2 comments about It's Spring, Blue!.

1. I bought this book for my 2 year old daughter. She loves books and I try to get her ones that hold her attention. She really likes Blue and all her friends. In this story she tries to help a lost duck find it's way home. Along the way they find other springtime animals that need help finding things. There are stickers that come with the book and you can put them where you want on the pages. Children like stickers. My daughter loved this book and carries it everywhere!



2. A little too verbose for Baby-Preschool range. The story and artwork were great, but I had to edit the story-line to shorten the amount of time spent on each page. My child loves to read, but can became inpatient if we spend too much time in one spot. Also, other parents have complained to me, though the kids love it---stickers everywhere!!!

1 comments about Eggs for Everyone! (Dora the Explorer Ready-to-Read).

1. The Easter Bunny brought this book to my 3 1/2 year old daughter. We have read this book every night since Easter. It has pictures inserted within the sentences so kids can participate too. Clever idea-love these kind of books!

5 comments about Benjamin's Box.

1. This book is a tradition for our family -- our kids eagerly anticipate getting it out of the "Easter" box every spring. The illustrations are very beautiful yet very kid-friendly -- I *loved* the fact that they show children who (despite their era-appropriate clothing) look like any child you'll see today riding down the street on a skateboard. Also, Jesus has dark hair -- the illustrator didn't turn our thoroughly Jewish Lord into a blond haired, blue eyed European as so many artists do. Kudos for that! I can't recommend this book highly enough!



2. I heard a mother tell of reading this book to her children for Easter. My own son is now an adult ( no children yet) but I felt so strongly about the message of the book that I am buying it for my husband's grandchildren.



3. If you are Catholic this book has one sentence in the Last Supper section that refers to the Eucharist as "symbolic." But the book is so great otherwise parents just black out one word and use it. GREAT KIDS BOOK!



4. Our family really loves this story about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The young Jewish boy, Benjamin tells the story of Holy Week from his perspective. As he encounters Jesus through the week, he collects items for his treasure box that his grandfather, a shepard present in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth, had given him. His grandfather had included "hay" from the manger of baby Jesus. The very popular "Resurrection Eggs" can be used with the book, but are not required. This is a must for your Resurrection Day library!



5. Great book for Easter season... pics are really nice and it is brief, making it a good read for the very young as well as older kids...

No comments about The Easter Cave.

2 comments about Happy Easter!.

1. My daughter had been obsessed with the Sparkle and Shimmer series since she was 9 months. She loves to touch all the different textures. The pictures and text are all simple and appealing. We never get tired of these books and have read them about 10000 times!



2. Adorable book which I gave to my daughter for easter. I think she really enjoys all the textures displayed; I know I do. I wish I had this book as a child. And its short in sweet, enough text and pictures to capture the minds of infants on up.

No comments about Diego's Egg Quest (Go, Diego, Go!).

1 comments about Easter (Rookie Read-About Holidays).

1. This book provides good information on Easter and is easy to read for those still in the emergent stages. My students enjoy the rookie reads for clarifying information and getting a clearer idea on a topic.

1 comments about The Great Easter Egg Hunt.

1. Young Tommy awakes on Easter morning to find that his clever Aunt Jeanne is leading him on another one of her holiday-themed journeys. This one, however, leaves Tommy following a white rabbit in a pink vest through an Easter wonderland. Throughout Tommy's adventure, he meets up with a 10-foot-tall chocolate rabbit, encounters an egg factory, is introduced to a noisy jelly bean machine, and even attends an Easter Parade down Fifth Avenue. One that features many things that don't belong, such as Santa Claus, and a leprechaun. But it's not until Tommy makes it to the egg-shaped palace of the Great Easter Bunny that he is reunited with his beloved Aunt Jeanne.
   
   Michael Garland is not only a talented artist, but wonderful at creating a holiday-themed I SPY-esque book that will keep young readers occupied for hours upon hours as they search for various hidden pictures. Tommy is a fun character who follows an adorable white bunny - a la ALICE IN WONDERLAND - in an attempt to meet up with the Great Easter Bunny himself, as well as his aunt. Garland shows here that he is a talented prose-writer, and weaves an entertaining story that must be read over and over again. THE GREAT EASTER EGG HUNT is the perfect gift to leave in your young readers Easter basket this year.
   
   Erika Sorocco
   Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

4 comments about The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story.

1. Their are not that many books for Middle Eastern students. A Cinderella book was sorely missing and this one will please my students immensely.



2. This is a Cinderella type story that takes place in the middle east. It takes some tradional customs and places them in a context that is easy for the western student to understand. A great book for fans of Cinderella, too.



3. "The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story" is based on the Iraqi folktale of "The Little Red Fish and the Clog of Gold" retold by Rebecca Hickox with illustrations by Will Hillenbrand. Cinderella in this case is a young girl named Maha. Her widowed father is a fisherman who has to be away from home often so Maha has been wishing for him to remarry the kindly neighbor lady who has a daughter of her own. Maha gets her wish, but in the great tradition of such characters her stepmother makes her do all the work and only lets her eat dried dates. Then one day Maha throws a red fish back into the water, sparing its life, and the wish tells her "call for me any time and ask what you will." So it is that the magic fish helps Maha prepare for the big event in town, the Grand Henna and shows her stepsister the penalty for trying to be mean to Maha. Then there is Tariq, the brother of a rich merchant, who finds the golden sandal and searchers for its owner.

   Obviously the attraction here is not only the unique variation on the familiar Cinderella theme but the fact that this is an Iraqi story, since "The Golden Sandal" clearly shows that there are some things American kids have in common with Iraqi kids even when a glass slipper becomes a golden sandal. Hillenbrand works in some nice Middle Eastern architecture into his art along with the strategic use of the color red. In the back of the book both the author and the illustrator explain how there research of this story informed the telling and the illustrating of the tale. If you like variations on the familiar Cinderella theme look out for Nina Jaffe's "The Way Meat Loves Salt: A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Tradition," Ai-Ling Louie's "Yeh-shen, a Cinderella Tale from China," and Penny Pollock's "Turkey Girl: A Zuni Cinderella," which are just a few of the many versions out there. "The Golden Sandal" is one of the better of these tales out there and it has the added virtue of being timely given world events.




4. The golden sandal by Rebecca Hickhox
   
   
   Once there was a girl and her mom died when she was little, so there neigheior maired the dad. So then Maha goes and takes the fish and home. Then she lets one go then her mom gets mad at her. Then she gets clothes from the fish for a ball. Later she gets to sit by the wife because they think she is rich. The next day they find her shoe. Then the man goes to her house and she is locked up in a jailhouse and they hear screaming and they open the door and the sandal fits her.
   
   The theme of this story is Good versus Evil because her stepmother is being mean to her and she gets to marry the Prince and Good wins. The message of this book is `Don't judge a book by its cover', because they think she is ugly but she is not. The genre of this book is fantasy fiction because there is no such thing as a fairy godmother. The audience of this book is for people who are having problems with their families because Cindy has problems with her family.
   
   
   I like the setting in Iraq because it is usually suppose to be somewhere we don't know about. I love the fairy Godmother because it is suppose to be a fairy, but it is a fish. I love the trickery because the fairy Godfish told the little girl to take a gold coin out of his mouth and pretend she sold it. I love the characters because they don't live a normal life. I love the bad guys because they are really funny. I like the illustrations because they are really cool.

2 comments about J Is for Jesus: An Easter Alphabet And Activity Book.

1. Easter is a wonderful time! It's a celebration with jelly beans, bunnies, bright baskets filled with green artificial grass and those glorious dyed eggs that children will search for in all the nooks and crannies. But it is truly special because God loves us so much he gave us a special gift.
   
   Debbie Trafton O'Neal has created an Easter book that will help children learn about Holy Week and Easter and learn the alphabet through verse. There are also activities for children and adults to make together: a place mat, table runner, window paintings, banner and diorama.
   
   The illustrations are bold and colorful and just the thing to draw children into the fun of learning.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: J is for Jesus: An Easter Alphabet and Activity Book is a perfect Easter gift for your special child.
   



2. This is the best Easter book I have found to date! J is for Jesus: An Easter Alphabet and Activity Book is written by Debbie Trafton O'Neal and illustrated by Jan Bryan-Hunt. It clearly teaches children about the Holy Week and the reasons we celebrate Easter without being too complicated, too advanced, too secular or too boring. Readers follow Jesus from the triumphant entry (Palm Sunday) through the last supper, His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension.
   
   Rather than forcing the story into an alphabetical order (as most alphabet books do), the author tells the story first, then highlights words within the sentence that feature the alphabetical sequence. For example, the pages for S and T read: "'Your sins are forgiven,' Jesus said. 'You are free!' Then he died on a cross that was carved from a tree." The words "sins" and "tree" are highlighted, but without distracting from the story.
   
   Filled with bright colors, the illustrations are delightfully unique. They feature people of all ethinicities. In the back of the book, the author gives four crafts parents and kids can do together to create Easter memories.
   
   What I Like: It is important to me to teach our children the honest reason we celebrate Easter without frightening them. Death is not a typical discussion with toddlers, but the truth of Jesus' death and resurrection is crucial doctrine. This book doesn't skimp on the key details. It presents the whole story in a wonderfully, positive way. I like being able to focus on the story with or without the alphabet. The introduction and projects in the back are fabulous. The illustrations are magnificent! I was a little nervous about it being a paperback, but the cover is sturdy, and the pages are glossy, making it easy to clean. As a whole, this book is a perfectly delightful teaching tool.
   
   What I Dislike: While this book is extremely accurate for a children's book, one detail did catch my attention. On the pages for W and X the text reads: "The women ran quickly to find the eleven, explaining that Jesus had gone up to heaven." I understand this fits better with the rhyme and alphabetical sequence, however, Jesus did not immediately go up to heaven. Only after appearing to hundreds of people over a period of weeks did He ascend to heaven.
   
   Overall Rating: Very Good.
   
   Tanya -- Christian Children's Book Review