The first thing that A Butterfly Called Hope
If you, your kids and/or your grandkids are ever planning to have your own butterfly garden, this is a good title to have on hand to read along with your project. In this story a young girl finds a caterpillar in her mother's garden. She begins asking her mother questions about it and is informed that it will not hurt her and will, in fact, grow into a beautiful butterfly. They decide to keep the caterpillar, housing it through its transformation and the girl gets to see the process unfold before her eyes. Thanks to the photographs, we do as well.
I really liked this title. It's one worth checking out for its simple, straight forward explanation and lovely photos.
The Fort on Fourth Street: A Story About the Six Simple Machines
The focus of the story is on the simple machines which are used to piece this fort together. It's a clever way to show the value and use of machines and tools in creating. I like that aspect a lot. Even if I'm not number-oriented (and avoid anything that smells like math in general).
The purpose behind Anybody Home?
There is also information given about whether the animals within this story are diurnal or nocturnal. Another nice touch is a page of information about maps and grids (as the main character in this story was hunting for a new home and traveling about). Cleverly done!
Animal Helpers is a series of books by Sylvan Dell and Animal Helpers - Zoos
Again, we're back with photographs which I really think help explain what the people in this book are doing (i.e., taking care of zoo animals). This title is definitely one to mark down and read if you are planning a trip to the zoo anytime soon. Reading this will get your kids excited about their upcoming (or previous) experiences viewing giraffes, monkeys and rhinos. It also makes them to consider what it would be like if they were to grow up and work at the zoo.
And the picture of the polar bear being fed with a gigantic bottle on the front cover? Seriously. Pure cuteness.
What is your family's idea of The Perfect Pet
I really don't know a child who doesn't dream of having a pet some day. This book encourages them to be asking for and thinking about pets so you may choose to stealthy avoid this title. It takes a look at different animals and their needs as you decide on a pet that is just right for you. You see, a tiger would be hard to take for a walk, an octopus wouldn't fit into your water tank and a crocodile would be very hard to bathe in one's tub. Alas.
In the end the kid decides on a dog which is a good pet, right? (Ask me that after my new puppy is completely house-trained! ha!)
Lastly there is Dino Tracks
Happily, the main text only uses the phrase "long ago" when speaking of when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. This satisfies the (literal 6-day) Creationist in me. (Again, if you are going to present the concept of evolution to children then I think its fair that you should argue the idea of creation with them as well. There is plenty of evidence. Assume the child can make up their own minds on such topics.) I can't say whether the information in the back of the book is evolutionary or not but I would expect so.
The nice thing is that the story itself (told in rhyme) just talks about fossilized footprints which have been found on the earth and the story speculates as to what the dinosaurs who made such marks must have been like. I'm ok with a guess as long as you say up front that it is a guess!
You can look inside any of these books by clicking on the Amazon links and checking out the "look inside" feature. That'll give you a better feel for any particular title. Also check out their website for more information on the books as well as activities to go along with each read.
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNER, as selected by random.org, is #16 - Traveler. Congrats!
In the meantime, my thanks to Sylvan Dell for allowing us the opportunity to check these books out. I have received no additional compensation for this review and all opinions expressed are my own.
17 comments:
What a generous giveaway!
texasrainbow2006@yahoo.com
That simple machines book looks fabulous, as do several more of the titles. We'd love to win! :)
Hello Carrie, I'm the illustrator of Dino Tracks and appreciate your review a lot. It's very interesting for me to get a creationist's view on a book about dinosaurs. I hope you find the book but I'm personally taking it as a compliment that your kiddos snatched it up. Thank you for the taking the time to review Sylvan Dell's fall list.
What an awesome set of books! I would love to acquire a set for our future kiddo. :)
And I saw it mentioned on FB! ;)
We would love to win these!
jesslburke@hotmail.com
I added A Butterfly Called Hope to my list! I'm hoping to do the butterfly garden experiment with the boys sometime this/next year for "school". It sounds perfect to go with it!
I saw your FB post.
bluerosesheart at yahoo dot com
I saw this on fb and shared!
And I would LOVE to own these!
Sounds great. Count me in! Mirlandra at gmail
I would love to share the butterfly garden book with my daughter's class! These do look fabulous. Love the LONG AGO in the dino book, too!! :)
thissimplemom at gmail dot com
I saw this on FB!
Wow, looks like a great set this season! I think they would be well-loved here. :) arklein29 at gmail dot com
And I saw it on Facebook ;)
This giveaway is special and delightful. many thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
A lovely set of books. thanks for this giveaway. elliotbencan(dot)hotmail(dot)com
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