by Christel Dhom & photographed by Christel Dhom & Ramona Lamb-Klinkenberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2012
This compendium of old-fashioned craft projects, recipes and stories was written by a Waldorf kindergarten teacher in Germany and translated for English-speaking countries, though the focus remains European and is not well-suited to the U.S. market.
The text is written for adults to use with children and includes explanations of German holiday traditions, such as setting boots outside the door for St. Nicholas to fill on December 6. Recipes for holiday cookies and candies are included, with measurements given in both grams and ounces. Craft projects include traditional advent wreaths, beeswax candles and Nativity figures made from unspun sheep’s wool. Other selections include holiday legends and the Nativity story from the Books of Luke and Matthew. Poems and lyrics to holiday carols are woven throughout, including selections from Shakespeare, Browning and Longfellow. High-quality photographic illustrations of children and craft projects add to the volume’s appeal. There are no safety warnings about cooking or using knives with adult supervision, and there are two photographs of little girls lighting candles with no adult present, which don’t illustrate proper safety protocol. Though there aren’t many family holiday books of this sort available, this version is suitable only for large library collections with heavy demand for Christmas activity books. (Nonfiction. 5-9, adults)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8631-5912-1
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Floris
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
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by Aesop & adapted by Bob Hartman & illustrated by Jago ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2011
“Sticking to your goals may bring more success than being lazy with your talents.” (Fables. 5-9)
“My name is Aesop! Once I was a slave. Now I am a free man. I have refreshments to sell and stories to tell.”
This fresh approach to the classic collection makes a character of Aesop himself, talking to a fictional audience and directing questions to them, and is an effective context for the fables. In "The Crow and the Jar," the crow can’t get his head far enough into the jar to reach the water, so he drops in pebble after pebble until it rises high enough for him to drink. Aesop has the children who are gathered around his storytelling stall in the marketplace collect pebbles and drop them in a jar to demonstrate. Moral: “Brains are sometimes better than brute strength.” An introduction explains what little is known about Aesop, an ugly man with a bald head and bandy legs who was a slave, and defines the form. The textured illustrations appear as if painted on handmade paper, varying in size and placement from a full page to a double-spread banner. Not every page has artwork, leaving all-text pages off-puttingly dense. Greek motifs are used throughout, and the morals appear as letters chiseled in stone at the end of each tale. Fable collections are plentiful (Jerry Pinkney’s Aesop's Fables, 2000, and The McElderry Book of Aesop's Fables, by Michael Morpurgo, 2005, for instance), but the storytelling device here works well as an engaging read-aloud.
“Sticking to your goals may bring more success than being lazy with your talents.” (Fables. 5-9)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7459-6915-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Lion/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
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by Sally Pomme Clayton ; illustrated by Jane Ray ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2013
A well-crafted, straightforward collection of the myths everyone needs to know.
The fabled world of ancient Greece comes alive through these 10 myths that feature some of the most powerful gods, fearless heroes and amazing animals in literature.
“The Creation” introduces Titans Kronos and Rhea, who spawned the twelve Olympians, led by Zeus, god of the sky, and the collection plunges along from there. Clayton’s deft storytelling transitions readers easily from story to story, grounding them in a setting of mountainous islands dominated by the hot sun and cool blue sea. Readers meet Pandora, created at Zeus’ behest as a tragically curious beauty bearing gifts for the giant Epimetheus. The competition for the city of Athens between Athena, goddess of wisdom, and Poseidon, god of the sea, is seen as a struggle decided by a democratic vote. The grotesqueness of Medusa is countered by the human bravery of Perseus; the remorse of King Midas redeems him from his greed. The enchanting flying horse, Pegasus, aids Bellerophon in his conquest of the three-headed, fire-breathing chimera. Arachne’s transformation following her challenge of Athena brings the collection to a close. Each adventure or quest is followed by a very brief fact about Greece. Detailed and luminous, often diminutive watercolors and collage art illuminate each story’s theme.
A well-crafted, straightforward collection of the myths everyone needs to know. (map, notes, index of gods and heroes, sources) (Mythology. 7-9)Pub Date: July 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-84780-227-9
Page Count: 78
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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