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The Queen's Thief Series (The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, A Conspiracy of Kings)

Author(s): 
Megan Whalen Turner
If you, like us, have voracious readers always eager for, sometimes demanding, new reading material, Margaret Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief series is definitely worth a try. Set in a fictionalized version of Greece in something like the sixteenth century, the series continually reveals Mrs. Turner’s love for Greece, its landscape, mythology, learning and even politics. The stories are set in three small adjoining countries, Sounis, Eddis and Attolia.

Pippo the Fool

Book cover: Pippo the Fool
Author(s): 
Tracey E. Fern
Illustrator(s): 
Pau Estrada

I heard this story long ago... most certainly from my story-telling aunt, who had the power to do exactly what this phenomenal books does: to turn real life stories into a delightful tale for children!

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau

Book cover: The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau
Author(s): 
Dan Yaccarino

Like many parents our age, I grew up with Jacques Cousteau, the Frenchman who brought the life below the water level to everyone's homes via TV and films. Here is a colorful, friendly picture book about his life and accomplishments. Curious episodes of his life and his conservation efforts are explained in simple language. Also, beautiful, direct quotes from him are found throughout the colorful book, such as:

Building on Nature

Author(s): 
Rachel Rodríguez
Illustrator(s): 
Julie Paschkis

Like most art students and lovers, I have had mixed feelings about the architecture of Gaudi all my life. When our oldes son visited Barcelona and sent pictures of Gaudi buildings, I planned on learning more about him. Now I find this new and remarkable picture book telling children about a man who was perhaps little understood during his lifetime.

Follow the Line Around the World

Author(s): 
Ljungkvist, Laura
We love geography in our house! And I love it when I find books that bring geography to little ones! This picture book invites the young child to follow an imaginary line around the world, highlighting interesting facts about different places in every continent. [This review is still under construction.]

Paul Revere's Ride

Author(s): 
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Illustrator(s): 
Charlies Santore
Longfellow’s famous poem, Paul Revere’s Ride, is beautifully illustrated in this picture book by Charles Santore. Every page captures both the historical setting and the patriotic significance of a pivotal event in the American Revolution. Illustrations are dark-toned and shadowy, just right for the middle-of-the-night setting. The suspense builds with extreme close-ups that spill over the edges, and bird’s-eye views sweeping over the nighttime landscape.

Newton and Me

Author(s): 
Lynne Mayer
Illustrator(s): 
Sherry Rogers
With the release of Newton and Me I was hoping to find an elementary science book written as an engaging story but, unfortunately, I was disappointed. The book is about a boy and his dog, Newton, discovering various forces in their daily lives, forces first described by Isaac Newton. The difficulty I have with this book is that the reading and concept levels do not match.

Show, Don't Tell!

Author(s): 
Josephine Nobisso
Illustrator(s): 
Eva Montanari
Show Don’t Tell! Secrets of Writing by Josephine Nobisso About 25 years ago, I attended a workshop for teaching writing in which the presenter talked about writing that "shows" as opposed to writing that merely "tells." As she described her method, I thought it was astounding and could quite possibly revolutionize the writing of my students. When I tried to teach it to middle school students, though, I had to break it down into components: What exactly is “showing” writing? How I wish I had had Nobisso’s book at that time.

Finding Darwin's God

Book cover: Finding Darwin's God
Author(s): 
Kenneth Miller

This book sat on our bookshelf for quite a while, unread. Honestly, I found the title offputting, especially given Charles Darwin's known rejection of God in his own life. Eventually, my husband read it, and encouraged me to do the same. Dr. Miller says that he was perturbed by what he saw as some Christians' distrust of science, displayed specifically in their rejection of evolutionary theories in favor of creationism or intelligent design. This is a particular concern of Miller, who is himself a Catholic and co-author of the popular "Miller and Levine" high-school biology text.

First Start French

First Start French from Memoria Press
Author(s): 
Danielle L. Schultz
I learned to speak French YEARS ago. I was blessed to go to a bi-lingual Catholic grammar school where French was a large part of the day. I didn't take French in high school, college or graduate school; that said, I still remember songs and rhymes and simple vocabulary learned many years ago. First Start French is a wonderful, gentle start to teaching and learning this lovely language. The author, Danielle Schultz, wrote the 36 lessons for her daughter when she couldn't find a suitable language program.