busy
WILL YOU BE MINE? A NURSERY RHYME ROMANCE by Phyllis Tildes (Charlesbridge 2011) is an introduction to English nursery rhymes, some that might not be familiar to American children. The author has woven disparate rhymes together to form a visual narrative about various animals preparing for weddings. <77>
And under the heading of nursery rhymes, Eve Bunting offers readers HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE (Boyds Mills Press 2011) or her version thereof. The cat does indeed still play a fiddle. He is joined, however, by a camel playing trumpet, and other animals sporting different musical instruments for a slightly offbeat (pun intentional) variation on a familiar theme. <78>
Are any of these rhymes familiar I wonder? Are kids still hearing Mother Goose at home or in preschool? Has she been replaced by expository text or other more serious subject matter? I would hate to see Mother Goose ignored. It is pre-reading for later poetry reading. It contains some of the motifs that kids will encounter later in more mature literature. It offers kids a way to learn as well with rhymes about counting, letters of the alphabet, days of the week, etc.
THE MULTIPLYING MENACE DIVIDES by Pam Calvert is subtitled A MATH ADVENTURE (Charlesbridge 2011). Any math teacher looking for a book that discussing multiplication and division and includes fractions will love this romp of a tale about a Prince who has lost his multiplying stick and some villains who has found a dividing rod. Pandemonium and math ensue. <79>