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Thursday, April 24, 2014
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship Throughout the Years
"The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship" was a Russian folktale that originated from "Old Peter's Russian Tales" and it has been translated into several versions of the beloved tale. Here are some of the different translations being done to the original folktale:
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship: written by Arthur Ransome along with illustrations by Uri Shulevitz (1968)
These illustrations have Uri Shulevitz's signature simplistic style as while there are no background colorings for the skies, the characters and the buildings are drawn realistically and the flying ship is a brilliant old-fashioned styled contraption that fits well with this type of tale.
The Fool and the Flying Ship: written by Eric Metaxas along with illustrations by Henrik Drescher (1991)
These illustrations are probably the most bizarre and creative out of all versions of this Russian folktale. Henrik Drescher's signature style shows strongly here as the characters all have noodle-like appearances and bizarre contraptions attached to their bodies. The titular fool also resembles a deranged version of Pinocchio!
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship: by Christopher Denise (1994)
These illustrations are probably the most beautiful and realistic out of all versions of this classic Russian folktale! Christopher Denise's illustrations greatly capture the beauty and serenity of the wilderness and using various animals as the main characters was a nice treat!
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship: written by Arthur Ransome along with illustrations by Uri Shulevitz (1968)
These illustrations have Uri Shulevitz's signature simplistic style as while there are no background colorings for the skies, the characters and the buildings are drawn realistically and the flying ship is a brilliant old-fashioned styled contraption that fits well with this type of tale.
The Fool and the Flying Ship: written by Eric Metaxas along with illustrations by Henrik Drescher (1991)
These illustrations are probably the most bizarre and creative out of all versions of this Russian folktale. Henrik Drescher's signature style shows strongly here as the characters all have noodle-like appearances and bizarre contraptions attached to their bodies. The titular fool also resembles a deranged version of Pinocchio!
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship: by Christopher Denise (1994)
These illustrations are probably the most beautiful and realistic out of all versions of this classic Russian folktale! Christopher Denise's illustrations greatly capture the beauty and serenity of the wilderness and using various animals as the main characters was a nice treat!
Monday, April 14, 2014
My Favorite Book Quotes #3
Seriously! I don't care what the cover looks like, as long as there's a good story inside the book!
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
[BOOK REVIEW] One Was Johnny by Maurice Sendak
Author: Maurice Sendak
Genre: Animals / Counting / Poetry
Year Published: 1962
Year Read: 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: The Nutshell Kids Library
Source: Library
Content Rating: Ages 4+ (Some Rude Behavior)
Buy on: Amazon // Book Depository
Source: Library
Content Rating: Ages 4+ (Some Rude Behavior)
Buy on: Amazon // Book Depository
“One Was Johnny” is another classic book from Maurice Sendak’s popular Nutshell Library and it is about how a young boy named Johnny wanted to be alone, but he gets some uninvited guests while the book counts down on how many guests come into his house. “One Was Johnny” is the perfect counting book for children who want to learn how to count in a creative and fun way.
Maurice Sendak’s illustrations are simply simplistic yet hilarious and creative at the same time. Maurice Sendak used mainly black, yellow, white, blue and green colors to emphasize the simplicity of the book’s counting theme and Maurice Sendak uses the same little boy that he uses for his other Nutshell Library book “Pierre” as the boy also has a blue jacket and blue pants on. Maurice Sendak’s verses are simply creative as he describes the various kinds of guests in his house by using numbers one through ten to explain the numbering system and the way that he makes each verse with each number rhyme with each other is extremely creative. Another great thing about this book is that it was transformed into a TV special that was sung by Carole King, which is extremely catchy to listen to and children will definitely take a true liking to this book if they watch the Carole King version of this book.
Parents should know that there are some images that show the characters biting each other such as the turtle biting the dog’s tail and a blackbird pecking Johnny’s nose. Parents should tell their children that it is not nice to bite other people and if parents are worried about the images being too graphic for small children, they do not have to worry much since the images are not graphic as it just shows the characters bite each other but there is no blood.
“One Was Johnny” is a brilliant book for children who want to learn how to count in a hilarious and unique way and also for children who are true fans of Maurice Sendak’s brilliant works. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since smaller children might be a bit unsettled by the images of the characters biting each other.
Maurice Sendak’s illustrations are simply simplistic yet hilarious and creative at the same time. Maurice Sendak used mainly black, yellow, white, blue and green colors to emphasize the simplicity of the book’s counting theme and Maurice Sendak uses the same little boy that he uses for his other Nutshell Library book “Pierre” as the boy also has a blue jacket and blue pants on. Maurice Sendak’s verses are simply creative as he describes the various kinds of guests in his house by using numbers one through ten to explain the numbering system and the way that he makes each verse with each number rhyme with each other is extremely creative. Another great thing about this book is that it was transformed into a TV special that was sung by Carole King, which is extremely catchy to listen to and children will definitely take a true liking to this book if they watch the Carole King version of this book.
Parents should know that there are some images that show the characters biting each other such as the turtle biting the dog’s tail and a blackbird pecking Johnny’s nose. Parents should tell their children that it is not nice to bite other people and if parents are worried about the images being too graphic for small children, they do not have to worry much since the images are not graphic as it just shows the characters bite each other but there is no blood.
“One Was Johnny” is a brilliant book for children who want to learn how to count in a hilarious and unique way and also for children who are true fans of Maurice Sendak’s brilliant works. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since smaller children might be a bit unsettled by the images of the characters biting each other.
[BOOK REVIEW] Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Title: Stellaluna
Author: Janell Cannon
Genre: Animals / Family / Separation
Author: Janell Cannon
Genre: Animals / Family / Separation
Year Published: 1993
Year Read: 2010
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Source: Library
Content Rating: Ages 4+ (Child Separation)
Buy on: Amazon // Book Depository
I
first saw this book on an episode of “Reading Rainbow” (my favorite TV
series when I was little!) and I instantly fell in love with this book!
“Stellaluna” is a gorgeous picture book by Janell Cannon and it is
about how a baby bat named Stellaluna learns how to live with the birds
after she is separated by her mother during an owl attack. “Stellaluna”
is truly one of the best books for bat lovers everywhere!
Once there lived a mother fruit bat that gave birth to a baby bat named Stellaluna and one night, Mother Bat was carrying Stellaluna while searching for some ripe fruit to eat. Suddenly, an owl spots the bats and tries to catch them and Stellaluna ended up falling out of her mother’s pouch and ended up falling on a tree branch and then eventually falls into a bird’s nest. For awhile, Stellaluna had been living with the birds and learning their ways and started acting like a true bird, even learning how to fly!
Excellent! This book is simply truly excellent! Janell Cannon has certainly done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this book. Janell Cannon makes the story extremely exciting and heartwarming as it details the adventures that Stellaluna embarks on after she is separated from her mother and lives with the birds. I loved the way that Stellaluna maintains a strong relationship with the birds even though she is a bat, which proves that no matter how different you are, you are still a special person on the inside. I also thought that it was really cute to see Stellaluna acting like a bird as she provides so much humor for the book by trying to act like a bird in a bat body. Janell Cannon also did a great job at providing tension in this book, especially when Stellaluna is separated from her mother and many children will definitely feel afraid for Stellaluna as the idea of losing one’s parent is frightening to a child. Janell Cannon’s illustrations are simply gorgeous and realistic, especially of the images of Stellaluna herself as she has huge brown eyes and has golden fur all over her body which makes her look beautiful and cute at the same time! I also loved the images of Stellaluna flying through the sky as she is the one character who stands out during the night sky as she seems to glow in the blue night sky while she is flying in the air.
All in all, “Stellaluna” is an instant treat of a baby bat’s amazing tale that you just cannot resist to read to your children! For anyone who love reading books about bats and the importance of a true family, this is definitely a book that I would highly recommend to children ages four and up.
Once there lived a mother fruit bat that gave birth to a baby bat named Stellaluna and one night, Mother Bat was carrying Stellaluna while searching for some ripe fruit to eat. Suddenly, an owl spots the bats and tries to catch them and Stellaluna ended up falling out of her mother’s pouch and ended up falling on a tree branch and then eventually falls into a bird’s nest. For awhile, Stellaluna had been living with the birds and learning their ways and started acting like a true bird, even learning how to fly!
Excellent! This book is simply truly excellent! Janell Cannon has certainly done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this book. Janell Cannon makes the story extremely exciting and heartwarming as it details the adventures that Stellaluna embarks on after she is separated from her mother and lives with the birds. I loved the way that Stellaluna maintains a strong relationship with the birds even though she is a bat, which proves that no matter how different you are, you are still a special person on the inside. I also thought that it was really cute to see Stellaluna acting like a bird as she provides so much humor for the book by trying to act like a bird in a bat body. Janell Cannon also did a great job at providing tension in this book, especially when Stellaluna is separated from her mother and many children will definitely feel afraid for Stellaluna as the idea of losing one’s parent is frightening to a child. Janell Cannon’s illustrations are simply gorgeous and realistic, especially of the images of Stellaluna herself as she has huge brown eyes and has golden fur all over her body which makes her look beautiful and cute at the same time! I also loved the images of Stellaluna flying through the sky as she is the one character who stands out during the night sky as she seems to glow in the blue night sky while she is flying in the air.
All in all, “Stellaluna” is an instant treat of a baby bat’s amazing tale that you just cannot resist to read to your children! For anyone who love reading books about bats and the importance of a true family, this is definitely a book that I would highly recommend to children ages four and up.
[BOOK REVIEW] Arthur's Eyes by Marc Brown
Title: Arthur's Eyes
Author: Marc Brown
Author: Marc Brown
Genre: Animals / Bullying / Glasses / Humor / School
Year Published: 1979
Year Read: 1991
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Library
Content Rating: Ages 4+ (Bullying)
Buy on: Amazon // Book Depository
“Arthur’s Eyes” is the second book in Marc Brown’s famous “Arthur” series and is about how Arthur copes with having his glasses for the first time and the bullying he goes through. “Arthur’s Eyes” is truly a masterpiece for anyone who also has problems with having their glasses for the first time in their lives.
Marc Brown’s writing is truly inspiring since it involves a real life situation about how Arthur felt when he was teased by his classmates about his glasses and how he did not want to wear his glasses anymore because of the teasing. The story is cute without going too overboard with the bullying that Arthur faces after he wears his glasses for the first time in his life. Marc Brown’s illustrations are improved more from his last book “Arthur’s Nose” as the characters looked extremely lively and the colors in this book may look a bit dull, but the characters are much more interesting looking in this book. Arthur still retains his long nose, but no longer looks like a real aardvark, which is an improvement to his character.
“Arthur’s Eyes” is one of Marc Brown’s most memorable book as it help started the famous TV series and it actually reaches out to kids who have problems with teasing from their classmates when they first got their glasses. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate for children in this book.
Marc Brown’s writing is truly inspiring since it involves a real life situation about how Arthur felt when he was teased by his classmates about his glasses and how he did not want to wear his glasses anymore because of the teasing. The story is cute without going too overboard with the bullying that Arthur faces after he wears his glasses for the first time in his life. Marc Brown’s illustrations are improved more from his last book “Arthur’s Nose” as the characters looked extremely lively and the colors in this book may look a bit dull, but the characters are much more interesting looking in this book. Arthur still retains his long nose, but no longer looks like a real aardvark, which is an improvement to his character.
“Arthur’s Eyes” is one of Marc Brown’s most memorable book as it help started the famous TV series and it actually reaches out to kids who have problems with teasing from their classmates when they first got their glasses. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate for children in this book.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
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