Book Description

It's New Year's Day in Apple Harbor, and all the villagers are celebrating at Farmer Barnes' annual Open House, including Charlie, Pop-Up, and Dumpy the Dump Truck. But when the fire bell sounds, everyone's help is suddenly needed in town. Discovering that Pharaoh's General Store is ablaze, the firefighters bravely work to fight the flames and save the village.

As always, Dumpy proves invaluable -- demonstrating that everyone has something to contribute.

Book Description

This wonderful collection contains three complete favorites: Thomas and the Tiger, Thomas and the Birthday Party, and James and the Balloons. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Best Thomas books - particulary for young kids
My older son is a huge Thomas fan, and had me read him "Thomas the Tank Engine's Big Blue Treasury" every night for weeks when I bought it. My second son (2 years old) also now adores this book and never tires of the story. Unlike some of the "classic" stories, these are very pleasant and great for small children, as well as for early readers. The books also have bigger and brighter illustrations than many Thomas books, and with 3 stories in one book you get good value. If you have kids between 18 months and 7 or 8 years old, this book is a winner (all of this applies equally to the Big Yellow Treasury - the two favorites out of the 30 plus Thomas books the boys have).

You can't always rely on reviews!
My 20 month old son makes us read this book every night before bedtime. He loves the stories, bland though they may be.... I think they're charming, simple stories without being babyish. I have no problem with the nastiness that is present in other Thomas books missing from these stories. My son doesn't need to be exposed to that at his age. The colorful illustrations match well to the text.

Easy to read
I bought this book for my son who just learned to read. He loves it because the pictures are colorful with not too many words (circa 20-30 per page). Most of all, he is a big fan of Thomas the Tank Engine. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The brightly colored photographs and simple rhymes of the I Spy books have a perennial appeal, as does the straightforward task they put before the child: see objects clearly on the left-hand page and pick them out from the complicated jumble on the right-hand page. The degree of difficulty varies widely from book to book, and this example from the board-book series is one of the very simplest, using for its images small areas of detail from the more complex photographs in books like I Spy Gold Challenger.Here, a 3-year-old is likely to go through the book in minutes, seeing all the answers very quickly. Some of the later pages up the ante slightly, for example when a cat, shown in full on the left, is almost completely hidden on the right. This simple interactive board-book is a good choice for the I Spy beginner. (Baby to 3 years) --Richard Farr ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good for very young toddlers
This is a "I spy" book for beginners. My 2 1/2 old was mesmerized by it the first time he saw it and immediately asked me to "read it again". However, he found all but one of the objects relatively quickly the first time around and now it won't take him more than one minute to go through the whole book. I encourage him to look for objects that are not featured on the left pages to make it more challanging.

2 year old nephew's favorite book
i am enthralled with jean marzollo's i spy books. who cares where waldo is.... i gave marzollo's books to people aged 2-77 ...... each gift was thoroughly enjoyed ... Read more

Book Description

Besse Coleman was born in rural Texas in 1892. She loved school, especially learning about numbers, and she was a good reader, too. Yet when it was time to pick cotton she had to work in the fields instead of going to school. Nevertheless, she was determined to be somebody when she grew up.

In her early twenties, Bessie moved to Chicago. Perhaps there she could "find a bigger life." In the city, Bessie heard many tales of World War I from returned veterans. She also heard there were woman airplane pilots in France. From then on, she was determined to become a pilot. But she soon found out that no one would teach a woman -- especially a woman with dark skin -- how to fly. To study in France was her only chance, and by working hard and saving her money, she managed at last to get there. Bessie Coleman became the first African-American to earn a pilot's license. She was somebody.

The inspiring story of her difficult early years, her success as a stunt pilot putting on daring air shows in many states, and her dedication to telling young African-Americans wherever she went, "You can be somebody. You can fly high just like me," is as moving and important today as it was then. Simply told with evocative full-color illustrations, this is a special book for today's young people. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Wind beneath her wings
A little light in the loafers is this story of Bessie Coleman. Though a worthy subject and a fascinating tale, this particular biography of the great Bessie C. is an awkwardly formal affair. Containing no source notes aside from a brief authorial thank you at the start of the book, most of the facts surrounding the life and times of Bessie Coleman are credited to Marion Coleman, Bessie's niece. Reading through this tale, I could only conclude that it was a pity that such a dry product could come from this powerful woman's life.

Bessie Coleman was a sharecropper's daughter in Waxahachie, Texas. Having grown up poor, Ms. Coleman moved to Chicago, Illinois to make a name for herself. After years of hard work, Bessie determined that the only job she wanted was to become an aviatrix. Scrimping and saving allowed Bessie to travel to France, where she was able to earn her pilot's license. Throughout the years Bessie would wow American audiences everywhere with her tricks and derring-do. In the end, Bessie died in a plane crash and was buried in Chicago once more. Her life allowed her to become the first African-American to earn a pilot's license. Not the first black woman but the first black person ever! Fairly impressive stuff.

There's a kind of disconnect between the words in this book and the images on its pages. Both the words and the illustrations are rather stiff and formal. Each illustration is contained neatly within its own little space and every narrative sequence is typed in nice little sections. It's funny that I felt the book to be so blah. There's no one moment in the story where I could say to myself, "Now THAT is why I find this telling so dull!". For the most part the story is factual (to the best of my knowledge), the only exception possibly being the moment when the text says the following about Bessie's license:

"It was the very best license to have:
With it, Bessie could fly anywhere in the world.
Nobody could say, 'You're a Negro woman, you can't fly.'"

Well.... actually they probably could. That's a bit of a problem with this book. Racism is just sorta understood to have existed in some form. But it's never confronted directly. Most of the pictures in this book are of (sorry but it's true) smiling happy black people. No white person is ever singled out as racist or contributing to the system of racism. Bessie herself must have encountered several instances of it within her lifetime, but they are never mentioned. The fact that Bessie has to learn to fly in France is said matter of factly. Yet the comparative European openness towards African Americans is never mentioned. All in all, a kid's going to need a lot more explanation about WHY Bessie had problems during her life since this book's not about to clear up such questions. It's a worthy effort, but it falls well short of the mark.

Fly High! The Story of Bessie Coleman
Imagine walking four miles to school and four miles home from school. That's what Bessie Coleman did a hundred years ago. She wanted to be somebody-like Harriet Tubman and Bookier T. Washington. She knew that with schooling she could be. She worked hard, picking cotton, walking miles to collect laundry, and learning her numbers. When she was twenty-three, she moved to Chicago. There she became a manicurist. She read the newspaper, and listened when customers told tales about French lady pilots in World War I. She wanted to be a lady pilot. She boldly went to Publisher Robert Abbot who told her to earn some money and learn French. He would help her find a flying school. In 1920, she went to France,learned to fly, and became the first African American to fly. When she became a stunt pilot she spread her message, "You can be somebody. You can fly high, just like me." This colorful, beautiful, simply written book shows how Bessie Coleman was an inspiration. Her determination and hard work made her dreams come true! Read and find out the sad ending to this courageous woman's story! ... Read more

Book Description

Churning the dirt on massive tires and rattling the air with gigantic engines, monster trucks are the BIGGEST, BADDEST, LOUDEST machines in motor sports! Read the inside story of the top trucks and drivers from Monster Jam events. Discover what it takes to design and build a vehicle as big as an elephant. Learn what it feels like to drive a high-flying, car-crushing monster truck! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Monster Trucks Review
I really liked this book. It told me all I really needed to know about Monster Jam and the Monster Trucks that raced in the rally's. The pictures really had action like the real thing. And you can trust me I've been in six of these events straight. It has eleven interviews of the Monster Trucks. It's like you are behind the wheel and you know exacly what your doing. From the kill switch to the gears you learn everything. The trucks 1,500 horsepower engines. ... Read more

Amazon.com

On a clear April evening in 1933, two outspoken and strong-minded friends slipped away from a formal dinner party to have a little unconventional fun. What made this event remarkable was that the two were Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt, dining at the White House; their entertainment of choice was to fly an airplane on a loop from Washington D.C. to Baltimore. Pooh-poohing Secret Service agents' concerns that this activity hadn't been "approved," the celebrated aviator and the First Lady stole away before dessert was served, and took to the sky.

Inspired by the true facts of this little-known event, based on diaries, book transcripts, and newspaper accounts, Pam Munoz Ryan brings the thrilling evening to life as if she had been on that plane herself.Emphasizing the mettle and independent spirits of the two women, Ryan presents a pair of pioneering social and political activists any woman--or man--even today would be proud to claim as role models. An author's note gives some intriguing background information on these two exceptional women. Award-winning illustrator Brian Selznick lived in Washington D.C.while researching the graphite and colored pencil drawings for this book, which include authentic wallpaper and china patterns. (Ages 6 to 10) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A MUST HAVE FOR ANY LIBRARY
This is one of the most charming stories I have ever owned. It is even better because it is based in reality with the contrast of dream like illustrations. It has the wonderful qualities of one of those sweet and magical black and white movies. My five year old wants me to read it to her again and again. Between this book and select I Love Lucy episodes I am showing her, she is realizing that black and white media can be relevant to her. It doesn't have to be color and have a special effect to be great. A wonderful book that adults will fall in love with as much as children.

Great Gift for Little Girls
As the parent of a curious 5-year-old, I've been disappointed by the scarcity of historical and biographical books aimed at very young children. My daughter had an interest in Amelia Earhart since she first saw her "red plane" at the Smithsonian, so I took a gamble and bought this book for her at Christmas time...and she loved it. In fact, she liked it so much that she's insisted on giving it to several of her girl friends as gifts. It was a big hit with them as well. In fact a couple of their mothers have asked me where I got it (Amazon, of course), and whether the author has written any other children's books.

The story is simple, fun, historical, and symbolically significant (without being didactic or political). The black and white illustrations are interesting to look at, and very detailed (even the pattern on the White House china in the background is historically accurate).

With their colorful personalities, and the strength to defy cultural expectations, Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt make great role models for little girls -- and it doesn't hurt for them to understand that the freedoms they will surely take for granted in their lives were won for all of us by women like these.

Best Friends and Amazing People
Before I read this book, I didn't know much about either of these women. I also couldn't see how you could compare them. But after reading it I realized that these women are indeed alike. They both love to be different, and to do out-of-the-ordinary things. The book has them going on 2 adventures together, each doing the things they love. During these adventures they wear their evening dresses. It is a great story about two amazing women.

"...Something Exciting was Bound to Happen..."
"Amelia and Eleanor were birds of a feather. Eleanor was outspoken and determined. So was Amelia. Amelia was daring and liked to try things other women wouldn't even consider. Eleanor was the very same..." So begins Pam Munoz Ryan's marvelous picture book adventure, Amelia And Eleanor Go For A Ride. These two famous "birds" were Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, and Amelia Earhart, world famous aviator and the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Based on an actual event, using newpaper accounts, diaries, and book transcripts, Ms Ryan tells the intriguing story of how these two friends ditched a White House dinner party one April night in 1933, and ignoring protests from the Secret Service took a daring night flight from Washington to Baltimore and back. Her easy to read and engaging text is exciting and entertaining. Brian Selznick's vivid black and white pencil illustrations have the look of old photographs, and capture the story beautifully. Together both word and art present a well researched, thrilling story, rich in many authentic details, and includes an Author's Note and actual picture to enhance this wonderful event. Perfect for youngsters 6-10, Amelia And Eleanor Go For A Ride transports the reader back in time when flying, especially night flight was new, and let's you tag along on a once in a lifetime adventure as history is made.

Cris from Ashley River Creative Arts Elementary
The book I read was Amelia & Eleanor Go for a Ride. The illustrations were black and white. Eleanor was the president's wife. Amelia was a pilot. The illustrator had put good details in his drawings. I like this book because it was historical. ... Read more

Book Description

There are big boats, small boats, old boats, and new boats--all kinds of boats. The youngest of readers will enjoy this fun, rhyming Early Step into Reading book filled with boats.
... Read more

Book Description

Finally, the perfect book for kids to imagine their own Thomas stories. Six magnetic pages show classic Thomas locales. With nine magnets (Thomas, Percy, Gordon, James, Henry, Mavis, Harold, and two Troublesome Trucks), kids can make up a new scenario every time they play!
... Read more

Reviews (1)

Terrific book!
While the story is so-so, the fact that it has magnets is a definite plus! Keeps the kids busy in the car, at home, anywhere and the magnets store nicely on the side of the book! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Sam may be a man of few words, but he is certainly eloquent on thesubject of his car. With a bright, bold palette of mostly primary colors,author-illustrator Byron Barton (Trucks, Planes, Machines at Work, etc.) deftlydepicts the fondness Sam has for his chunky little car and the care with whichhe treats it. "I love my car. / I keep my car clean. / My car needs oil / and afull tank of gasoline." Sam also describes the parts of his car, how to drivecarefully, and where he likes to go in his car. The story concludes with atwist, sure to delight already rapt readers.

Sam and his acquaintances are unusual-looking, blocky figures, with big blackblobs for eyes, and more blobs for nose and mouth. Characters and objects arereminiscent of the cars, signs, and figures in a child's play station. Smalldetails are appealing: the mechanic is a woman, and the car's headlights bathe aportion of the text in yellow. This should be required reading for everydriver's ed student; we can only hope that the repeated readings this book isbound to receive will sink in to preschoolers' minds for future recall: "I obeythe laws. / I stop for pedestrians. / I read the signs." This is a lovelypicture book. (Ages 2 to 5) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (9)

color really stands out
the baby and the 6 year old really like this book. It's not because of the story--I think it's a boring,very simple story with few words. The reason that they like this book is because of the very vivid, bright color drawings. I must admit that I myself really like the color as well.

Why aren't there more great car books for little guys?
This is an EXCELLENT first car book for the little ones. It uses simple first words and simple colorful pictures. One page even has a brief list of parts! Highly recommended!!

My 16 month old brother reads it!
With most of the words being car and bus, my little brother smiles as he reads the words from, "My Car". His face lights up everytime we read, "I am Sam"!!

My 2 year old loves it!
My two year old son loves anything by Byron Barton. The colors are bold and attract his attention and the text seems just the right length for his growing attention span. We have quite a few in the series and are collecting them all! You can not go wrong with this or any of the Byron Barton books!

The best!
This is one of my son's favorite books. It is wonderfully illustrated, with terrific use of color. My 3-year-old LOVES this one! ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Simple & lucid, yet detailed -- absolutely excellent
This book is written with precision and detail. Yet, since it is aimed at young readers, it is clear and easy to read. The author explains in simple, easily understood language, the seminal inventions of the Wright Brothers. It is an excellent book for any adult who wants to truly understand how the Wright Brothers invented the airplane. I would reccommend it to any person over the age of 12.

Excellent title, recommended
This biography on the Wright Brothers gets a big plus with the pictures it contains, many of which, thanks to the Wrights' interest in photography, were taken by the brothers themselves. The centerpiece of all the photos, of course, is the famous lift-off of the world's first manned, controlled, sustained, successful powered flight in a heavier-than-air craft on December 17, 1903.

The accompanying text is clear and interspersed with generous quotes from journals and letters, written by the brothers, acquaintances, and family. Relating in excellent detail the Wrights' lives from childhood to the height of their success in 1909 (as well as giving a basic account of airplane history up to 1903), Freedman goes over the Wrights' later years in just one chapter, which is its biggest drawback. Still, considering the focus of the book, this brief overview is understandable. Bonus features include information on the Wrights' use of photography during their work, descriptions of places connected to the brothers and flight, and a list of books for further reading.

The material used by Freedman is heavily based on the three most recent standards of Wright biography: Tom D. Crouch's "The bishop's boys: a life of Wilbur and Orville Wright" (1989), Fred Howard's "Wilbur and Orville: a biography of the Wright Brothers" (1987), and Peter L. Jakab's "Visions of a flying machine: the Wright Brothers and the process of invention" (1990).

With its readability and accuracy, this book would be an excellent addition to public and school libraries, and despite being classified as juvenile literature, adults could also enjoy this biography of the Wright Brothers. A Newbery Honor book.

The Wright Brothers
Freedman's interesting narrative of the Wright brothers portrays them as proper gentlemen who wore suits with bowties even while repairing bicycles in their shop, mechanical geniuses despite being high school dropouts, and totally dedicated to their dream of creating an aeroplane. The photographs in this book were taken by Wilbur and Orville Wright themselves. In addition to being aviators, they had a fascination with photography and converted a backyard shed for processing film. They knew that documenting their progress would be important for future generations.

In this fast-paced book, Freedman makes the long ago brothers seem real. He describes their quirky behaviors and intersperses excerpts from journals and letters written by the Wrights. Freedman demonstrates their tireless perseverance by detailing how trial runs failed again and again. The Wright brothers are truly heroes, worthy subjects for one of Freedman's books. Any student interested in mechanics, inventors, or aviation would enjoy this book.

Interesting
How They Invented the Airplane is probably the best Wright Brothers biography yet. It's written by my favorite author of the genre, Russell Freedman. (Lincoln: A Photobiography)

The only thing that made the book a little less enjoyable was the lack of information about the childhood of Orville and Wilbur. Also, I found myself asking questions about The Wright's parents and and siblings, who were weakly potrayed in the book Every other bit of information was intact, and the affect was this great book.

The Wright Brothers is probably the best book ever written
Wilbur Wright, the brother with visions, invented the airplane along with Orville Wright, the brother who loved to tinker. Wilbur once said, " My brother Orville and myself lived together, played together and, in fact thought together." Wilbur and Orville persevered in their struggle against Mother Nature, the public opinion, and failed flights and experiments to fulfill their dream of making a flying machine.
This biography tells the story of the lives of the Wright brothers, from the time they were little boys tinkering with toys, to when they finally sold their marvelous invention to the United States government. This book shows how the airplane started out as a glider, then evolved into a plane that stayed in the air for 5 seconds, and finally into a plane that stayed in the air for an hour and 13 minutes. It also explains how getting the government to buy their plane was a difficult task because it had already spent $70,000 on another person who tried to invent the airplane. Luckily, the government said yes after the Wright brothers had built a better plane. This book also contains miraculous pictures of Wilbur and Orville's flights and failures.
I recommend this book to anybody who enjoys biographies or who wants to sit back and relax with a good book. This book is an all around good read but what especially sticks out is that it shows that if you put your mind to something you can always accomplish it, no matter how difficult the task. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (3)

Lovely, albeit dated, book
I love the whole Swallows and Amazons series, but somehow I read Missee Lee only once -- perhaps it got lost from the library or something. So I had the pleasure of rediscovering it a few years ago when my kids were the right age for it. It's a wonderful "reading aloud" book (as are "We didn't mean to go to sea" and "Great Northern"), with a strong female character -- unusual in children's books from 65 years ago! -- and terrific storytelling and pacing.

(Some of) the Chinese in this book come off as crafty, selfish, barbaric, etc. That's quite intentional -- their characters are supposed to be crafty, selfish, or barbaric. Because we see them only through the eyes of the English, they tend to be a bit one-dimensional as well. Probably some people out there is saying that this book is politically incorrect; if so, I urge them to tell their children not to read it. (The children will, of course, promptly read it!)

In the meantime, enjoy this with your family.

Twenty-two gong tale belong velly well all ages bimeby
Subtitled "Swallows and Amazons in the South China Seas", this tenth volume in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series is actually a sequel to the second, "Peter Duck". Those readers familiar with the background to the earlier volume will not be surprised to learn that the emphasis within this book is on rather wild and exotic high-seas adventuring for a group of six English school children, together with their middle-aged uncle, a parrot and a mischievous monkey, aboard their schooner, Wild Cat.

This time around, the crew of the Wild Cat (without Peter Duck) again find themselves face to face with pirates, although under somewhat different circumstances and of a rather different kind from those in their earlier adventure. They also face a fate that English schoolchildren probably once considered worse than death - a life of perpetual Latin lessons!

Anyone coming to this book without the benefit of at least the first three volumes of the series ("Swallows and Amazons", "Peter Duck" and "Swallowdale") may struggle a little with just who people are and why things are the way they are, so I don't recommend diving straight into the series here! If you've read the first three books, though, there is absolutely no need to leave this one until its place in the published sequence, as it does not tie into any of the intervening volumes. Anyone familiar with the earlier books will know exactly what to expect here; nor will they be disappointed. Whilst aimed at children, the book remains a delightful read whatever one's age.

A must have for the series collector
If you collect the Swallows and Amazons series, you simply must have this book in your collection. If, on the other hand, you are just someone looking for a good book, well...this is a GREAT book. It is a classic that both children and adults will love and enjoy many times over.
Arthur Ransome is one of the greatest authors ever to live, and his books reflect that fact. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

They're big, they're bad, and children can create their own scenes of their favorite Monster Jam trucks crushing rivals into the ground.

Monster Jam truck fans everywhere will love these action-packed picture sticker books. Readers can choose from more than 40 stickers to complete a high-octane truck frieze great for decorating their room; creating their own mini MJ truck gallery; or customizing schoolbooks and other stuff with images and slogans of Monster favorites! ... Read more

Book Description

Jerry Pallotta's newest alphabet book features boats and ships, from the gigantic aircraft carrier to the one-person kayak. With characteristic wit and humor, the author explains basic nautical terms like hull, bow, and stern, and introduces more challenging topics, such as the workings of a steam engine.

Young and old alike will want to get on board for this lavishly illustrated and informative trip through the alphabet. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Biedrzycki and Pallotta team to produce a stunning book!
Jerry Pallotta, a.k.a. "The Alphabet Man," has once again written an entertaining book for children. Coupled with Biedrzycki's illustrations, "The Boat Alphabet Book" is one of Charlesbridge's best offerings. This book is a must for any student (or teacher) studying water travel.

From "tots" to "tens", this book's a winner.
This book has brightly colored, interesting illustrations to engage a tiny tot. It is a rhythmic and engaging alphabet book for the slightly older child. And it is a tightly written informational book on boats for the gradeschool age child. A winner that grows along with the youngster. We couldn't resist buying one for both of our grandchildren.

Awesome Illustrations of Boats
Thank you Jerry Pallotta and David Biedrzycki for putting together a wonderful book about a subject near and dear to me. I saw the review in Parade magazine and I couldn't wait to get the book! ... Read more