What we're reading September 11, 2010

This is my second week linking up to:

 

over at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns.

Books recommended by letteroftheweek.com:

Too Much Noise by Ann McGovern

This book is about an old man who complains about the noise in his home, normal, everyday noises.  He is given advice by a wise man which seems contradictory, but in the end we see the wisdom in the wise man's advice.  I am not going to give away what the advice is, only to say that when I asked Tabitha what she liked about the book she said she liked the animals.  They got a kick out of the illustration of the old man on the book cover who was covering his ears with his hands because it reminded them of when they covered their ears at the fireworks on July 4th.

The children really seemed to enjoy this book.  It has been read a couple of times and taken up to bed by Tabitha (not by Amelia because I want to return it to the library in one piece).  It is a predictable, repetitive book where only the first line of each new page is different and all the other lines are repeated.  Perfect for younger children to join in, not that mine did.  I also like that there was a very important lesson learned in this book.

Noah's Ark by Linda Hayward

This is a Step Into Reading book that I actually already owned from when the older children were reading beginner readers (so glad I kept all this stuff).  It is simply another retelling of the story of Noah building the ark as commanded by God.  Written at a level for preschool through 1st grade, with simple larger text arranged in short sentences with simple illustrations.  The story was sort of accurate, with the same simplifications of other children's versions (omitting the fact that Noah took 7 of the "clean" animals, only sending out the dove one time, no sacrifice after they left the ark) yet the author added grandchildren on the ark and I don't believe that is accurate.  And like many others it shows the ark the size of a small boat perhaps instead of this huge ark that is described in the Bible.  A very inaccurate drawing of the ark, lots of windows, animal heads sticking out, animals crushed together, Noah riding outside on deck. A typical misrepresentation that leads to people's belief that Noah's ark is just a children's story instead of historical fact.

If you are looking for a book about Noah that is easy for your child to read, this is a great book.  Tabitha read a few words here and there with encouragement and she read the last page on her own, minus two words.  However, if you are looking for a Biblically accurate representation of the story, this is not the one.  

However, the next book is definitely a better representation:

Alice in Bibleland: The Story of Noah by Alice Joyce Davidson

This is a series of books that was sold through Grolier Book Club (not sure if they still have them or not, once again I purchased them years ago for the older children.  Unfortunately I no longer have them and need to borrow them).  In these stories Alice is a little girl who loves to go to Bible School and she has a bible story book that becomes a giant screen after she receives a letter from the airmail bird and she steps through it to Bible Land.  I believe the Noah story was the first book in the series.  Alice gets to watch the Bible story come to life in front of her eyes.  She sees the wickedness of the people, she watches Noah build the ark and bring the animals in.  She sees Noah send out the dove 3 times and she sees Noah and his family and the animals leave the ark when the water has receded.  I love the rhyming text  in these stories and the accuracy.  The illustrations are beautiful and much more Biblical.  I really love this book, along with the remainder of the series and would recommend you to share them with your children if you can lay your hands on them.  I am not sure if I am remembering accurately, but I think some of the books actually call it a "magic" screen and says that reading is the magic key, which some Christians who are more conservative might have a problem with.  The Story of Noah, however does not use that terminology.  Like I said I am not sure if I am remembering correctly and I realize most of my readers won't have a problem with it even if I am.

Book recommended by Reading lessons dot com

Night Noises by Mem Fox

In this story an old lady named Lily Laceby is sitting, dreaming in her chair and her dog is lying beside her on the floor, increasingly agitated by noises he hears outside the house.  There are only slight changes as you go from page to page.  Each double page spread shows a close up of the outside sound in a box off to the side, with the main picture being Lily Laceby dozing in her chair with her dog beside her.  The dog is shown with slight differences as the story progresses.  We also have a box on the right showing her dreams.  When we finally learn what the noises signify we are treated to the same surprise Lily wakes up to and the illustrations go to full double page complete pictures of the scenes with no inset panels.  A sweet story about the importance of family and their love.  Made me a little misty eyed actually.  Like other reviews I have seen I am not crazy about the illustrations, but it was a sweet story.

And I wanted to have a book that emphasized the n sound, so we are using our Sesame Street alphabet books.  

Nn: No Nap for Natasha by 

In this story the muppet baby Natasha is left with Big Bird to be babysat while her parents are away.  She wants lots of things, but not her nap that Big Bird assured her parents she would get.  She wants noodles and nectarines, she wants to play and visit neighbors.  

I love this series of books.  They are not all written by the same person and some rhyme while others are written in more of a story form.  The N story is a simple story told in a way to hold a child's attention.  It also has a cute little twist at the conclusion of the book. 

On a side note, I really believe these books help the girls learn to recognize their letters.  Tabitha was recognizing her letters before she turned 2, Amelia was a little older, but she recognizes her letters and knows quite a few sounds.  We will be including the appropriate book for each letter we do this year.

I also found the following book at the library

Nothing by Jon Agee

When the richest lady in town walks into Otis's shop at close time she wants to know what he has to sell.  When he informs her "nothing" she surprises him by wanting to purchase nothing, paying a great amount for nothing.  When he refuses to sell her nothing the following day she finds another shopkeeper who is willing to oblige.  This turns into a frenzy of interest of buying nothing and of course in order to have room for nothing everyone has to get rid of their things. And of course their belongings have to end up somewhere, which is where this story comes around full circle.

I really enjoyed this book, wasn't thrilled with the illustrations, but I thought the story was cute with a good message and Tabitha likes it too and that is always important.