Part two of reviews... THE LIBRARY BOOKS!
Jan. 13th, 2011 11:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly1.Whatever
Billy is impossible to impress. He (and my nieces) just says "whatever" to whatever you show him. Of course, then he gets eaten by a tiger, but he's swallowed whole, I'm sure he'll be all right. That's the part where my nieces lose it and fall into a heap of giggles.
Of course, pretend cannibalism is all the rage in this family. We're constantly hiding from "big scary monsters" (that want to eat us) or threatening to eat other people's toes. So a non-graphic image of a kid being eaten by a tiger is just par for the course.
2. Psst!
I love the artwork here, with the retro text and the little jokes hidden around on every page.
My nieces weren't so into the artwork, but they liked the dialog a lot. Thought it was hilarious. All that's left is the plot... which, okay, is a bit thin (girl goes to the zoo, gets co-opted into picking up groceries for zoo animals, does so), but so be it. Can't have everything.
3. The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish
My nieces liked this book enough to take a re-read of it when we took it out of the library. And it is a funny book - a ridiculous premise (like any dad would just let himself be led to a rabbit hutch in exchange for (among other things) a pair of goldfish), realistic sibling antagonism, and of course a total lack of a moral at the end.
But the chain of trades really drags on too long for my tastes.
4. Ahmed and the Feather Girl
First things first, Jane Ray makes some absolutely gorgeous artwork. Her illustrations in this book are, as always, wonderful.
The story here is a little simple - there's nothing you haven't seen before, and everything is predictable for anyone who is not a small child - but it's at least told with creative, interesting language. On the whole, I prefer The Apple-Pip Princess (which is the first book I ever read by this author), but this is a good addition to your kid's library regardless.
5. Kibitzers and Fools
Still not Jewish, but I always say a funny story is a funny story. The nieces agreed, and laughed a lot at the morals.
I've actually encountered some of these stories (like the Fresh Fish Sold Here Daily story, or the one about the illiterate) in other, non-Jewish contexts before. Nice to see we all tell the same stories about the same silly people.
In case you miss the Yiddish explanations within each story, there's a glossary at the start of the book.
Billy is impossible to impress. He (and my nieces) just says "whatever" to whatever you show him. Of course, then he gets eaten by a tiger, but he's swallowed whole, I'm sure he'll be all right. That's the part where my nieces lose it and fall into a heap of giggles.
Of course, pretend cannibalism is all the rage in this family. We're constantly hiding from "big scary monsters" (that want to eat us) or threatening to eat other people's toes. So a non-graphic image of a kid being eaten by a tiger is just par for the course.
2. Psst!
I love the artwork here, with the retro text and the little jokes hidden around on every page.
My nieces weren't so into the artwork, but they liked the dialog a lot. Thought it was hilarious. All that's left is the plot... which, okay, is a bit thin (girl goes to the zoo, gets co-opted into picking up groceries for zoo animals, does so), but so be it. Can't have everything.
3. The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish
My nieces liked this book enough to take a re-read of it when we took it out of the library. And it is a funny book - a ridiculous premise (like any dad would just let himself be led to a rabbit hutch in exchange for (among other things) a pair of goldfish), realistic sibling antagonism, and of course a total lack of a moral at the end.
But the chain of trades really drags on too long for my tastes.
4. Ahmed and the Feather Girl
First things first, Jane Ray makes some absolutely gorgeous artwork. Her illustrations in this book are, as always, wonderful.
The story here is a little simple - there's nothing you haven't seen before, and everything is predictable for anyone who is not a small child - but it's at least told with creative, interesting language. On the whole, I prefer The Apple-Pip Princess (which is the first book I ever read by this author), but this is a good addition to your kid's library regardless.
5. Kibitzers and Fools
Still not Jewish, but I always say a funny story is a funny story. The nieces agreed, and laughed a lot at the morals.
I've actually encountered some of these stories (like the Fresh Fish Sold Here Daily story, or the one about the illiterate) in other, non-Jewish contexts before. Nice to see we all tell the same stories about the same silly people.
In case you miss the Yiddish explanations within each story, there's a glossary at the start of the book.
