Kate, Who Tamed The Wind by Liz Garton Scanlon & Illus by Lee White

I was all set to fall deeply in love with this book, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I think I thought this disproving girl was going to tell the wind a thing or two, but really, this book is about the benefits of creating windbreaks. Granted, it is told in a charming and interesting way, but it was definitely different from what I thought I was going to get. 

We start out with a farm on the tip top of an outrageous hill. I would like to see the farmer who decided that was an ideal farm....

And here he is, doing laundry and losing laundry. 

Surprisingly at the tip top of the hill, the wind was very whippy. 

It even stole his hat. 

What to do?

Fortunately for Farmer Bad Choices, Kate lives in the town at the base of his hill. She knows a thing or two about the wind. 

So she applies her knowledge to this problem and comes up with a workable plan. 

And up she goes to the tip-top to share her plan with the farmer

Together they planted trees all around the hill.

Over time, the trees grew and grew until they were grown up. 

Kate and the farmer got older as well. 

And with the cleverly designed wind break, they could eat outside without any bother from the wind.

I should love this book more. I mean, trees, problem solving, nature, weather., ecologically responsible solutions.. but somehow I am just not crazy about it. It is a useful book that I will definitely read to school classes, but it isn't a book I am going to buy so I can treasure it on my bookshelf at home. 

8: An Animal Alphabet by Elisha Cooper

This is a fun book about animals and letters! Who doesn't love animals and letters?

 I love Cooper's illustrations.  

For each letter, Cooper illustrates various animals that start with that letter. One animal on each page he draws eight times. So there is counting involved too. Hitting all the big 'uns! 

Bison and badgers and camels and chickens.

Dolphins and egrets.

Aren't these pictures cool? I could spend a lot of time on every page, looking at all the animals. But my kids are more interested in what is on the next page, so they move us along at a fast pace. 

Cooper's illustrations are occasionally bumpy, which interests me. Like that fox up there. he is rather bumpy isn't he? But look at that gazelle. So sleek! 

So clearly he uses bumpiness with discretion.

Narwhals are marvelous. 

Quail and panda

At the end of the book, there is a list of animal facts for each page. Which delights me. 

The Goat That Learned To Count by Kay Ware and Lucille Sutherland and Alf Proysen Illustrated by Björn Berg

This is a silly book about counting. The goat walks around saying he would like to count the various farm animals. As he starts to count, the animals (clearly superstitious) react dramatically and declare he can't do that to them. 

For whatever reason, this book is printed on really thin paper, so you can see the next page before you flip the page. Sort of like a built in preview option. 

But the pictures are cute. 

The little calf trying to get away from whatever the goat is doing to him as he counts him. 

The angry and protective Mama.

The horse isn't sure what is up, but decides to chase the goat anyway.

The poor goat is being chased for learning math.... Sad, educational truth--when you learn math well, everyone hates you. Or at least fears you. Ha! 

They chase the goat to a boat that can only hold ten. As they barge on to the boat, the cat Captain says the boat will sink if there are more than ten, so someone must count them now to make sure they won't sink. 

The goat saves the day. Since it is urgent, the animals all let the goat do his worst and count them. And then everyone loves him. 

The vagaries of animals.....

The goat stays on the boat to count incoming passengers to make sure there are only ten. 

(And clearly, the barnyard is a little too backwards for an advanced goat like him.)