Love 2 Learn.net

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Review:

The best and most memorable lessons are taught through stories, and this gorgeous picture book will teach an unforgettable one. The Weight of a Mass is written in a fairy-tale style and enhanced by rich watercolor illustrations. It will appeal equally well to both boys and girls through countless re-readings.

Said to be based on a true event, the story unfolds as a poor, elderly woman begs for a crust of bread in a bakery. The baker scoffs at her request and demands to know what she will pay. Penniless, the woman offers to hear Mass for the giver of the bread in exchange. To prove that her offer is worthless, the baker writes "One Mass" on a slip of paper and places it on one side of a balance. As more and more delicacies are added to try to balance the scale, the slip of paper demonstrates miraculously that there is nothing on earth of greater value than the Mass.

This book is the perfect gift for a First Communicant, an adult who needs a gentle reminder of the value of their Faith, or anyone who enjoys reading to a child. Our children each have a "treasure chest" of things that they will take with them when they are grown and begin their own homes and families. I am purchasing a copy of this book for each of my children to place in their treasure chests. It deserves all of the awards that it has earned!

Perspective:

Catholic

Reviewed by:

Susan Kalis

First reviewed:

2-23-05

There's a Frog in My Throat

440 Animal Sayings a Little Bird Told Me

Author(s):

Loreen Leedy

Pat Street

Number of pages:

48 pages

2003

Publisher:

Holiday House

Subject(s):

Grade / Age level:

Resource Type:

Review:

This is a clever, very colorful picture book with a simple purpose. It illustrates, with funny little cartoon illustrations, hundreds (440 to be exact) of common expressions in the English language that involve animals, such as: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." "Mad as a hornet." "I have butterflies in my stomach." "You're putting the cart before the horse." A short definition of the phrase's meaning is also included. This is a fun idea for exploring our language and it's amazing just how many expressions fit into this category? I like how there's a certain connectivity between different themes and they modernized some old-fashioned clip-art for some of the illustrations. This will be enjoyed by preschoolers all the way through the elementary school years.

Reviewed by:

First reviewed:

6-27-2009

Tomie dePaola's Book of Bible Stories

New International Version

Author(s):

Tomie dePaola

Illustrator(s):

Tomie dePaola

Number of pages:

127 pages

1973

ISBN / ID:

9780399216909

Publisher:

G.P. Putnam / Zondervan

Binding:

Sewn Hardcover

Subject(s):

Grade / Age level:

Resource Type:

Review:

Tomie de Paola is a unique illustrator with artwork in a woodcut or icon-like style (I can't decide which.) I thought his artwork was more suited to The Lady of Guadalupe but I like the content of his Bible stories and appreciate the "Index of Bible Text" in the back. This would be a suitable book for acquainting preschoolers with the major stories of the Bible.

I have found that some stories are a little hard to understand because too many details have been left out in making them simpler for young children. I was bothered by the fact that the Crucifixion scene is so simplified that both thieves mock Jesus - missing entirely one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible, of the good thief. Also, quite simply, I have a big pet peeve about stories and movies that turn a real-life good guy into a bad guy for the sake of the story or artistic license.

Perspective:

Catholic

Additional notes:

Many similar editions available (it appears the "New international edition" was the 1990 reprint)

Reviewed by:

First reviewed:

1998-99

Twenty-Odd Ducks

Why, Every Punctuation Mark Counts!

Author(s):

Lynne Truss

Illustrator(s):

Bonnie Timmons

Number of pages:

32 pages

2008

ISBN / ID:

9780399250583

Publisher:

G.P. Putnam's Sons

Binding:

Sewn Hardcover

Subject(s):

Language Arts

Grade / Age level:

Elementary

Resource Type:

Review:

Lynne Truss does it again, this time stressing the correct use of the hyphen, parenthesis, question and exclamation marks and also more comma use. I feel that my younger kids will have a wonderful and visual grasp of punctuation as they grow up exposed to Truss' humor and fresh approach to grammar! If you haven't enjoyed her first punctuation picture books, don't miss them: Eats, Shoots and Leaves and The Girl's like Spaghetti!

Reviewed by:

First reviewed:

January 22, 2009

What Bluebirds do

Author(s):

Pamela F. Kirby

Number of pages:

48 pages

2009

ISBN / ID:

1590786149

Publisher:

Boyds Mills Press

Binding:

Softcover

Subject(s):

Birds

Resource Type:

Review:

We picked a full bag of mostly new picture books from the library as we don't visit it as often as during the school year. Several new publications were examined by my review team – our children. Some were bold, creative, large and colorful. Fiction, informational, biographies: we read many different books over a number of days. In my mind as I hear their comments and listen or watch their reading enjoyment I run my own elimination process.

A simple, quiet, gentle book was the clear winner this time, beating all of its "louder" competitors: What Bluebirds Do, by Pamela Kirby. It won all of our hearts with the true photographic story of a pair of bluebirds in the backyard of the author's house. Beautiful photography, a list of resources, and a careful description of the bluebirds' life are combined into the most delightful nature-book we have come across in a while!

Reviewed by:

First reviewed:

July 30, 2009

What's The Deal?

Jefferson, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase

Author(s):

Rhoda Blumberg

Number of pages:

144 pages

1999

ISBN / ID:

9780792270133

Publisher:

Scholastic

Subject(s):

Setting:

Grade / Age level:

Resource Type:

Review:

National Geographic published some longer, generously illustrated non-fiction picture books, and this is one of them. A great aid to any homeschool's History curriculum. We have picked up several different titles from the library like this one. I, for one, learned a lot! From their site:

This entertaining saga brings a legendary land deal to life. Over 60 reproductions of art from the period, a cast of characters, maps, a timeline, endnotes, a bibliography, and index give young readers all the resources they need to understand the period in which the Purchase took place.

Reviewed by:

First reviewed:

January 29, 2009

Who Carved the Mountain?

The Story of Mount Rushmore

Author(s):

Jean L. S Patrick

Illustrator(s):

Renee Graef

Number of pages:

32 pages

2005

ISBN / ID:

9780975261743

Publisher:

Mount Rushmore History Association

Binding:

Sewn Hardcover

Subject(s):

Setting:

Grade / Age level:

Resource Type:

Review:

Our family was delighted to visit Mount Rushmore recently, along with several other Love2Learn families. Since we live in South Dakota, Mount Rushmore books have prominent and permanent displays in our library system's many branches. Who Carved the Mountain saw the inside of our weekly library bag many times and became our favorite Mount Rushmore picture book. When I saw the warm, familiar cover at the Mount Rushmore gift shop's window, I could not resist it: I went inside resolutely and by the time I came out, our family was the proud owner of a copy of this beautifully illustrated volume!

Who Carved the Mountain features the many people associated with Mount Rushmore in attractive, friendly and educational double-spread pages. There are twelve of these, depicting Doane Robinson who first thought of the project, artist Borglum, the four presidents, the project's workers and more. Pictured in warm colors and rich in detail, they are also described in verse and on an interesting-tidbits-full sidebar. The text on each page is just enough, providing both brief enough descriptions and meaty enough content. The verses are told in a first person perspective:

The Pointer

I am the pointer
I make the marks on the mountain

First, I work in Borglum’s studio
I measured the models of our presidents
And I multiplied each number by twelve.

I loved the math, the complicated math.
The mouths would be eighteen feet wide!

Next I climbed Mount Rushmore.
With a pointing machine and a paintbrush
I marked measurements on the rock.

The workers knew exactly where to drill
Because I made the marks on the mountain.

Who drilled the holes in the mountain?

Each set of verses lead up to next person to be described: the stone carver, the "power man", the presidents, Borglum and his son--they are all there. The sidebars offer a biographical sketch and curious and interesting facts about each one. Illustrator Renee Graef, known to Catholic homeschoolers as the Laura Ingalls' picture books illustrator who captured so well the original Garth Williams pictures, and from Melissa Wiley's books' covers, did a fabulous job bringing the feeling of the Black Hills to her illustrations, as well as the historical and complex technical details of the carving. Her portraits of the four presidents sitting by their desks are also warm, rich and just lovely to enjoy.

Reviewed by:

First reviewed:

1-30-2008

William Shakespeare's The Tempest

Author(s):

Marianna Mayer (adapted by)

Illustrator(s):

Lynn Bywaters

2005

Subject(s):

Literature

Grade / Age level:

All ages

Resource Type:

Review:

Unequalled, lavish artwork on two-page spreads include inset text boxes that incorporate the story into the art. The plot is written in prose, although the more difficult vocabulary is more appropriate for upper elementary and older students. Richly detailed illustrations capture the reader’s attention, telling the story without words. If you intend to introduce The Tempest, this version is not to be missed! You can view some preview pages from this book at Google Books.

Reviewed by:

Susan Kalis

First reviewed:

1-26-2009

What Will I Eat?/Quid Edam?

Author(s):

Marie Carducci Bolchazy

Illustrator(s):

Michelle Kathryn Fraczak

Number of pages:

60 pages

2002

ISBN / ID:

9780865165427

Publisher:

Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers

Binding:

Softcover

Subject(s):

Latin

Resource Type:

Supplement

Review:

Lots of silly black-and-white pictures (which will likely appeal to certain funny-bones) and simple text introduce readers to the Latin words for many types of food. You'll find a monster eating pizza, a cow suggesting pork instead of beef, a hot dog enjoying a soda and... lots of good Latin content. Not my favorite book in this series, but perhaps not a bad way to introduce young children to some relevant Latin vocabulary. Young readers will probably not be ready to translate all the sentences on their own, but they can learn to recognize basic words and get a feel for the sound of the language.

Additional notes:

Donated for review by Bolchazy-Carducci

Reviewed by:

Electricity and Magnetism

First reviewed:

8-2-04

What Makes a Magnet?

Author(s):

Franklyn M. Branley

Illustrator(s):

True Kelley

Number of pages:

32 pages

1996

ISBN / ID:

9780064451482

Publisher:

Harper Collins

Binding:

Softcover

Subject(s):

Grade / Age level:

Elementary

Resource Type:

Review:

What Makes a Magnet? constitutes a fairly substantial introduction to magnets for children approximately ages 5 to 9. They are invited to do a little discovery for themselves by doing some "fishing" with a magnet in a box of miscellaneous objects and see what things the magnet will pick up. The book goes on to explain that magnets pick up, not everything made of metal, but objects which contain iron in particular. Also explained are how to make your own magnet and compass, the poles of magnets and the earth, and the history of the discovery of the first magnets (lodestones) and how they were used for early navigation. This is a very nice early science book (despite a few "corny" pictures) because of the rich content in a simple format and how the book actively involves the child in the learning process.

Reviewed by: