Usborne’s Amazing Books on Shakespeare

Posted in books & book reviews, usborne by Rosemary Lynn

I am mildly (okay, that’s an understatement) obsessed with Shakespeare.

I’m not exactly a Shakespearean scholar or anything, even coming from a literature major in college, but really more of what I call a Shakespeare groupie.

I love Shakespeare and everything that he has given us, and I love to share the stories and the characters and the words with my kids. My girls are still very young, but we’ve already seen multiple live performances together, watched some of the plays as movies, and done crafts and activities based on the plays.

And one of the original reasons that I became a consultant with Usborne Books & More is because of Usborne Publishing’s amazing collection of books about Shakespeare. Which is what this post is about. I wanted to share with you how these books help to get kids excited about Shakespeare and help to research and understand his plays.

Though, honestly, I really got the books for myself. My kids just get the benefits of having them around. ;)

This seemed like the perfect time to share them, too, with this month being a worldwide celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Not a celebration that he died, mind you, but a celebration that we’re still so excited about and grateful for everything that he brought into our world through his art.

Talking about books seemed to me a great way to honor the words he gave us. ;)

The books are much more impressive in person, however, than they appear from a simple photograph, so I’m first going to share a video review I made of the books listed here – so that you can see a glimpse inside of them and compare what they offer. Then I’m going to list each book with a brief description.

Ugh … I don’t like watching myself on video. But hopefully I was able to explain and demonstrate the books well enough for you to figure out what would be best for your household or classroom. (Even if I did get confused and stumble over my words here and there…)

But if anything was unclear, or you have any further questions, please leave a comment here and I’ll do my best to help!

Here are the books, including the gift collection not mentioned in the video:

Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare

Recommended Age: 8+

Pages: 414

The Illustrated Stories contains retellings of 6 plays, all fully illustrated with artwork on every page. It’s a hardcover book with a soft outer cover and includes a ribbon bookmark.

Plays included: Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and the Tempest

Usborne’s Shakespeare Hardcover Gift Collection

Recommended Age: 7+

Pages: 5 books at 64 pages each

This boxed set contains five hardcover books, one for each of the five plays represented, and each includes a ribbon bookmark.

Plays included: Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo and Juliet

Sticker Dressing Shakespeare

Recommended Age: 5+

Pages: 24 pages + 10 pages of stickers

This sticker dressing book allows you to dress up characters from many of the plays with over 160 stickers, from Bottom to Macbeth and Cleopatra to Hamlet. Also includes some quotation stickers.

Where’s Will: Find Shakespeare Hidden in His Plays

Recommended Age: 7-11

Pages: 48

A truly fun and unique concept, this book of Where’s Will is the Shakespearean version of Where’s Waldo.

There is an illustrated summery from 10 of his plays, followed by a double spread illustration for each of those plays in which you must seek out characters from the play.

Stories from Shakespeare

Recommended Age: 12+

Pages: 192

This book is covered with a sturdy flexi-binding and retells 10 of Shakespeare’s plays with large lively illustrations. Includes summaries of all of the plays.

Play include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, As you like it, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, The Winter’s Tale, Macbeth, and The Taming of the Shrew

The Usborne World of Shakespeare

Recommended Age: 11+

Pages: 64

Available in flexi-binding or in library binding, this book will thoroughly introduce you to Shakespeare. Find out how he lived, what Elizabethan London was like, and why we still perform his plays today.

Includes multiple glossaries plus information about how to further research the topics on the internet.

The World of Shakespeare Reference Book

Recommended Age: 10+

Pages: 32

Shorter than the book mentioned just above, this hardcover reference book contains similar information, but in smaller chunks and with a more colorful format.

That’s it for my review! Overall, I highly recommend ALL of these books, but I understand most people aren’t going to rush out and stock up on each and every one of them, so I hope I’ve been able to help you decide on a favorite(s).

Also, be sure to follow me on Facebook where I have a habit of posting random funny or interesting Shakespeare stuff. ;)

Happy Reading!

4Jan2016

Usborne Puzzle Pad Books

Posted in books & book reviews, usborne by Rosemary Lynn

puzzle pad books

These Puzzle Pad Books from Usborne have tear-off pages that are full of paper games and puzzles to keep kids entertained.

They’re really great for car rides or restaurants or when you want to keep your kids entertained without electronics.

My video review shows one that’s made for two people (“players”) and another that is made for just one person.

Plus, there’s a pocket-sized one, too, which is smaller in size and with less pages, to make it even easier to carry around. Like in their backpacks.

Check out my video to see inside the books and get a glimpse at the puzzles and games:

Here are the direct links to the books I mentioned in the video:

Pencil & Paper Games

Busy Puzzle Pad

Pocket Puzzle Books

And, of course, there are tons of other interactive and educational puzzle books at my site BOOKS WITH ROSIE.

If you need any suggestions, feel free to contact me on Facebook! :)

Roaming Rosie Signature

3Sep2015

I’m a Dirty Dinosaur Book Review

Posted in books & book reviews, usborne by Rosemary Lynn

This is a fun book to read. It has lots of sounds, or onomatopoeias, which kids enjoy. And you can kind of dance about while reading it, or, you know, maybe leave the dancing around to the kiddos.

Either way, this dinosaur may be dirty, but he does wind up taking a bath at the very end. Before the bath comes along, though, the kids will have a lot of fun with the stomping and shaking and snuffing about over the pages of simple illustrations mixed with bright colors.

Real mud was used in creating the illustrations, so that’s something that would be fun to incorporate into crafts with your own kids.

Watch my video review to see inside the book:

And you can read a little more about it on my book website:

I’m a Dirty Dinosaur

Is your kid/grandkid/niece/nephew a BIG dinosaur fan? Because then you really should check out some of these awesome titles, too:

Happy Reading! (Roar)

Roaming Rosie Signature

19Aug2015

Muddle and Match Book Review

Posted in books & book reviews, usborne by Rosemary Lynn

I love these Muddle and Match books! They make great gifts but they also keep my kids entertained during both story time and long car rides. The reason for this is because they are SO interactive.

The concept of the books is this: you have three sections on each “page” that are all able to be turned independently. So the story on the left and the picture on the right can be changed over and over. You could end up with a cowgirl head, a fairy body, and a mermaid tail – kind of like the picture on the cover. And then you can change it up again!

Another thing I love is the alliteration. Each page of the story focuses on one letter – which makes it easy to incorporate these books into lessons of learning the alphabet.

The books themselves are like a board book with thick pages, and they also feature rounded edges.

And, you know, they are super silly and fun! Which is an awesome way to help kids learn to love reading.

Watch my video review to see the books in action:

And check out the whole collection on my book site:

Muddle and Match Books

Happy Reading!

Roaming Rosie Signature

9Jul2015

Usborne’s “Noisy” Books Review

Posted in books & book reviews, usborne by Rosemary Lynn

Do your kids love to be noisy? Because mine certainly do.

And, to be perfectly honest, the word “noisy” carried a rather negative connotation for me…. until I found these books!

I mean, I love when my kids get “noisy” by running around the backyard or playground and making a healthy ruckus…. but noisy TOYS? No. I avoid those things like the plague.

But when I started selling Usborne Books, I was intrigued by these. Usborne has such amazing books, but would I like the ones that made sounds? YES! Would they be annoying like others I’ve found in stores? Not at all!

In fact, even though my kids benefit by my being a consultant in that they get to read all the books that come through my house, the one I bought just for them was the Noisy Orchestra. WE. LOVE. IT. No kidding: this thing rocks. It has beautiful sounds, gorgeous illustrations, and it’s actually pleasant for me to listen to while my kids play with it in the car.

But the best part is – even though the orchestra book is our personal favorite – there are a TON of noisy/musical/sound to choose from and you can find one to fit the interests of the kids in your life! Got a little one who loves monsters? Pirates? Trucks? Castles??? We’ve got you covered! :)

These books are rated for age 3 and up, but they’re also wonderful for beginning readers and early elementary ages. Plus, they’re also sturdy enough when the younger siblings get hold of them: rounded edges and thick pages for safety and a lifetime guarantee for accidents. (Contact me for details!)

Here’s my video review of a few of the books:

And here are direct links to the books pictured above and featured in the video:

Noisy Castle

Noisy Circus

Noisy Diggers

Noisy Jungle

Noisy Monsters

Noisy Noah’s Ark

Noisy Orchestra

Noisy Pirates

Noisy Robots

Noisy Spooky Book

Noisy Train

Noisy Zoo

If you’d like more information about getting these books for free by throwing a Facebook party (anywhere in the U.S.!) or about how to become a consultant and enrich the lives of children by encouraging early literacy with amazing books like these, contact me on my book site or on Facebook!

Happy Reading!!

21May2015

Roaming Rosie Reads “Monsters Aren’t Real” by Kerstin Schoene {book review}

Posted in books & book reviews, roaming rosie reads, usborne by Rosemary Lynn

Monsters Aren’t Real by Kerstin Schoene is an enchanting picture book that my kids are absolutely in love with.

It’s 44 pages long, but many of the pages have no words at all, or only a few. Wordless picture books are great for Little Ones. Plus, the story is packed full of laughs, which always makes reading fun.

The book is about a monster who’s keeps hearing “monster’s aren’t real,” which leads him to wonder, “then what am I?” He’s as big as a monster… as strong as a monster… so monsters MUST be real. Right??

Our gentle monster tries to prove that he’s real by attempting to scare people. He says “boo” and he juggles cows, but nobody is scared. He tried to spread propaganda via helium balloons and posters {my girls always giggle about the poster that’s upside down}, but nobody’s paying attention.

He gets sad and concludes that monsters aren’t, in fact, real. But then another crazy-looking monster shows up {this one’s my 3yo’s favorite} and insists that they ARE real.

I often have to reread and reread and reread those last two pages. My girls read them along with me, bursting into laughter every single time.

When the book is over, I always ask, “are monsters real?” and they shout, “NO!”

And then they laugh some more.

You can watch me reading the book in the video below:

And you can purchase the book from Usborne Books & More:

Monsters Aren’t Real

If you’re Little One is a big monster fan, they may also enjoy:

Happy Reading!

Roaming Rosie Signature

11May2015

Roaming Rosie Reads “The Dog Who Loved Red” by Anitha Balachandran

Posted in books & book reviews, roaming rosie reads, usborne by Rosemary Lynn

Roaming Rosie Reads

The Dog Who Loved Red by Anitha Balachandran is one of my favorite Kane Miller picture books.

The illustrations are a bright and fun celebration of color.

The dog’s name is Raja and Raja loves red. He even has “red radar.” He chews on Mrs. Lal’s red shawl and Mr. Lal’s gray and red socks, but Raja’s favorite red thing to chew is the old red ball that he and his friend Champ play with.

The Dog Who Loved Red

But the red ball is lost. Champ is sad.

Then Raja uses his red radar to locate their red ball in the neighbor’s backyard. The neighbor, Mr. Mehta, doesn’t like dogs. But Raja braves Mr. Mehta and his blue hose to retrieve the ball.

He’s quite the colorful mess at the end, which results in a bath for him and lots of laughs from your audience.

Kids love the adventurous story and there are a ton of colors mentioned for your Little Ones to find.

In the video below, you can watch me reading the book:

I’m sorry to announce that The Dog Who Loved Red is no longer available to purchase new from Usborne Books & More/Kane Miller, and but you can find many other wonderful picture books at my Usborne site, Books With Rosie.

HOWEVER, you can still buy The Dog Who Loved Red as a used book on Amazon.

You can also watch other videos of me reading story books in my Roaming Rosie Reads posts.

A few more picture books that I love:

Happy Reading!

Roaming Rosie Signature

Save

28Apr2015

Book Review: The Hidden Life of Wolves

Posted in books & book reviews by Rosemary Lynn

I had shared the video for The Hidden Life of Wolves on Facebook awhile back, but I just recently got a chance to read the book.

It attracted me from the first time I heard about it. Wolves have always fascinated me. I’ve always found them to be borderline magical and always wanted one as a friend and companion. Even though they are wild {as the book reminds us} they are smart and their eyes are deep and their calls command the night.

Why do I love wolves so much? I mostly attribute it to The Journey of Natty Gann, a movie released in the 80s that featured a young girl with a wolf as a traveling partner. I don’t remember much about the movie, actually, but I remember the wolf. I remember that the girl was going through unbelievably hard times, but I remember the wolf right there alongside her – and I wanted to be her because of that.

Maybe that sounds a little silly, but as a young child, I wanted to experience that beauty and that passion and that comfort up close.

Which has an awful lot to do with why I picked up this book the instant I caught those golden green eyes staring back at me.

And what a gorgeous book it is!

The photos are breathtakingly spectacular and are alone well worth the purchase of the book. But there’s so much more, too.

The authors lived – day in and day out – with these wolves. They were like family. Like pack.

The book is a glimpse inside the personalities and habits of how these wolves lived. How they played and hunted, how they reared and mourned.

I’m ashamed to admit that I’d had no idea that the wild wolf population was so terribly scarce.

Why have we been killing off wolves for so long? Why have we driven them to near extinction? Why do so many people hate them? Is it because they are so like us?

Jim and Jamie Dutcher, the husband and wife team who wrote the book, have taken on a lifelong mission of helping this majestic cousin of Man’s Best Friend. This effort grew from the beginnings of their incorporation into the Sawtooth Pack and blossomed into three documentaries, three Emmy Awards, and their groundbreaking nonprofit organization, Living With Wolves. {You can also follow them on Facebook.}

They introduce us not just to the individual wolves of Sawtooth Pack, from the Alpha to the pups, but also to a history of the animal and its relationship with humans over many thousands of years. They show us how these intelligent and compassionate creatures are so vital to our ecosystem, and how we can live peacefully side-by-side.

Truly, I think that everyone who has even a passing interest in animals or nature should read this book.

You can see a preview of the book in the video below, which includes glimpses of the stunning photography.

A portion of the proceeds of book sales goes towards helping wolves, but even if you decide not to buy the book, you should still pick it up and read it. It will change the way you look at wolves. It may even change you.

Roaming Rosie Signature

19Apr2015

Book Review: Fictitious Dishes: An Album of Literature’s Most Memorable Meals by Dinah Fried

Posted in books & book reviews by Rosemary Lynn

I recently picked up Fictitious Dishes: An Album of Literature’s Most Memorable Meals by Dinah Fried with the expectation that I’d soon be trying out some new recipes.

I was mistaken.

So my initial reaction to this book was one of disappointment.

But I was still intrigued, as I usually am with anything related to either novels or food {and this had both!} so I sat down and began to read it from the beginning.

I found the author’s description of her process to be quite entertaining, and I think I would have enjoyed hearing more about her story. After all, she chose some books with which I was completely unfamiliar and some times she chose foods that I wasn’t able to identify or match to the descriptions. So even though I enjoyed the tidbits of facts on each page, I would have liked a meatier {hehe} explanation.

There were a wide variety of books documented here, from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and The Secret Garden, pictured above, to others like Moby Dick, Lolita, and American Psycho. I liked finding so many different titles, but there are so many, many more – endless, really – options for inclusion in a book like this, that I kind of found it too short.

I want to make sure that I stress that I really did like this book. But I also want to stress that it’s a coffee table book, not a cookbook. Gazing at the creamy chowder and crusty bread in the rustic setting of the author/photographer’s imagining of Moby Dick left me craving a warm soup to combat the dreary, rainy weather I could hear in my memory.

Which also made me realize that the book had accomplished its goals. The author tells us that she hopes her work will “transport [us] back into fictional worlds,” and for the books we haven’t read, that her photographs are there to “offer a little taste of the stories.”

So not a cookbook. An art book. A photography book. A recipe book, but not recipes of food. Recipes of the subconscious lingerings that great books leave behind in us.

And once I understood the purpose of the book, I was able to devour it {snicker} with relish {I could do this all day…} and find amusement in the playfulness of the props and the colorful culinary interpretations.

Roaming Rosie Signature

15Apr2015

Book Review: The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Posted in books & book reviews by Rosemary Lynn

The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani, is a fast-paced fairy tale {somewhat fractured} about two girls searching for their Happily Ever Afters.

But their Happily Ever Afters and their journeys to find themselves are not at all what either girl could ever have imagined.

And it’s fun to read.

It’s a middle-grade novel, written for ages 8 to 12, with the paperback at 544 pages long.

The story begins with two very different girls: Sophie, a gorgeous wannabe princess who spends her days preening and dreaming of princes, and Agatha, a quiet loner who lives in a graveyard and has a cat named Reaper who leaves beheaded birds in her pockets.

Sophie and Agatha only entered a relationship because Sophie was trying to demonstrate how “Good” and charitable she was by befriending the homely outcast dubbed a witch by the townspeople. This relationship, however, grew into a real {albeit somewhat unbalanced} friendship before the story even starts.

Their story starts for us as they are kidnapped by the elusive School Master and dropped into the School for Good and Evil. Unexpectedly, however, Agatha is dropped into the School for Good and Sophie into the School for Evil. Both girls are certain a mistake has been made.

As the book progresses, we see Agatha continually and fiercely trying to protect and help her friend, as Sophie grows more and more selfish and angry. And even though the characters keep showing us their true natures and showing the audience that maybe, just maybe, they’re in the correct schools after all, the book isn’t that cut and dry.

In between colorful school lessons of witches learning the correct way to cook children and princesses learning how to speak to squirrels, and in between competitions where princes try to discern which magical pumpkin is actually a princess, the children face some very dangerous and quite scary situations. Which is – actually – very in keeping with the style of fairy tales.

But the point to all of these lessons and competitions and circuses and balls is that we learn that even the baddest of the Bad students have their good points, and even the Good students are perfectly capable of evil.

I rather enjoyed the book, and I was very happy with the way it ended. Now, when I started reading it, I didn’t even know it was part of a series, but I was relieved to find that out, because when the book ended, I did want to know more of their story, even though it still would have functioned as a stand alone novel.

And it’s all done in a very entertaining way through a story that moves along at a good pace: fast enough to keep kids and young adults entertained, but not so quickly that things get overwhelming or confused. The language is intelligent, the imagery is vivid, and the story was creative. I laughed … I cried … and I totally think everyone who is even remotely and mildly interested in fantasy and fairy tales should read it. There isn’t anything in there that’s inappropriate for young kids, but I feel that adults will rather enjoy the tongue-in-cheek fairy tale references. I absolutely plan to read the sequels.

You can see a preview of The School for Good and Evil on Amazon.

Happy Reading!

Roaming Rosie Signature