Title: First the Egg
Author and Illustrator: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Roaring Book Press (September 2007)
Reading Level: Preschool
Theme: Science, Interaction, Read-aloud, Informative
What came first? The Chicken or the Egg? Laura Vaccaro Seeger tries to answer the question in this interactive book. What caught my attention was the cover; simple yet vibrant. As you begin to read and go through the book, you can't help but touch the small die cuts . The story is very simple and revolves around science. Perfect for young readers!
The story first starts with, "First the Egg" and it explains the transformation it takes; not only for the egg, but this is done for the tadpole, seed, caterpillar, and a word. Like I said before, a very simple and cute book that indulges in many colors.
Enjoy!
Title: Gecko's Complaint: A Balinese Folktale
Retold by: Ann Martin Bowler
Illustrated by: I. Gusti Made Sukanada
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Periplus Edition (HK) Ltd (May 2003)
Reading Level: 4-8
Theme: Folktale
First of, you might be thinking 'Where is Balines?" or "Oh, wow, I didn't know Balinese existed" Well you're not alone. This is the first time I stumble upon it too so don't worry :). Well I then Google the word and found out that Bali is an Indonesia Island.
Gecko's Compliant is about a Gecko who couldn't sleep at night, until one day, when he couldn't take it anymore, headed to the top of the hill to complaint to Raden, the Jungle Chief whom was also affected by Gecko's complaint. As the chief, he took the proper course of action and tried to solve all the problems that were leading to Gecko's; until he arrived at cloud, that's when he finally realized that complaints are really meaningless when there are more important things in life.
In a way, this story is very similar to situations in our every day life; when the only way to solve one issue is to solve the ones before it. But the ending is what I thought made the biggest impact of all, "Quit your complaining! Go home and live in peace with one another!"
I don't know about you, but that makes sense to me. :)
Enjoy
Title: Jack and the Beanstalk
Retold and Illustrated by: Steven Kellogg
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher (April 1997)
Reading Level: 4-8
Theme: Folklore, Fairy tales
Ah, yes, Jack and the beanstalk a well-known story by almost everyone, and like many other fairy tales; there are many different versions to it. And this version is retold in a different way.
As I read Jack and the Beanstalk, I seriously thought Jack was very greedy boy! In some versions, Jack goes up the beanstalk once, but on this story, he goes up again and again. Never satisfied that boy. But nonetheless, a great folkloric tale that will be enjoyed by children. One thing though, I think this one story is retold and illustrated a little darker then the usual ones, so heed my warning, but I hope you pick it up. After all, you can never get bored with a different version to one fairy tale.
Enjoy!
Excerpt: Jack's conversation with a mysterious man
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