My Dear Noel

If you love all things Beatrix Potter of Peter Rabbit fame, then you will enjoy tracking down a copy of this wonderful story. This book is based around a letter that Miss Potter wrote to a boy named Noel Moore who became sick and bed-ridden. In the letter, she tells him the story of Peter Rabbit complete with the well-known illustrations. This was the beginning of the popular tales which brought Beatrix Potter into eventual world fame as an author.


For further reading:

5 minutes for books.
Awesome Stories -Miss Potter
Wikipedia -Beatrix Potter

Amazing Machines

Part of the fun of going to your local library is being on the lookout for books that just scream, "Take ME home!" That is exactly what happened with the first two books we found in the Amazing Machines series. Bright and full page illustrations by Ant Parker coupled with engaging rhymes by Tony Mitton have given us a whole new set of books about vehicles. One of my favorite lines of all the books we own comes from Tough Trucks and goes like this:

This truck has had a breakdown,
but the driver didn't panic.
He radioed around and found
a handy truck mechanic.

Doesn't that just roll off your tongue in a delightful way? And not just entertaining, these books offer up a buffet of vocabulary terms specific to each topic. Each book ends with a review page of glossary items mentioned in the book complete with an illustration or diagram.

Titles published to date:
Amazing Airplanes
Busy Boats
Cool Cars
Dazzling Diggers
Flashing Fire Engines
Roaring Rockets
Super Submarines
Terrific Trains
Tough Trucks
Tremendous Tractors

My First Little House Books

As popular as Laura Ingalls' Little House on the Praire books are, these picture books with beautiful full-page illustrations provide readers with a different appreciation for her stories.
These books are considered adaptations from Laura Ingalls Wilder's books and rely on the talents of several illustrators including Renee Graef. All four of the paperback books we own are printed on a matte finish which makes the illustrations seem that more rich and inviting.
The series numbers fifteen books and listed below are the titles shown on the back of the books:
A Farmer Boy Birthday
A Little House Birthday
A Little Prairie House
Christmas in the Big Woods
County Fair
Dance at Grandpa's
Going to Town
Going West
Prairie Day
Sugar Snow
Summertime in the Big Woods
The Deer in the Woods
Winter Days in the Big Woods
Winter on the Farm

For further reading:
Little House Books

Renee Graef's illustrations from Dance at Grandpa's