In this book, Marvelosissimo the Magician explains the development of standard units of measure, and shows the simplicity of calculating length, height, weight, and volume using the metric system. I found the book enjoyable and helpful and I am sure kids will! It can be used as a book of reference because of all the listed facts, or just to read for fun because of the cute storyline.
My Mom introduces me to this book when I was younger and I loved it, so I decided to post about it.
Twelve-year-old Larkin lives with her mom and dad on an island year round. The story opens at the end of summer, as the last summer ferry carries the vacationers away until the next summer. At almost a year old, baby Sophie has been left by her mother with a note telling the family that “I will come back for her one day.” With the families loss, Sophie becomes someone the family grows to love as their own.
As the family takes in Sophie, she is exposed to the pain surrounding the loss of Larkin’s newborn brother, “Baby,” six months before. Larkin’s parents never talk about him and never even named him. The story continues as Larkin’s family grown to love Sophie but fear the day when her mother will return and they will become hurt all over again. During the story, Larkin discovers poetry and through this Larkin and her family find their way back from loss and pain.
This is a story about Chuan, a young artist’s apprentice in ancient China. Chuan is very good at paper making and geometry and these talents help his friend Jing Jing build several kites with a bamboo flute tied to its head. When the children fly them, the noise made by the wind blowing through the flutes scares off an enemy army that is trying to take over the warlord’s palace. The illustrations were also very vivid in this book. At the end there was a neat instructional guide as to how to make kites from paper bags and I think this would be a fun activity to go along with the book.