No comments about Celebrations/Celebraciones: Holidays of the United States of America and Mexico.

No comments about Fun Days (Modern Curriculum Press Beginning to Read Series).

1 comments about World Holidays: A Watts Guide for Children (Watts Reference).

1. This book is great for teaching children about holidays of other nations. The descriptions are a very nice length, short enough to keep interest and long enough to give good detail. I do, however, wish the holidays were listed in chronological order and not alphabetical. It very difficult to find, for example, how and when other nations celebrate the new year.

3 comments about A Dark, Dark Tale.

1. I'm so excited to find this book still available; it was one of my son's favorites when he was small. A wonderful illustrated version of the old spooky story, the book is beautifully illustrated and a pleasure to read over and over and over again. The suspense builds as the reader is led from the "dark, dark wood" to a "dark, dark castle" and so on until the great surprise ending -- but I'll let you discover it yourself. Treat yourself to this treasure!



2. My two year old read this book over and over again. He loved it every time that he read it. The suspence was not too scary but just spooky enough to make him enjoy this book.



3. This is a wonderful story that my children (now adults) still enjoy. We own the original and are looking for copies to share with family and friends

1 comments about The Best Christmas Hunt Ever (Read With Me Paperbacks).

1. My children enjoy this book, but only for short periods, and personally I am not a big fan of the rather 'sloppily' drawn style of pictures. I know this is done on purpose, but it's just not clear enough to hold the attention of kids for long. The colors are somewhat dull and don't do justice to the merry theme and goings on in the illustrations. Otherwise it's a nice challenge for young children to tell items apart and find them amidst the chaos.

No comments about Father's Day.

2 comments about Disney's Winnie the Pooh (Welcome Book).

1. The greatest thing about this book is the large number of pictures that show the evolution of the "pooh" phenomenon. It has a large number of cell reproductions, artist storyboard sketches, as well as drawings from the original books. The writing is also wonderful, covering the orginal books, each of the movies, and pooh collecting! A must have! I received one as a gift, and am ordering copies for my pooh collecting friends.



2. Christopher Finch is one of the premier authors on Disney and animation history. Winnie-the-Pooh: A Celebration of the Silly Old Bear is definitely one of his best works. While it may not quite match up to the sheer power of his most recognized book on Disney, The Art of Walt Disney, it is definitely a wonderful look at Winnie-the-Pooh. The book appropriately starts out with a look at A.A. Milne, the author of the original Pooh books. The chapter on Milne is clear, concise, and very informative. As the book slides into the Disney version of Pooh is starts to "Disnify". There is the chapter on the four Pooh shorts, the chapter on each of the characters, etc. While these sections are interesting, they seem a little static. There could be more on the relationships and interactions between the characters. The book serves as more of a basic guide to the world of Pooh than anything else.

   If you want a nice gift book that is a fantastic overview of how the Disney pooh came to be, you will probably enjoy this book. There is yet to be a book published, though, that truly delves into how Disney made Pooh such a worldwide smash success, but right now this is the definitive book on the Disney Pooh.

3 comments about Little Whistle's Dinner Party (Little Whistle).

1. Rylant and Bowers have found new fans in my daughter and me. This delightful little book captured my 3 1/2 year old's imagination with its story of a guinea pig that lives in a toy store where the toys come alive after the store closes for the night. Little Whistle invites his toy friends to a dinner party. Pushing a little toy shopping cart, he shops for an oven, a tea pot, and china cups and plates. Then he busily prepares for dinner the treats he has been saving in the corner of his cage. He arrives at the party in a helicopter bearing Lion's favorite food - vanilla cookies!

   The pictures are absolutely fantastic. Tim Bowers is one of the best children's books artists I've seen. You can't help but love the main character and want to find more stories about him.

   The book isn't perfect. A few lines in this simple story are redundant with the first book in the series ("Little Whistle"), such as Soldier reading stories to the babies and Lion loving vanilla cookies. These qualities of the characters could have been expressed more vividly. The author relegates them to parentheticals, intimating that they are references to the earlier story. Little Whistle wears a pea coat that was given to him in the first book. Without reading the first book, one would wonder what a guinea pig is doing wearing a pea coat. The end of the story could have had a bit more punch, but my reaction may just be the result of regional differences in the use of a term "grocery" for "grocery store." However, my daughter and I enjoyed this book so much that I am seeking out other books in the series and other books by this author and the illustrator. I certainly hope that Rylant and Bowers bring us many more adventures of Little Whistle.




2. "Little Whistle's Dinner Party" is charmingly told by author Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Tim Bowers. Rylant relates the tale of Little Whistle--a guinea pig happily ensconced in a toy store--and the dinner party he throws for all his toy friends.

   Rylant takes the secret wish of every child (that toys really do come alive when we're not looking) and turns it into a vivacious party, complete with detailed party preparations. Although the story ends on a rather abrupt note--to the point that I wondered if perhaps the last page had inadvertently been torn out of our copy--the story itself is so dear that children will hardly notice.

   Tim Bowers does a super job of upping the adorability factor in this sweet book. Recommended especially for children who own guinea pigs!




3. Little Whistle, a young store guinea pig, awakes one night feeling famished, so, being the kind young soul that he is, he invites all of his friends (the toys in the toy department who come to life when the store closes every night) to a special dinner party, thrown by Little Whistle himself. There's so much Little Whistle must do now. He has to prepare everyone's marvelous meals, pick out a pretty tea set that will accommodate all of his guests, and find some delicious treats that everyone will enjoy. Finally everything is ready, and all of Little Whistle's many guest appear at his cage. However, Little Whistle is nowhere in sight, and it's pretty hard to throw a good dinner party without the guest of honor himself.
   
   Cynthia Rylant has a true knack for writing children's books, as she always writes them in a way that even the youngest readers will understand. Her words capture a childs imagination instantly, and her decisions in plots are right up a young childs alley, as who doesn't want to believe that their toys come to life whenever they go to bed. Filled with a words that are familiar to young readers, an extremely enjoyable, likable, and adorable young character, and utterly gorgeous illustrations by the talented Tim Bowers, LITTLE WHISTLE'S DINNER PARTY is sure to be a hit with all.
   
   Erika Sorocco
   Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

1 comments about President's Day (Holiday Histories).

1. This book really brings alive the history of president's day and american history for young students--suddenly they get it! Historic photographs illuminate the text.

No comments about Night Before Christmas In Colorado, The (The Night Before Christmas Series).