Thinking Thursdays: Books on France (Art & Architecture)

I'm back again to share about more books on France, this time, on art and architecture!  So here's the list:

:: If you want to read more about French painters: France has many famous artists, among them Edgar Degas, Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse, and of course, Claude Monet, and I think one of the best series to introduce children to these painters would be the Anholt Artist Series.  This series has stories on all 4 artists: "Degas and the Little Dancer", "Cezanne and the Apple Boy", "Matisse the King of Colour", and "The Magical Garden of Claude Monet", all with engaging story-lines and beautiful illustrations.      

:: If you would like to introduce your child to paintings by French painters: Pick up some of the books from Mayhew's Katie series.  "Katie and the Waterlily Pond" brings you through 5 Monet masterpieces, while "Katie Meets the Impressionists" highlights various Impressionist paintings by Monet, Renoir and Degas.  Finallly, "Katie and the Sunflowers" introduces some post-Impressionist paintings by Gauguin and Cezanne (as well as Van Gogh).

:: And if you want something more exciting, try "Who Stole Mona Lisa".  In 1911, Da Vinci's Mona Lisa was stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, who believed that the painting should be returned to Italy.  This book is an account of the theft, but is narrated from the Mona Lisa's point of view!  Its a great book for discussing how the painting is famous for being famous.

:: If you want to discuss art and perspective: Join Hugo and Miles in "Hugo and Miles in I've Painted Everything" as they explore Paris.  Hugo is an artist who has run out of things to paint, and as the trip proceeds he learns how to see things differently!  This was one book that Junior J simply loved, especially with its play on words.

:: If you want to take a closer look at architecture: Ok, I admit I've yet to find a simple, interesting story involving architecture for children.  However, I picked up a copy of "Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction" (its a Caldecott Honor book, by the way!), which narrates the planning and construction of a Gothic cathedral in an imaginary French town, and intended it for my own reading.  The book's beautiful pen-and-ink drawings and detailed descriptions aptly illustrated the pain-staking process of building a cathedral, and really helped me to appreciate the details of these lofty buildings.  While I was reading it, Junior J peered over my shoulder and asked "what are you reading?", and I ended up explaining some of the illustrations to him.  The book came at the right time since it meant I could point out certain features when we were visiting the Notre Dame Cathedral!

Yup, and that concludes our long list of books on France!  Here's to a blessed weekend, and don't forget to enter the giveaway to win a book!

Thinking Thursdays: Books about France

Hello!  Things have been a little quieter on the blog since we got back, as I've been wrestling with mountains of laundry from the trip (its amazing how much stuff piles up after 2.5 weeks!).  The baby has been driving us crazy, as he's been taking forever to go down for naps.  Anyway, am popping by to share the books we read about France.  Perhaps its because its such a beautiful country, or maybe its because its capital is such an iconic city.  Whatever the case, there seems to be a lot more kid lit about France compared to most European countries.  Oddly enough, while there are loads of pretty books written in English, the French children's books seem to prefer more grown-up themes (you can see some of the more scary ones here).  We have a whole pile of recommendations (I had to split it into two posts!), so here goes:

:: If you want to wander about Paris: Try "Adele and Simon", a story about a little boy in Paris, who keeps losing things as he and his older sister walk home after school.  The illustrations are gorgeous and  detailed (try spotting the things Simon loses on each page for some extra fun), and their route through Paris consist of actual locations, which are indicated on a map on the reverse side of the book covers (you can see the map from the photo at the top of the post).

You could also read "This is Paris", another classic by Sasek, to gain little tidbits about various monuments and aspects of the City of Light.  Sasek may be a little dry though, so for younger kids, try "Madeline" as well as the other stories on the little girl (we read through "Mad about Madeline" which is a compilation of 6 stories).

:: If you'd rather trek across France:

Read "The Cat Who Walked Across France", a tale of a cat who walks across France in an attempt to find his home.  Its a heartwarming story, and brings you from Rouen (with the famous cathedral which Monet painted), across France, to the coast.

:: If you want to explore a bit of history:  Try "The Glorious Flight", which recounts Louis Bleriot's flight across the English Channel.  Or "Mirette on the High Wire", a story of a girl and the wire-walker, Bellini.  Both are amazing stories to teach the power of perseverance, and are set in France.

:: If you want something more light-hearted and fun:  Go and guess along with Moon, in "Ollie and Moon", as they romp through Paris to find the surprise that Ollie has prepared.  What's round and has fur and feathers and is bright with lights?  Read the book to find out!  This book combines illustrations with actual photographs of various Paris scenes, and Junior J enjoyed this book enormously.

Another fun book would be "Crictor".  Its set in France, but you don't really see much of the country here.  However, the simple tale of a lady and her brave pet snake brought a smile to my face, and Junior J loved the story!

Stay tuned for another book list for France tomorrow... But before you go, we have an brand new copy of "Crictor" to give away!  To enter, you just need to do BOTH these steps:

1. Like the blog's Facebook page if you have not done so.
2. Leave a comment on this post, sharing the title of your favourite children book.  If you do not have a blogger account, please do leave your name in your comment!

Giveaway closes 30th Sept.  Do note that this giveaway is only open to those residing in Singapore.  All the best!

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Update: Thank you for sharing your favourite children books, we're looking forward to exploring some of the titles you've shared! We've drawn our giveaway winner:

Marcia, you're going to be receiving a copy of Crictor... please drop us an email at john(dot)jus(at)gmail.com with your mailing details!

World Wednesdays: Books on Italy

Hello!  So we were exploring Italy last week, and started off by reading "Papa Piccolo" (by Carol Talley), one of the books in the Five in a Row booklist:

This was a story about a cat in Venice who ends up adopting two kittens.  The book is beautifully illustrated and also introduces various Italien terms and scenery in Venice.

Then we read two books on music:

:: Gabriella's Song, by Candace Fleming: A story about a little girl who hears music in the things around her, be it in the flap flap of pigeon wings or the slap slap of laundry.  She sings a song, which is interpreted differently by those around her.  Some say it is a love song.  Some say it is a sad song, and a certain composer is inspired by it and writes a symphony.  Its a lovely lovely book!

:: I, Vivaldi, by Janice Shefelman: A story on the life of musician and composer, Antonio Vivaldi, with gorgeous illustrations.  

And also managed to cover two books on art:

:: Katie and the Mona Lisa, by James Mayhew: I find Mayhew's books make me a little dizzy, in the way Katie scrambles through the museum and encounters all sorts of characters in the paintings.  I admit I prefer the Anholt Artists series.  However, Junior J does enjoy the Katie series, and it is an interesting way to introduce children to various works of art.  This particular book introduces five paintings by Italien Renaissance artists, including Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, as well as St George and the Dragon by Raphael.

:: Leonardo and the Flying Boy, by Laurence Anholt: A story based on a true event, the book introduces Da Vinci as an inventor and painter, and one who dreamed of enabling man to fly through the sky.

We revisited "The Famous Nini" (which I blogged about here), and finally concluded by reading Miroslav's Sasek's "This is Venice" (I simply love this series!).  The book was a little too advanced for Junior J, so I skipped some parts, but it really helped to consolidate all the little details that we learnt about Venice.  Sasek has written another book on Rome, however, we would probably explore Rome another time!

What are your favourite children's books on Italy?

Thinking Thursdays: How to make an apple pie and see the world

We've finally gotten off our lazy butts and started learning with the Five in a Row series!  The first book we plunged into was "How to make an apple pie and see the world".  We didn't manage to do most of the recommended activities, as we were rather busy working on the museum.  However, we did explore various aspects of the story by reading other books:

:: Italy: We read "The Famous Nini".  Its a quirky tale about a cat in a cafe, and is a little far-fetched.  However, its still a heartwarming tale, and helped to introduce various aspects of Venice to the little boy, from Verdi to gondolas:

:: France: I decided to use "Anatole" for this round, and leave "Madeline" for another time.  I love how the illustrations are done in the colours of the French flag, and of course, Junior J cannot resist any story on mice and cheese (which are two of his favourite things!).

:: Sri Lanka: We didn't have any books on Sri Lanka (we miss NLB so much!), but read "Rainforests":

:: Making flour from wheat: We read "Pancakes, Pancakes" to explore further the process of making flour from wheat, as well as explore the sources of other ingredients.  And we also made cookies together, where the boy got to weigh the ingredients and shape the cookies (couldn't make apple pie since I don't have any baking tins!).  We've also managed to spot quite a few fields of wheat the past week!

:: Subtraction: I simply love Loreen Leedy's books, because she manages to take dry topics like math and make them a whole lot more interesting.  This round, we explored subtraction using "Subtraction Action"...

... and practiced it at random times during the day.  One of the days, the boy went around giving "tickets" to his museum to us and his animals, and started calculating how many tickets he had left after he gave tickets to this dinosaur or that animal!

It was quite a fun week!  Stay tuned tomorrow for more activities, but this time related to food!