Dragon Books

The 7 year old has been fascinated with dragons for quite a while now, especially after encountering Smaug last summer as we read The Hobbit together.

The Book of Dragons (Looking Glass Library)
by E.Nesbit
ilustrations by H.R. Millar
foreword by Ruth Stiles Gannett (of My Father's Dragon)

We got introduced to E.Nesbit after we read Edward Eager's Half Magic reviewed for Saffron Tree. Originally published in 1901, The Book of Dragons is a set of eight stories by Edith Nesbit featuring dragons of all sorts, as the title suggests.

Though imaginative and wondrous, some stories are quite tame and funny while others are rather fierce and scary. Almost all of them involve some kind of adventure, either warm and fuzzy and fun or arduous and perilous and overwhelming.

The resident dragonophile enjoyed all 8 stories and the illustrations, which are charming drawings. Uncle James, or The Purple Stranger was a top favorite, followed by The Island of the Nine Whirlpools and Ice Dragon, or Do As You Are Told.

Thanks to Project Gutenberg, the book is available via their Online Reader.

[image source: amazon.com]

Dragons
Fearsome Monsters from Myth and Fiction
A Scholastic book

Awesome illustrations in a double-page spread, with concise information about various mythological dragons from around the world, makes this a fascinating book for the young dragon-lover.

From Krak's Dragon in Poland to Orochi in Japan, Wyvern in England to Futs-Lung in China, Hatuibwari in the Solomon Islands to Ladon in the Canary Islands... each dragon is introduced to us with precise description about how to identify them - head/neck/claws/tail/wings/color, along with their history/legend and other tidbits. Even the (in)famous Hungarian Horntail (from Harry Potter), Smaug from The Hobbit, and St.George's dragon are featured in this book.

The text is simple enough, with a large full color illustration of each beast, plus an inset map of where in the world it was, and a small illustration to show its relative size compared to Man.

The Introduction states that dragon stories are dismissed by experts as myth and legends even though there are dragon encounters/drawings by notables such as Marco Polo and Leonardo da Vinci. The book adds, "In a world where it seems everything has been researched and cataloged thoroughly, the dragon remains freshly elusive."

Note: The images can be disturbing for the very young who are uninitiated in the dragon lore.

[image source: personal photo]

Dragonology
The Complete Book of Dragons (Ologies series)
by Ernest Drake/Dugald Steer

"Faux Nonfiction" or "Mock Nonfiction" volumes (terms I just learned) are becoming quite the trend these days.

Much like How To Find Flower Fairies book that has been quite an obsession with the little girl for the past couple of years, this Dragonology book is becoming the latest obsession.

She believes in dragons. I think that is what matters for this book to resonate with the reader.

All the little flaps and envelopes and notes and dragon scales and little novelties are quite the rage with her now. Just as in Encyclopedia Mythologica, she loves the fold-outs and mini booklets and such. The sample dragon dust and wing membrane; the Dragon Script; the Riddles & Puzzles all add to the whole dragon experience.

Of particular fascination is the Useful Spells & Charms Section. While all of her understands that spells are ineffective in our real world, some part of her likes to indulge her imagination. First spell she'd like to try: Hong Wei Invisibility Spell. Of course, as of now, we are missing a few key ingredients to make the spell work, but, anything can happen...

Dragon Script is soon becoming the encryption code of choice, replacing the Jewel Fish of Karnak's code.

[image source: personal photo]


How to Train You Dragon by Cressida Cowell didn't make a suitable impression on the young mind as I had hoped after reading the reviews about it and bringing the first book in the series home from the library... maybe we'll give it another try down the road.

[More books at A Celebration of Dragons in Children's Literature at Saffron Tree]

One Lonely Seahorse

One Lonely Seahorse,
Food For Thought,
Gus and Button,
How Are You Peeling?
by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers



Three lovely picture books by the same author have managed to become a hit with us (and the world over), which is quite an endorsement for the innovative work - edible art.

In this short video, Saxton Freymann talks about his art.

A while back, Food for Thought came into Oggie's hands, and was met with an enthusiastic response. The ingenious way in which vegetables and fruits were used to represent faces with emotions and creatures with features made a suitable  impression as expected.

When I found One Lonely Seahorse (for $1.99 at a garage sale), by the same team, I had to add it to our bookshelf. The distinctive pictures immediately appealed to the kid. It is a counting book of sorts - from 1 lonely Chioggia Beet seahorse to 10 Bell Peppers angelfish. [sample images available here]

The seahorse wonders if she is all alone in the vast ocean. But one by one, 2 small crabs, 3 puffer fish, 4 lobsters, 5 turtles, 6 dolphins, 7 eels, 8 octopi, 9 mackerel and 10 angelfish come by and reassure her that, "We're here too!"

But the most attractive part for the kiddo has been the last page which lists all the fruits and vegetables used to make the said sea creatures, sea plants and scenery. His favorite part of the reading experience is a sort of made-up "I Spy" where he goes back to the pages of the book to point out where the ginger root or fava beans or horseradish or white squash is all 'hiding in plain sight' making up the scenery.

Oyster mushroom, kale, morel, hen-of-the-woods mushroom, enoki mushroom appear on various pages to make up the coral reef or other ocean features.  Horned melon puffer fish, long eggplant mackerel, banana dolphins, shiitake mushrooms and tamarind crabs, pineapple turtles, cranberry bean eels... all kinds of exotic vegetables and fruits arranged creatively to tell a simple story.

Most definitely the illustrations take center-stage for this book, and the text keeps up. Unlike How Are You Peeling?, which did not get as much repeat reads possibly because of the open-ended-ness of the questions therein,  One Lonely Seahorse is a huge hit, eagerly shared with friends in school as well.

Besides exposing the young ones to the various edible natural foods and piquing their curiosity about their taste and appearance, I am sure the book has inspired many kids to play with their food (something quite discouraged in today's society for some reason) and come up with edible art of their own.

[image source: arthuralevinebooks.com]

Simple Things...

Give a relaxing foot massage for one kid while the other is indulging in a much-anticipated warm bath. Check.

Switch the kids and do the same as above. Check.

Help one of them bake a cake for making cake pops for MLK Jr. day. Check.

Help the other make a book about If Planets Were Animals. Check. (In case you were wondering... Mercury is an Endoceras. Venus is an Amoeba. Earth is a Blue Jay... all the way to the 16 planets including Quaoar)

Hover around and take pictures when the said cake pops were being made quite independently. Check.

Stream in youtube on the TV, cuddle together and watch this, this, this, this, and this for starters. Check.

Turn on this, this, this, and dance like crazy. Check.

Have a picnic tea party with the kids in the backyard to enjoy the rare sun on a wintry day. Check.

Watch as one kid worked on a special treat for the picnic tea party. Check.

Drool at the finished treat as I take pictures. Check.

A two-mile hike with one kid. Check.

A two-mile hike with the other kid the next day. Check.

Set the timer, take turns and see how many Amazing Breaker levels each of us can complete within the allotted time. Check.

Make half-a-dozen little jars of colorful flavorful lip balm with one kid. Check.

Watch the plump little busy birds in our backyard with the other kid. Check.

Paint the toe nails blue for one kid. Check.

Paint the toe nails in a 2-color pattern for the other kid. Check.

Tuck the kids in bed after a 3-day weekend and write a post here. Check.

Stunned Sparrow

A fine morning during Winter Break, one of our regular backyard visitors flew right into our back door and fell down stunned. I didn't notice it, but the little girl did as she was sitting by the glass door getting ready for some project she had in mind, and bird-watching.

Her fervent words caught my attention and I managed to find a cardboard box to shelter the bird in. Afraid to hurt it further, I just put the box over the bird so the cat wouldn't get her. Yeah, I assumed the little birdie is a female...

Papa was summoned post haste. The bird was checked for broken wings and legs and such. She seemed fine, except a bit stunned. So, we gave her a few sunflower seeds, some water, and left her in the box, downstairs, undisturbed.

About half an hour later, Papa took her out to the backyard to perch her on the pear tree to see if she is ready to get back into the swing of things.

She was! As soon as he opened the box held near a high branch, she flew out energetically. A beautiful sight!

Remembering The Boy Who Drew Birds, as an afterthought, we wondered if we could have tied a small silver thread on her wee leg to recognize her when she came back to our feeder later.

Kids All-Stars Sweatshirt

'All-Stars' of the Astral kind, that is...

From our average Sun to the giants like Antares and Betelgeuse and the behemoths like Mu Cephei and VY Canis Majoris, the little guy seems enamored by these amazing celestial entities. Star Life Cycle, Constellations, Galaxies, Nebulae aka Star Nurseries, even the terrible Black Hole, all seem to fascinate the kids, and all of us at home. And, my age-old Master's in Physics has nothing to do with it, I'm sure...

Anyway, a collective interest gripped us last month, leading us to undergo an organic crash course in Astrophysics 101 over the Winter Break.

Which led me to make this simple sweatshirt for Og, with Og, to serve as a warm extra layer for these cold winter months.

The 6 stars for the front - Sun/Sol, Rigel, Sirius, Vega, Pollux, Antares; and the 6 stars for the back - Spica, Arcturus, Aldebaran, Betelgeuse, Mu Cephei, VY Canis Majoris were his choice. They are not drawn to scale, but in roughly reasonable relative sizes, even if not in any order.

The stars, of course, determined their own colors (blue or red giant/super-giant) but the lettering colors were chosen by the 4 yo, and the lettering was done by me, and so was most of the painting. We might brush on  a layer of glow-in-the-dark paint later as he seems to want it badly.

A few tablespoons of acrylic paints, (and some bead paint for the lettering) et voilà, a custom shirt that the kid loves to wear! Getting him to pose for my camera with this all-stars shirt on was the tough part, but I managed to get at least one good one :)

And, we didn't stop at that. Plain pairs of socks got stars drawn on them as well (circular, not the generic star-shape) - with fabric markers! A pair sports blue giants, a pair showcases the red super-giants, a pair contrasts the smallish Sun with the largest known VY Canis Majoris.

His first choice was to have the Pillars of Creation painted on a black long-sleeved T-shirt... my skills being limited, I jumped to this second choice of All-stars shirt. With a name like that, Pillars of Creation evokes sheer power, mystery, and magic, thanks to the stunning image by the Hubble Telescope showcasing this area of star formation in the eagle nebula.

A Book of Positive Affirmations

While I do appreciate the power of optimism and positivity, I am skeptical about any philosophy that supports permanent state of unbridled exuberance as the ideal. It doesn't seem natural.

Anyway, with practice, over time, I've gotten so good at highlighting my shortcomings that I've come to ignore and even dismiss the little things that affirm my faith in myself as a good human being. And, this can be contagious.

Which prompted me to list the little things I notice in myself and the things I value in my kids... which led to making a book of positive affirmations, self-affirmations if you will, with the older child.

Items Used: Dover™ Fine Art Stickers, black card stock paper, decorative edge scissors, paper cutter (or scissors), glue stick, printed messages, hole punch, binder ring, laminator (optional)

The 7 yo contributed a few and I added a few, and before we knew it we had about two dozen positive affirmations that recognize, acknowledge, declare what she values in herself, or what I value in her and want to cultivate in her as she grows.

Being so inclined, she put some thought into choosing the art sticker to go with the words, although I think it is this fascination with the nudes that drove her choice...

Lamination was not in the initial plan, but the girl wanted it. I like it now that it is done - it preserves the work and helps flip through the pages without much frustration or worry about friction and wear and tear.

We hope to add to this book as and when we think of something, of course, but for now, it seems a nice little book she can carry with her anywhere and flip a page at random and enjoy the art and the words. The book is two-sided so can read it backwards and forwards, and the art stickers have the name of the artist and the piece which adds to the book's appeal.

Book Review Policy for this blog

Children's (and Adult) Books Review Policy for this blog


It is no secret that I love books, especially children's picture books.

What started as a simple way of keeping track of the books that my kids enjoyed has now become a channel for me to champion for the books that inspire and influence me, not just as a parent, but as a writer as well. In that sense, my book posts are not "reviews" per se, but more of a cheer-leading effort to spread the word about some gems out there that I happen to come across.

I typically write only about books that resonated with my kids and me. If a book did not engage us in any positive way, I do not write about it. After all, with limited time at my disposal, I'd rather write about something inspiring than something negative.

I am open to receiving review copies of books on a selective basis for sharing here on my blog.

The themes I lean towards in picture books include (but not restricted to):

• cultural diversity 
• wildlife and nonfiction books about animals of all sorts
• environment, eco-consciousness
• poetry
• biographies
• folktales and traditional literature

While I do not guarantee a review post for every review copy received, I do want to affirm that if a book affected us in any positive way, I'd be happy to write about it here.  Also, I would like to clarify upfront that acceptance of a review copy is not a commitment to post a review of the book -- again, this policy reiterates my goal of refraining from negativity, while still allowing me to share my frank and honest opinions.


I accept digital and print ARCs and review copies of picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and YA. 

Please contact delectable[dot]victuals[at]gmail[dot]com for details.

I do not participate in advertising or product endorsement or commercial ventures. I write simply because it gives me great pleasure to share a book that was well-received by us at home, in the hope that readers of this blog might find it useful as well.