( I ) Books - Page 4

Ben's Trumpet (Live Oak Music Makers)

Amazon Price: $16.95 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Live Oak Media Amazon Marketplace: 2 new & used starting at $13.95

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( I ) -> Isadora, Rachel
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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Riviting and remarkable - a true classic 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

There are large and small crimes in the world. Small crimes includes little white lies and petty theft. Large crimes represent something much larger in the grand scheme of things. For example, it is a very large crime that it took the New York Public Library's 2003 100 Children's Books Everyone Should Know for me to discover "Ben's Trumpet". Have you seen this book? This is a gorgeous piece of work, particularly striking in its publication date (1979) but not dated. Not even a little. Following Ben, a young man living in a Harlem-esque neighborhood, the story depicts the boy's obsession with playing the trumpet. The plot is touching and has a happy ending that doesn't feel forced or tacked on. It flows just as smoothly as the book itself. Nice storylines aren't what push this book into greatness, however. Look at the illustrations a minute. Notice Isadora's use of line. Her clever placement of black and white. Look at the different drawing styles that emanate from the jazz musicians and their music. Now compare this to Ben's home, a simplistic realistic series of pictures. My favorite section comes after the trumpeter at the Zig Zag Jazz Club compliments Ben on his trumpet playing. The next two pages show the trumpeter walking away, his body curved, swaying to some internal music. On the opposite page there is a kaleidoscope of forms and images, possibly representing Ben's elation at the compliment. Possibly just serving as gorgeous filler. Please read this to your children. Teach this to your children. And give this book to everyone you know. Do I gush? I know I do. But trust me, this book is worth it.

Editorial Review:

The story of Ben is fiction, but it could be the story of more than one jazz musician who grew up in the twenties. Using the art-deco style of the period, Rachel Isadora not only captures the poignancy and yearning of a youthful talent, but in page after page of striking art seems to convey the very sound of music.

The Haunting of Granite Falls

Eva Ibbotson

Amazon Price: $5.99 List Price: $5.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Puffin Amazon Marketplace: 54 new & used starting at $0.01

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( I ) -> Ibbotson, Eva

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great story, wild characters, laugh out loud situations 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Be aware that there are 3 books with the exact same story word for word. "The Haunting of Granite Falls", "The Haunting of Hiram C. Hopgood", and "The Haunting of Hiram" are all the same story by the same author. Just a different title and different cover art, same book inside. This is not the author's fault by the way, it is just that 2 publishers have the right to publish, Puffin and Macmillan, and this is what they have done. For some reason that is done with another book from this author, "Island of the Aunts" is also released as "Monster Mission". Personally, I like the artwork on the Macmillan covers better.

On to the story - This is a book about a rich Texan that buys a Scottish Castle named Carra from the last heir of an old family, an orphan boy. But he does not want any ghosts included as he is worried that they will scare the little girl that will live in the castle. The millionaire ships the whole thing stone by stone and rebuilds it in Texas. But the castle does have ghosts, very nice ones who have helped raise the boy. They include a viking, a ghost dog, and Miss Spinks. What the millionaire does not notice is that the ghosts do come with the castle. The boy flies to America to get the ghosts out and stays in the castle. When they learn they cannnot stay, they move into an old movie theatre next door, where they meet the mysterious ghost hand. Somehow, he is trying to solve the mystery of his murder many years ago. And when the little girl is kidnapped for ransom, the ghosts must join the effort to rescue her and the boy.

This book is suspenseful, but laugh-out-loud hilarious. The author creates the most charming and imaginative characters you can imagine. I strongly reccommend!

Editorial Review:

American millionaire Hiram C. Hopgood will stop at nothing to make his daughter, Helen, happy—even if it means buying her an ancient Scottish castle and shipping it back to Texas. Assembling the castle isn’t a problem for the oil tycoon . . . it’s the ghosts that worry him. Hopgood has made up his mind: the ghouls have got to go. But these spirits don’t spook so easily. Instead, they make their way to America, where they meet up with a magical severed hand and three fiendish, cross-dressing kidnappers for a Texassized adventure with a ghostly Scottish flair.

Adventures of Marco Polo

Russell Freedman

Amazon Price: $12.23 List Price: $17.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Arthur A. Levine Books Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $3.49

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO comes to life more than your usual elementary-level biography. 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Russell Freedman's THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO covers all the controversies surrounding the legendary explorer who claimed to have seen rocks burn and met bandits who could conjure up sandstorms. Marco's vivid, often fantastical descriptions of his travels shook Europe: was he a courageous adventurer, or a fake with a vivid imagination? In exploring the rumors surrounding Marco Polo, ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO comes to life more than your usual elementary-level biography.

Editorial Review:

He claimed to have seen rocks burn, bandits command sandstorms, lions tamed with a look, and sorcerers charm sharks while divers gathered pearls on the ocean floor. Marco Polo shook Europe with descriptions of the world he'd seen on his epic journey to the court of Kublai Khan. But was Marco Polo the world's most accomplished explorer? Had he really seen the "Roof of the World" in Central Asia, and the "City of Heaven" in far-off China? Or was he a charlatan who saw nothing more than the conjurings of his inventive mind? Join Russell Freedman as he tackles a centuries-old mystery.

Kipper Story Collection: "Kipper", "Kipper's Birthday", "Kipper's Toybox", "Kipper's Snowy Day"

Mick Inkpen

List Price: $16.50 By: Hodder Children's Books Amazon Marketplace: 9 new & used starting at $1.21

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

We love Kipper! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

My little ones love this book. It contains four stories about Kipper. They're simple stories for that parent who's required to read a story for bedtime, but is really exhausted and would like to keep it short. But as short as the stories are, the kids love them. They're easy to understand and have great pictures. I wish there were more Kipper books like this. The one's available are very hard to find.

Kipper Story Collection: contains 4 stories that are also published separately 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This storybook collection contains four stories that are also published individually. We own several of the individual story books, and I found it hard to tell what this 4-story volume contained based on the information on this page. So, I hunted around and found this:

"Amazon.co.uk Review
This storybook collection contains four full-length Kipper stories and will delight his legion of fans. Containing Kipper, Kipper's Toybox, Kipper's Birthday, and Kipper's Snowy Day this collection is a must for every toddler's bookshelf. (Ages 3 to 5)"

While the four stories in this volume are all good, I dont't think they are the *best* Kipper stories available. Still, if your child loves Kipper, this is an easier way to get the stories than hunting the used book shops for the individual books.

Editorial Review:

In this delightful story collection, you will find the four classic Kipper picture books: Kipper, Kipper's Toybox, Kipper's Birthday and Kipper's Snowy Day. It is the perfect gift for old and new Kipper fans!

Rocket: [Little Kippers]

Mick Inkpen

List Price: $4.95 By: Red Wagon Books Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Kipper and Tigers rocket 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This little book is perfect for the budding rocket scientest in the pre schooler set. Really cute. Great drawings.

Editorial Review:

Kipper and Tiger launch a remote-controlled rocket-with Sock Thing as the astronaut!

The Princess and the Pea

Amazon Price: $11.55 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Putnam Juvenile Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $7.34

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( I ) -> Isadora, Rachel

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Check out this book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a very clever book and I found the style captivating. It is interesting how Ms. Isadora combines the African theme and the fun of the story all packaged in a classic story. Mr. Andersen would approve!

African American Princess 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

With so much emphasis on princesses these days, this story is the perfect foil for the wan pink varities. In a riot of color, this queen-to-be hops upon a bed of many quilts in African prints only to find the bed unsuited to a good night's sleep and hence wins the hand of the prince. Old tale, new award-winning graphics.

Editorial Review:

When a prince sets out to find a princess to marry, he soon discovers this is not a simple task. There is no shortage of so-called princesses, but how can he tell whether or not they are what they claim to be? Then one night, a great storm rages, there’s a knock on the palace gate, and the prince’s life is never the same.

Caldecott Honor–winning artist Rachel Isadora exquisitely illustrates this retelling of the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale and takes readers to a beautiful African setting—a first for the "true story" of a tiny pea that changed everything.

In the Small, Small Night

Jane Kurtz

Amazon Price: $11.55 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Amistad Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $8.34

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Fiction

Editorial Review:

In the middle of the night the world can seem huge and frightening, especially when you've just moved far from home. On Abena and Kofi's first night in America, it is late and it is dark and they are up worrying. What if a giant lizard or a slender-snouted crocodile crawled into their suitcases? What if the people in their new school laugh at them? What if they forget Grandmother and their cousins, now that they are an ocean away?

But Abena knows a secret to help them. It is a secret that can make the world and the night seem small again. She reaches for her new flashlight and turns it on. She says to her little brother, Kofi, "Pretend this is the moon. Close your eyes." And then she begins ...

It's bedtime, Wibbly Pig!

Amazon Price: $10.87 List Price: $15.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Viking Juvenile Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $0.47

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

True to life for kids! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This little pig doesn't want to go to bed and she makes herself busy with excuses and routine before heading to dreamland. The illustrations are great. This book would be a perfect story before bedtime. I give it five squeals...or stars.

Editorial Review:

Wibbly, the cutest little toddler pig ever, is back&150and this time he's putting off bedtime as long as he can. Wibbly goes through all of the classic delaying tactics that will be familiar to every youngster, from having a drink to finishing a story. And when he finally does fall asleep, this charming little piglet stays on the move&150in his dreams

It's bedtime, Wibbly Pig!

Amazon Price: $10.87 List Price: $15.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Viking Juvenile Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $0.47

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> Bedtime & Dreaming
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

True to life for kids! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This little pig doesn't want to go to bed and she makes herself busy with excuses and routine before heading to dreamland. The illustrations are great. This book would be a perfect story before bedtime. I give it five squeals...or stars.

Editorial Review:

Wibbly, the cutest little toddler pig ever, is back&150and this time he's putting off bedtime as long as he can. Wibbly goes through all of the classic delaying tactics that will be familiar to every youngster, from having a drink to finishing a story. And when he finally does fall asleep, this charming little piglet stays on the move&150in his dreams