Mad About Monkeys and Wild Animals of the North (Flying Eye Books)

When I think of children's books that are both educational and beautiful, the one publisher that always pops in my head first is Flying Eye Books. Today, I would like to tell you about two of their latest releases - Mad About Monkeys and Wild Animals of the North.

Mad About Monkeys is a 40 page chapter book that is heavily illustrated. The chapters are only two pages each, but it still qualifies as a chapter book. The book begins by talking about what monkeys are and evolution. The next chapter talks about the differences between Old World and New World monkeys. Other chapters talk about differences between large and small monkeys, their social life, and what monkeys are best at certain things, i.e., speed and intelligence. One of the closing chapters discusses monkey mythology, including their importance in the Hindu religion and Chinese zodiac. The final chapter discusses deforestation and the impact it is having on the monkeys of the world. Overall, I found this book to be very informative. It contained a nice mixture of useful knowledge and fun facts. However, the star of this book were the illustrations. Owen Davey does a remarkable job making the many different species of monkeys come alive on the pages. The only complaint I have about the book is the matter of fact statement that humans and monkeys evolved from a common ancestor. This is scientific speculation at best, as it has never been proven. For that reason, I deducted a star from my review. If you end up buying this book and liking it, be sure to check out Davey's next book Smart About Sharks.

Wild Animals of the North is an over-sized picture book that takes the reader through animals of the Northern Hemisphere. The book is divided into three sections for the three different continents - North America, Europe, and Asia. Most (but not all) of the animals are given a two page spread, which includes their name, Latin name, and a brief paragraph that tells information about where the animal lives, what it eats, and other interesting trivia about them. I was disappointed there wasn't this kind of information on the red panda, because it looked like a fascinating creature, but this just encourages the child and their parent to investigate some animals further. The pictures in this book are breathtaking and Dieter Brown is a true artist. If I may be so bold, I would compare this book to John James Audubon's Birds of America. Some might view this as blasphemy of sorts, but you have to see this book and make that judgment for yourselves. Now, I must patiently await the book Wild Animals of the South to complete this beautiful set of books.

These books were provided to me for free by Flying Eye Books in exchange for honest reviews. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

d'Aulaires' Books (New York Review: Children's Collection)

When it comes to reading mythology, I have three trusted people to which I turn - Edith Hamilton and Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire. The former's book Mythology was a classic I read in high school and the husband and wife's Book of Greek Myths served as a jumping off point when I was younger. Recently, I have been discovering mythology in other cultures. Egyptian mythology has featured heavily in movies like Prince of Egypt, but lately Norse myth is gaining traction thanks to movies like Thor and The Avengers. Today, I am going to review two books that deal with Norse mythology, and possibly a third book by the same authors, if I have time, so let's get started!

D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths is a gorgeous hardcover that is approximately 12" x 9". It was originally named "Norse Gods and Giants" before New York Review Books reissued and renamed it. The book is over 150 pages long and is slammed with illustrations! On the inside of the front cover and back cover is an illustration that shows you the Nine Norse Worlds, with their original Norse names. For example, Hel & Nifl Heim is the Underworld. This illustration is very helpful in understanding Norse mythology. There is also a very useful glossary in the end with very detailed definitions, as well as page references for where the terms appear in the stories.

There are approximately thirty stories in this collection. As to be expected a great deal of them focus on Loki and Thor (two of the more well-known figures in Norse mythology). The first several stories are creation stories, which includes who the first gods were, how the world was created, and how man was created. I found these most fascinating, as I am a sucker for a good origin story. For example, man and woman were originally trees that three gods (Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur) gave life to. Unlike in Biblical accounts where people grew more sinful, in Norse mythology people grew better in every way. In fact, a disguised Odin walked among them teaching them how to behave. The book closes with the tale of "A New World." In this conclusion, there is a new sun and new earth and two people have survived. However, they don't worship the old gods anymore but God Almighty. Truly a fascinating book!

D’Aulaires’ Book of Trolls is a companion book to D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths. Both books have the same dimensions (12" x 9"), which I greatly appreciate for vain shelf placement aesthetics. In this book, we see the nighttime side of Norse mythology, for everyone knows that trolls only come out when the sun goes down. There aren't many specific tales about trolls in this book, but it is more a guide to what trolls are, what they look like, customs, etc.

Some of the things I learned in this book is that the more heads a troll had, the harder it was for him to eat because all the heads were hungry and greedy. I also learned that the number of knots a troll could tie in his tail indicated his rank among trolls. Trolls are also very rich, because they own the gold and silver under the mountains. Lastly, trolls turn to stone and shatter in the sun. Most/all of the trolls probably turned to stone, and this is why you don't see them anymore. As an adult, I enjoyed learning and reading about trolls. From a child's perspective, I could see how it might be a little frustrating to have few clear stories and instead be presented with a FAQ on Trolls. It is still engaging and full of great illustrations, so if you buy D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths, you will definitely want to pair this book with it.

D'Aulaires' Book of Animals is an exquisite book that spans approximately 30 pages, but in reality is one long front and back page. The front page is in color and shows a variety of animals ranging from whales to elephants. These color pages show the animals in their natural habitat and contain few words at the bottom describing the location where they live (like North or South) and why they live there. The reverse side is black and white and shows you the same animals, but this time the text at the bottom tells you the different sounds the animals make. I've seen the age range on this book for children ages 2 to 5, but I would say 5 is the minimum age. More rambunctious children might tear or rip this illustrious foldout page. Still a very pretty book!

These books were provided to me for free by New York Review Books in exchange for an honest review. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here, here, and/or here and click Yes!

Children's Corner: Holy Crocodile: Stories of Saints and the Animals Who Helped Them

Greetings to my loyal readers and hopefully some new readers! When I first started this blog, I wondered how much of a success it would be. I didn't know if people would even care what I had to say or if I would have enough books to carry this on long term. Thanks to both generous publishers for the works to read and all my faithful readers, I have officially made it to my 100th post (not necessarily my 100th review).

Holy Crocodile: Stories of Saints and the Animals Who Helped Them is written and illustrated by Caroline Cory. Ms. Cory draws on traditions from the Catholic, Orthodox, and Coptic Churches. I love this aspect of the book because it gives your kids exposure to saints they might never hear of any place else. For example, the cover and inspiration for the book's name relates to a tale of St. Pachome. We are also introduced to the stories of some lions with St. Prisca and St. Cuthbert and his sea otters to name a few.

Of all the religious children's books I have reviewed, this is by far the most visually appealing. The colors are bold and vibrant and really come alive on the page. In fact, I would go so far as to say that even if the stories within were awful, I would buy this book for the illustrations alone. Fortunately, that is not the case, as the stories within the book are just as wonderful as the artwork. I particularly enjoy the story of St. Gerasimos and the lion he saved. The lion went on to become a member of the same monastery as St. Gerasimos.

I really loved this book and have been reading it to my newborn son, who also happens to have an affinity for lions. It's never too early to teach our children about the saints and their faith, and this book does just that. I know it will be a favorite bedtime read for years to come, and I can't wait until he can focus his little eyes on the pictures better. Pick up this 5 star book for you and your kids!

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