Well, I kind of hate to start this thread out with a review of a commercially licensed board book, but I have it in hand, and it’s not half bad for what it is.

Precious Moments Be Nice series
Babies are Blessings

by Frank Berrios
Illustrated by Samuel J. Butcher
ISBN 0-375-83170-3
Price US $3.99 CAN $5.99

Targeted toward the toddler whose mom is expecting another baby or who has already had one, the overall attitude of the book is that having a new baby is a good thing, indeed, a blessing. The vignettes in the book each model a positive attitude or action toward babies, and the book ends with the idea that babies “fill our world with love” and “brighten all our days.” The artwork is typical Precious Moments; a pastel palette with the usual teardrop-eyed children engaged in sweet, baby-centered activities.

Positives:
All children portrayed are White.
Babies are presented as a positive addition to the family.
Offers gentle life lessons and advice on how to treat a new baby.
Board book format seems sturdy.

Negatives:
It’s a commercially licensed character book. Some folks choose not to use these when educating their children.
There’s no indication that babies can also be grumpy and/or difficult and sometimes cry.

Overall, I’d say it’s a good book to go over with toddlers before baby’s born and after to reinforce the gentle lessons learned.

Not a classic, but decent for its purpose. And some folks like this kind of art…

God bless,
Laurel

Three books today, board books that a little boy of toddler age will love.

All three are part of the Mighty Movers series, and play into young men’s fascination with machines. Nothing even remotely girly about these books.

Mighty Movers Series

Cars
ISBN 978-1-5765-7998-5
Price unavailable
Washable surface board book, good for little hands.

Brightly colored photographs from different angles of cars, from go-karts to sports cars. Few people pictured, go-kart driver is a young white man. Text talks about the characteristics of the different vehicles in simple terms.

Diggers and Dumpers
ISBN 978-1-5765-7996-1
Price unavailable
Washable surface board book, good for little hands.

Brightly colored photographs from different angles of heavy construction equipment, from cement mixers to graders. No people in the photographs. Text talks about the characteristics of the different vehicles in simple terms.

Emergency
ISBN 978-1-5765-7997-8
Price unavailable
Washable surface board book, good for little hands.

Brightly colored photographs from different angles of emergency vehicles, from fire trucks to air ambulances. Few people pictured, firefighter is a white man. Text talks about the characteristics of the different vehicles in simple terms.

Farm
ISBN 978-1-5765-7995-4
Price unavailable
Washable surface board book, good for little hands.

Brightly colored photographs of mechanical farm equipment (no horses, buggies, or non-mechanical farm equipment in this book). No people pictures. Text talks about the characteristics of the different pieces of equipment in simple terms.

These look to be books that can be recommended to parents who wish their young boys to develop along masculine lines.

God bless,
Laurel

Children of the Clearances
Text by David Ross
Illustrations by Tony O’Donnell
ISBN 1-902407-18-0
Price: 1.99 lbs, or approx. $6.75 American

Part of a series of Scottish history children’s books that emphasize traditional Scots values while showing how different people might have looked at the situation, this book focuses on the The Clearances, when many small farmers and their families were forced out of their subsistence farms by the landowners who wanted to convert the area to sheep pasturage.

Here’s a bit from from introduction:

And so it was that poor people, like my family, lost not only their belongings and their homes but their whole way of life. Many were forced to leave Scotland forever to seek a new life in the colonies.

While I would not count this book as great literature, it is remarkably effective at tugging at the heartstrings of the reader in favor of the simple, traditional lives of the poor people and highlighting their hardship.

I would recommend this book for reading aloud to younger children, also as an appropriate choice for a second or third grade reading level. The illustrations are attractive, and the chapters short. If you are of Scottish heritage, don’t miss this one. Perhaps your own family came to the United States due to the Clearances; this would be a great way to help your children understand.

In the section called “The Duke” we find the Highlanders nobly refusing to serve (one of the few times in history where the Highlanders did not serve during war) in 1854 against Russia, precisely due to the Clearances.

An excellent resource.

God bless,
Laurel

An anti-Harry Potter article.

“Harry Potter and the Lavender Brigade: Is it Scripturally moral to present immoral behavior in fantasy stories?”

The Great Stone Face
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Adapted by Gary D. Schmidt
Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
ISBN 0-8028-5194-0

You may read the editorial reviews at Amazon; my personal take on this book is that it is a lovely tale of a man who lives an ordinary life, has many children, and learns wisdom. He only learns the value of who he is through the eyes of his granddaughter, who clearly sees that he shows all the characteristics of the “great man” of the prophecy.

All characters are illustrated as appropriate to the setting of early New England, which means they are all of European descent. It’s a relief to see a book where a non-white has not been arbitrarily stuck in the images somewhere just because the artist could.

High marks for promoting a healthy, traditional lifestyle for men. I hope a young boy somewhere takes its message to heart.

Best part of the deal is that I was able to purchase this book at a 99cents Only store. It’s a beautiful, large hardback with lovely illustrations.

If you live near one of these, look for the book. If you can’t find it, Amazon sellers are offering it for not much more.

Well worth the purchase.

Laurel

We very much enjoyed Children of the Clearances and The Great Stone Face, Laurel; thank you!

And as our local library saw fit to pitch these following wonderful European heritage classic children’s books into the “discard” pile (to make room for more hohocaust - that was a typo, but I’ll leave it- and MLK and feminism propaganda), they now have a safe home at my house, and are worth a review here at kinism.net:

Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Reindeer
Snipp, Snapp, Snurr Learn to Swim
Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Big Farm
Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Big Surprise
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and Their New Friend
by Maj Lindman (1886 - 1972)

These delightfully color-illustrated stories set in Sweden show three blond-haired, blue-eyed brothers (Snipp, Snapp, Snurr) or three blonde-haired, blue-eyed sisters (Flicka, Ricka, Dicka), often in native dress, engaged in all sorts of adventures and behavior European as a way of life: initiative, industry, creativity, thoughtfulness of elderly neighbors, protection of the younger and weaker, animal husbandry, love and affectionate respect for parents and others, and good, child-like fun!

There are many other books in the two series; the five volumes I have (nice library-bound editions!) were first published between 1937 and 1954, and I hope to acquire more. The younger children here (under age 12) enjoy them, and and the stories have been a refreshing glimpse into a time not so long ago.

The books you mention, KW, are also good in helping the memory retention of children. The repetitive sounds of the names grouped together makes the happenings in the books even more enjoyable.

Blessings,
Laurel