Children's Books discussion
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April 2020 (and beyond): What Picture Books Are You Reading During Shelter-in-Place?
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(The Golden Egg Book) last year for a possible Easter picture book but then being disappointed because the Easter themed book cover really is kind of misleading as the book is not at all about Easter (and I actually also did not really enjoy the story all that much either, with it feeling a bit uncomfortable that the bunny is so destructive with the duck egg he finds and the ending feeling just rather totally blah).
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So what in my humble opinion is so very positive and delightfully refreshing about Max, about this simple but heartwarmingly sweet little story about how big brother Max becomes..."
Oh, thank you for reminding about this one. I loved it when my boys were little. Kathryn, you have boys and love dance, so I hope you know this story!
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Charlotte Riggle's Catherine's Pascha is a glowing, evocative, and yes, in all ways simply wonderful, informative basic introduction to Orthodox Easter (Pascha) celebrations (both historical and contemporary in scope, the narrative clearly presents and demonstrates just how truly universal Eastern Orthodoxy is, reaching from Alaska to the Middle East and Northern Africa, from Asia to North America).
Encased in an engaging framework of how Catherine and her family celebrate Pascha (and what constitutes Orthodox Easter/Pascha celebrations, not just the church service itself, but also the long fasting period that happens beforehand and the joyful post church feasting), I so much enjoy the smooth and flowing combination of fact and fiction (and very much appreciate the informative and detailed author's note with the supplemental links to even more information, recipes and such, although as a hopeless academic, I would have also liked a detailed bibliographical list of recommendations for further reading, but guess what, I always want and tend to ask for that). And just a small nugget of additional knowledge (and I hope you do not mind this, Charlotte), that while the English word Easter is definitely based on Eostre and Eosturmonath (Eostre was likely an ancient Germanic goddess of spring), the German word for Easter, Ostern, is actually also based on the same, which is really rather interesting and intriguing, considering that in most other Germanic languages, the word for Easter is based on Pesach, Pascha, Paques and such, is based on, is taken from the Hebrew (or perhaps actually even the Aramaic).
Now while personally, I happen to especially adore and love the addition of parts of the Orthodox liturgy (surrounding the main illustrations of Catherine's Pascha), I also do realise that this might be problematic and uncomfortable for and perhaps even considered as inappropriate by those vehemently anti-religious or so set in their own religious ways as to not be willing or able to consider any deviance from their own beliefs and dogma as acceptable (although truly, the liturgy parts are very unobtrusive and at least for me, provide a beautiful and enchanting spiritually enlightening, uplifting accompaniment to both text and images).
And finally, with regard to R.J. Hughes' illustrations, while colour wise, they are actually a bit too pink and purple hued to be considered personal aesthetic favourites, they do provide a simply marvellous (and light infused) mirror to and for Charlotte Riggle's narrative, to and for the story of Catherine's and her family's Pascha, both complementing the same, as well as vividly expanding upon the written words by having as their background almost twenty Orthodox churches and cathedrals from all over the world (however, I did and do have to wonder and with expectant sadness whether the Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus, Syria still exists, whether it has not been destroyed by bombs and the cultural hatred of ISIS extremism, but thankfully, according to information provided to me by the author, at present, the Mariamite Cathedral has not been damaged or destroyed).
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Yes! :-) Thank you. It's been one of my favorites since childhood and I love Rachel Isadora.
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(The Golden Egg Book) last year for a possible Easter picture book but then being disappointed because ..."Yeah, I didn't like that kicking around the egg, either. Disappointing, for sure.
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(The Golden Egg Book) last year for a possible Easter picture book but then being dis..."And it was not really about an Easter egg either, even if the book title looks like that.
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Really, you would think by now, we would be over the Big Bad Wolf thematic.
One Morning in Maine I thought this was an old favorite. It certainly looks like it from the condition of the book. It was given to my by my grandparents in the summer of '80. I don't remember that at all. In fact, I don't have any memories of the plot of this book at all! I can see why it would have been a childhood favorite once I was a little older, like Sally's age. When the book was given to me, I was a toddler like Jane. As a big sister and one who spent summers on Cape Cod, I can relate to Sally's experiences losing a tooth, finding out about the world, taking care of her sister and being in a coastal New England community. The illustrations really reflect that old time pre-tourism world. I just don't have fond memories of those times at the beach and so this book is not a favorite. I think I liked Blueberries for Sal and Make Way for Ducklings better.
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I do remember enjoying this but not the details.
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I remember loving this! I haven't read it in many years but it's one I hope to share with my own children soon. We have enjoyed many of McClosky's other books together already.
Two of my all time favorite picture books are not that well known in the USA. Edward the Emu and Edwina the Emu, both by Sheena Knowles and illustrated by Rod Clement. The illustrations are truly wonderful, hilarious expressions, unusual visual perspectives that cause you to see things from various points of view. The narrative is super fun to read - great cadence, fun choice of words, and lots of opportunity for the reader to express the character's voices. My kids loved the books. These books are worth reading over and over again; I gift them often as they are so little known. Edward the Emu
Edwina the Emu
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Thank you for the post. Amazingly enough, I actually have "Edward the Emu" on my to-read list already from some years back, though I haven't tracked it down yet. It does look good.
That reminds me of another Easter book we read: The Easter Bunny's Helpers. It features Australian animals helping the EB with decorating and delivering eggs. I wasn't particularity wowed by it, but it gets points for the unusual setting and characters and my four-year-old has asked for several re-reads so I'm glad it appeals to the target audience.
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My library system in San Antonio, Texas still has copies of both of these books in circulation--7 copies of Edward, and 6 copies of Edwina. I read both several years ago. I agree that Clement's illustrations were priceless.
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Although I have definitely found Brian Floca's accompanying artwork very much aesthetically pleasant and as such a visually delightful accompaniment to Lynne Cox's presented narrative, it is precisely because the latter, because Cox's text (at least to and for me) raises far too many questions that are never really answered and are often never even approached and considered that I have not really managed to enjoy Elizabeth, Queen of the Sea all that much from a personal reading pleasure point of departure.
For albeit I do realise that Elizabeth, Queen of the Sea is based on a true story, from a science and ecology point of view, I just do have major issues with author Lynne Cox rather categorically claiming that Elizabeth the elephant seal choosing to live in Christchurch New Zealand's Avon river instead of in the ocean, that this is where she, where Elizabeth, somehow belongs, since no indeed, elephant seals are not usually supposed to reside in urban areas (and in bodies of fresh water). And while Elizabeth's story (that she seemingly and of her own volition decided to make Christchurch New Zealand her home and that this was finally accepted after multiple attempts to relocate Elizabeth back into the ocean failed, with her always returning) sure is interesting enough and engagingly recounted, considering that Elizabeth also often caused considerably traffic chaos by sunning herself on Christchurch's streets, I for one cannot simply and without question accept that Elizabeth the elephant seal seemingly choosing to live in an urban environment and in an urban river is as positive and as acceptable a scenario as Lynne Cox wants her readers to believe (a quirky and an intriguing scenario, to be sure, but not really in my opinion a truly in any manner totally and without question positive one, as basically, with Elizabeth, Queen of the Sea, Lynne Cox is to and for me also kind of feting and cheering the concept of a non endemic animal species living in a non native environment).
And furthermore, since rivers are not generally conducive to seals residing in them in a healthy and thriving manner (for longer periods of time) yes, in Elizabeth, Queen of the Sea, I certainly would also be wanting considerable information and details on how Elizabeth had over the years managed to successfully find enough food, as of course, the Avon river would obviously not harbour the same types of fish, the same types of sea creatures that elephant seals are used to hunting and consuming in the ocean, in their natural and native habitat (and I do very much therefore rather wonder why Lynne Cox never really focusses on this in my opinion essential and necessary consideration, because while Elizabeth, Queen of the Sea is certainly an enjoyable little tale to a point, how Elizabeth the elephant seal of Christchurch New Zealand found enough and acceptable prey in the city's Avon river to adequately sustain herself is in my opinion an in every way as necessary a question to be answered as yes, showing that Elizabeth obviously and personally considered Christchurch her home and her own personal turf).
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. Fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook is living in Philadelphia when the city is struck by yellow fever. Interesting read for our current situation.
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Is this a picture book?
Manybooks wrote: "Harley wrote: "Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. Fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook is living in Philadelphia when the city is struck by yellow fever. Interesting read for our current s..."Middle grade fiction with accurate historical details. Didn't realize PB stood for picture book. Some of us older folks think paper back when we see PB.
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Thanks, this thread is actually about picture books you have been reading during the covid 19 lock downs.
Maybe I should start a topic in the fiction club about middle grade books on pandemics.
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Ha, I never thought that PB could also mean paperback. I will add your book to my fiction club list.
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So yes, I can certainly understand why and how Steve Jenkins won a 2004 Caldecott Honour designation for What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?, as indeed, his collage-like artwork is generally, is usually truly spectacular (and indeed, What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? is no exception, with a wonderful and aesthetically delightful combination of realism and colourful imagination). And it has also been very much fun trying to figure out in What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? to which animals the depicted appendages belong (and not just tails, mind you, but also diverse noses, ears, eyes, feet and mouthes) and with Steve Jenkins' and Robin Page's textual information providing not only much interesting and enlightening details but also that the printed words are penned in an engaging and in my opinion sure to lastingly retain interest manner (both in the text proper of What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? and equally in the supplemental details section). But unfortunately and yes, as much as I have certainly enjoyed reading (and looking at) What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? (and as much as I do truly think that this is a wonderful and also entertainingly fun and engaging for children book full of enlightening animal and animal appendages facts and information), that What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? does unfortunately not contain any bibliographical materials whatsoever (no sources being acknowledged and also no suggestions for further reading either), this does definitely to and for me present a rather major intellectual shortcoming and something that has certainly lessened my general reading pleasure and appreciation of What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? (and personally, I also do kind of have to wonder why with regard to including bibliographies, Steven Jenkins is so all over the place so to speak, providing relevant bibliographic materials for some but not for all of his science and zoology themed picture books)
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Fun, educational and with illustrator Steve Jenkins' signature realistic but at the same time also never bland, always colourfully imaginative accompanying collage-like artwork, in Can an Aardvark Bark?, author Melissa Stewart basically demonstrates how animals use their voices, by posing an erroneous question and then of course and naturally providing the correct scientific, zoologic answer (that an aardvark does not bark but grunt to communicate, that a seal does not squeal but that it in fact barks, that a wild boar will not roar but indeed squeal and so on and so on). Listing multiple animal species and their diverse voice and communication habits (and finally also asking the intended audience, asking young readers and/or listeners whether they themselves can laugh, grunt, growl, squeal, bellow, bark and whine and that animals definitely use all kinds of different sounds to communicate with each other just like we humans do), Can an Aardvark Bark? is both delightfully simple and at the same time and equally massively enlightening (and with an included short but still totally adequate short bibliography that indeed really does very much increase the teaching and learning value of Can an Aardvark Bark?) and as such in my opinion presenting a perfect educational vehicle to introduce animal sounds and animal communication behaviours to young children.
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Yes indeed, you can most certainly and easily tell by the oh so very much adorable photographs (mostly of rescued and recovering orphaned sloths looking sweet and acting even more so) that author (and trained zoologist) Lucy Cooke obviously totally adores and loves sloths. And most definitely, A Little Book of Sloth is thus and in many if not even in most ways basically and simply a totally and delightfully magical (but at the same time also and appreciatively massively educational and enlightening) combination of text and images, presenting Judy Arroyo's sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica (which author Lucy Cooke has called Slothville, but which actual title seems to be the Aviarios del Caribe) and the important work that Arroyo and her sanctuary do (taking in and caring of orphaned and often seriously injured infant sloths, rehabilitating them and of course if possible, finally releasing them back into the rainforest that is their natural habitat, although from both he pictures and Lucy Cooke's featured narrative, it does seem as though some sloths will actually not be able to be released back into the wild and that they therefore remain in Slothville on a permanent basis). Filled with information not only on sloths as animals but also showing just how hugely important and necessary Lucy Arroyo and her Costa Rican sanctuary for sloths are for the protection and the rehabilitation of sloths that are injured, that have been orphaned, that have been trapped to be made into exotic pets, I most definitely have very much enjoyed A Little Book of Sloth and also much appreciate that Lucy Cooke clearly points out that sloths are wild animals and do not make good pets. And indeed, the only reason why I have ranked A Little Book of Sloth with three and not yet with four stars is that I am (and sadly once again) rather majorly annoyed that this otherwise so informative and educational non fiction picture book on sloths contains no bibliographic materials, contains no suggestions for further study and reading (and that is in my opinion a major shortcoming and that indeed, as a zoologist, Lucy Cooke really should know better, and should have included at the very least a short bibliography in A Little Book of Sloth).
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Oh, I hadn't either! I'm sorry for the confusion. Yes, this thread is just for Picture Books.
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Fun, educational and with illustrator Steve Jenkins' signature realistic but at the same time also never bland, always colourfully imaginative accompanying co..."
We've enjoyed several of Steve Jenkins' books but he's so prolific we still have more to go and this is one that will be new-to-us. Sounds great!
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Fun, educational and with illustrator Steve Jenkins' signature realistic but at the same time also never bland, always colourfully imaginati..."
I think your sons would really enjoy this, as it is also a bit interactive.
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Yes indeed, you can most certainly and easily tell by the oh so very much adorable photographs (mostly of rescued and recovering orphaned sloths looking swee..."
I read this many years ago and loved it. I guess I considered it more for just the "cute factor" for the photographs so the lack of a bibliography etc. didn't' bother me though now that you mention it that really was a missed opportunity.
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Yes indeed, you can most certainly and easily tell by the oh so very much adorable photographs (mostly of rescued and recovering orphaned s..."
Considering that quite a bit of the presented text is actually quite scientific, both a bibliography and a glossary would have been good. But those photographs are darling.
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In Giant Squid, author Candace Fleming with textual acumen and splendour (both with an eye for education and enlightenment and at the same time with very much lyrical grace and verbal descriptiveness) delightfully demonstrates not only how awe-inspiring (and yes indeed, also to and for us humans, occasionally if not even often creepy and potentially fear-inducing) giant squids are (or at least can be) but also and importantly that giant squid are not really and primarily to be approached as deep sea monsters to be feared and dreaded (and as such also often to be despised and regarded with rank suspicion and superstition) but indeed and first and foremost that giant squid are intelligent denizens of the ocean depths, that giant squid are a necessary link in ocean ecosystems (a so-called apex predator, but yes that giant squids are equally creatures about which not all that much is actually known, about which there still exist many scientific mysteries). Furthermore and yes, Giant Squid also describes that giant squids are not in fact huge and massive creatures right from birth, that giant squids (like most of their octopus and squid kin) actually commence their lives as tiny and as such also very vulnerable to predation less than two inches in body length squidlets, at the mercy of many types of fishes etc. (and it is only if the baby squids in fact manage to survive their time when tiny and prone to being hunted and consumed as prey that they will afterwards become as they mature and grow the giants of the sea and indeed also one of the only denizens of the deep that can successfully hunt adult whales). Accompanied by Eric Rohmann's necessarily rather dark hued artwork (to visually capture in and with Giant Squid the essence of how little sunlight does in fact reach and penetrate the depths of the oceans where giant squid tend to reside), his illustrations are in my humble opinion and most definitely a total and utter treasure and as such both aesthetically powerful and strikingly awesome (as well as actually and in my opinion being very much visually pleasant, but indeed generally in a creepy and a bit chilling manner, and therefore parents reading Giant Squid with or to very young or very sensitive children should probably consider first making sure that Eric Rohmann's pictures of especially staring squid eyes and multitudes of large grasping tentacles are able to be handled without inducing too much fear or in a worst case scenario, even bad dreams, even nightmares). An extensive supplemental information section (containing aside from an illustration of basic giant squid anatomy, important additional scientific and zoologic details on giants squids and yes always retrieving just how much of a mystery giants squids still are also three separate bibliographies), I have certainly and totally been very much impressed with and by both Candace Fleming's educational and enlightening poetry and Eric Rohman's spectacular illustrations and do consider Giant Squid a solid five star picture book and a wonderful marriage of text and images.
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I too, am "aglow" after reading this. "Springingly, oh, springingly." Just, wow, such beautiful language and sentiment, with illustrations that aren't so sweet and so there's a balance and therefore the book can be enjoyed by poets, parents, old men, girls, boys, and even people who don't particularly care for dogs.
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First of all, I don't like zoos. So, let's just not pay too much attention to that part of the story.
Now:
Is this just a funny story, in which a wild(ish) elephant shakes up the life of a very well-behaved boy? Yes & no. It is that, and it is worth reading and rereading on that level.
But it's not just that.
It's also the story of a persnickety little old man in a boy's body, with a domineering mother, who unconsciously realizes that he needs a little wildness in his own life... at least on weekends.
One of those all ages, different for each reader, fables that I love. If you love them too, be sure to also read the picturebooks by Jon Agee and some by Arthur Yorinks, especially Hey, Al.
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Simple but at the same time always informatively educational (and yes, with a featured text that is engaging and thankfully also never overwhelming content and vocabulary wise to and for the intended age group, to and for children from about the age of four/five to eight or nine, although older children and adults might possibly find Sandra Markle's writing just a bit too schematic and shallow at times), Build, Beaver, Build!: Life at the Longest Beaver Dam really does do a remarkable job showing not only a young beaver kit and his family's day to day life throughout a given year (eating, mostly sleeping during the day, gathering twigs for food, building large log structures, denning up but not actually truly hibernating during the winter months) but also the many dangers faced from predators (but yes, I do very much appreciate that Sandra Markle does make these predators not appear as in any way monstrous or nasty, that she instead simply shows and describes them as simply being a part of the ecosystem and a natural threat with which beavers have to contend). And yes indeed, the supplemental information about beavers (including a short but adequate bibliography with suggestions for further reading) are an added and very much appreciated bonus and definitely in my opinion do make Build, Beaver, Build!: Life at the Longest Beaver Dam a very good if not perfect general and basic introduction to beavers (and to their role in their ecosystem) for young children. Highly recommended (and furthermore, Deborah Hocking's colourfully realistic accompanying artwork is also very much a visual treat, both mirroring and sometimes even expanding on Sandra Markle's printed words, on her narrative and also managing to show the predator dangers beavers face realistically but not in an overly exaggerated or creepy manner).
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Very nice. Fun, and perfect for homeschooling families and classrooms, age 7-9 especially. Longish picture-book. Endorsed by both a Rabbi and an Amish scholar. A chance discovery on paperbackswap that I will make available there again (unless one of you who lives in the US would like it; I just want to find an interested reader for it).
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Very nice. Fun, and perfect for homeschooling families and classrooms, age 7-9 especially. Longish picture-book. Endorsed by both a Rabbi and an Amish scholar. A cha..."
Sounds wonderful!
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Simple but at the same time always informatively educational (and yes, with a featured text that is engaging and thankfully al..."
You're really making me wish the library was open...! Sigh.
;-)
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My children and I have enjoyed several re-reads of this bright and engaging picture book covering a variety of animal habitats. Each page is poem highlighting one habitat and a few creatures making homes there, from the jungles of the rain forest to the Arctic tundra. what makes this stand-out from other similar books is that cut outs on each page allow you to "see through" to an image on the next page -- and remind us that some types of animals live in a variety of habitats. For example, in the rain forest we see the elephant in the jungle scene is actually showing through from the next page and the text below reads, "Some African elephants live in the Congo forests. But where else do they live?" Turn the page and you see the elephant on the savanna with the other creatures who live there. Or, see the Canada goose in the evergreen forests but "This goose will fly to another habitat for the summer. Where might it go?" Turn the page and it's on the Arctic tundra. (I'm not explaining this well, but it's effective without being gimmicky.) It's not five stars, IMO, because I think there should be more information (even if just notes in the back) about each of the animals featured (or at least that each animal be labeled in the illustrations so one could look them up online later). For example, the desert spread features camels and kangaroos -- at first, I thought this was a mistake, but I looked online and found out Australia does have wild camels! Instead, the back matter is merely a very brief blurb about habitat destruction and "we all need to take care of wild places" which, while well-meaning, just kind of seemed tacked-on
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In any case, I'll look for this book; I think I'd enjoy it a fair bit.
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Simple but at the same time always informatively educational (and yes, with a featured text that is engaging..."
I hope they will open up sooner rather than later.
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In any case, I'll look for this book; I think I'd enjoy it a fair bit."
Yes, they are invasive species. I had just never heard of them before! (Good point, though, feral is the correct term.)
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In any case, I'll look for this book; I think I'd enjoy it a fair bit."
Yes, they are invasive species. I had just n..."
I guess they would be deemed feral as those camels were originally domesticated but they are also an invasive species (like sheep in New Zealand, like rabbits in Australia and like dogs, cats, goats and so on and so on) that have really wreaked havoc on the endemic fauna (and flora).
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Yes, and I really felt the book needed to address that because I'm guessing I am not alone in having had no idea about camels in Australia (as I was researching this I found many people were in the same boat) and I would not want children to think that camels are *native* to Australia or that their cohabitation with kangaroos is necessarily a good thing. (Especially for a book with the message of preserving our wild spaces, it seems even a brief mention of the negative impact of invasive species is warranted!)
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The camels being in Australia should definitely be described as something negative, especially in a current book.
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The more I think about it, the more bothered I am by this shortcoming. I'm docking another star for it.
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The more I think about it, the more bothered I am by this sh..."
I think that makes sense.
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To tell the truth, ever since I was about twelve years of age (when at school during Social Studies we covered and discussed Robert Falcon Scott's death whilst he was basically and for all intents and purposes racing Roald Amundsen to be the first person to reach the South Pole) I have personally been at best rather majorly frustrated with and annoyed at how utterly foolish Robert Scott seems to have been and yes, how his desire and his need to be the first person to reach the South Pole (how his in my opinion totally ridiculous and silly contest with Roald Amundsen) not only caused Robert Falcon Scott's own death and of course also the deaths of much of his crew but equally the demise of most of his sled dogs and his Manchurian horses (animals that actually also had no choice in the matter, as at least with Scott and his crew members, they obviously and actually could have decided to not go on these Antarctic exploration voyages, which their dogs and horses naturally did not have the opportunity to do).
Now yes, in Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antarctica, author Sandra Markle (who might also be the illustrator here as in my e-book edition of Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antarctica no other contributor is listed) certainly does with scientific passion show and demonstrate the many kinds of new to science and previously undiscovered animal species (and in particular penguins) Robert Falcon Scott's explorations of Antarctica encountered and brought to the world's attention. And I also and most definitely do appreciate the plethora of presented scientific facts and in particular cheer that unlike in previous voyages of discovery, assistant surgeon and naturalist Dr. Edward A. Wilson mostly seems to have drawn and sketched the wildlife he encountered and did not often try to capture and kill specimens. But sorry, the truth of the matter that during Robert Falcon Scott's voyages of discovery in Antarctica, most of his dogs and his ponies did end up dying and often in terrible agony it seems (and that especially the horses were also often eaten by the crew and by the crew's canine companions), this does rather bother me more than just a bit, and especially so because in Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antarctica, there is in my humble opinion also not really ever one word of even mild condemnation by author Sandra Markle with regard to this, that she seems to with her printed words never really cast any kind of critical perspective in Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antarctica (since from what I have read over the years in other books about Robert Falcon Scott and his crew members that even though they clearly seemed to appreciate and even at times cherish the dogs and even the horses that had accompanied them on their voyage, there were always serious questions regarding how both the dogs and the horses were not being adequately fed, of there not being the right kind of foodstuff brought along and that indeed, especially the horses were also generally considered as potential nourishment for Scott and his crew, and that yes indeed, both the dogs and the horses should more than likely never have been taken along to Antarctica in the first place).
Therefore, while the general set-up of Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antarctica is wonderful and indeed a full five stars for me (with an enlightening text full of much scientific and zoological information as well as a helpful glossary and a short but adequate bibliography that lists both books and relevant websites) my own and very personal disdain of Robert Falcon Scott and that I for one have not ever thought of either Scott or his voyages of discovery as being in any manner even remotely heroic (but rather as silly and as destructive, as mostly just death-bringing), this has certainly lowered any potential reading pleasure considerably and thus, only two stars for Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antarctica (as yes, there certainly is a lot about Robert Falcon Scott that has always majorly bothered me and I do find it at best rather majorly problematic that Sandra Markle is not a bit more critical with regard to both Robert Falcon Scott the person and with his doomed voyages in Antarctica).
By the way, there are four rather text heavy but very educational picture books in the series. And so far I have read three of them, with Animals Christopher Columbus Saw: An Adventure in the New World still needing to be read (and I am defintely a trifle worried that I will find this book also not critical enough regarding especially how the "discovery" of the Americas by Columbus was generally a major disater for the indigenous populations of North and South America, so we will see how I end up enjoying the book which I am planning to read soon). But yes, I do highly recommend both Animals Marco Polo Saw: An Adventure on the Silk Road and Animals Charles Darwin Saw: An Around the World Adventure.
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Although fortunately and appreciatively Sandra Markle does not ever simply try to depict Christopher Columbus as a hero par excellence, as someone larger than life or as incapable of making mistakes (since in Animals Christopher Columbus Saw: An Adventure in the New World, aside from and of course like in her other three Explorers books with the author showcasing and describing many of the often new to science animal species encountered by Columbus and his crew, Sandra Markle also repeatedly points out and lets us as readers know the very many problems encountered during the voyage and that actually, Christopher Columbus himself always seems to have totally assumed that he had in fact and indeed found a faster route to the East and not really discovered a new and previously unknown area of the world), I for one also really and truly do wish that in Sandra Markle's presented narrative there had been rather more and also vehement authorial criticism regarding how Christopher Columbus and his crew both approached the native populations encountered and equally importantly a detailed acknowledgement of the ecological havoc that rats stowing away on Christopher Columbus' ships (as well as the cats that were taken aboard to keep rats, mice etc. in check) generally ended up wreaking in the so-called New World and in particular in the islands of the Caribbean with their unique and endemic fauna.
For while in Animals Christopher Columbus Saw: An Adventure in the New World Sandra Markle certainly does mention that Christopher Columbus encountered people on the islands he and his crew "discovered" and that they traded with them and sadly also captured some as potential slaves (and to be taken back to his home, back to Spain, as curiosities), in my humble opinion, Markle should also and absolutely have gone one step farther here and to have equally demonstrated that for the the native populations of the Americas, Christopher Columbus' voyages of discovery were NOT AT ALL something positive but rather a huge and massive tragedy and often a majorly genocidal one at that. And yes and furthermore, considering how Animals Christopher Columbus Saw: An Adventure in the New World focuses so heavily on the at the time unknown and undiscovered animal species that Christopher Columbus and his crew encountered and described on their voyage(es) I for one certainly (and also) was hoping for a bit more of a critical perspective by Sandra Markle (as well as a scientific admonishment) regarding how non native to Caribbean animal species were (at first) inadvertently brought to the area and how in particular rats and cats ended up simply decimating much of the native insectivore and bird species. And thus, while I do still recommend Animals Christopher Columbus Saw: An Adventure in the New World (and have once again enjoyed the combination of presented text and images), I do find that Sandra Markle could have been and to and for me really should have been a bit more in-depth regarding the long range problems and horrors (both humanitarian and ecological) that Christopher Columbus and his voyages have wrought (and really, that the native populations of the Americas are still feeling the negative effects of colonisation even today and that the endemic wildlife of in particular the island nations of the Caribbean are still being negatively influenced by the descendants of the rats and cats that first came ashore during Columbus' explorations).
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All four books of the series
Animals Marco Polo Saw: An Adventure on the Silk Road
Animals Charles Darwin Saw: An Around the World Adventure
Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antartica
Animals Christopher Columbus Saw: An Adventure in the New World
have decent but also rather short bibliographies (adequate, but I do wish they were more extensive). I do wonder if my issues with the Robert Scott Book are a bit personal (but Markle in my opinion really did seem very keen on making a lot of excuses for him). And from the four books, I find the ones about Marco Polo and Charles Darwin the best and the most balanced.
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I'll be adding these to my lists.
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Irene Latham (other topics)
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My brother's crew must be rereading The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes. We don't have our battered copy here unless it's in the basement but I remember it well. It's a strong, feminist tale about a female rabbit who can take care of her family AND work as the Easter Bunny. The old-fashioned illustrations were always very charming and delightful. Niece did her own interpretation of the Country Bunny on a note for Grammie.
Another favorite this time of year was The Egg Tree. My mom grew up in Pennsylvania. I think brother's kids have been reading this one too. They blew out Easter eggs for Grammie. That part of the story was always fascinating and I also liked when the bunny left the eggs in a nest. How illogical but cute. The illustrations reflect that old world Pennsylvania Dutch culture.
I saw some cute picture books on Hoopla listed under movies. I may check some out and see whether they're any good.