If I Built a Car
What a great book! I love the illustrations and how this boy imagines such a neat car. I read this book several times already this week.
 | author: Chris Van Dusen rating:  asin: 0142408255 binding: Paperback list price: $6.99 USD amazon price: $6.99 USD |
"If i built a car, it’d be totally new! Here are a few of the things that i’d do. . . ." Jack has designed the ultimate fantasy car. inspired by zeppelins and trains, Cadillacs and old planes, with brilliant colors and lots of shiny chrome, this far-out vision is ready to cruise! there’s a fireplace, a pool, and even a snack bar! After a tour of the ritzy interior, robert the robot starts up the motor . . . and Jack and his dad set off on the wildest test drive ever!
King Midas and the Golden Touch
We absolutely loved gazing at all the beautiful, richly detailed pictures in the book. This retelling of King Midas is full of such love between father and daughter, a pleasure to read.
 | author: Charlotte Craft rating:  asin: 006054063X binding: Paperback list price: $6.99 USD amazon price: $6.99 USD |
"There once lived a very rich king called Midas
who believed that nothing was more precious than gold."
So begins this imaginative and breathtaking retelling of the myth of the man with the golden touch. When a mysterious stranger offers to reward Midas for a kindness, the king does not hesitate: He wishes that all he touches would turn to gold. To his delight, his wish is granted and he soon sets about transforming his ordinary palace into a place of golden beauty. But to his dismay, when he accidentally turns his beloved daughter into a golden statue, Midas learns that what at first seems a blessing can also become a curse.
Snow White: Silver Anniversary Edition
Wow! We loved the illustrations in this book, a true adaptation of the Snow White tale translated from Brothers Grimm. In the end the wicked queen puts on the red hot slippers and dances to her death, and I realize this is the translation from the original story, but our girls didn't understand why or how this happened. Otherwise, it is a fantastic, gripping read!
 | rating: asin: 0316354503 binding: Hardcover list price: $15.95 USD amazon price: $15.95 |
Spared by her would-be executioner, Snow White finds a home with seven kindly dwarfs, but the hateful queen who wants her dead will stop at nothing to be the most beautiful woman in the land. A poisoned apple seems to send Snow White to her death, but true love brings her back, and good once again prevails. Paul Heins's graceful words and Trina Schart Hyman's expressive artwork create a dramatic retelling of this classic tale, filled with movement and passion that will enchant readers of all ages.
Ira Sleeps Over
 | author: Bernard Waber rating: asin: 0395205034 binding: Paperback list price: $6.95 USD amazon price: $6.95 USD |
Ira is thrilled to spend the night at Reggie's, until his sister raises the question of whether he should take his teddy bear.
Belinda in Paris
 | author: Amy Young rating:  asin: 0670036935 binding: Hardcover list price: $15.99 USD amazon price: $10.87 USD |
All of Paris was abuzz with the news-Belinda the ballerina was coming to town! But when Belinda's extra-large ballet shoes wind up in Pago Pago by mistake, she and a young ballerina must hit the streets to look for a new pair. Along the way, Belinda befriends a trio of Parisians, each with his or her own problem. Can Belinda save the day and still find ballet shoes before her performance that night? New and old fans alike will cheer magnifique! for Amy Young's big-footed (and big-hearted) ballerina, as she wins over the City of Lights.
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles
 | author: Julie Andrews Edwards rating:  asin: 0060218053 binding: Hardcover list price: $16.99 USD amazon price: $16.99 USD |
The Whangdoodle was once the wisest, the kindest, and the most extraordinary creature in the world.Then he disappeared and created a wonderful land for himself and all the other remarkable animals -- the ten-legged Sidewinders, the little furry Flukes, the friendly Whiffle Bird, and the treacherous, "oily" Prock. It was an almost perfect place where the last of the really great Whangdoodles could rule his kingdom with "peace, love and a sense of fun"-- apart from and forgotten by people.
But not completely forgotten. Professor Savant believed in the Whangdoodle. And when he told the three Potter children of his search for the spectacular creature, Lindy, Tom, and Ben were eager to reach Whangdoodleland.
With the Professor's help, they discovered the secret way. But waiting for them was the scheming Prock, who would use almost any means to keep them away from his beloved king.
Little House in the Highlands
This is truly an outstanding book that will appeal to a large audience. Our girls (then 10 and 7) hung on every word. I loved that this was about Laura Ingalls Wilder's great grandmother! There was a lot of research put into it and I loved reading all about Scotland, as my own mother was born there. I especially enjoyed how the author wove in retellings of fairy stories and myths. This is the first the series and we are very excited to continue on. PLEASE NOTE I am referring to the unedited version with the painted cover, not the one with the photographed cover (which amazon insists on linking to). I have not read both but I have heard that the 2nd version is considerably abridged.
 | author: Melissa Wiley rating: asin: 0061148172 binding: Paperback list price: $5.99 USD amazon price: $18.82 USD |
It's 1788 and Martha lives in a little stone house in Glencaraid, Scotland. Her father is Laird Glencaraid, which means Martha must behave like a young lady even when she would much rather run around the Scottish hillside!
Russian Fairy Tales (Everyman's Library Children's Classics)
This collection of classic Russian fairy tales is fascinating. Expect this book to be as violent as other classic fairy tales, complete with witches that threaten to eat you if you don't do her chores, heros that get cut up in pieces but somehow come back to life, evil step mothers and step sisters are burnt to ashes from a glowing skull, and so on. There aren't too many pictures, but the ones they do have are exquisite. This was a favorite of our (then) 5 year old, who was particularly fond of the tale "Vassilissa the Beautiful and the Witch Baba Yaga", which I think I've read over a dozen times.
 | author: Gillian Avery Ivan Bilibin rating: asin: 0679436413 binding: Hardcover list price: $14.95 USD amazon price: $14.95 USD |
Notable for their magnificent, jewel-like color illustrations by Bilibin, these traditional tales include "The Frog Princess," "Vassilissa the Beautiful," and "The White Duck." Though Russian Fairy Tales in the Pantheon Folklore Library is a book for adults, it has sold over 30,000 copies.
Ramona's World (Ramona Series)
 | author: Beverly Cleary rating: asin: 0380732726 binding: Paperback list price: $5.99 USD amazon price: $5.99 USD |
Ramona Quimby is back! Beverly Cleary's best-loved and most exuberant character has been winning friends since the 1950s when she made her first appearance as Beezus's pesky little sister. Now, in Cleary's first Ramona book in 15 years, our beloved spitfire is 9 years old, and she fully intends to make fourth grade the best year of her life. Even with her spelling struggles, a new baby sister, and a fall through her best friend's ceiling, her wish seems to be coming true. Old friends Yard Ape and Howie are still around--and with her new best friend Daisy, Ramona is on top of her world!
What Do You Hear When Cows Sing?: And Other Silly Riddles (I Can Read Book 1)
These jokes are the kind that my 5 yo can understand and enjoy. She wanted to hear the book over and over until she could recite them all. "What do you hear when cows sing? Moosic!"
 | author: Marco Maestro rating:  asin: 0064442276 binding: Paperback list price: $3.99 USD amazon price: $3.99 USD |
Here are twenty-two outrageous original riddles perfectly targeted to the funny bones of beginning readers. Laughing over the sheer silliness of these riddles and their zany illustrations, young readers will discover for themselves the delight of wacky wordplay. And just what do you hear when cows sing? MOOsic, of course!
