Bookfoolery : Waterbrook Press

Showing posts with label Waterbrook Press. Show all posts

Friday, July 22, 2011

God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren and Fiona Friday pic

God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Illustrated by Laura J. Bryant

Waterbrook Press - Children's Board Book/Christian

22 pages

The God Gave Us children's series has been around since 2000 and there are 6 different titles. God Gave Us You is the first to be made in the form of a board book and the content is just what it sounds like. A little polar bear asks his mother where he came from. She tells her little one that she and the little bear's father were lonely and wanted a baby . . . and God gave them one.

This is one very human polar bear family, so you're basically reading about a human pregnancy and birth but with bears as the parents and child. They create a nursery, go to the doctor, wait and wait, then rush to the hospital to deliver and bring their baby polar bear home. Little ones won't know the difference, but the very-human polar bear pregnancy did surprise me a bit!

The story is sweet and repetitive, but in a good way. One note, though -- God Gave Us You is geared to traditional, 2-parent families. Single parents and even adoptive families will have to adapt the words a bit. "God gave us you" is repeated on nearly every page, so it's also definitely a book for those who believe in God.

I would not call this book a personal favorite because of its bias toward traditional, 2-parent families, but there was a time I wouldn't have noticed that and I occasionally altered the words in books to suit me, when my children were small -- at least till they were older and I started to get caught.

You can see a sneak peek inside God Gave Us You, here. My thanks to Waterbrook Press and FirstWild for the review copy, which will be passed on to a family with a little one.

And, now for Fiona Friday!

I love this picture! Look at that look of genuine admiration in Isabel's eyes. She really looks up to her big sister! Just after I snapped this shot, Fiona began to groom Isabel and Izzy just lolled around looking blissful. They are so, so cute together.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

God Gave Us the World by Bergren & Bryant (review)

God Gave Us the World by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Illustrated by Laura J. Bryant

Waterbrook Press - Children (ages 4-8)

40 pages

Little Cub and his mother are talking about the different varieties of snow God makes when mother polar bear mentions that there are other kinds of bears living around the world. Little Cub is surprised as his mother mentions the things they eat and the places they live, how God made many types of creatures and spread them all over the world. He peppers her with questions as she describes the other bears and tells how they're much like polar bears on the inside, even though they may look different and live in different climates.

God Gave Us the World is a sweet little story about the variety of creation in the world and how much we're alike in spite of our physical differences with a sly mention of why we should take good care of our precious Earth.

Lovely illustrations and straightforward writing make God Gave Us the World a great addition to any home library. Peek inside God Gave Us the World to see some interior spreads and read the first few pages.

For those who are interested, God is mentioned constantly in this book. If you don't believe in a Creator and have no interest in books that describe a God who created the world, this isn't the book for you. For the rest, God Gave Us the World is a simple and beautiful way to share your belief with small children. While it's labeled a "Christian" book because of the publisher, it's not religion-specific.

Another ice photo seems apropos to a post with a book starring polar bears. I think I'm having every bit as much fun zooming in on icicles to look at their details as I had taking the photos. Ice is beautiful!! All those little bubbles fascinate me. You can actually click on this one to see a larger image. I don't know why sometimes you can enlarge the photos I post and sometimes you can't, but it's fun to look at a magnified view of an icicle.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Dragon and the Turtle Go on Safari by Paul, Denmark and Nguyen (review)

The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari

By D. K. Paul & E. Denmark

Illustrated by Vincent Nguyen

Children's - Ages 4-8

Waterbrook Press

40 pages

I love reading children's books but apparently I have to be awake to read them. The first time I picked up The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari, I was baffled. I was also very sleepy. The second time I read the book, it made total sense. Let this be a lesson to Bookfool. Read while awake.

The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari is the story of a camping trip taken by Padraig the dragon and his best friend, Roger the turtle. There's a mix of reality and make-believe as they imagine themselves on safari, camped out at the base of Mount Sillymanborrow. Really, they're in a tent in Roger's backyard.

As they cook their supper (baked bugs and s'mores) and climb into their sleeping bags, they talk each other through the strange sounds they hear. A "herd of elephants" is really a raccoon (humorously shown as a raccoon with an elephant trunk on one page while the opposite spread shows the imagined herd of elephants). A "rhinoceros" is a dog. At one point, they even venture outside of the tent to save a "leopard", which is referred to as a "leopard-er-kitten."

Although they try to be courageous, Padraig and Roger head back to the house thinking they've failed to last the night and discover it is, in fact, dawn. At the end of the book is a bonus story that explains the name "Mount Sillymanborrow" with some thoughts about courage, honesty and the how Padraig and Roger treated each other with respect (helping each other, not making fun of each others' fears). There is also a Bible verse about why one need not be afraid.

I liked The Dragon and the Turtle Go on Safari the second time I read it. I think the combination of reality and make-believe in the illustrations are done well and all of the animals have a perky, happy look about them which I love in a children's book. I did think the writing was a little flat and disliked the "leopard-er-kitten" description, which I think could be especially confusing to a new reader. A parent really needs to be present when this book is first read, just in case children don't understand the imaginary animals and setting overlaid upon reality -- although, let's be honest . . . kids figure these things out pretty easily and quickly.

There is at least one reference to God, other than the Bible verse, which gives the book a Christian undercurrent without God becoming the focus. It's really about courage and friendship.

A lovely little book with great illustrations and a strong theme. Read it with a clear head; it can be a little confusing and the writing a bit flat as it's not particularly adventurous. The action mostly involves cooking and chatter about noises in a backyard, plus the rescue of a kitten. Recommended, but I especially advise reading to young children in case they have questions and to generate discussion, at first.

Take a look inside The Dragon and the Turtle Go On Safari to get a better idea of whether this book is for you and your child.

Here's one of the surprising animals I found while on safari in my backyard, yesterday:

A leopard! Or, rather, a leopard-patterned oven mitt. Yes, people, this is the kind of thing I get when I ask Huzzybuns to please cover the outdoor faucets before the freeze. After three requests (likely translation in Husbandese: "henpecking"), my dear spouse grabbed an oven mitt and plopped it over the faucet handle without even a rubber band to hold it in place. Fortunately, there was no wind, although Huzzybuns did reply that a rubber band, "would have been a good idea," when I mentioned the possibility.