Jane Belk Moncure (1926–2013)

I'm a bit wistful on this one because I love it when kids' imaginary friends come to real life, but ultimately this is a bit too much weird wish fulfillment (little davie or whatever is king for a day when his dinosaur wins the pet race and gives all the other kids rides!), when we should be teaching our children to care about more than whether they get to be the best and most important. And it calls books "windows" (as in, of the imagination) in this weirdly casual way, like that's the new show more word for books. show less

I read this book to my grandaughter while babysitting day. We both enjoyed the story and the humor. It did make her laugh. She likes to say individual words, one of which is "hat". She could also identify many of the animals pictured. The book shows how a hat can have many uses and also shows how the farmer's wife was able to solve the problem of the wind repeatedly blowing away the farmer's hat.. This is a cute story!

I liked this book for a couple of reasons. The story presents a good message for children. It starts out with a “funny-looking bird” named Little Too-Tall, who wishes she had a friend. She goes throughout the jungle looking for someone who could be her friend, but all the animals make fun of her because of what she looks like. Upset that no one would be her friend, she runs out of the jungle into a grassy field where she sees a lion. She warns a zebra and an antelope of the lion and they show more run away to safety together. The zebra and the antelope want to be Little Too-Tall’s friends and say “We like you just the way you are.” The message of this story is that no matter what you look like or who you are, there is always someone who loves you just the way you are. I like the illustrations because they are very cartoon like and colorful, which I found very amusing. The language in the book follows a rhyming pattern some of the time. This pattern flows very nicely through the pages. For example, when Little Too-Tall asks the parrot if he would be her friend he says, “My word, you are a funny looking bird. Your legs are too tall. You can not fly at all.” This pattern makes the story more entertaining to read. show less

I liked this book, “A Dragon in a Wagon: A Book About Ways to Travel” for several reasons. First, this book is an introduction to how the library is a “magic castle” with Word Windows “because the words and pictures let you look and see many things”. After the introduction, you turn the page to meet a girl named Megan, and a dragon talking about different ways to travel to different destinations. Even though there is not much of a plot, the story is enhanced with rhyming verses show more and with a variety of modes of transportation. An example of this would be “Megan and the dragon hop into a car. But the car will not go.” A new form of travel is featured on each turn of the page. Second, the illustrations of the animals and Megan by Dana Regan are simple yet bold to grab the attention of the young readers. Each colorful page makes children want to learn more about how the main character, Megan, and the dragon are moving to their next destination. Another reason I like this book, is because after the story ends there is a page titled “Questions and Activities”. This would be a very useful tool for a parent or teacher to have a child answer questions about the story for comprehension purposes. Overall this story teaches children about the different forms of travel in order to get from one destination to the next. show less