We started a number of chapter books last week among the picture books. As usual, hover over the picture for title and author.
A Swim Through the Sea is a better-than-average alphabet book, with detailed and realistic illustrations of sea life. Curious George’s Dinosaur Discovery is my boys’ favourite title in the series. George goes on a dinosaur dig, where he makes his usual mess of things, but the ensuing rockslide reveals hidden dinosaur bones. The book ends with the new “Georgeosaurus” on display at the natural history museum. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig is not to be missed; it is hilarious to any child who is familiar with the original three little pigs story. The three little wolves leave home, building houses of brick, concrete and barbed wire, etc. which the big bad pig resolves to huff and puff and puff and huff away. When this doesn’t work, well—he’s not called the big bad pig for nothing—so the pig acquires jackhammers and dynamite and so on to destroy the houses. The wolves’ last house, made of flowers, proves to be the most successful, as in huffing and puffing the pig gets a whiff of the lovely flowers, which softens his heart and makes him a nice friendly pig. I’d love to hear other readers favourite ‘fractured’ or altered fairy tales; my boys are at just the right age for them now.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is no doubt a title that most readers of this blog will be familiar with from their own childhoods; Daegan is finding it quite amusing. There are passing references to things such as mugging, dope pushers, and so on that have led to some interesting discussions between us, but our most interesting talk came after reading the chapter where Fudge refuses to eat. After worrying his mother, going to many doctors, having his favourite dinner made only to still refuse, it climaxes when Fudge asks for a bowl of cereal instead. When he refuses again to eat, the dad says “Eat it or wear it” and ends up dumping the cereal, milk and all, over Fudge after putting him in the tub to contain the mess. It was interesting to see what my kids thought of the father’s actions. Fossil Fever is a must read beginning chapter for any young boy wanting to go on a dinosaur dig; I was pleased to find it not ‘dumbed down’ in the way many books of that sort are.
All Aboard takes Matt and Emily to the time of “the last spike”, which completed the railway line that connected Canada coast to coast in 1885. The series is very similar to the Magic Tree House books, with Emily and Matt finding a magic sled and various objects in a tower room that belonged to Emily’s aunt. Rubbing the leaf on the sled while holding the object transports them to other times and places for wonderful adventures with a Canadian flavour. Our favourite title in the series was Crazy For Gold about the Klondike gold rush in the 1890s. Highly recommended!
Gareth has expressed an interest in trying chapter books, so we are planning to re-read the Magic Tree House series, beginning with Dinosaurs Before Dark. These books were very popular with Daegan, and are a wonderful introduction to chapter books as the main characters and format remain the same from title to title. Also good for general introductions to a variety of topics, from dinosaurs to Shakespeare to the US Civil War. Charge of the Triceratops is the first we have read in the new Dinosaur Cove chapter book series, about two boys who find a secret passageway in a cave that takes them to a time when dinosaurs were still alive. The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups was overall disappointing—we found the humour not all that funny in most of it—but the sections about eating vegetables to prevent the rise of carnivorous vegetables like in olden times was absolutely hilarious. The only other part Daegan enjoyed was about the Scottish mattresses.
Gareth found A friend for Dragon quite funny, about Dragon adopting an apple as a friend. Dinosaurs is interesting visually, as the illustrations are done 3-D style, and do jump off the page at you. Gareth has also been enjoying titles in the Magic School Bus Phonics Reading Program. This set of 12 very thin beginner books starts with a half-dozen or so words on the first page for the budding reader to look for in the story. While neither of my boys have enjoyed phonics readers in general—the Bob books were not well-received here—these titles have kept his interest much more, probably due to his familiarity with the TV show and his interest in science.
Happy reading!