Out of the three books, this one is by far my favorite. Queen Vernita Meets Sir HeathyBean the Astronomer is a close second.

This book is a lot of fun, the pictures are beautuful and the story is educational. I learned a lot while reading it, and I will be keeping it around for a long time just in case I ever have kids.

I think I said this in my other two reviews, but if you have kids or you're a teacher, you need to get this book. Actually you need to get all three. ( )

Queen Vernita of Oceaneer – originally encountered in Queen Vernita’s Visitors — is about to depart upon a twelve-month voyage of discovery to the Blue Ice Mountains. Each month she will entertain a new guest as they explore the plants, animals, and natural features of the Northern landscape together.

Using the same pattern as its predecessor for reinforcing the names of the months, days of the week, and number of days in a month, Queen Vernita Visits the Blue Ice Mountains provides additional drills within a story-like environment. This second installment shines in comparison though, as Menge keeps the content of this sequel tightly focused by putting more educational content into her work, rather than imparting funny topics of interest from her family members and friends.

This new degree of relevance to educators is a great improvement from her first effort. The twelve characters who visit with Queen Vernita as she vacations in the Blue Ice Mountains are still based upon those she knows and loves, but the activities they share as they learn about the world around them are far more sensible.

Illustrator Bobbi Switzer has returned as well to cast Queen Vernita and her crew in their educational adventures. Some of the perspective issues have been thankfully resolved from the first title (huge hands and inconsistently sized heads), though some quirks remain, such as Vernita’s eyes being black in the majority of the illustrations and blue in one or two. The same bright, two-pages per month spread is used throughout, with the illustration on one side, and the text on a color-coordinating facing page beside, resulting in a colourful reading experience.

Somewhat surprisingly, my 3.5 year old is totally into Queen Vernita Visits the Blue Ice Mountains she’s brought it to me several times to read to her. While it’s too wordy to make it through the year in a single sitting, she’s claimed it as a favourite. Although the text presents educational facts in a very straightforward fashion — on Monday they learned this, on Tuesday they learned that, and so on — my daughter is still picking up bits and pieces of knowledge.

When we were reading October’s two-page spread I mentioned that seals were mammals (as we were learning about seals that month with Queen Vernita), which prompted her to quickly flip back to July — when Queen Vernita was learning about whales — saying “Just like these are mammals, mommy!” Taking some time to discuss and build upon the educational topics shared will increase the likelihood of such ‘a-ha!’ moments.

While Menge’s work seems to be developing into a charming entry into the world of children’s literature, it unfortunately remains priced far above the market norm for a slender paperback volume.

Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com ( )

Queen Vernita is the active and outgoing leader of the Land of Quails with the Blue Ice Mountains. Queen Vernita enjoys spending time with children and invites 12 guests. Each guest stays for a full month and Queen Vernita takes the child to explore and learn about a different part of the world.

Here's a summary of the things that Queen Vernita covers in the 12 visits:

January - the different types of crabs, their exoskeletons, lifespans, and physical characteristics.

February - sea otters, their fur and physical characteristics and their lifestyle.

March - learning how glaciers are made, how they get their blue color, the different types of glaciers, and their relationship to icebergs.

April - different wild flowers like monkshood, salmonberry, bunchberries, forget-me-nots, and irises.

May - different types of whales and how they breathe.

June - bald eagles, their characteristics and their skill in the air.

July - grizzly bears, polar bears, black bears, and glacier bears.

August - the animals, trees, and environment of a rain forest.

September - Aurora Borealis and its magnificent lights.

October - harbor seals, bearded seals, ice seals, spotted seals, ringed seals, and ribbon seals.

November - starfish, rockfish, sponges, sea whips, sea anemones, and tree coral in the ocean.

December - the North Pole, ringed seals, polar bears, artic foxes, artic birds and even an elf from Santa's workshop.

The drawings are colorful and the book is full of facts. I learned some things through this book, but it wasn't for me. I prefer children's stories with fantastic stories. I can see how it would be a fun book for curious children. The book is most definitely educational! ( )

This was an absolutely fabulous book. It was 36 pages of beautiful and bright pictures. Queen Vernita decides to visit the Blue Ice Mountains. She sends out invitations to twelve of her friends. Each month her friend arrives and they do something special together. The reader learns through this book how many days are in each month. They also learn the days of the week as that is a repeated part of this book. I think the thing I really enjoyed is they way they are taught about things such as seals, bears and flowers without knowing they are being taught. Although I teach middle school, this will be a great addition to my ESOL book box. These topics are the very ones that I teach about in my lessons. Bobbi Switzer is the illustrator. The pictures are bright and charming and leave you feeling like you have been on a wonderful outing. I give this a rating of 5 out of ( )