I love this book with all my heart. It always makes me smile and laff. It is like magic.

Mrs. Bean's daughter grows to be tall and strong like the vegetables in her garden, and her efforts in her garden produce wonders which become a family affair in this story of gardening delights and a small girl's special talents.

Good folksy fairy tale where the protagonist is a girl not scared to get her magical green fingers dirty. My two year old immediately loved the story of a young baby growing into a little girl and "doing something wonderful." I like that there are lots of opportunities to identify and name vegetables in the exciting if not overly refined illustrations. Also, I really recommend this book for its sense of community -- when the village comes together to harvest and eat Scarlette's giant vegetables, it's great to notice that women drive forklifts, priests sit down to eat with tattooed bikers and neighbors come in all shapes and colors. These details are not at issue in the content of the story, but added for discovery in the ilustrations.

While living in Africa we would often rescue frogs from our pool. Sometimes eggs had already been laid and the eggs were wrapped in a clear jelly. In the stream near our home we would collect tadpoles and take them home to show mom. Sometimes we found what we thought were miniature frogs. They were just baby frogs and we were sent back to the stream to release them so they could grow up and be productive insect hunters.

Yes, there is a certain wonder in watching animals grow up in the wild and that is how it should be in an ideal world. This same wonder can be transmitted through books with stunning photographs.

Eyewitness Readers are designed in conjunction with leading literary experts. The engaging easy-to-read stories are accompanied by photographs which show every detail in full color and with great clarity. DK is known for this great quality. This book is level one and is for children who are just beginning to read.

Level one contains picture dictionary boxes, word repetition, limited vocabulary and simple sentences. Children can begin to read at the early age of three, but some don't learn to read until they are 8.

Learning to read by the phonics method allows children to start reading earlier and before children will be able to read this book they will need to know phonics. This is also a fun book you can read to your child. The phonics game sold here at Amazon can help children get a head start in life in the department of reading. First children learn to read and then they read to learn.

"Tale of a Tadpole" combines excellent full-color photographs with a simple text by Karen Wallace in order to tell the story of a tadpole's life cycle. The result is a delightful book for beginning readers.

Like the other books in this series, "Tale of a Tadpole" includes a "Picture Word List" at the end. This is basically a summary of vocabulary words with a photograph to illustrate each word: "gills," "eye," etc. The main text of the book begins with the newly laid eggs, and depicts the tadpole (and sometimes his siblings) hatching, evading predators, and undergoing the marvelous metamorphosis into a full-grown frog.

The photography is superb. Both "action shots" and more relaxed scenes are skillfully captured. And our star tadpole/frog is a most appealing hero! Overall, I highly recommend this book both for its educational value and for its charm.

This book works well as a non-fiction read-aloud for preschoolers. Great photos keep their attention as the book briefly, but thoroughly, describes the environment & life of a frog from egg to mature frog. Wallace does a better job than some similar books at providing a bit of a story-line to go along with all of the facts.

We first found this book at the library. We read it so often that my 2.5 year old son can finish each sentence and page. Great book for reading to kids and teaching them basic construction vocabulary! The pictures are great and easy to use to engage the children in a beyond-the-book discussion.

Big Machines is great for beginnning readers who may still be struggling. It has machines, BIG machines which engross youngsters. It has repetetive text, which makes it easy to catch on. It even has a dictionary with the page number the word can be found on. The pictures keep the children interested, because he (or she) wants to read it.

"A Day at Seagull Beach," by Karen Wallace, describes a day in the life of a mated pair of seagulls. Directed towards beginning readers, this book combines an easy-to-read text with full color nature photography on every page.

As do the other volumes in this series, this book contains a "Picture Word List" at the end. This feature is basically a visual glossary that illustrates each vocabulary word ("pincer," "seaweed," "waves," etc.) with a photograph. This is a good feature that adds to the book's educational value.

We see the seagulls tending their nest and their eggs. Much of the book follows the male gull as he searches for food; we see him encounter a crab, a starfish, and other marine life. Overall, the combination of good photography and literacy aids make "A Day at Seagull Beach" a good choice for children.

I got this book for my 3-year old niece about a week before her first plane ride and vacation to the beach. By our arrival in Miami Beach she could already point to the many seagulls and tell me that they were looking for food. The simple story and illustrations were a wonderful introduction to many of the things she encountered at the beach including the waves, shells, seaweed, sandcastles, and crabs (but as a Maryland native she already knows all about them - steamed with plenty of Old Bay seasoning, that is). Now weeks later, rereading the story brings back memories of her trip and lots of enjoyment. Highly educational and fun.

I have always thought that the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly is just amazing. In this story, a butterfly flits from flower to flower and looks for a leaf where she can lay her eggs. The photography is stunning and you can actually see the caterpillar growing inside the egg. Once the caterpillar hatches, she eats and eats and eats.

As the caterpillar gets bigger and bigger, she sheds her skin until finally she looks for a sturdy leaf and hangs upside down. The outside skin turns hard and inside, she is turning into a beautiful creature. One day the chrysalis splits open and a new butterfly emerges to dry in the sunshine.

On the last page, there is a picture word list and your child can sign and date the back cover to remind them of their accomplishment when they are able to completely read this book on their own.

Educational!

The cover photograph was only the first of many outstanding pictures in this book. The photographs are by Jim Dutcher, who provided most of the source material for the book. Most of the text was written by Karen McCall, rich with description almost to the point of being a distraction at times, but there are a few parts where there is a noticeable shift in style, and I suspect these were written by Dutcher himself. We get the story of Catrina as she raises three cubs in an enclosure in a secluded area, to be eventually released into the wild (Catrina herself is too acclimated to humans to be released). Their story is interesting and compelling. The book is worth having for the pictures alone, but you'll be missing out if you don't read the text too.

"Duckling Days," by Karen Wallace, chronicles the life of a family of ducks in a format geared towards beginning readers. The book combines a very simple text with colorful photographs. A "picture word list," consisting of vocabulary words accompanied by photographs that portray what the words stand for ("nest," "egg," etc.), is included at the end of the book.

The "river" in which the family lives looks artificial--like a zoo exhibit--but I doubt that this element will bother the young readers towards whom the book is directed. The photographs depict the ducklings hatching, taking their first steps, and swimming with their mother. And let's face it: ducklings, like most baby animals, have a built-in appeal! Overall, "Duckling Days" is a charming book with positive educational value.

Karen Wallace has penned a wonderful little story about a girl who really wants a cat. Unfortunately her parents live where cats are not allowed, so they decide to move.

Sarah's new cat is named Tabby and she belonged to the people who lived in the house before they did. (One wonders why the last owners left her there, but no explanation is given.)

Sarah learns how to look after her new cat and they put a cat flap on the back door so Tabby can go outside. This books encourages good care and regular visits to the vet for checkups.

In the summer Sarah and Tabby play out in the yard. Sometimes the cat liked to go play with her friends too (that is how the book explains it) and soon Tabby was getting a bit fatter.

On Sarah's birthday, her mom makes her a special birthday cake in the shape of a cat (these parents are super nice, let me tell ya!) and her father gives her a necklace with a cat on it. Sarah wants to show Tabby her new necklace, but can't find her.

They search everywhere and Sarah is very upset. Her father rushes in and says: "Follow me! I have a surprise for you." Sarah sees that the bottom drawer is open and sees a cat's tail. When she opens the drawer, she sees two tiny kittens curled up.

As she says: They were the most purr-r-fect presents ever. And I agree.

Really cute book with a wonderful story for kids who are just starting to read.

This would interest any child who likes sea creatures. Plenty of facts, poetically worded, and presented in small digestible blocks. The illustrations are beautifully drawn and coloured.

Glimmer Train features up and coming talented writers, and boy have they have one in Daniel Wallace. What a great writer. The folks at the Train have the ability to spot talent, so look for these authors elsewhere for other good reads. This is the new crop of the biggies. Especially Wallace. A++