The Royal Diaries Series: Eleanor & Catherine Kristiana Gregory

The Royal Diaries is a series of diaries written from the point of view of a famous princess.  I am reviewing two books from the series: Eleanor (France) and Catherine (Russia). Both books narrate the joyful experiences and struggles each of these girls go through for a period of one year.  Gregory wrote through the perspective of major life changes in their lives.  This series seems to be geared toward middle school girls.  Eleanor and Catherine were fast and interesting reads.  I was eager to find out what happened to both princesses.  If you child likes historical fiction this is a good book for them.
  
POSITIVE Both girls speak about their faith in God.  They show resilience and and courage in major life challenges.


EDUCATIONAL  I really enjoyed the historical notes at the end of the book.  They tell what happens to the girls as they grow into adulthood.  It describes their reigns as the head of their respective countries.  It also goes through their family trees.

ACTIVITIES

• research historical period - what they wore; customs etc.
• write a chapter or diary from point of view of another major character in the story

As always any comments or suggestions welcome! 




                                

Disney's A Bug's Life - Flik's Perfect Gift Judy Katschke

In Flik's Perfect Gift we find Flik looking for a unique gift for Queen Atta's birthday.  As he makes complicated plans to make the ideal gift we learn that sometimes the most simple thing is the best.

POSITIVE Katschke shows Flik trying to do his best in getting a gift for the Queen.  Highlight to your children how they too can give their best in everything that they do.  A good verse to go with this concept is Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men". You can also see how much love and respect Flik has for his superior, the Queen.  

EDUCATIONAL This is a level 2 book so it is for readers who are more confident in their early reading abilities.  This book contains smaller type and more words to a page.  It has simple sentences that are longer but the story is a little more complex.  I really like how the first page in the book gives parents ideas on how to read to their children.  It also ends with comprehension questions.

ACTIVITIES

• other things Flik could've given
• teach your children how to write a thank you card - they can write one to Flik from the Queen
• teach them to read between the lines
• what kind of gift would God want from us? 

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated!

Blue's Clues Hello, Spring! - Alison Inches Illustrated by Ian Chernichaw

     From the well known program Blue's Clues comes the book "Hello, Spring!" In this easy to read book Blue and her friends say goodbye to winter and hello to spring.  The book starts off with everyone saying goodbye to different things commonly associated with winter.  Toward the middle of the book they begin to welcome spring.  This is a great book for children beginning to read.

POSITIVE The illustrations are colorful and appealing.  Beginning readers will enjoy the simple everyday words that they will learn to read.

EDUCATIONAL Emerging readers will become confident readers because of the repetition in this book.  This will help them to advance to a higher level.  "Hello, Spring!" is a pre-level 1 book which means it is concentrating on making sure the reader is recognizing words.  It also has simple sentences, word repetition and familiar words and phrases.

ACTIVITIES

• Since "hello" and "goodbye" are repeated in this book you can help them learn what opposite means and give examples
• teach difference between winter and spring
• make a mural or a painting of winter or spring
• teach some of the words as vocabulary words
• pick words that you ca make rhyming words to help them learn to spell and read Example: Take the word hat and write cat, mat, fat etc.  Make a rhyming story

As always comments or suggestions are welcome!

Charlie Monkey - By Jo Rigg & Simon Mugford

"Charlie Monkey" is part of the Funny Faces Series.  My 10 month old daughter loves this book.  It's a touch, feel, light and sounds book.  Each page shows a different animal with a sensory part on its body.  It also has a catchy rhyme about the animal.  Young children will love feeling the different parts of the animal and the appealing rhymes.

POSITIVE The book is engaging and colorful.

EDUCATIONAL This is an excellent book for any child up to second grade.
The rhyming helps emerging readers to learn to read while it helps younger children develop language skills.  The sensory sections are good for the children to feel different textures.

ACTIVITIES

• Expand on the sensory part of the book by giving your child different objects with different textures
• Add on to the book with different animals using the same type of rhyme and make a picture with one part of the animal a different texture
• For older children watch videos of the animals they read about in the book

As always any comments or suggestions are welcomed!

The 39 Clues: Book 4 - Beyond The Grave

In this number one New York Times bestselling series we continue on a thrilling journey with the Cahill siblings on a treasure hunt. This is the fourth book in a 10 part series. Each book is written by a different author.  Beyond the Grave is just as exciting as the first three books.
Jude Watson picks up where Peter Lerangis left off in Book 3.  Amy and Dan are in Egypt looking for the next clue that their deceased grandmother, Grace, has left for the Cahill family members on this treasure hunt.  In this adventure they get help from the grave as their Grandmother guides them to the clues to help them to try to win this challenge.

POSITIVE Amy and Dan struggle with dysfunctional family relationships throughout the series.  In this book they have to choose between believing the best in each other and their Grandmother or being just like the rest of their cousins.  They come up against choices that go against everything they have been taught to get ahead of this game. The Cahills decide to choose what their Grandmother Grace taught them.  This will be good opportunities to highlight to your children how choices affect not only them but the people around them.  They also stick together and stay strong in the end.

EDUCATIONAL: Every book gives a history lesson on the country they are in.  In this book your children will learn about ancient Egyptian artifacts and places. This book is a good read for advanced 2nd grade readers to middle school age children.

ACTIVITIES:

• make a video of important Egyptian artifacts and places
• write the story from the point of view of one of the Cahill ancestors
• visit the Field Museum of Natural History's section on Egypt

Please leave any comments or suggestions!

Rainbow Fish Discovers the Deep Sea - by Marcus Pfister

From the author who brought you "Rainbow Fish" come another fantastic tale about Rainbow Fish.  With it's sparkly pictures and engaging story Rainbow Fish and his friends are sure to delight your child on every page.
In this new adventure Rainbow Fish is playing with his friends when he loses his last silver scale.  This begins a journey that brings him new and different friends.  Every page glitters with different deep sea creatures that Rainbow Fish meets along the way.

POSITIVE  Rainbow Fish is open to being friends with creatures that are different from him.  This is a good segway into talking to your children about acceptance of different people and about what diversity means.

EDUCATIONAL  Pfister shows many different sea creatures in the book.  This will interest young children into looking up different ocean animals.

ACTIVITIES 

• Teach young children what goes into simple science reports using the different sea creatures featured in this book
• Introduce elementary age children to Power Point.  Show them how to make a slide show using the different creatures as their subjects
• Take a trip to the aquarium to learn more about the animals featured in the book

Please leave any comments or suggestions

The Magician's Elephant - By Katie Di Camillo Illustrated by Yoko Tanka

The author of "The Tale of Despereaux" and "Because of Winn Dixie" has come out with a new and enchanting book.  The Magician's Elephant is uniquely and poetically written.  It is a tale of undying hope, faith in things unseen, and enduring love.
The book starts with introducing us to the narrator, a young orphan named Peter.  He lives upstairs in the attic with his care giver Vilna Lutz.  DiCamilllo takes an impossible situation and makes it into a wonderful story.  As the title suggests there is a lot of magic and fortune telling involved. 

POSITIVE Kate DiCamillo does a good job of creating characters that you feel strongly about and are connected to.  The main character, Peter, has strong character traits that you can point out to your child if you are reading the book to them.  He is loving, loyal, honorable, and brave.  The love Peter has for his sister made my heart melt.


EDUCATIONAL  This book is a good blend of fantasy and reality.  While reading it to your child you can point out what makes a book considered fantasy.  There is good character development that progresses through the book also.

ACTIVITIES:

• Character trait chart of one of the main characters (relate Bible verses to these traits and see how your child can develop them)
• Dig deeper into Christianity and what God's Word says about magic
• Write chapters from the Elephant's perspective like Ch. 1
• Make a relationship map on  how all the characters are connected
• Write about the night at the opera house from your child's point of view - as if they were there
• Illustrate favorite scenes from the book

Any comments or suggestions are always welcome!