some gems. It was fun trying to guess what book they came from and some have tempted me to go back and read the book.
268606
My 2.5 year old just recently discovered a fascination with trains. This book does a great job showing the variety of trains. The illustrations are fantastic and the rhymes make the book a lot of fun to read.
124854
I read several books in this series and really enjoyed them. My oldest niece wanted something to read, so I bought these for her. She read each book in about 2 days! Needless to say, she loved them.

In case anyone doesn't know about the books, they're about a group of special children on the run from diabolical people who want to use them for evil purposes. You can't help but grow to care about them and they take you on some hair-raising journeys. Enjoyable for 12 yo's and up.
1859951
My daughter and I are fans of this entire series "If You Were Me and..." by Carole P. Roman.  We have collected 10 of these books so far.  My husband and I love to travel and want to teach our daughter about the diversity and beauty all over the world, and how people from other lands might be different but yet we are still the same at heart.  Every book touches on children's names, food, landmarks, even history in another country.  My little girl loves to look at the beautiful pictures in these books, (sometimes real photographs are mixed in with the illustrations!) and since she is on the low end of the age range for this series, I know she will enjoy these books for years to come.

This book about Russia is one of the newer additions to the series.  I like how the phonetic pronunciation is included in the text for beginning readers, instead of at the back of the book.  There has also been a glossary added at the end to look up unfamiliar words.  This book taught me a few things as well as my daughter. :)  I appreciated the mention of Matryoshka dolls, and historical places like Red Square and the Kremlin - I got to travel to Russia years ago and I want to share that with my daughter!

I would recommend this series for anyone who wants to encourage their children to read, and travel, and be curious about the world!
179032
My kids and I have both really enjoyed these books. We felt that the author really helped the reader to capture the ability to imagine all that was happening in the story.
4804840
My 4 year old daughter loves our nightly reading routine. I picked up this book because it looked simple and heartfelt. So many books today are overdone with graphics and pictures and it takes away from the art of reading and drawing. The pictures are hand drawn by the author which really intrigued me. Each short story/poem has a great rhythm to it and my daughter loves the rhymes. You can read one or two a night, or the whole book in a longer sitting. It covers everyday activities as well as a few holidays. This is a must-read for you younger children. They will enjoy it so much.
942850
A beautiful and fun ode to some of the classic great children's novels. Young Isabella knows her literary favorites so on a trip to the library with her parents she pays them all homeage as she gathers her books to take home to read.

A true testament to how far a book can take you; where the possibilities are endless.

Written by Jennifer Fosberry, illustrations by Mike Litwin and published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.

#PB #imagination #literarygreats #mustlovebooks
2925458
These are GREAT chapter books to start reading with your 4-5 year old or for 5-8 year olds to read on their own. The stories focus on a brother and sister who find a magic tree house whose books transport them to various adventures. When my 4 year old son was growing tired of our short preschool picture books, I bought the Magic Tree House Boxed Set, Books 1 -4.

The focus of the first four books' adventures (Dinosaurs, Knights, Mummies, Pirates) are his favorite things! I hoped the books could hold his attention. Well, on the first book, he asked me to read it to him straight through! At each chapter, he begged me to continue and we finished the book (70 pages) in a one-hour sitting! Likewise with the following books. Each book has around 70 pages divided into 10 chapters. It contains mostly text with a few illustrations (every 4-5 pages). It contains a lot of dialogue between the siblings and a perfect amount of adventure and suspense.

I love the premise of the book and the adventures. Each contains educational value (During their adventures Jack carries the book with him and references facts: "a moat surrounds the castle and protects it from invasions" or "to prepare a body for burial, the body is first dried with salt") which can later be expanded upon. They work for a wide age group. My 4 year old son begs me to read these to him. My 8 year old nephew said they are the coolest books and has read all 40 or so of them.

Only cons: Yes the books do contain fragmented sentences. Although proper grammar is preferable, I believe the sentences are meant to add emphasis and suspense. The sentence fragments also helped my son with reading and following along. The second item is that the siblings bicker a bit. I especially do not like when the brother mumbles, "I'm going to kill her." However kids bicker in real life, and Jack and Annie stick together and help each other during their adventures. So I find that the pros of the series far outweighs the cons.

I definitely recommend this book set. My son and I enjoy these books and look forward to the rest of the series.
834897
This is a truly wonderful, thoughtful review of great quality books for kids.  The last section appeals to adults too, at least it does to me.  As a retired elementary teacher I am familiar with a great many of her recommendations, and they are an excellent representation though I must admit I hated Captain Underpants books.  Now I am a grandma of three little ones, ages 2, 3, and 4, and I quickly filled up my Amazon cart with almost two hundred dollars worth of books she recommended.  I have many of her recommended books already, but many I haven't heard of.  I have tried to find other lists on the Internet or on Amazon but have been very disappointed with many of the books.  I look forward to buying many of these over the next year and sharing them with our precious little ones.
2938529
My daughter and I are fans of this entire series "If You Were Me and..." by Carole P. Roman.  We have collected 10 of these books so far.  My husband and I love to travel and want to teach our daughter about the diversity and beauty all over the world, and how people from other lands might be different but yet we are still the same at heart.  Every book touches on children's names, food, landmarks, even history in another country.  My little girl loves to look at the beautiful pictures in these books, (sometimes real photographs are mixed in with the illustrations!) and since she is on the low end of the age range for this series, I know she will enjoy these books for years to come.

This book teaches children (and parents!) about Norway.  I liked the part about the Kroner, and why some of them have holes in the center.  There is a pronunciation guide in the back of the book, however there is no glossary in this book, like there is in some of the newer books in this series.  I would give this 4.5 stars, but Amazon doesn't allow that so I rounded up to 5 stars. :)

I would recommend this series for anyone who wants to encourage their children to read, and travel, and be curious about the world!

(I received a copy of this book for review purposes.)
3169989
When I first look at a book for children, I like to "thumb" through it to observe the layout and length. The layout of "Tales of Virtue" automatically suggested share-along with children. As I read each tale, I imagine this collection being shared at the dinner table - one story read each night that would allow for conversation and bonding among families.

Michael Coleman's collection includes eight virtues to introduction children to: kindness, loyalty, respect, compassion, courage, wisdom, good manners, and truth. Each tale is short enough to be shared in several minutes, but be prepared for dialogue afterwards. The length of each tale is perfect for sharing with younger children and their attention spans. I love that the tales feature animals that children can identify - cats, squirrels, and monkeys, to name a few. The tales feature age-appropriate animals that are learning from their parents about virtues, so both child and adult can identify with the characters. Coleman dedicates this book to his own son. You can feel the love this father has for sharing stories through the writing. Children listening to these stories will be able to feel that love, too.

The illustrations by Isabel Kent are beautiful. There are not many illustrations for the tales, but the point of this collection isn't to look at pictures. The pictures do add to the seriousness of the subject matter, but they are child-friendly. As a youth librarian, I would imagine using this collection during a program and adapting the tales for story-telling by making my own props and pictures to use. Coleman's work would be a great addition to any educational unit on manners, respect, and/or kindness. I would recommend this book as a starting point to introducing different virtues to children.
715010
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It has inspired me to read some books that I have never read, and reminded me of books that I enjoyed reading years ago. I love that children's books are included, bringing back fond memories of reading to my kids.
3394015
I was looking for stories for the grandkids when I discovered Ursula. This nicely led me to her T.Kingfisher books, so win,win!  Personally,I enjoy the kids books as much as the kids. Nice strong characters,good  resolution of conflicts without being preachy or sappy. Thanks !
2397187
My daughter got this whole series of books when she turned 8.  She can easily read them herself and has often referred to several of the lessons that the author learned in these stories.  Each chapter is a different story, so you can pick it up and read whatever you have time for.  These would also be great to read to younger children.  The stories are from "the olden days" and are good, wholesome stories that we often laugh at and usually learn a lesson from.  Highly recommended.
1967791
I grouped my review all together for these books, but each one is super fantastic.

These books are so fantastic.  They illustrations are beautiful, and the messages are wonderful.  I love the mind of a child.  I love how they can bring ordinary things to life.  This books shows the adventures of Captain No Beard and his trusted friends.

A child in his room imagining the adventures of the high seas.  These books teach children about sharing, not stealing and other things that they need to learn all in a fun and adventurous way.  Such a great idea.

Each story has it's own adventure, and they are so fun to follow.  I enjoy reading children's books.  I am sad that mine are no longer little and I cannot read them with them.  BUT, I have lots of nieces and nephews and it's time to share with them.

I love the pirate theme.  It's so much fun.  If your child likes adventures, and pirates, they will surely enjoy this series, along with learning some valuable lessons.

Source:  I received these books from the author in return for an honest review.  I was not compensated in anyway for this review.  These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the books.
4452058
My 18 month old daughter adores reading this lap book with her grandparents. She can spend ages poring over the pictures and learning the finger games and songs. It's a varied collection that teaches you classic games (ring around the rosey, here is the church) with illustrations, as well as presenting classic nursery rhymes and a few short stories (mostly featuring teddy bears) towards the end. It's quite heavy, but my girl lifts it up to her chin and drags it around to get someone to read it to her. The borders around the pages often feature little pictures of cats, bunnies, etc. that she loves to point out, so it not only pleases the eye on the grand scale, but each page gives you lots to do and talk through with a child. It seems to move from shorter, simpler games and rhymes to longer narrative formats towards then end, so it will last several years of learning and growing. A great resource!
4055936
So many children have enjoyed these stories and still they are part of the new generation library.  Certainly one for any child's bookshelf.