” I Want to Be” by Tony Ross, 1993. Collins Picture Lions. Picture Book. Ages 3-6. This is one of several books about the misadventures of a feisty little princess. In this book, she decides that she wants to grow up. “I wonder how I should do it?”she muses. She seeks the advice of the hapless adults in her palace – [...]
Category > Exploring children’s picture books
Seals
“Seal” by Judy Allen. Illustrated by Tudo Humphries .1993 , Candlewick Press. Picture book. Ages 6-9. This is one of several books by Judy Allen about endeangered species. While on vacation with her family in Greece, Jenny discovers a family of rare monk seals, sheltering in a cave on a remote isalnd. Jenny longs to tell her family of her exciting find, and prove that she is on par with them in terms of knowledge. But doing so would place the lives of the seals in danger: the seal mothers would kill their young if they are disturbed and the seals would plunge into the sea where ominious fishing nets waited. On their way home from their excursion, [...]
Kakapo
“The Story of Kakapo:Parrot of the Night ” by Phillip Temple and Chris Gaskin (2000 ) The kakapo is an endangered flightless bird, found in New Zealand’s forests 700 years ago. The population of these ‘night parrots’ have been drastically reduced by the presence of predator mammals such as cats, that were brought in by [...]
Mommy, who do you love best?
The other book that I have found helpful in helping our children understand our love for them is “I Love You the Purplest” by Barbara Joosse and Mary Whyte. A young mother and her two young sons, Max and Julian,have a day out fishing in the lake. Throughout the day, her sons try their best at digging for worms, paddling the boat and fishing. [...]
The baby question and the koala answer
When I knew we were going to have another baby, we wondered how we would prepare Joy for the new arrival. Joy had been the centre of attention wherever we went for the past three years. How would she respond to the tiny, adorable newcomer who would naturally wrest all that attention from her ? We wanted Joy to [...]
Me…make a difference?
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney ( Puffin, Paperback ). This is an excellent picture book for children to begin thinking about making a difference in others’ lives. When Alice Rumphius is a child, she longs to travel to faraway places and live by the sea, just like her grandfather. When she has grown into a young woman, she fulfils her childhood dreams of exploration in distant lands, finally settling down in a little house by the sea. But there is one more thing, the most important thing,that her grandfather had said she must do: she must make the world more beautiful. Old and ill, Miss Rumphius looks out her window and comes up with an idea that are both poetic and whimsical. The storytelling is simple and engaging, capturing the nuances of Alice’s independent spirit and passion for life. While the theme of making a difference reverberates throughout the book, the tone is never condescending nor preachy. [...]
