 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
One of the books we liked when learning to read (and, actually, we still like to read them, although now we like to read them very fast and, sometimes, backwards).
Archive for March, 2006
Book review: The Cat in the Hat
Monday, March 13th, 2006Book review: A Fly Went By
Monday, March 13th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
A Fly Went By is in our list of books we liked when learning to read (and, actually, we still like to read them, although now we like to read them very fast and, sometimes, backwards):
- Green Eggs and Ham
- Angus and the Ducks
Doesn’t rhyme so harder to memorize; funny; cool pictures; not cutesy - Harold and the Purple Crayon
Doesn’t rhyme so harder to memorize; funny; cool pictures; not cutesy; some pretty hard words keep it interesting - A Fly Went By
- Cat in the Hat
- Ready, Set, Read
A wonderful anthology of easy-to-read but not flimsy stories. The story Boris Gets a Cold is a family favorite. - Goodnight, Moon
Cool pictures; not cutesy; some pretty hard words (\”night\”, \”air\”, \”house\”, \”everywhere\” for example) keep it interesting - Little Bear books
- Nutshell Library by Maurice Sendak
Very cool pictures; extremely non-cutesy. Tiny format is another draw. Can be taken anywhere. - The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown, Leonard Weisgard
Doesn’t rhyme so harder to memorize; not cutesy; some pretty hard words in surprising configurations.
See also: Learning to Read.
Book review: Junie B. Jones (series)
Monday, March 13th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
Grandpa strongly objects to the grammatically incorrect language used by the star and first-person narrator of this series of many volumes.
But our daughter delights in Junie’s adventures and loves reading the Junie B. books aloud, and she also enjoys observing to see adults’ reactions.
Book review: Harold and the Purple Crayon
Monday, March 13th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Crockett Johnson |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 5 and under |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 5 and under |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1931 |
Doesn't rhyme so harder to memorize; funny; cool pictures; not cutesy; some pretty hard words keep it interesting | |
| Similar books | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Harold and the Purple Crayon | |
Book review: Green Eggs and Ham
Monday, March 13th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Dr. Seuss |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Learning to read |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Learning to read |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1960 |
| Similar books | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Green Eggs and Ham | |
The stupendous thing about Green Eggs and Ham is that it is full of twisty sentences, each of which is slightly different, but each of which has many words similar to words in other sentences. So our daughter (thank goodness) could not memorize the whole book. And we tried to be finicky, very finicky, about her reading every single word and reading it correctly.
Another trick was to read Green Eggs and Ham backwards. Well, not invert every word. But start at the last page, read the whole page and then turn left toward the front cover rather than right toward the back cover. Messing with the logical progression does not interfere much with the meaning of the story, since it is doggerel. (And, actually, given how fussy an eater our daughter is, ending with refusal to try the proferred food is more appropriate for her than \”I will eat green eggs and ham…\”).
See also Learning to Read.
Book review: The Nutshell Library
Monday, March 13th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Maurice Sendak |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Learning to read |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Learning to read |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1962 |
very cool pictures; extremely non-cutesy | |
| Similar books | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Nutshell Library | |
Book review: The Important Book
Monday, March 13th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Margaret Wise Brown |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 5 and under |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 5 and under |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1949 |
Doesn't rhyme so harder to memorize; not cutesy; some pretty hard words in surprising configurations | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Important Book, The | |
Book review: The Red Tent
Monday, March 13th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Anita Diamant |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups |
| Genre: | fiction, historical |
| Year of publication: | 1997 |
Riff on life of biblical woman, Dinah | |
A passage in the book of Genesis refers to Dinah, the only daughter of Joseph. Dinah's brothers "avenged" her by killing her husband and all his men. Diamant's novel gives voice to Dinah, who is granted only this one passage in the Bible. In so doing, Diamant muses on the way the roles of women changed as Abraham's descendants' allegiance to the single God, El, became stronger. Contrasts in an interesting way with The King Must Die, which also describes a transition from a culture where women were acknowledged to possess some divinity to one in which male deities were ascendent. -- Emily Berk | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Red Tent, The | |
Book review: Song of the Gargoyle
Monday, March 13th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | Zilpha Keatly Snyder |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1991 |
Working class fairy tale | |
Boy in trouble meets gifted gargoyle and together they quest to find the boy's heritage, father, and place in the world. As with other books by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, it's hard to differentiate between magic and reality here. This book contrasts interestingly with Adam of the Road, in which the quest is just as desperate, but the boy must make his way on his own. -- Emily Berk | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Song of the Gargoyle | |
Book review: At the Back of the North Wind
Monday, March 13th, 2006 | Tweet |
| Tell friends about this blog entry | |
| Author: | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: | |