Weekly book shelf, 6/4

Calvin is still reading through the Wizard of Oz, and still leafing through the Wizard of Oz pop-up book. His birthday is this week and we are celebrating with family next weekend in a full Wizard of Oz (the books, not the movie) party as planned by Calvin himself. I think it will be a riot!

One morning this week, as I was just waking, he brought me Over in the Jungle. It's one that we read to him when he was pretty young, but not much since. I love rediscovering books that are still on his shelves through his own reading. He was pretty excited about this one in part because of the animals, but mostly because of the pictures, which are reliefs, staged using polymer clay and then photographed. The images were one of the reasons I picked this book when I did—because it was so different from all the others we already had. Otherwise the book is based on the "over in the meadow" song and rhyme but uses rainforest animals instead. The animals are really brought to life not only by the unique art, but also by the use of realistic/scientific yet melodic language. It's a simple book, but a true winner.

He was also reading Animalia this week. Beautiful illustrations—thank you Graeme Base. And Little goat's New Horns is a Reader's Digest Kids book from the Little Animal Adventures Series. We have several of these books, all picked up from book sales and garage sales. They were printed in the early 90s and are cute anthropomorphic tales with a strong dose of animal facts thrown in—in this case Little Goat is comparing her almost non-existent horns with those of other animals and learns that every animal she comes across has unique and important characteristics.

And we are just about finished with The Magical Monarch of Mo.

On my bookshelf for this week...I am still reading Proust. I think I will be saying that for many, many weeks, but one of these days I'll finish. I did finish Night and Dawn, by Elie Wiesel, and am now almost done with Day, the final book of that "trilogy".

Comments

[Mom and Kiddo]

I feel like I could have written this post! The Wizard of Oz, the pop-up version AND The Magical Monarch of Mo! But Proust? I might not be up for that at the end of long day.