Abby's Review:
This 24 page board book is great for all ages. The content explains to young children America’s quest for freedom and the Revolutionary War. The illustrations have clean lines and are well done with actions in the pictures complimenting the pages content. I enjoyed that there are enough bright colors to draw in younger kids and enough written details of the events for the older kids to follow.
The story itself is a simplistic outline of the events of the American Revolution. It is a great book for younger kids or a great starter book for the older kids experiencing interest in America’s History. The words used are basic so all ages can understand the storyline. I enjoyed that there aren’t too many words per page so I can get 1½ year olds to stay focused, while allowing the older 3 and 4 year olds to be excited over the events taking place in the story. Don’t discredit the books ability to teach about the Revolution because the words per page are digestible even to little ones.
It offers an outline with the key words highlighted in red, blue, or green. The addition of some words in colors opens them up for questioning as the older kids notice the colored words. I enjoy this because they are new words or topics such as “tax” or “colonies” that may not have been seen before by the child. They can be explored further by becoming flash card words or just plan vocabulary words for kids 4 and above.
The illustrations depictions of the events were good representations of what was being described. The people were dressed in period clothing with soft coloring which fit well with a story that is outlining a historical event. The detail of the illustrations wasn’t overly complex and resultantly, did not take away from the content. That said, kids are kids and they enjoy some bright coloring and flash. Some additional flare could have been added to the book with glitter on the fireworks or scratch and sniff added to the page talking about tea. Maybe, some glittering on the flag on the last page could have ended it with a little more bang.
While, I may have added some scratch and sniff or glitter, I enjoy this book and the kids enjoy it too! I’m hoping that I can keep this book in good shape to save for my kids, but may need to get a back up to save for them. I light up 4 ½ birthday candles out of 5 on this American Birthday cake, losing half a flame for one or two pages which could have been combined and maybe more historical content added.
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The Story of America's Birthday, by Patricia A. Pingry, illustrated by Stacy Venturi-Pickett is available from Amazon.com and other booksellers.
5 comments:
Abby,
Nice job on your review, it sounds like a good educational book for young children. I find reviews for books very hard to do. I love the way you rated the book with birthday candles!
Linda Mc
?wazithinkin
What a great idea for a childrens book. It's good to know the layout structure Abby, so thanks for pointing out the decerning details relevant to childrens books. Sounds like something I'd love in my home.
Thanks so much!!!
judester
Thank you so much for the great comments. I really enjoyed the chance to describe this book for you. Thank you again so much and thanks again to Cookie's Chronicles for allowing me this opportunity!
Your review was very thorough, Abby, and as always you had some ideas for making something unique and kid-friendly. Your creativity never ceases to amaze me!
Thank you so much for this opportunity and sharing your veiwers with me, they are a very receptive group! I was never creative until I had kids and most of my ideas come from something they have said or asked.
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