Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Bartholomew and the Oobleck

Bartholomew and the Oobleck
written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0394800753.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Another childhood favorite--please tell me I'm not the only one who loved making "oobleck" out of cornstarch and water (and still do!). It's another classic Seuss story for kids to love and enjoy. This one actually doesn't contain much out of the ordinary, in comparison to other Seuss books, that is. It's humorous and the writing is pretty advanced, but still makes sense, a great highway to learning new vocabulary. The pictures are pretty neat, all black and white, except for the highlighted green oobleck, nonsensically whimsical as ever. Great for Seuss fans--I do recommend starting off with The Cat in the Hat, for obvious reasons, but I see no reason not to build upon that :)

I got this book from...:Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Science Verse

Science Verse
written by Jon Scieszka
illustrated by Lane Smith

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0670910570.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

This is a really wonderful and unique collection of poetry created by the amazingly original Jon Scieszka and his partner-in-crime, Lane Smith. It's sort of a companion book to the duo's previous work, Math Curse, although that one is not required to be read beforehand in order to understand this volume. Scieszka and Smith find a way to make science be an exciting subject, without some of the boredom that can sometimes creep its way into the subject, through humor and some good old poetry. Hopefully, the book will serve as a jumping point for classroom activities, and children will get a kick out of seeing topics they've covered in poetic form. Not only are concepts of science conveyed well, children will receive a poetry lesson, as many well-known poems are parodied throughout the book. As always, Lane Smith's illustrations are a hilarious addition to the story, conveying simple but hysterically funny thoughts. The readers will love the hilarious bug-eyed depiction of our narrator and his scientific misadventures.

I got this book from...:BookMooch