No comments about Mystery of the Shaking Ground.

2 comments about The Bunnies' Ball (Pictureback(R)).

1. I loved reading this book as much as my 2 year old. The creative outfits were better than the words. My daughter requests this book often. Only draw back is that it implies that fun things happen while we are asleep at night......not good for my noctural princess.



2. I love this book. The text is a bit of a tongue twister but reads liltingly once you know it. The illustrations are beautiful. We find new things everytime we look at them. It's my favorite book in my son's library.

No comments about The Easter Cub (Hello Reader!, Level 2).

No comments about Where's My Easter Egg? (Lift-the-Flap).

1 comments about Easter Egg Hunt (Pop-Up).

1. Join the fun in this darling fourteen page, paperback, pop-up book about an "Easter Egg Hunt". It is Easter morning, and a busy, little bunny is hopping about hiding Easter eggs for the up-coming festivities. The children enter the scene on the next page. They literally leap off the page and, begin racing eggs down a large grassy knoll. Attached to the pop-up is a pull-tab that simulates running, when pulled. This fun, interactive feature actually works, and enhances the enjoyment of the book. The hunt in on... the children chase to and fro hunting for eggs. They search up and down, and in and around, while a friendly squirrel pops out of a tree, and the Easter Bunny pops out from behind a flowerpot. This scene is very cute, and celebrates the joy of the holiday. On the next page, a very proud, little boy pops off the page. He is holding a basket-full of eggs and says, "We'll find all the eggs, I'll find a whole bunch." Turn the page, and the entire scene pop's-up. A group of children are sitting under some trees eating sandwiches and they announce, "Then tomorrow we'll eat egg salad for lunch."

   The watercolor images are full-color spreads, and each page features a pop-up highlight. There is a folksy flavor to Ms. Westcott's illustrations ~ simple, yet colorful, and always amusing. This particular publication is quite vivid, and cheerful! One might say it is appropriately spring-like. The text appears on both sides of the book, and it flows like a river. "Easter Egg Hunt" is a well-written story with delightful pop-up renderings that my son adores. Two-years and up.

   P.S. If you do not own a Nadine Bernard Westcott, do yourself a favor, and pick one up. My personal favorites ~ The Farmer Brown series.

2 comments about Oh, Bother! It's the Easter Bunny! (Mouse Works Hunny Pot Book).

1. The lift-the-flap aspect of the book nicely keeps toddlers involved in reading. The rhyming text flows nicely as well. The book does start a bit oddly and jerks you into the story, but that's more of an adult complaint: the kids don't seem to mind.



2. The art work in this short work is quite bright and catching. The little ones seem to like it. The book is well constructed and can take a lot of beating. The pages are thick and more or less washable. I liked the little rhyme telling the story. The little snap out "hidden stuff" is sort of neat but can be torn if not careful. I'm giving this one four stars more for the bright art work and the sound construction than anything else. Also, the wee ones do seem to enjoy it and I suppose that is the most important test of a book such as this.

No comments about The Easter Party.

No comments about Yummy Chocolate Bunny.

1 comments about Bear's Egg Hunt: A Lift-the-Flap Story (Bear in the Big Blue House).

1. It's Easter-time for Bear and his friends in the Big Blue House. What better way to celebrate than with a fun egg hunt? The kids first help Bear to decorate the eggs. Then, Bear hides them all over to hunt down. Things don't seem to be so fun for Treelo, though --- he can't find any eggs.
   
   More fun with our friends from "Bear." This is one of the more recent "Bear," books, one of the last few published before the book releases all but went dark. If you or your kids enjoy the program, don't pass this one by.

3 comments about Earthquakes.

1. This is a very good beginning book on the subject for children. It begins with scientific information about how earthquakes occur, and then goes through what may happen during an earthquake, such as buildings falling down, fires, gas leaks, etc. It goes into further particulars, such as how it feels to be in an earthquake, and what safety measures to take.

   The illustrations are very simple, and not especially appealing, but they do help illustrate the points well.

   All in all, a good book for children ages 8 -12 who live in earthquake prone areas, especially.




2. Children living in areas where natural disasters, such as earthquakes, do not occur may not fully understand the true destructive powers of this earth-shaking phenomenon. This book does its best to render earthquakes understandable. To do so, it incorporates full pages of color photographs of destroyed buildings and houses. Having been published in 1991 originally, the book may have originally served as an answer to those children wishing to know more about the notorious 1989 San Francisco quake. I myself was 11 at the time, and curious about this bizarre force of nature. This book does much to show a variety of different quakes from around the world, and its large graphs are very helpful as well. Yet something about the presentation is displeasing to the eye. Full page pictures have no border and seemingly slip off the page. They tend to show houses destroyed by quakes without giving much thought to showing the earthquake-resistant houses being built at the time. Also, there isn't a single footnote or credit at the end of the book. Seymour Simon is notorious for his steadfast refusal to cite his sources in his non-fiction books. There is no denying that this is an interesting topic. I especially liked the informative section in the back that tells the reader how best to survive an earthquake on their own. And this book would read well in class, though perhaps students should look at it personally themselves to better understand the graphs and maps included. However, I urge those wanting a complete earthquake source to search out better cited non-fiction books, if they can.



3. Seymour Simon's 1991 book gives an excellent and terse overview of the important ideas about earthquakes. With key terms defined simply but accurately, all accentuated by large color photographic depictions of the effects of earthquakes, Simon explains the pertinent information: what causes earthquakes, what happens during an earthquake, and the different types of earthquakes.

   The book can be read from cover to cover, or bit by bit; each two-page spread stands fairly solidly on its own. The impact of the damage earthquakes can inflict is immediately apparent when the book opens with a stunning photograph of the way an earthquake turned "railroad tracks into twisted ribbons of steel." The most amazing photo in the book shows the way a wooden fence was "broken and offset eight feet" by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

   Simon takes what could be a very frightening concept for a young child and explains it in such a way as to make earthquakes more logical and less arbitrary. The final page of the book might be the best place for a nervous child to start reading, as Simon gives some suggestions of what to do during an earthquake. The book closes with the calming reassurance that the chances of being hurt in an earthquake are very slim.

   This book does not include a great deal of detail, but I think it does a good job of what it is intended to do: introduce a child to the subject of earthquakes. The photographs are my favorite part.