This Friday, we’re highlighting two new picture books from Flying Eye Books: The Best Book in the World and Mr. Tweed’s Good Deeds. “Take the first step. Turn the first page.” The Best Book in the World, written and illustrated by Rilla Alexander, is an adorable book that aims to instill a love of reading in young children. The fun and whimsical illustrations depict a young girl reading a book in a variety of surroundings. In the beginning, the scenes are mundane: the girl reads in the midst of a suburban neighborhood, on a bus, and in an airport terminal. As the book progresses, however, her surroundings gradually become more exotic as she reads while skydiving, sledding, trekking through a desert, and floating on the ocean: “Page by page you’re carried away.” After the book urges readers to let themselves go, the illustrations become even more whimsical: reading all the while, the girl is carried up by a balloon, marches across a sleeping alligator, enjoys rides at a futuristic theme park, and surfs a crowd of colorful characters. Toward the end, the book encourages a healthy balance when it encourages readers to “Slow down!” and “Rest your eyes,” accompanied by pictures of the girl sleeping and dreaming of the adventures she’s been reading about. The book doesn’t end there, however; the last pages say, “Shhh, here’s a secret, the story won’t stop...If we go back to the beginning again!” The last picture depicts The Best Book in the World being read to a group of eager children. The message is that when you read (or are read to), you can go on any adventure that you want, no matter how fantastic, and you can return to the adventure every time you open the pages. flyingeyebooks/?feb_books=the-best-book-in-the-world Mr. Tweed’s Good Deeds, written and illustrated by Jim Stoten, is a fun picture book that blends the object-searching of I Spy and the elaborate crowd scenes of Where’s Waldo while teaching children the importance of helping others. One sunny day, Mr. Tweed goes on a stroll and, one by one, runs into nine friends who each need help finding something that they have lost: one kite, two kittens, three mice, four goldfish, five arrows, six pineapples, seven flowers, eight socks, and nine balloons. After Mr. Tweed decides to help each friend find the missing items, the page is turned to reveal a gorgeous two-page illustration in which the reader has to find the missing objects. The fun and whimsical illustrations are packed with breathtaking detail, and the items are hidden just well enough to be challenging but not so well that young readers will become frustrated. At the end of the book, all of Mr. Tweed’s friends throw him a party to thank him for helping them, and the final search is to find ten hidden presents. However, Mr. Tweed says that the satisfaction of helping people, not the presents, is what made the day so great: “ ‘What a great day helping people!’ Mr. Tweed thought, as he made his way home.” This adorable book is great for reinforcing counting skills, practicing patience and attention to detail, and teaching the importance of helping others. flyingeyebooks/?feb_books=mr-tweeds-good-deeds
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:16:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015