Mini Myths: Play Nice, HERCULES! and Be Patient, PANDORA! by Joan Holub and Leslie Patricelli

-


Mythology for toddlers? No matter what your opinion on this subject, Joan Holub, prolific children's book author and creator of the Goddess Girls series of chapter books, the sixteenth book of which will be published soon and illustrated by Leslie Patricelli, creator of a hilarious, very fun series of board books (see below) are the perfect pair to have a go at this concept. Mini Myths, a new series, is a "mythology-inspired modern-day parable for the young and young at heart" that is just plain fun to read. No matter what the take-away lesson on mythology is or how well it's understood, I guarantee you that little listeners will love these books. A paragraph at the end of each book gives a brief but thorough explains the original myth.

In Be Patient, Pandora! we see Pandora, a box and her mother, who tells her not to open the box.



Pandora ponders the box. Pandora prods the box, saying, "I am not opening the box. I am only touching it." She leans on it, sits on it and eventually bounces on it, but only a "teensy bit." When the box burst open and the surprising contents explode from the inside, Pandora is immediately sorry, asking, "Do you still love me? I hope so," with the word "hope" highlighted in pink, a nice nod to the original myth. Patricelli's expressively playful, thickly lined drawings capture the expressions of little kids perfectly, as do the bright, primary colors she uses in her illustrations.



In Play Nice, Hercules! a big brother terrorizes his little sister, even though Dad tells him to play nice.




Being Hercules, he just can't contain himself, showing readers how he can "wham-bam monsters," and "whomp-stomp bad guys" which, inevitably leads to ka-booming his little sister's castle. When she cries, he realizes what he has done and rebuilds it for her better than before. In a nice twist, Play Nice, Hercules! ends with his little sister happily smashing the castle Hercules built for her.


Coming next Spring, Brush Your Hair, Medusa!


For slightly older readers, don't miss Rosemary Wells adaptation of favorite myths using her wonderful Max & Ruby characters.



Source: Review Copy


Don't miss Leslie Patricelli's 
other brilliant board books!







Popular posts from this blog

Fox + Chick: The Sleepover and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

-
Image
Fox + Chick : The Sleepover and Other Stories  by Sergio Ruzzier Review Copy from Chronicle Books Friends. Opposites. Inhabitants of a pastel-hued, water color world that is vaguely surreal, Fox and Chick are back for a third installment of their inviting, if curious, easy-to-read stories. In "The Sleepover," "The Hammer," and "The Surprise," Chick's odd logic is once again upending Fox's life. Happily, Fox responds with patience and even wisdom at times. To these unforgettable characters and luminous illustrations, Ruzzier brings a sublime simplicity that makes this series perfect for emerging readers, adding books with character and intelligence to the often dull world of beginning reader books. If you aren't familiar with this delightful duo, definitely check out my reviews of the first two books (links below) where I put the greatness of Ruzzier's work into historical ( Frog & Toad ) context. Then check out ALL of Ruzzier's p
Read more

Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari illustrated by Felicita Sala

-
Image
Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari illustrated by Felicita Sala Review Copy from Abrams Kids I picture-walked Be a Tree! three times before I actually read the words. Felicita Sala's illustrations for Maria Gianferrari's poetic text are mesmerizingly immersive and richly colorful within a palette of earth tones. Throughout the text, Gianferrari, who shares her inspiration for this book in the author's note ( Peter Wohleben's The Hidden Life of Trees ), gently maintains the human connection to trees and the connections (and communications) trees share with each other.  Be a Tree!  begins exuberantly, inviting the reader to "Be a tree! Stand tall. Stretch your branches to the sun. Let your roots curl, coil in the soil to ground you." From your spine/trunk to your skin/bark and your heart/pith, the words carry you inward and then zoom outward and up to the canopy and ultimately, the forest. "You are one of many trees," and our roots "twine with fung
Read more

Reading Levels: A Quick Guide to Determining if a Book Is Right for Your Reader

-
Image
While I wrote an article titled Reading Levels: How I Assign Reading Levels to Books, How the Publishers Do It and How You Can Help Your Reader Find the Right Book at the Right Time that discusses how reading levels are determined by professionals and amateurs like myself, there is more on this subject to discuss. Determining the reading level of a book from the children's section is never easy, mostly because there are several different standardized methods of determining reading levels. Add to this the fact that knowing their children's reading level is most often the only tool a parent is armed with when exploring the bookstore, library, website, etc, and the job becomes even more difficult. While I think that knowing a child's reading level is a very valuable tool if your child is reading below grade level, I think that it is a secondary consideration when finding books for children reading above, especially well above, grade level because, in most cases, content app
Read more