Rosie Revere, Engineer, Iggy Peck, Architect, and Ada Twist, Scientist

Iggy Peck Architect 

Andrea Beaty

illustrated by David Roberts 2007

Rosie Revere, Engineer 

Andrea Beaty 

illustrated by David Roberts 2013

Ada Twist, Scientist

Andrea Beaty

illustrated by David Roberts 2016

 These three books were a major score at the thrift store!  It all started with Iggy Peck, Architect, about a boy driven to build and design buildings.  He even makes a bridge that saves his class and wins his teacher over! From there Andrea Beaty imagines other classmates' stories including Rosie Revere who wants to be an engineer and has to learn the value in failing sometimes.  And finally Ada Twist who is alway asking the questions "why," while her parents learn to celebrate her endless curiosity.  The illustrations are what really set these books apart.  The patterns, the details, the mid century flair!  

Alice and the Bird Lady

Alice and the Bird Lady

written and illustrated by Jane Grant Tentas 2002

Since Spring is around the corner we've been waking up to birdsongs and it's lovely!  There's only a couple birds I can identify by their sounds, but they all feel like familiar voices to me.  This little story was inspired by living on Block Island (off the coast of Rhode Island) and the real life character of Elizabeth Dickens who collected birds and taught the local children about them.  Her naturalist inspiration lives on through Tentas pictures and story.

Shackleton's Journey

Shackleton's Journey

William Grill 2024

The story of Ernest Shackleton's expedition to the antarctic is amazing.  There's some great documentaries and movies out there about it.  What's most amazing is how all of  the crew survived, even when their ship The Endurance was crushed in the ice and they had to live on the ice for months and then eventually make their way in lifeboats on the open sea.  

We loved William Grill's treatment of the story, the illustrations are just great.

We loved reading about all the dogs brought on the trip! (Even if they sadly didn't make it in the end.)