Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Bloomsbury Kids Reviews

Bloomsbury Kids has recently released some great children's books. I'd like to recommend two of those releases here, as they are a great fit for both your home library and school/class room library.

By Jennifer Sattler
Published by Bloomsbury Children's Books
Released on September 14th, 2010
Source- Bloomsbury
Age- 2 yrs and older
3.5 Stars- This is a good read

Chick lives for adventure. Pug lives for, well, sleep. In Child's eyes, however, Pug is nothing short of a hero. But with danger around every corner and a hero who's a little low on energy, it may be up to Chick to save the day.

This is a cute book about a chicken who's only source of excitement comes from his The Adventures of Wonder Pug, book. The chicken coop offers very little excitement that he's craving, so he ventures out to find it. With his book in hand he stumbles across a real live wonder pug. What chick doesn't realize, is this "wonder pug" wants to sleep, not play. No matter what Chick does, Wonder Pug hardly budges. My kids laughed at all Chick tries to do to get pug up, until finally he takes matters into his own hands and becomes Wonder Pugs side kick and creates just the adventure he was looking for.

With fun illustrations and a cute story, Chick n Pug is fun family read.



By Ruthie Knapp
Illustrated By Jill McElmurry
Published by Bloomsbury Children's Books
Released on September 1st, 2010
Source- Bloomsbury
Ages- K age and up
4 Stars- We enjoyed it

She has a legendary smile, and millions come to see her every day. Some say she is the most famous painting in the world. Who is she? Why, the Mona Lisa, of course! But did you know that she was once stolen from her wall at the Louvre? Who took her? Why? Where was she hidden? How was she found? Someone call the police!

Narrated by the lady of the enigmatic smile herself—and brought to life with gorgeous paintings that take the reader from da Vinci's renaissance right up to the present day—this is a stylishly whimsical account of the glorious, wonderful, sometimes dangerous life of the best recognized painting of all time. Discover the secrets behind her mysterious smile, and hear for yourself the amazing true story of her kidnapping (quoted from goodreads).

I was pleasantly surprised with this book, as it was an enjoyable read that both my kids and I enjoyed. The story is told from the point of view from the painting, Mona Lisa, as she hangs upon the museum wall. She enjoys hearing the tour guide talk to the visitors about her as he tells them her history. Her story gives us a brief history on how she was created, the famous people who have loved her and what happened to her when she was stolen and when she was found and returned to her rightful place in the museum.

I'll admit, I learned some thing from reading Who Stole Mona Lisa. I think this is a great addition for any home or school library. I would definitely recommend using this in any art room or class lessons on art or history.
I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~ Anna Quindlen

Good children's literature appeals not only to
the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.
~ Anonymous ~