Martha Robinson

This book was a unique way to combine poetry and a picture book. The book talked about what animals at the zoo do at night, which would engage younger readers especially who love animals. They can relate to going to sleep at night, since that is something that both humans and animals do, and it will be fun for them to read about how an animal sleeps. Another feature of this book is that it has an ABAB rhyme scheme. There are only four lines to a page, which is just the right amount to introduce poetry to young readers. Even if they do not notice the rhyme scheme, they will get a feel for lyric or poetic writing as opposed to regular storybook writing. It may be difficult for them to understand most of the words, so this would be a great opportunity for the teacher to scaffold to students through modeled reading. Additionally, the large pictures of each animal will help students to visualize what is going on throughout the poem. The main purpose of this book is to introduce poetry through the lens of zoo animals.… (mehr)

I received this book as a gift for the 1964 holiday season, I suspect because my mother was ill, and that this book was meant to be reassuring.

This story is about American twin sisters, whose mother is ill and/or needs surgery (she’s recovered by the end of the book) so they’re sent to visit their English cousins for the summer. The English family lives in a village and consists of two brothers and their parents, and an assortment of animals, including a very memorable dog. The aunt and uncle are a doctor and a veterinarian.

I remember enjoying reading about the difference between the American and English customs and language. I have no idea how accurate the information was, but I found it interesting.

I’ve always wanted to be a twin so I really enjoyed reading about these two thirteen year old sisters. (I was eleven when I first read this.)

I still own the book (it’s not in the most impeccable shape) but I haven’t read it for decades. I rated it here at Goodreads a long time ago, but I just uploaded the cover so I decided to write a little bit about it, mostly because I’m the only Goodreads member who has shelved it.

I haven’t got a clear idea of whether this would appeal to today’s readers. It was published in 1962 and I first read it in late 1964, so it was a somewhat new book at the time.… (mehr)