Wise Words, by Peter J. Leithart

This seems to be the month for re-reading books! The kids and I shared Wise Words together back in 2013 and liked it so much I shelved it for another re-read. We spent 18 weeks on this title, focusing on one story per week alongside one chapter of Proverbs at a time. The kids loved at our first reading of this book and only our oldest vaguely recalled some of the tales so it was practically brand new! (It's helpful when you start reading aloud to your children young as then you can enjoy your favorite stories over and over again -- until they stick!)

I'm going to borrow part of my old review in describing what this book is about in case it is new to you.

Wise Words is a collection of eighteen fairy-tale style stories which each have their own moral, based on a Proverbs (from the Bible). Each story is roughly 3 pages long and is full of princesses, kings, peasants, jewels, wizards, apples and nuts. If you are looking to teach your children morals through stories, this is a collection you might consider.

Just as the Book of Proverbs assures us, all stories do not have a happy ending and this book follows that reality. The characters within who make foolish choices, or who are full of pride and arrogance, meet difficult to doomed endings. Those that seek to do right meet with success and their own happily-ever-afters. The stories are not neat and tidy and, I would say, are rather on the edgy side. I would liken them more to Grimm than you'll find in most picture books these days but I did not mind this as it kept my children in rapt attention. We were never able to relax in any one particular story because you were never sure of the ending. Wickedness is not pretty and it is not supposed to be. Sin is not a happy thought, especially that which is not confessed and dealt with!

At the conclusion of every story there is a moral in the form of one verse from the Book of Proverbs. For example, the story of The Fragrant Garden teaches that a false witness will not go unpunished (Prov. 19:5), The Monster's House teaches that a man's ways are ordained by the Lord (Prov. 20:24), and A Cloud of Birds teaches that wealth is fleeting (Prov. 23:5).

I like the uniqueness of Wise Words as a devotional book. I'm not usually the "devotional" sort and so appreciated stories with a moral attached. Our kids just assumed we were reading stories and that's rather how I like it. All of life is an example to us of how to do right and hate evil. Whether it be from the people in our lives who provide examples, to the movies and tv we watch, to the books we read, there is always something for us to learn. If you have an interest in working through the Book of Proverbs with your kids and are looking for resources to help you out, this might be one that you would want to consider. It's definitely a bit off the beaten path but the journey is surprising and fun.

Mercy Watson to the Rescue, by Kate DiCamillo

Ok, we are very behind on the band wagon on this one but I'm pretty sure this is a case of being better late than never. Last year the character of Mercy Watson turned 10 years old. I was invited to review this lovely series of books written by Kate DiCamillo. Having never read them before, and having a burgeoning reader in Bookworm2 (age 6 1/2), I thought we should probably give these a whirl. While Bookworm1 (age 9) is a voracious reader and quite advanced for his age, Bookworm2 is a little bit more reticent. He wants to read but it's harder for him to learn than it was his older brother. As you know, what works for one child doesn't always work for another and I'd been a bit desperate to find a set of chapter books which would make for more easy reading for my second born. People have suggested graphic novels but I'm personally adverse to them (because I'm a snob, ok?). If I can go on avoiding graphic novels, I will. I liked the looks of Mercy Watson though because the story is streamlined and complete without the flash and dash which I find distracting(-to-unappealing) in graphic novels. Yet still, there are plenty of full colored illustrations in the Mercy Watson books to give them that picture book feel and quality which provides a nice bridge between picture and chapter books.

The first two titles in the Mercy Watson books arrived and Bookworm2 and I sat down to give Mercy Watson to the Rescue a go. In case you are unfamiliar with this character you should know that Mercy Watson is a pig who is in love with buttered toast. Mercy is sort of oblivious to the goings on of the rest of the world. She lives for pleasure and the received love of her people. Mercy lives with Mr. and Mrs. Watson who considered Mercy to be their "baby." They pamper and spoil Mercy and fill her up with all the buttered toast that her little piggy heart could desire.

One night, the Watsons are all asleep in their bed on the second floor of their home, dreaming pleasant dreams. Suddenly, they are awoken by a loud crack which is the floor giving way. The bed becomes to crash through the floor and the ceiling below. None of the Watsons are sure what the noise was but the awakened Mercy heads towards the kitchen in search of toast. Misadventures lead to misadventures and we meet the elderly Lincoln sisters who live next door, as well as the town firemen. Ultimately, Mercy is credited with having saved the Watsons from their bed troubles and everyone enjoys a midnight snack of buttered toast. All's well that end's well. We finished up our read in high spirits.

Bookworm1 was as proud as punch to have read his first full chapter book completely by himself. I, as his mother, was probably more excited than he was. We both loved Mercy Watson to the Rescue, although perhaps for slightly different reasons. I loved it because the font size was large, the book is divided into chapters, there are wonderful illustrations throughout, and an actual story of merit was told. There were interesting characters and funny happenings which kept us wondering what was going to happen next. Bookworm2, who has been saying that he wants to read chapter books like his brother, was happy because he finally found a book that allowed him that privilege. Truly, I couldn't be more pleased with this series.

The day after we finished Mercy Watson to the Rescue we continued on with Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride. The charm and the fun continue we find the Watsons enjoying a quiet Saturday morning. Mr. Watson decides to head out for a drive in his pink convertible and Mercy is invited to go for a ride. By all appearances it sounds like it's going to be a calm and pleasant day but that's before Baby Lincoln, one of the elderly ladies who live next door to the Watson, is found hiding out in the backseat of the convertible. It seems as if she is looking for a little excitement in her life and excitement is just what all of the occupants of the vehicle end up finding. It's a cute story and very much in keeping with the first book in the series.

By the time we finished the second book I was completely sold on Mercy Watson. I ordered the third book for Bookworm2 to read and he polished that one off as well. We were sent an additional title or two in the series for review and I'll come back in a few weeks and tell you more about them. We read the first three straight through so quickly that I've held the last three titles back until Bookworm2's birthday which is coming up here shortly. He asked me if there were more Mercy Watson books and I was happy to say, "YES!" I just figured we should space out our books and so for a short time, the last three books in the series have been hiding out in my bedroom closet.

If you have a reluctant reader and you yourself are reluctant about the graphic novels being too hastily recommended to you, take heart! You do not have to go that route if you don't want to! Mercy is a perfect character to start any reader off with, but especially one who needs a little extra help launching from picture to chapter books. I love that Candlewick published these books with the look and feel of a chapter book. It has honestly been a true delight to see Bookworm2 take pride in the fact that he has a chapter book series that belong to him and that he can read. It does both my mother and reading heart good, I tell you what!

I've already stair stepped him over to another series now that he has some confidence in his ability to read harder words and longer stories. But we'll back track to Mercy who is now a very beloved pig in our household.

Many, many, many thanks to Candlewick Press for publishing Mercy Watson books and sending us a few titles to check out for review purposes. Extra special congratulations to Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick and, of course, the Porcine Wonder, on celebrating 10 years! A Belated Happy Birthday to Mercy!

Although I did receive a copy of the first two titles in order to facilitate a review, please rest assured that my opinions are 150% my very own. I received no additional compensation for this post.

The Fox and the Star, by Coralie Bickford-Smith

The Fox and the Star, by Coralie Bickford-Smith is a book which is currently being raved about online. It won Waterstones Book of the Year and Goodreads readers are all agog in the hopes that everyone on earth will read this book. I admit that I was curious too, as it was presented to me as a beautiful book perfect for the holidays. When the UPS man delivered this book to my doorstep, I eagerly ripped open the packaging so that I could feast my eyes upon this promised work of wonder.

It's entirely my fault that I didn't realize the book only has 66 pages. In my mind, I'd built up a classic feeling Christmas tale with gorgeous illustrations and heaps of magic included. Because of my preconceived notions of what I was going to be reading, I felt an immediate let-down when I cracked open the cover and discovered a picture book. Even more disappointing was that it was a picture book not about Christmas or any other holiday for that matter. Despite feeling a little bit of a let down, the book looked beautiful so I gathered the children around and we sat down for a read.

Coralie Brickford-Smith is a name you might not immediately recognize but you will likely be able to identify her illustrations. She is the illustrator for many a Penguin Classic Book. (Check out her website.) The Fox and the Star is entirely written and illustrated by Brickford-Smith which is a treat in itself having been familiar with her work by sight. It's a uniquely illustrated book in that the text is situated - almost camouflaged at times - within the illustrations. The story and images are married to each other in a way that is quite unique in the world of illustrated books. Here is an image of one page spread to give you a general idea of the layout, although this image doesn't necessarily illustrate (har har) my point about the camouflaged text:

The story is simple. It is about a fox who makes friends with a star in the sky. One night the fox is startled and upset to find that he cannot locate his star. He retreats to his den where he spends some period of time feeling lonely and missing his friend. When he comes back out of his den, he begins looking for star when the following message is delivered to him: "Look beyond your ears." When fox looks up at the sky, he discovers a multitude of stars in the sky and he no longer feels alone.

You can probably take a dozen messages or personal applications away from this story. For me, it reads off as being a book about loneliness. As an introvert, I find that I focus only one a few friends at any given time. This isn't intentional rudeness (I try very hard not to be exclusive or rude!) but my energies and attention tend to only go so far. From time to time there's a life "shake up" and a close friend might move away or involve themselves in other things. At any rate, some sort of separation occurs in some natural manner and at those times I tend to feel a sense of loneliness. But when I "look beyond my ears" I always find that God has someone (or someones) waiting in the wings awaiting my attention. Through these friends I find myself blessed beyond measure. All of my friends hold a special place in my heart and life and as I've been (and am continuing to) grow up, I realize that the sky is quite full of stars. This book hinted to me of this.

Just the fact that I experienced a deep emotion from The Fox and the Star makes it an interesting one to discuss. It's not really a book for adults. But it is. It isn't necessarily geared towards kids, yet mine enjoyed it very much. (They liked the fox.) This story does have a certain timeless, classic feel to it but at the same time, I can't exactly state that the story is as beautiful as it could have been or is completely deserving of the hype it is receiving. One Goodreads reader noted that if the story had been told in poetry form, or if there was more of a cadence or pattern to the words, it would have suited the book better. I happen to agree. I think between the illustrations and the fact that the author felt and wanted to communicate some great truth, more thought should have been given to the text. The illustrations are perfect and yes, the text tangles up into it, but it could have been more polished.

I would not say that this book is genius, but I would say its interesting. I wouldn't say it's provocative, but I would say that it promotes some amount of thinking. I don't know that I'd make the claim that this book is even timeless! But I suppose anything is possible. The only thing I will say for The Fox and the Star is that it is unique and that it is wonderfully illustrated.

Did I enjoy it? In the end, I did so, despite the fact that it wasn't all I was expecting it to be. My kids also liked it and I'm glad for that. It's not a holiday specific read. It's probably not one that I would personally want to read again and again but I'm glad to have had the chance to read it at all.

Many thanks to Penguin Books who sent a copy of this book my direction in order to facilitate this review. I received no additional compensation and, as always, all opinions are 100% my own. (This has to be one of the most ridiculous disclaimers to have to keep typing. Have you ever known me to share a thought that was not my own personal opinion?)

Kids' Travel Journal

Taking a cue from Pinterest, our family kept a travel journal over the course of our trip to England which we went on earlier this year. Already that journal has come in handy as I'm piecing together a scrapbook of the trip. It's amazing how quickly you can forget the little details which stood out and made the days memorable. I'm so glad that we took notes as we went along (even if we didn't manage to keep up the pace and document the entire trip - the first half is soundly recorded!).

When we returned home I saw this Kids' Travel Journal from Peter Pauper Press and I was so curious to check it out! I was kindly sent a copy for review. If you have some kids on your Christmas list that you know will be traveling in the coming year, you might (definitely) want to consider this book. I've peeked at a few travel journals and none appealed to me so much as this one did, which I do think is rather practical and which I plan to take along with us on our next adventure.

The following information is essential for the person doing the packing: the dimensions of this journal are 8.4 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches. It's big enough for lots of notes and information to be included in it but thin enough not to be a bear in the suitcase or backpack. It is a hardback book but I think that's fairly important for a travel journal which you hope will hold up under the weight of travel. All in all, I find it to be a manageable size and I don't have any hesitations in deciding to pack it.

I like the fact that this Kids' Travel Journal opens with several pages for pre-travel experiences. There are prompts to get the child to think about where they are going and what the plans are when they get there. There is also a page available to write down what the child would like to see and do while on the adventure which is pretty sweet. Sometimes kids will surprise you in revealing what is most important to them about any given trip. Personally, we think it's a great idea to get input from all family members so that you can better plan a trip which is enjoyable for all ages and interest and this page is remarkably useful to that end.

There are, of course, some pages which I find to be rather impractical and which I can't see us using but that's to be expected in any pre-arranged journal, I think. For instance, I'm not so sure that I'd fill out the pages which allow you to write out your itinerary (which one shall we set aside as a "sick day"?) but those more concerned with sticking to the plan might still enjoy that feature. I also wouldn't list out the "important contacts" on the off chance that the book would get lost but, again, others might find that useful. Do note that this book allows for a 14-day excursion. Depending on what type of trip you'll be on, you will want to consider that.

The later section of the book includes puzzles and games to keep the user occupied which is a clever idea. Those types of pages keep the journal in the hands of the user, encouraging interaction and documentation. There is also what I would call a "trip in review" section where the writer is encouraged to talk about the most memorable aspects of the trip as well as document any unique experiences had when returning home.

Really, if I were going to gift a travel journal to a child, the Kids' Travel Journal would be the one. It's far and away the most useful kids' journal I've run across, with plenty of space to write one's thoughts out and writing prompts that are appropriate, intelligent and helpful. I'm definitely a fan.

This makes for a fun and also practical gift to anyone planning a vacation in the coming year. Just a note to keep it in mind!

Many thanks to Peter Pauper Press who kindly sent a copy of this book my direction in order to facilitate a review. I received no additional compensation and all opinions are 100% my own.

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, by Susan Wojciechowski (Giveaway!)

It is highly likely that I am one of the last people to have read the story of The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, by Susan Wojciechowski. This year the story celebrates its 20th anniversary with a new edition being released from Candlewick Press. Alas, I had not yet made acquaintance with this tale until recently, but am looking forward to enjoying it with my own children as many times possible over the next several years.

On the off chance that I'm not the last person in existence to have read The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, it tells the story of a widower of the same name. Toomey is the best woodcarver in the valley and also a known hermit. After his wife and son's death, he secluded himself from society, not wanting to participate in anything with anyone. One day a widow comes to call on Mr. Toomey with a request that he help make a nativity set for her young son for Christmas. He rather begrudgingly undertakes the work and over the weeks leading up to Christmas he sees more of the widow and her son than he has of anyone else in quite some time. You can likely guess where that relationship is headed. (The cover art provides a very distinct clue!) This story is sadly sweet and terribly predictable, but that's exactly how I like my Christmas stories and so I enjoyed this one very much. If you think this sounds like a story you would like to add to your home collection, I would more than happily recommend it to you.

I am excited to say that Candlewick Press has offered to give away one copy of The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey to one of my readers here at Reading to Know. I like to keep things nice and simple around here when it comes to giveaways. Simply leave a comment in the comment section below and include a valid e-mail address so that I can contact you if your name is selected. This contest is open to U.S. residents only and will be open through Wednesday, November 11th.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNER, as selected by Random.org, is #7 - Abbie. CONGRATS!

Many thanks to Candlewick Press who sent a copy of the above title my direction in order to facilitate this review and giveaway. I received no additional compensation and all opinions are my very own.

Don't miss the other Christmas/gift-themed giveaways happening this week here on the blog (all contests open until the 11/11):

• Page Mates from Peter Pauper Press
• Holiday Tea Trio from Republic of Tea
• Set of 4 Stanley books by William Bee from Peachtree Publishers

Picture Books About London

In continued preparations for our upcoming trip to England I hunted down a few picture books about the city. I have to confess to you that we're not really big city people and the idea of London is somewhat loathsome when consider navigating crowds with small children. We won't be spending a whole lot of time there, but will instead be exploring elsewhere. Nevertheless, it seemed almost sacrilegious to go to England without stopping in London for at least a few days. We do have a couple of activities planned and some sight seeing to do there but we'll be operating more on a "get in, get out" mindset.

My belief is that one of the best ways you can prepare your kids for any sort of journey is to read books about it. Not only is this a convenient and informative method of transferring information to kids, but it's also just plan, good fun.

The first book I picked up was This is London, by M. Sasek. It was first published in 1959 and while some of the information is slightly outdated (e.g., the number of official residents is likely greater than in 1959) the majority of the book is very helpful in giving children an overview of what to expect to see when in this famous city.

The illustrations in This is London can now be considered retro and is therefore cool enough to have been picked up for republication in 2004. You shouldn't have too hard a time locating a copy of this title if you are interested in it and in the reading you'll become familiar with places such as St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, the Thames, Tower Bridge, Hyde Park, and etc.

The second book I'd recommend is called A Walk in London and it was written and illustrated by Salvatore Rubbino. This book is similar to This is London in that Rubbino is interested in offering an overview of London to the young reader. Many of of the same places are mentioned, but repetition never hurt anyone (most of the time).

The difference between this book and the other is that Rubbino wants to tell the readers about London through story (whereas Sasek pretty much sticks to plain facts). In Rubbino's book we visit with a young girl and her mother as they explore the area, visiting places like St. James Park, Covent Garden Piazza and the Underground Bank. Despite these two books having a similar feel to them, and do overlap a bit, they each contain enough different information to make them both worthwhile.

Lastly, we just received a copy of The Queen's Hat, by Steve Antony in the mail from Scholastic Books. What beautiful timing!

This title is just for fun. The Queen is on her way "to visit someone very special" when the wind suddenly sweeps the hat off of her head. The Queen and "the Queen's men" begin chasing her hat all over London (introducing us to landmarks, along the way) until it finally lands on that very special person - the royal baby. All's well that ends well, as they say. The illustrations are what makes this book, in my opinion. The Queen's men can be seen by the hundreds, crawling all over the pages. Their bright red uniforms stand in nice contrast to the simple, faded line drawings which outline streets and buildings in the background. My kids loved this book and I must confess that I did also. I found it altogether adorable and would highly recommend it.

Many thanks to Scholastic Books for sending a copy of The Queen's Hat my direction in order to facilitate a review. I received no additional compensation and these opinions are our very own.

Whether traveling to London or studying up on England and its history, these are books I feel very safe in recommending to others as being useful. Enjoy!

The Tea Party in the Woods, by Akiko Miyakoshi

Recently we were sent a copy of review copies to check out for the kiddos. They always love receiving new books in the mail (they take after their mother) and the following titles were all declared a complete delight.

The Tea Party in the Woods, by Akiko Miyakoshi was the first book we read out of the stack. The author and illustrator lives in Tokyo, Japan which totally makes sense by the time you get to the end of the story (if the name of the author didn't tip you off in the first place). The simplicity and straightforwardness of both the story and the illustrations had a quality to them which tells you that this was not written by an American and sure enough it was first published in Japan. I don't really know how else to explain it but I began reading it before I looked at the author's name or bio and I just knew it didn't originate in America. It's clean, neat, and doesn't err on the side of the ridiculous, despite the story's magical tones.

In this story we read about Kikko who sets out through the woods to bring a pie to her grandmother. Along the way she discovers a strange house full of animal occupants. She is invited in to tea and then the animals accompany Kikko to her grandmother's so that she will not be alone in the woods. She arrives at her grandmother's house, pie intact. Her grandmother opens up the door to welcome her in.

"My dear, did you come all this way on your own?" asked Grandma, stepping inside.
Kikko looked around, but the animals were nowhere to be seen.
"You're never alone in the woods," Kikko answered, smiling.

I absolutely loved this story. In fact, I'm fairly sure that it is going to rank as one of my favorite children's books ever.

Mr. Postmouse's Rounds, by Marianne Dubuc could easily be considered the children's favorite out of this stack and I confess to its cuteness and likability. Curiously to me, this is also not written by an American author and it also shows. Dubuc lives in Quebec. You can tell this book is a little more "American" in that it includes some potty humor in the illustrations but the storyline is cute and you have to really look for the potty humor in order to find it.

In this story Mr. Postmouse is out on his mail rounds, delivering the mail to animals everywhere. He climbs up into trees to deliver to the birds and puts on a scuba diving outfit to deliver to the clown fish in the coral. The super fun aspect of the book are the illustrations which are brilliant. We read the story and then went back through the book again simply to look at the pictures and see what there was to see. As Mr. Postmouse makes his deliveries, you get a glimpse into the animal homes and can see what they are up to and how their homes are decorated. It's very cute and fun. We highly recommend this one.

I Can Roar! is by Frank Asch of Moon Bear fame. This is actually a reprint which is popping up for a new generation of young children to enjoy. (I thought I had seen this title before!) As you can sort of make out from the picture of the cover, the entire book has one gigantic hole cut out. This hole is so that you (or your child, but probably you) can stick your face into it and make the accompanying animal sound. Put your face up to the book and roar like a lion, neigh like a horse, chew like a cow, bark like a dog, etc.

My older kids were curious about this, having never seen anything like it. My three year old was in stitches, laughing. He can highly recommend this to you.

By the way, I'd like to note that American children's book authors can be awesome in their own right. However, I do think that Americans these days tend to like things light, fluffy and rather ridiculous. More recently, too, we're so busy trying to make political points that we fail to tell good stories, forgetting that a good story is the best and only way to really make a point in the first place! We're so concerned with shoving messages in people's faces that we seem to care less about art and skill.

We also seem to suffer from a notion that kids can't focus on anything for more than 2.2 seconds and so our modern stories seem to be full of bright colors, ridiculous-to-poorly written story lines and odd, random fonts. I can't say that I care for that. I so enjoyed the first two titles because they told a story in an engaging way and assumed that children could follow along without trying to be "over the top" in nabbing attention. Simple. Direct. Intelligent. These are the types of books I'm interested in surrounding my children with and I am very pleased with the above titles.

Many thanks to Kids Can Press who sent the above titles my direction in order to facilitate this review. I received no additional compensation and all opinions are 100% my own.

Iceland: Picture Books

We're reading up on Iceland because our trip (later this year) to England takes us to Iceland first. (Crazy cool.)

Trying to find some books about Iceland proved a little bit more difficult than I would have thought. Maybe the task wasn't supposed to be as difficult as I found it to be, but it did take a significant amount of web browsing to collect the following titles. We thought we'd share them with others, just in case you too are planning a trip to Iceland, and/or are learning more about the country for a geography study, and/or because you want to know more about this land where Vikings made their home.

1.

We have several of the Country Explorer books so it made sense to add the one on Iceland to our home collection. This book, like the others, give a great overview of any given country such that kids can understand and connect to the culture. The layout is almost scrapbook in nature, with a photograph or two per page with an accompanying paragraph of information.

This specific book on Iceland tells you about their folk beliefs, the religion found in the area, what they eat, notable wildlife and a short explanation of the language spoken. (There is no way on earth we'll be able to say a single word correctly in Icelandic. Check out this short Youtube video of a few common phrases. (Well, maybe we can at least say "hello" to people.)

*****
2.

Half a Kingdom: An Icelandic Folktale is a very fun book to read. It tells the story of a king who is in love with his wealth but who must face giving away up to half of his kingdom once his son, the prince, is discovered missing. He offers this reward to the person who can find his son and return him to him. Wise and strong men search far and wide for the missing prince. Signy, a poor peasant girl, figures that if everyone else has searched far and wide for the prince with no luck, she will try looking for him close and near.

As you might guess, it is she who finds the prince and helps to rescue him from his captures. It is a happily ever after sort of tale.

*****
3.

Puffling Patrol is a true story written by Caldecott Honor Winners, Ted and Betsy Lewin. Every April, the Westman Islands off the coast of Iceland become home to a vast number of puffins. In August it is time for the young Puffins to make their own way in the world, but some begin their travels by landing in town instead of flying out across the ocean. There is an organized group of children called The Puffling Patrol who search at night for lost baby puffins. They collect the pufflings and then take them back to the sea where they give them a hand taking off, this time in the right direction.

Bookworm1 hopes to catch a glimpse of puffins while on our travels. And yes, he is aware of the fact that Icelanders also eat puffins.

Here's a video explaining more about the Puffling Patrol:

*****
4.

Elfwyn's Saga, by David Wisniewski is no longer in print but you can still find used copies on Amazon. This story is drawn from Icelandic history and legends. We meet Elfwyn who is the recipient of a curse laid upon her family but a rival, Gorm the Grim. Although she is blind, the Hidden Folk have blessed her with the gift of "second sight" and allow her to see things that others cannot. As a result of her blindness, she avoids falling prey to Gorm the Grim and saves her family and the kingdom from complete destruction.

I liked this story quite a bit but I don't think the kids were as "into it" as I was.

*****
5.

The childrens' favorite books were the one immediately above and below. They really enjoyed The Problem With Chickens and How the Ladies Stopped the Wind.

6.

It should be noted that these books are written by an American author but they are set in Iceland. They are illustrated by famed Icelandic artist, Gunnella.

In the first title we meet the ladies from Iceland who are having a difficult time collecting eggs for them to use use. They try collecting from the birds on the cliff but that proves rather problematic.  So the ladies decide to bring chickens to the island to keep them well supplied with convenient eggs. The problem arises when the chickens begin thinking that they are humans and fail to lay. The ladies have to get a little crafty to get the hens laying again.

In the second title the ladies are back with their chickens, both being blown about by the wind which sweeps over Iceland. The ladies decide that they need to plant trees to help block the wind. The problem this time is that the sheep are eating up all of the saplings and eventually the ladies have to settle for trees growing up in town but not in the countryside.

My kids absolutely loved these two titles. They giggled and laughed throughout the reading of both, leaving me with these words to say unto you: highly recommended.

If any of you out there have some additional titles to recommend on or about Iceland that you have found particularly enjoyable, well, I'm all ears! Do share your suggestions in the comment section below.

Other posts of interest:

*Viking Picture Books and Resources

Viking Picture Books and Resources

When your five year old expresses an interested in learning about Vikings, exactly what are you supposed to do? I poked around and asked a few friends for suggestions but no one had any specific titles to point me towards. My kids are all currently ages 8 and under so I was very interested in finding some titles that weren't all about the blood and the gore. With no suggestions, it became clear I was going to have to take a gamble and see what I could find. When it came to purchasing books about the Vikings I really appreciated Amazon's "Look Inside" feature. It helped me to get a feel for some of the titles, several of which I bypassed as being inappropriate for my children's ages.

Some of the titles I share below were purchased on Amazon and some were found by perusing the shelves of our local used bookstores.

#1 - Viking Settlers, by Fiona MacDonald.

Note: This is not a picture of the actual book. I can't find one online (which is a pity). (I might update this post with an actual picture of the copy I found.) This book was published in 1992 and would appear to be out of print, which is a real shame. The cover art is actually nicely done and very appealing. Viking Settlers is fully illustrated by Maggie Downer. Each page spread paints a scene of the Vikings building ships, sailing, building homes and, yes, attacking monasteries. When the Vikings are depicted in battle it shows them hovering over their victims with swords in hand. No blood, but you get the idea. In this book MacDonald covers topics such as Viking homelands, what they ate, how they traveled, and their death and burial practices. The book concludes with a timeline of events for the Vikings which is helpful piecing together their history.

I'm a big fan of this book and if you can lay your hands on a copy, do!

#2 - Who Were the Vikings?, an Usborne Staring Point History.

The Vikings look a little bit more, um, threatening than they do in Viking Settlers. Like many of Usborne's history books, it is filled with lots of illustrations and paragraphs of information scattered about the pages. Although the book is ordered out out much like Viking Settlements, it does feel more chaotic given the fact that there's hardly an inch of paper that is not covered with text or illustrations. It's a very busy book! However, it is also useful in providing information. Who Were the Vikings? is also illustrated and, like the above title, there is nothing gruesome contained within. The two books combined helped to solidify what we were learning  and, as is usually the case, each book you read on any given topic tends to add another layer of understanding. This book is likely easier to get a hold of and I have no objections to sharing it with small children.

#3 - DK Eyewitness Books: Viking.

I liked this book because it contained photographs of Viking relics. We read through our books on Vikings over the course of a week (one book a day, followed by a documentary which I'll share below) and we saved this title for last. At this point, the kids were getting a good picture of who the Vikings were, where they came from and how they lived. It was interesting for all of us to see photographs of Viking swords, cups, pendants, ships, etc.

Much like the Usborne book, this DK edition is also full of facts and visuals. However, I found it slightly less distracting of a title due to the photography. It didn't feel like a bunch of doodles filled the pages. The artifacts displayed made you feel more like you were taking in a museum exhibit instead of necessarily reading a book if that makes sense. At the conclusion of this book there are several pages with more detailed information about famous Viking rulers, adventurers, writers and historians, etc. I highly recommend this title to anyone wanting to learn about the Vikings with their younger children.

#4 - The Vikings: Facts, Stories, Activities. This title was published by Scholastic in 1991. It also appears to be out of print.

The only slightly creepy illustrations in this book are the faces of the Viking gods. Otherwise everything and everyone looks pretty normal. I like the layout of this book (although it does feature the same busy format as the titles already mentioned) in that the paragraphs of information seem decently spread from the illustrations. This title includes a story about the Viking gods ("Thor Visits the Land of the Giants") which is included in the famous Sagas. Scattered throughout the book are a couple of ideas for some Viking crafts that you can do if you so choose.

#5 - Leif the Lucky by Ingri and Edgar Daulaire.

This tells the story of famous Viking explorer, Leif the Lucky, who set sail from his home and family in Greenland and discovered North America. Actually it was Leif, not Christopher Columbus, who was the first European who set foot on North America. I'm not sure what that does about our Columbus Day but it's good to know the facts. This title is delightfully illustrated and all of my children enjoyed hearing Leif's tale.

Lastly I wanted to share about a kid-safe documentary on the Vikings. Of course, you will have to decide whether or not your own children are ready for this but we enjoyed it. (I previewed it before showing it to them.)

Vikings: Journey to the New World

This documentary focuses primarily on the Viking expansion in the west. It discusses their move to Iceland and Erik the Red's temporary banishment which led to him exploring Greenland. From there Erik the Red's son Leif set out to discover new lands which, of course, led him to North America. This film does reference the fact that the Vikings were known to be fierce warriors (it opens with the attack on Lindisfarne) but it stresses the point that many Vikings were farmers and explorers.

Although this film does show the attack on Lindisfarne, it simply shows the Vikings approaching the monks and then the screen quickly blacks out. Next a video of a Viking slashing his sword appears on the screen and then also instantly fades to black again. There is no visual of anyone being attacked and nothing frightening appears on the screen. The only other tense moment is when the Inuit Indians are approaching the Viking camp (North America) to kill the explorers. Bookworm1 was starting to feel a little anxious as the Viking tent was surrounded, but I assured him that nothing scary would be seen and that settled him.

I really appreciated the fact that someone bothered to make a fairly informative documentary on the Vikings without delving into battle, death and gore. Yes, of course, we will learn more about this side of the Vikings as the children age but below the age of eight I truly don't think it's necessary to dwell on such subjects. You can know that the Vikings were warriors but you don't need to witness a killing to fully comprehend. This documentary suited our needs perfectly and I'd recommend it to parents looking for resources. However, I'd issue the caveat that when it comes to learning about the Vikings, any resource you decide to pick up really needs to be previewed by the parent before showing it to the kids.

One note of complaint: I don't know who produced this documentary but a man with a North American accent provides the commentary. He did not know how to correctly pronounce Richard Wagner's last name, nor the word "saga" which drove me nuts. It seems to me that they could have educated themselves as to correct pronunciation. I don't know why they didn't.

All in all, I've been happy with the above titles and if this helps another person to find books that they feel comfortable with then it's all good.

Of course, I'm interested in learning about more materials and resources on the Vikings. If anyone out there has a suggestion to make, I'm all ears!