Read Aloud Thursday

Back when I interviewed Kirby Larson, I was looking around the Provato Marketing winter blog tour page, and the author Bonny Becker caught my eye.  After this, I began noticing her name, and in particular, the book A Visitor for Bear, in book catalogs.  Imagine, then, my surprise and delight when I happened upon that very book at the library!  Let me just say this book lives up to the “hype” surrounding it.  It is the delightful story of Bear, who is antisocial in the extreme; he even has a sign posted on the front door of his house:  “NO Visitors Allowed.”  Bear revels in his solitude until Mouse knocks on his door.  Mouse will not be deterred, and of course, they end up as friends.  While the storyline itself is fairly predictable, it is the language in this story that really makes it shine.  With a bear that says things like “Begone!”  and “I’ve come undone” and a mouse who asks for a “spot of tea,” this book is a delight.  The illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton really add to the fun.  Highly, highly recommended!  (Oh, and if you’re interested in reading a great interview with this author, click on over to Maw Books Blog!)

Bravo, Maurice! by Rebecca Bond is the fun story of Maurice, a boy whose family already has great plans for him.  While he enjoys riding in his Uncle Eddie’s taxi and helping his papa at the bakery, what he really loves is listening to all the sounds around him.  This is another book about the hopes and dreams a family has for a child and how the child must make his own way.  In this regard, it reminds me of The Animal Hedge (read my review here).  While my girls listened contentedly to this book, I really think it might be more appropriate for early-elementary aged children.  However, I enjoyed this book very much (and I’m mostly an adult), and I think that is a testimony to how well written it is.

Last week Lulu began asking me questions about the rainforest.  She knows the word forest, but rainforest is a little bit out of her realm of experience. The best I could offer her by way of explanation was what little I know about the weather in a rainforest and a few of the animals that live there.  I went to the library determined to find something to satisfy her curiosity.  I did get quite a few nonfiction titles, but I wanted to share Over in the Jungle here for Read Aloud Thursday because it is such a great read aloud.  This book by Marianne Berkes is a variation of the song “Over in the Meadow” which is one of my favorites.  Over in the Jungle introduces such fascinating creatures as the marmoset and the poison dart frog.  The last page of the story is one of those look-and-find illustrations that contains all of the animals introduced in the story.  It was great fun for my girls to look for the five honey bears and the nine sloths.  The illustrations in this story are by Jeanette Canyon are vivid and interesting; they are actually photographs of relief sculptures (sculptures that project from a flat surface) made out of polymer clay.

It was definitely a good read aloud week here at Hope Is the Word.  What about at your house?  Leave me a message or a link to your blog post in the comments!  Have a terrific Read Aloud Thursday!

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