Oregon Trail is a children’s book that explains what the Oregon Trail was and why it was so important to the development of the United States. When the pioneers set out to make their mark out west there was one way to get there and that was the Oregon Trail. It started in Independence , Missouri and ended in Oregon City, Oregon.
The book has great pictures and maps showing the way that the pioneers had to travel on their way out west to grab their own piece of land to start a new life. The book explains about all of the dangers that the travelors faced on their trip and talked about what the settlers would need to make the journey. It is interesting to note that there were certain times of the year that the pioneers could travel because of the changing seasons and weather conditions. Traveling by covered wagon was not as fast or as safe as traveling today.
Some interesting facts are that there was a mountain trail that was so narrow that they called it the Devil’s Backbone because both people and the wagons with the animals had to walk single file along it’s ridges. Did you know that there are still to this day wagon tracks that can be seen on parts of the Oregon Trail? This book is educational and fun to look at and imagine what it would be like to travel across the country in the same way that the pioneers did.
Oregon Trail was written by Sarah Tieck and was copyrighted in 2008 by ABDO Publishing Company. You can visit their website here: http://www.abdopublishing.com
Nancy Bourke has written a wonderful children’s book of poems filled with expressions of childlike awe and joy of everyday experiences that life and nature provide. As people grow up, they somehow lose their appreciation of the small things in life; like the feel of grass beneath their feet, or their amazement as the seeds of a dandelion are taken away like little miniature dandelion bubbles on the journey of the wind.
Nancy Bourke, the author, tells of her inspiration for writing Dandelion Bubbles; it was a spring day at the park with her son who was three years old at the time. Mother and son were blowing the white fluffy dandelion flowers into the wind when her son called them dandelion bubbles. Those words inspired the title of the poem that she wrote the next day…it also became the title of the book. The book became a family project as Nancy’s husband Kevin Bourke took some of the photos that were published in the finished book. Speaking of the photos, the feel and ambience of the words is captured visually through the skilled photos between the covers of the book.
The book, Dandelion Bubbles, reacquaints the reader with the feelings of their childhood when everything that they witnessed about the world around them filled them with excitement. A child’s joy is contagious. Adults need to merely listen to the words of a child to be inspired to find their own appreciation of the seasons and the environment. The poems in this book, written for young readers ages birth to approximately seven years of age, will encourage your child to describe the world around them in ways that will fill you with amazement; and, remind you to enjoy the world around you. I highly recommend this book for you to share with some special young reader who holds your heart in their hands.
If you would like to purchase this book you can go to Nancy’s website here: http://www.dandelionbubbles.com/home.html or you can purchase the book at: http://www.amazon.com . This book was received by me from the author as a free review copy.
This kids book is exactly what the title says it is, a book called All About Vegetables. I love all of the bright, bold colors of the pages and covers of this book. It is eye catching and really makes the pictures pop out. The author, Vic Parker, answers the question; what are vegetables and where they are grown. He goes on to talk about how we eat vegetables and why our bodies need them.
There are some really great kid friendly sidebars that include suggestions for certain vegetables and even the occasional recipe. There are vegetable facts such as which vegetable is good for your brain, which one for your eyesight and even which vegetables are good for your heart. There is information about how many fruits or vegetables people should eat to stay healthy.
This book may even inspire some young readers to want to grow some of their own vegetables in a garden. The pictures really help to explain the process. I highly recommend this book for ages 4-10 years of age. It was well done.
All About Vegetables was copyrighted in 2009 by QEB Publishing, Inc. You can visit their website here: http://www.qeb-publishing.com
For Hannah Montana fans this book, Hannah Montana The Movie Secret Crush is going to be a treat. It basically details the movie that Miley Cyrus made last year. It tells the story of Hannah/Miley who lives a double life as a regular country girl from Tennessee who makes in big as a pop star and who now lives in California. However, she gets so caught up in her pop star life that she begins to loose sight of who she is on the inside by neglecting her friends and family and being content to live her life on the surface of glamour and media attention.
Hannah realizes that she needs to reconnect with herself and her life before the life of a popstar, and that includes her horse Blue Jeans, her grandmother, her town and her other friends and family.
There are some really great pictures from the movie. The story reminds Miley/Hannah of who she is and that her friends, family and new boyfriend are what is really important to her as a person. It is a good value to instill in the young tween and pre-teen readers who will find this book appealing. The book was published in 2009 by Disney Press. It was adapted by Kate Egan and based on the screenplay written by Dan Berendsen.
As with most books about beautiful places in the great outdoors…the writer of The Signal, Ron Carlson, is gifted with describing the mountainous scenery and creating an image in the mind of the reader. This builds a background of love and commitment behind the story; after all, who couldn’t love the bond between the land and the main characters in this story. It adds richness and depth to the lengths to which a man will go to protect a legacy of preserving land that has been in the family for generations. When that legacy is threatened because of finances, Mack finds himself on a downward spiral as he tries to come up with ways to save the ranch. Before he knows it, he has jepardized his relationship with his wife who loves the man and his ranch and sacrifices right along with beside him willingly.
When his failure to overcome financial obstacles starts to consume him and destroy him…it causes her to leave temparily. This in turn leads him to a life of crime and an over-indulgence in substances that numb him and allows him to lower his moral standards even farther until he can no longer tolerate the man he has become. As he tries to regain his self worth he attempts to reconnect with his wife who has divorced him. Can they find their way back to one another after such devastation?
One last time, they agree to camp and fish together on the land they love so that they can have closure on their relationship. He has hurt her badly and regrets it; knowing that when he let her go it was a huge mistake. He had temporarily in the midst of his addictions had a relationship with a fellow addict…his wife Vonnie knows of this and is hurt. On this last time together on the land that drew them together in the first place and upon which their love was grown they come to a place of healing only to find their future endangered by the past illegal relationships that Mack had tried to walk away from. Where they go and how they get their is why you will want to dive into the words between the covers of this book. If you love action, stories about commitment and relationships you will enjoy this book.
The Signal was copyrighted in 2009 by Viking. You can visit their site here: http://www.vpbookclub.com/