Bea Reviews Read To Your Toddler Every Day by Lucy Brownridge & Illustrated by Chloe Giordano

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date:
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository*  | iBooks* |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Science tells us that young children develop best when they are read to. In this follow-up to Read to Your Baby Every Day, soothe your toddler with retellings of traditional folk tales, fairy tales and fables from around the world paired with images of Chloe Giordano’s charming hand-embroidered illustrations on cloth.

Every tale is the perfect length to read aloud to your toddler before bedtime and carries a message of empathy, friendship and care for the world around us. Bond with your toddler and help them grow as you read to them these timeless stories:THE THREE WISHES, Scandinavia

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER, Ancient Rome

BRER RABBIT AND THE WELL, North America

HOW THE BEAR LOST HIS TAIL, Iroquois

THE MAGIC PEAR TREE, China

WHY THE BANANAS BELONG TO THE MONKEY, Brazil

THE FISHERMAN AND THE GENIE, Syria

THE STONECUTTER, Japan

THE RAINBOW SERPENT, Indigenous Australia

THE CLEVER LITTLE TURTLE, Mexico

THE SCRUFFY DUCKLING, Denmark

THE LION AND THE THORN, Ancient Greece

ANANSI AND THE TURTLE, Caribbean

KING MIDAS, Ancient Greece

A BAG FULL OF STORIES, Cambodia

THE MICE AND THE ELEPHANTS, India

SNOWFLAKE, THE SNOW CHILD, Russia

WHY CATS CHASE MICE, Nigeria

HOW THE WREN BECAME KING OF THE BIRDS, Ireland

THE FEAST, Mali

Bea Reviews The Sagebrush Singers by Herbert Kernecker & Illustrated by James Watts

Publisher: Humboldt American Press
Format Read: eGalley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: March 31, 2014
Buying Links: Currently not available
ISBN: 9780984532230 hardcover; 9780984532247 paperback

Blurb from goodreads:

Four desert inhabitants – a burro, a coyote, a skunk and a raven – face an uncertain future, until they discover each other and bravely set out on a journey to start a new life as the Sagebrush Singers!

Based on a classic German folktale collected long ago by the Brothers Grimm, The Sagebrush Singers is the amusing and uplifting story of four animals who comfort and support each other by banding together. In his colorful retelling of the “Bremen Town Musicians,” author Herb Kernecker has transformed the original four creatures – a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster – into a burro, a coyote, a skunk and a raven living somewhere in the American Southwest.

Beautifully imagined by award-winning, bestselling children’s book illustrator James Watts, this picture book will enchant children (ages 5 to 10) and please their parents.

Bea Reviews Dragon's Child by M.K. Hume

Publisher: Atria Books
Series: King Arthur #1
Format Read: eGalley
Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 8, 2013 (this edition; first released 2009)
Buying Links: Amazon*  | Barnes & Noble |  Book Depsoitory*
* affiliate links; clicking & purchasing results in a small commission for the blog.

Blurb from goodreads:

From the author of The Merlin Prophecy, a trilogy that Kirkus Reviews proclaimed, will “appeal to those who thrill to Game of Thrones,” the first installment in the action-packed trilogy of battles, romance, and bravery during the Dark Ages is the tale of the boy destined to become King Arthur.

The future of Britain is at stake. In the turbulent times of the Dark Ages, the despotic Uther Pendragon, High King of Celtic Britain, is nearing death, and his kingdom is being torn apart by the squabbling of minor kings. But only one man can bring the Celts together as a nation and restore peace—King Arthur.

Artorex (Arthur) doesn’t yet seem like the great man he will grow into. We meet him as a shy, subservient twelve-year-old living in the foster home of Lord Ector, who took in Artorex as a babe to protect him from murderous kin. Life has been unremarkable for the lad within the bosom of Ector’s family. That is, until the arrival of three influential men who arrange for Arthur to be taught the martial skills of the warrior: blade and shield, horse and fire, pain and bravery. Little does Artorex know that these three men—one of whom is Merlin—secretly hope that one day he will take Uther’s crown and restore peaice to Britain.

As the years pass, Artorex becomes a war chieftain, wins many battles, and starts a family with a beautiful, strong woman. But if he is to fulfill his destiny and become the High King of the Britons, Artorex must find the dying king’s hidden crown and sword. Will Artorex be able to leave his family, find the precious weapons, lead the attack against the Saxons, and ultimately prove himself worthy of Uther’s crown?

Children's Book Week Review of The Man Who Dreamed of Elk-Dogs & Other Stories from the Tipi by Paul Goble

Publisher: Wisdom Tales
Format Read: I started with an Egalley and then switched to print
Source: I received an egalley from the publisher & I won a hardcover on goodreads, both in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: June 2012
Buying Links:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Blurb from goodreads:

In this beautifully illustrated book by award-winning author Paul Goble, readers can discover the fascinating story of how horses first appeared to the tribes of the American Plains. In his final collection of stories from the tipi, Goble features a collection of 23 traditional stories from the Blackfoot, Lakota, Assiniboin, Pawnee, and Cheyenne nations. This book features a foreword by Lauren Candy Waukau-Villagomez, an educator and author of works on the oral traditions and storytelling of the North American tribes.

Bea's Thoughts:

The artwork in this book is gorgeous, with vibrant colors done in a semi-primitive folk style. I can see young children looking at the pictures and making up their own stories. The stories themselves are more suited for older children, say elementary school age, or for curious adults. Goble admits that they are pared down versions of oral traditions and some of them are quite short or end abruptly. The vocabulary is occasionally more adult than you might expect in a book marketed for children, but I don't have a problem with that; in my opinion it's better than talking down to children and encourages them to ask more questions. If the majority of the vocabulary were over their heads, then that would be frustrating. Some of the topics, such as attempted murder, are a bit much for children. I should point out that the author states in his Author's Note that he chose only stories that he felt "fit comfortably with today's thinking, avoiding stories which involve revenge or killing,...the stories are abbreviated; oral tellings would have been much longer." He apparently forgot about the story where wives try to kill their husband.

Goble assigns each story to a Native American tribe but freely admits that such designations are often arbitrary and that tribes hundreds or thousands of miles apart had similar stories. I found some of the stories to be dry; some, as I mentioned, were rather abrupt; and others were engrossing. The stories themselves are a mix of parables, morality plays and creation stories. Each story has a forward, afterward or even both, to give some context to the story for modern readers and the back of the book has a bibliography for readers interested in doing more research. "The Man Who Dreamed of Elk-Dogs and Other Stories from the Tipi" is a good primer for Native American Folklore. It's a rich and complex tradition and the stories, I am certain, only scratch the surface.

Children's Book Week Review of The Ugly Duckling and the Turtle by Sharlene Alexander

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Format Read: Kindle Book
Source: I own it.
Release Date: June 19, 2012
Buying Links:  Amazon Sorry, it's only available at Amazon

Blurb from Amazon:

This is a fun modern twist on the classic story, "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Anderson. Find out how a little turtle saves the day when the ducklings wander off to the beach. This story ends with a great message about family and being yourself.

-Illustrated with bright color pictures
-A fun story to read over and over again.

Bea's Thoughts:

The title of this book is slightly misleading as the turtle IS the ugly duckling. I understand the author was playing on the Hans Christian Andersen story but the author could have come up with something else. That quibble aside, "The Ugly Duckling and The Turtle" is a cute, if predictable story with good illustrations. There are nice little details such as furrowed brows on the faces of the ducklings when they are nervous or scared and the colors are not too bright. On my kindle touch, which isn't color, some of the details get lost but I also read it using my laptop's kindle app which is in color and that made a world of difference.

The story, as I said, is predictable but it's sweet and cute and the message of acceptance is a good one to learn at a young age. Happily, for me anyway, the message is not shoved down our throats but is a little more subtle. Young readers will enjoy the story and the pictures.