Tag Archives: childrens

BIRDS OF A FEATHER: A Book of Idioms and Silly Pictures – Review

Litercurious Book Review

TitleBirds Of A Feather: A book of Idioms and Silly Pictures
Author/IllustratorVanita Oelschlager / Robin Hegan
PublisherVanita Books; Reprint edition (May 1, 2011)
FormatPaperback, Library Binding, Hardcover
Pages32
LanguageEnglish
ISBN10/130980016282 / 978-0980016284

IDIOM Noun – The language peculiar to a people or to a district, community, or class.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 30 February, 2021. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idioms

AUTHOR

Meet Vanita Oelschlager.

SYNOPSIS

Birds of a Feather is eminently engaging, informative, entertaining, and educational for children young and old. It’s fun, whilst learning about idioms and improving a child’s linguistic understanding and technical use of language concepts. Oelschlager’s book also promotes an understanding of the cultural basis of language through the form of idioms.

Given that this work is only 32 pages in length, it feels much larger due to the numerous beautiful full page color illustrations.

Birds of a Feather‘s greatest strength is its simplicity.

CONCLUSION

No doubt, Birds of a Feather will be well received and loved by children and adults. Many years after a child has grown out of this book, they will still hold fond memories of the enjoyment of reading and learning about idioms. I struggle to remember a better tool for demystifying and teaching a child the complexities of language.

Despite being no spring chicken, I was totally taken with Oelschlager’s fabulously fun trek into the world of idioms. Birds of a Feather is the perfect synergy of concept and illustration which combine to excite the eye and engage the mind. Vibrantly colorful, beautifully drawn, and entertaining throughout, this book is a joy to any young child and the perfect edition to their growing library. Reading this book is like having your cake and eating it too; educational and entertaining.

Our team has decided to award Birds of a Feather our highest rating so far this year for a children’s book.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

SPECIAL MENTION – ILLUSTRATOR

Robin Hegan, The illustrator of Birds of a Feather has produced a large range of humorous sketches that both amuse and educate the reader. Hegan has a particularly definitive artistic style that I very much enjoyed. I will be looking for his work in other literature.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank Vanita Oelschlager, NetGalley, and Vanita Books for affording me the opportunity to review Birds of a Feather: A Book of Idioms and Silly Pictures.

PETER AND THE DWARF PLANETS – REVIEW

Litercurious Book Review

TitlePeter and the Dwarf Planets
Author/IllustratorStephen J. Alexander / Laura Coppolaro
PublisherOlympia Publishers (August 30, 2018)
FormatKindle, Paperback
Pages26
Language:English
ISBN 10/131788301412 / 978-1788301411

AUTHOR

Stephen J. Alexander is an educator and author. You can learn more about this author here, visit his Facebook page here or see him on twitter @DwarfPlanets5.

WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE?

Peter and the Dwarf Planets is written for children 5-11 years old.  

SYNOPSIS

Peter and the Dwarf Planets is a bedtime story for children. It relates the adventures of a father and his son, Peter, exploring the solar system.  The father, Daddy, is speaking with Peter about the different planets when the subject of dwarf planets comes up. As Peter starts to drift off to sleep, he imagines a great space adventure with Daddy. They travel together checking out all of the planets on their way out to Pluto.

CONCLUSION

Peter and the Dwarf Planets is a very short book. The story starts in a rhyming fashion, losses it for a couple of pages in the middle, and then rhymes to the end. The flow is easy and great for small children. It teaches kids about planets, dwarf planets, and our solar system while entertaining them.

The illustrations by Laura Coppolaro are very nice. They are colorful, fun, and appealing. They make the book a joy to look at while reading. A child can use their imagination while viewing the pictures and reading/hearing the story.

Overall, this book is a joy to read. Anyone will love sharing this story with their young children at bedtime. I only wish it were a little longer. I can’t wait to see what Peter and Daddy get up to next.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

SPECIAL MENTION – ILLUSTRATOR

Laura Coppolaro is a professional illustrator. You can find her on Facebook here or if you have need of her skills, you can contact her here. Her LinkedIn page is located here.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Stephen J. Alexander and Olympia Publishers for affording me the opportunity to review Peter and the Dwarf Planets.

LITERCURIOUS CHILD FRIENDLY JOKE

Q. Why don’t bears wear shoes?

A. Because they have bear feet.