Reviews Written By: A3VIWOHYD0QG5Nprovided by Amazon.com |
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 | The Snail and the Whale | |
 | "We LOVE this book!" | 2008-05-17 |
| This is one of those books that I could read every night and not get sick of. In fact, over the past three years I HAVE read it every night for weeks at a time and still love the flow of the text. My favorite lines include, "And she gazed at the sky, the sea, the land, The waves and the caves and the golden sand. She gazed and gazed, amazed by it all, And she said to the whale, 'I feel so small.'" The word "small" is in a smaller font than the rest of the text and is so appropriate for the two page spread that includes the tiny snail (barely visible) amidst a scene of snowy mountains, forests, bears, bald eagles, the sea. Perfect for teaching the concept that it doesn't matter how big or small you are, you ARE important and CAN be successful. As the snail sets off on his mission (I won't spoil it), the text reads "'I must not fail,' said the tiny snail." GREAT lesson! Can you tell that we love this book?!?!? | ||
 | Littlest Matryoshka | |
| "One of our favorites!" | 2008-05-17 |
| As many other reviewers have already said, this is a sweet book. We have been reading this to our daughter (who is now 6) for the past four years. She has actually enjoyed it more as she has gotten older because she anticipates the climax and enjoys the resolution so much more now. She especially loves the illustrations since we bought her a matryoshka (when we were in Russia adopting her) that looks just like her...AND the dolls in this book. She still loves to read this book and asks me to read it aloud whenever parents are invited to come in and read to the class (both in kindergarten and 1st grade). A big hit with our family! | ||
 | Toddler Two | |
 | "My version did not have flaps..." | 2008-05-17 |
| Maybe the flaps are a new feature, but mine did not have any. No problem, though, as flaps don't tend to hold up that well in the long haul anyway. I initially bought this book because of the illustrations featuring two Asian children but found that my two-year-old loved the simple text enough to hear it nightly for weeks at a time. Perhaps it's partially because she saw herself in their faces? A quick (one minute) read...no real "story", just observations about the toddlers' two arms, legs, eyes, ears, etc. A cute book, but outgrown by age 3 as my daughter wanted more of a story by then...we just passed it along to a younger friend ;-) | ||
 | When Sheep Cannot Sleep : The Counting Book | |
| "Clever, if a bit odd..." | 2008-05-17 |
| As others have said, this book IS a bit off the wall, but it is also clever. My kids (4 and 6) enjoyed looking for what was coming up next in the illustrations. Not your typical bedtime book, but not scary or disturbing for my kids by any means. In fact, they caught on to the irony that Wooly ends up thinking about his family members...which, of course, happen to be sheep ;-) If you like this book, check out Kitamura's "In the Attic" for another clever/odd book that my kids found to be a bit silly, too. | ||
 | Millions of Snowflakes | |
| "Adorable!" | 2008-05-17 |
| My daughter has enjoyed reading this book since she was two years old. She is now six and can read it to me, which I love. The text flows well, is sweet, and does a great job of creating a soft, wintry feel. Great for counting one to five as well. It can be difficult to find Asian children featured in illustrations and it was refreshing to see the adorable girl in this book...looks a bit like mine ;-) | ||
 | A Little Whale Tale | |
| "Cute story and illustrations, but..." | 2005-08-09 |
| some of the ryhmes don't flow well when reading aloud. One page reads,"But I know who can help get you right back on course, just ask my friend, she said, the seahorse". Another example, "Pointing his arms the octopus tried his best. Have you looked north, south, east and west?" The last sentence's ryhme is also a stretch: "Every whale was so happy they jumped and they splashed, Because the little lost whale had found his way back!" In addition, the cover of the book has the whale partially covering a cute underwater ocean scene with seahorses, sea stars, etc. floating underneath. However, the pieces so often get stuck under the whale that my three year old daughter finally bent the whale's body out of the way to get the pieces. Now that part of our cover is permanently creased and will likely fall off soon. Having said that, I give the book 4 stars because the illustrations are cute and my daughter loves this short book. I also like the fact that the author used the correct term, sea star, instead of starfish. A small detail, I know. If you are looking for another book about whales, check out "The Snail and the Whale" by Julia Donaldson. It's one I never tire of reading to my children and one they never tire of hearing...it is such a sweet story! | ||
 | An Officer and a Gentleman | |
| "Becoming a classic" | 2003-11-24 |
| This film, if not a classic already, will surely soon become one. I love it!! It not only has the military aspect, but also the chick flick appeal. Enjoy!! | ||
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