Students of history have long been fascinated by the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. The nearby volcano, Vesuvius, erupted in 79 AD, burying the city and its inhabitants under several feet of volcanic ash and sediment. People quickly forgot about the city, and it lay buried for nearly two-thousand years. As people started reading Pliny... Continue Reading →
Big Book of Science and Nature
My favorite science book of all-time is The Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature by Stan and Jan Berenstain. How can you resist learning science with the Berenstain Bears - especially from Professor Actual Factual, the Foremost Bear Scientist of His Time (as featured on the book cover)? This is a big book... Continue Reading →
Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists
Mike Venezia has written over two dozen very engaging books about famous artists in his series Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists. Each book in the series focuses on one particular artist, from Botticelli to Andy Warhol, from Monet to Jackson Pollock and many in between. Venezia does a great job of telling readers... Continue Reading →
Madeline
Before Fancy Nancy, girls fell in love with Madeline. Girls still love Madeline - and for good reason. Ludwig Bemelmans created Madeline after he moved to the United States and became a US citizen. Bemelmans wrote and illustrated several Madeline books, most of which take place in Paris, France. Children love the lilting rhyme of... Continue Reading →
The Thieves of Ostia
My children are voracious readers. In search of something that would capture my oldest's attention, I discovered The Thieves of Ostia by Caroline Lawrence, the first in her The Roman Mysteries series at our local library. I made sure I read it before Nathaniel, because I was concerned about the character treatments, plot, and any... Continue Reading →
How Artists See:
Colleen Carroll has created treasures for parents who wish to teach their children about art - especially those who don't know much about art themselves. Her series of books titled How Artists See... give parents and children a common vocabulary with which to discuss paintings. Each two-page spread focuses on a different painting and guides... Continue Reading →
Otto of the Silver Hand
When I first started reading Otto of the Silver Hand, written and illustrated by Howard Pyle, I never thought I would include it as one of my favorites. But now that I have finished it, I realized it more than makes the cut. Otto of the Silver Hand is set in Medieval Europe, a time... Continue Reading →
The Cat in the Hat
No American childhood would be complete without reading Dr. Seuss's famous book The Cat in the Hat. Hollywood has taken to turning Dr. Seuss's simple children's books into movies - but as with most movies, the books are better. The Cat in the Hat tells the story of a boy and his sister, left alone... Continue Reading →
What’s the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
Children studying the Revolutionary War will find What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? by Jean Fritz. Fritz starts with information every child is curious about - Franklin's childhood. Instead of boring readers with facts and figures, Fritz tells stories from Franklin's life - of how he taught himself to swim different strokes, how he studied... Continue Reading →
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
My nine-year-old just told me, "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch starts off boring, but then it gets really interesting." She did complain about listening to it in the van, but when Nathaniel Bowditch fell in love with Elizabeth - and she begged to listen to Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham. She is a... Continue Reading →
Cultivating Readers 