The USBORNE 411

Henry chose “Sun, Moon & Stars.”  He was especially interested in the parts about (1) astronauts landing on the moon, (2) craters, and (3) telescopes.  The title is rather deceptive, as the book also covers the planets of our solar system.  We all enjoyed the book and learned a lot.  I was pretty impressed by the picture of the gigantic crater in Arizona; that thing is huge!  It made us want to do further research to find out what happened there.

And that is one very cool thing about Usborne books: they get you so interested in a subject that you want to find out more.  Obviously, one could go broke buying multiple books about any given topic.  In my experience, an Usborne book creates the spark of interest, and the library (or google) provides additional information.  These books are packed with information and visuals, yet they’re affordably priced.

(By the way, in case anyone is concerned, the red marks on Henry’s face were made with washable markers.  He did not lose a fight with a cat.)

For more information on “Sun, Moon & Stars,” just click here. Like all books in the Usborne Beginners series, the hardback is $4.99 and the library binding is $12.99.  This title is also available as part of three different multi-title value packs.

After the extensive information on the Usborne Beginners series in the review of “Cowboys,” it’s quite fitting that the next two books are also from this series: one from Social Studies, the other from Science.  They’re all the same size and have the same number of pages, the glossary, the internet QuickLinks, etc.

Lucy wanted to read “Ballet.”  The book begins by explaining what ballet is, and goes on to describe and picture the people involved, the costumes, the shoes, the life of a dancer, how a show works, etc.  She was quite pleased with the photos of the good fairy and the bad fairy from a production of “The Sleeping Beauty.”  She was downright surprised when she saw the photo of little girls in a ballet class, as she really had no previous knowledge of the subject.  Of course, she now wants to take ballet.  I suspect, however, that she really just wants a tutu.  (She recently played soccer, and turned out to be in it solely for the jersey.  She had no interest in the actual game.)  She really liked the tutus, the pointe shoes, and the legwarmers.

I actually learned a lot about ballet, too.  The picture of a ballerina doing a split in the air prompted Henry to attempt the same thing while jumping on the couch.  It’s nice when books encourage kids to be more active.

“Ballet” is $4.99 in hardback and $12.99 in library binding.  Click here for more info.

Henry chose another pirate book tonight, so I sent him back for something else, and he returned with “Cowboys.”  This one is from the Usborne Beginners series; it’s a hardback with 32 full-color pages on nice coated paper.  They measure 6-1/8″x 8-3/8″.  The Beginners books are aimed at young readers; for those of you who understand how reading levels work (I don’t), they are Fountas & Pinnell Level E (mid-late first-grade reading level) and have a Spache Readability Index of 2.5+.  The series is also available in a library binding, for you librarians out there.

In layman’s terms, I guess this would mean that there are lots of pictures and very short paragraphs.  There’s a glossary of cowboy words in the back (”stirrups,” “chuck wagon,” etc.), along with instructions for pulling up four fun websites with cowboy activities.

Henry’s favorite parts were about the rodeos and when “that sheriff had a gun.”  That would be Wyatt Earp.  Lucy said her favorite was “when that horse got burned.”  OK, that was actually “cattle being branded,” but she’s only three.  She also especially liked the parts about bull-riding and stampedes.

A nice thing about this series is that they use a nice variety of cartoon-like illustrations, old paintings, and photographs (depending on the topic, of course).

Other titles in the Usborne Beginners Social Studies series include Armor, Aztecs, Ballet, Castles, China, Egyptians, Firefighters, Pirates, and Vikings.  Other subcategories in the series are Nature and Science.  There are also two paperback titles available.  ”Cowboys” is also available as part of two different sets.  All the Usborne Beginners are $4.99 for hardback and $12.99 for library binding.  Click here for more info on “Cowboys.”