Splash and Trickle

It's a rainy first day of school.  We've been needing the rain and it's quite nice to have the steady drum on the roof.  Charlotte wasn't thrilled to start off high school with an umbrella and wet feet though!

Splash and Trickle

Ivah Green

Illustrated by Bil Connor 1964

 Nothing like a book from 1964 to teach about water conservation on farmland!  Told through the eyes (and rhymes) of two raindrops, Splash and Trickle.  While Trickle lands on a farm where the land is plowed and managed in such a way to conserve and make the most of the water, Splash falls on hard ground.  Even though he doesn't want to, he is part of the rain water that washes the good soil away and causes damaging flooding.  All the anthropomorphized illustrations are cute and I can honestly say I've never come across a book quite like this! 

Our House on the Hill

Our House on the Hill

Philippe Dupasquier 1988

A wordless book detailing the illustrator's family life through the seasons.  Dupasquier enjoyably captures the cozy simplicity of a bucolic life.

 

Mother Cary's Butter Knife

Mother Cary's Butter Knife

Nicola Davies

illustrations by Anja Uhren 2016

A modern tale with an old folklore feel about three fishermen brothers, a mysterious bearded stranger and his warning.  Uhren's watery pictures add a haunting element to the love story. 

Leela and the Watermelon

Leela and the Watermelon

Marilyn Hirsh and Maya Narayan

pictures by Marilyn Hirsh 1971

    I'm like Leela and love watermelon!  This cute story takes place in India where one of the authors, Maya Narayan, said that it happened to her!  Leela loves watermelon and one day swallows a seed.  Her teasing brother tells her that now she will grow a watermelon inside her.  This makes Leela very worried.  So worried that she even stops eating watermelon and becomes concerned for the very pregnant woman she sees at the marketplace.  When she learns that the woman had a baby and wasn't round from swallowing a watermelon seed, Leela realizes her brother was teasing her.  Her grandmother treats her to the biggest watermelon.  We loved the pictures portraying life in India- the clothes, the cooking and the marketplace.

Fourth Year Latin

My oldest daughter, Madeleine (the Russian and Latin scholar), has just taken a job as a Latin teacher.  When she was a student of Latin in middle school and high school I started to pick up vintage Latin books that I would find at the thrift store and used bookshops.  You'd be surprised how useful they ended up being!  Now Madeleine is in her own apartment with her own bookshelves (full of course!) and I was helping her unpack when she pulled this one out.  I don't remember where I got it but I immediately recognized Gordon Laite's engaging artwork.   This is why book collecting is such a treasure hunt!

Fourth Year Latin

illustrated by Gordon Laite

My Little Golden Book of Fairy Tales

 Three fairy tales are retold with Gordon Laite's detailed angular drawings.  I love collecting children's books for the artwork!

My Little Golden Book of Fairy Tales

illustrated by Gordon Laite 1959

Look at this angry sun!