1 comments about Una fiesta de sorpresa (A Surprise Party) (Dora La Exploradora).

1. My daughter loves Dora, since it's one of the few television shows we let her watch. She just giggles like crazy at the sight of Dora. This book is a lot of fun for her.

   Lots of clear, bright pictures.
   Simple story.
   Board book will last long with infant still teething.
   Introduction to the idea of a birthday party with a 1st birthday party coming up soon!

No comments about Mexico: The Culture (Lands, Peoples, and Cultures).

4 comments about The Costume Party.

1. It's raining cats and dogs. When the rain continues for days and days, Madame Coco and her family of five dogs are bored and messy. Madame Coco announces a costume party to helo alleviate the boredom during the bad weather. After days of planning, everyone has a wonderful time and a group prize is enjoyed by all--a new member of the family!
   
   Chess' text is succinct, but her detailed illustrations carry the book. Children who love animals will enjoy the book and perhaps be inspired to plan a costume party of their own.



2. 
   Madame Coco lives with her five personified dogs, and during a long rainy spell, they throw a costume party to occupy the puppies' restless paws and prevent them from further ravaging the house. A fun time is had by all.
   
   This is a cute, albeit somewhat mediocre, story that kids would have a lot of fun reading. It would be great for beginning readers since there are rarely more than two or three sentences per page. The illustrations are at the same time whimsical and earthy - whimsical because of the dogs' human behavior and earthy because of the dogs' blatantly animal characteristics.
   
   There is, however, a caveat for parents pertaining to the illustrations. The three female dogs have protruding nipples, and the two male dogs have prominent testicles. Although this could be easily overlooked, the focus of the picture on the second page is the dogs pooping and peeing, so be forewarned.



3. I thought this was a swell book--charming in every regard. The illustrations are smashing! Ms Chess has captured the character and personality of the BULL TERRIER (these dogs are not, as a previous reviewer called them, pit bulls!!)as well as the somewhat eccentric nature of those of us who own them!



4. My 2 year old son and I both love this book. We took it out at our local library and he loved it so much that I decided we should have our own copy. The story is not very complex but it is original and the illustrations are beautifully done and hilarious. I can't imagine why anyone would be offended by drawings of dogs with nipples or testicles - dogs do, after all, actually have nipples and/or testicles. There is a very funny page where the dogs are shown pooping and peeing outdoors. I suppose there are people out there who would be offended by that as well, but I think it is appropriate to the story and very funny. They are normal bodily functions and the story may provide you with an opening to discuss them as such with your young child. The simplicity of the story makes it perfect for the toddler and preschool set. Children older than that probably wouldn't be very interested, although the illustrations are entertaining for any age.

No comments about How to Draw Holiday Pictures.

No comments about Chinese New Year (Rookie Read-About Holidays).

1 comments about Awakening the Dragon: The Dragon Boat Festival.

1. This is the story of the cultural and historical origins of the dragon boat festival celebrated in China and by the Chinese around the world. Dragon boats represent the effort of villagers to protect the spirit of one of the emperor's advisors who drowned himself in the river. Many other legends accompany this festival, including the story of a nightmare from an emperor in the 700's who dreamed of a ghost. This book provides a nice overview of the legends and customs from the past and the celebrations today of this exciting festival time.

No comments about Australia the Land (Lands, Peoples, and Cultures).

3 comments about Celebrating Norouz (Persian New Year).

1. This book ended my desperate search for material to present to my kids'
   schools about Norooz! Ever since my first child started pre-school (he
   is 8 now and in 3rd grade), I have been looking for a good book to
   introduce Norooz to his classmates. Every year, I have done my
   improvisation of what I thought was the best language for kids to
   follow. But needless to say, my presentations would go way over their
   head, and I could see that they were anxious for me to pass the goodies
   around!! Last year, I ordered a video called "bachehaye Bahar". It was
   supposed to have a description of Norooz in English as well. It was yet
   another disappointment. Besides the very bad quality of filming and
   sound, the whole thing was in Farsi!

   In this book, Yassaman talks about Norooz very eloquently from a child's
   perspective who is born and raised here in the US (San Jose). Both my
   kids, 6 and 8 enjoyed the book and now for the first time, I finally
   have a book to share with their class about Norooz! I highly recommend
   it to all parents with young children.




2. The book is well written and simple. Perfect for little ones who have a short attention span and love colorful pictures. The book is perfect to read to a pre-school class. The activities in the back of the book were also a hit with my 4 year old. Also a perfect gift for youngsters, your pre-school and local library.



3. My children attend the local Montessori program. I bought two copies of the book, one for them at home and one for their school. Before the new year I donated the book along with a small Sabzeh (sprouts grown for Persian New Year) to the classroom library. Their teacher loved it and read the book aloud for other children.
   I read this and all other books in Farsi for my children, so I wish the author had provided the Farsi translation as well. They are at an age now that can distinguish Farsi script from English, and wonder how or why I am reading an English book in Farsi!

2 comments about St. Patrick's Day Countdown.

1. This board book makes for a good introduction to St Patrick's Day for younger kids because of it's simple concepts, colorful pictures and sturdy construction. (It can also be used year 'round for it's counting.) "St. Patrick's Day Countdown" is a book that counts backwards from 5 down to 1 using St Patrick's Day theme items and then some; bunnies, shamrocks, a pot of gold... you get the idea. It's also fun because the book is not exactly book shaped but has grabbable shamrock "tabs" so little ones can help turn the pages. I bought this for my one year old niece and her mom said it was "perfect". I like that it does not have hit-you-over-the-head St. Patrick Day overtones (ie. nothing religious) to it but still captures the spirit of the day.



2. This book is perfect for babies & small children. My son is 9 months old & this is one of his favorite books. It has short phrases on each page while teaching numbers & doesn't have a lot of pages. The colors are bright & pictures are cute. The edges of the pages have a shamrock & my son finds it easy to turn the pages. He's also attracted to the cover because the shamrocks are shiny.

2 comments about The Ancient Celtic Festivals: and How We Celebrate Them Today.

1. Ancient Celtic Festivals deserves ongoing mention as a fine resource for kids ages 8-12 years, which explains how modern celebrations are rooted in ancient Celtic history and festivals. Links between the ancient rituals and how they are celebrated today require good reading skills but reward with many insights.



2. i liked it. my kids liked it. i love reference books. this isnnt a reference book, but it has all the info on holiday origins i need, so when i want to explain why we celebrate halloween and my kids ask how come some kids think its devil worship, i can just go here, or when they ask how come we have a tree on jesus' birthday, they can even look it up themselves, this book is very kid friendly!