Editors of Silver Dolphin Books

First sentence: Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. Its fleece was write as snow.

This board book features five nursery rhymes. I was tempted to say familiar nursery rhymes, but, that isn't necessarily the case. (Four were familiar. One was NOT.) It features: Mary Had a Little Lamb, Five Little Speckled Frogs, Bingo, The Ants Go Marching, and Mulberry Bush. Each rhyme has its own two-page spread. Some pages feature cut-outs or holes. There are "tracing" elements. I'm not exactly sure what the point of the tracing elements are. They are not a touch-and-feel element--not really. No new textures to feel or sense--just cardboard and more cardboard.… (mehr)

First sentence: Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way! Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.

Premise/plot: This one includes [some] lyrics from five familiar Christmas songs [jingles]. The songs included are "Jingle Bells," "Let It Snow," "Deck the Halls," "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas." Each song takes up one two-page spread. There are playful illustrations. Each illustration includes a tactile element to "trace." (I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these tracing elements.)

My thoughts: I really loved this one so much. It is so obviously simple yet it is SO enjoyable.… (mehr)

The Triassic period was the time that the first dinosaurs lived. Eoraptor, Herrerasaurus, and Coelophysis all lived during this period. What other dinosaurs roamed the earth during the Triassic period?

The Jurassic period followed the Triassic period; during this time, Earth was warmer and wetter. Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus, and Apatosaurus all lived during this time. What other dinosaurs lived with them?

The Cretaceous period was the final period for the dinosaurs. Here, Tyrannosaurus Rex lived with Triceratops, Ankylosaurus, Velociraptor, and Majungasaurus. What other dinosaurs lived during this time? What happened to the dinosaurs?

How do we learn about dinosaurs? What is a paleontologist? What can dinosaur bones tell us? And how do we find them?

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This all-star reader [level 2], from Smithsonian kids, contains four separate [but related] books: Triassic Dinosaurs, Jurassic Dinosaurs, Cretaceous Dinosaurs, and Digging for Dinosaurs.

Each book tells about the dinosaurs of the period; full-color illustrations and larger print encourage independent reading. Each book also contains a short quiz and a glossary page. Designed for developing readers, the Level 2 books offer mostly familiar vocabulary with some new phonetic structures, longer words, and compound sentences.

Highly recommended, especially for dinosaur aficionados, as well as for developing readers.… (mehr)