Apollo astronauts in the 1970’s took some memorable photographs of our planet. Observing the blue oceans covering three-fourth of the earth yielded the now-famous quote: “From here, Earth looks like a big beautiful blue marble!” In the 1970’s and 1980’s Public Broadcasting (PBS) had a children’s program titled, “Big Blue Marble.” Show your family a globe and locate countries they hear or read about. Sing: “Jesus Loves the Little Children…all the children of the world!”
Enjoy these books with your children:
Getting to Know You! Rodgers and Hammerstein Favorites, Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers, Illustrations by Rosemary Wells, (HarperCollins, 2002). If you know Noisy Nora, Max and Ruby or other animal characters, you might wonder why the artist is teamed with the famous duo, Rodgers and Hammerstein. My grandchildren and I have enjoyed this songbook with its sixteen delightful songs from American musical theater. We love: “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’,” from Oklahoma; “Happy Talk,” from South Pacific; spelling out “O-klahoma”; and the title song, “Getting to Know You,” from “The King and I”. A booklet is in the back of the large book with the melody lines, music notes and lyrics. When my grandchildren are in Mississippi, I keep this book on my piano.
- A stunning book for all ages is People by Peter Spier, (Doubleday, 1980). Still in print, the award winning book emphasizes differences and similarities of four billion people on earth! The tiny black line drawings are filled with exciting colors. This book can “grow with your child” as all ages including adults will be fascinated with the detail.
- Look up the colorful books by Ashley Bryan. Let It Shine (Atheneum, 2007) has three of his favorite spirituals: This Little Light, When the Saints, and He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.
- Ashley Bryan featured Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong in his book, What A Wonderful World by Weiss and Thiele (Atheneum, 1995).
My House Has Stars (Orchard, 1996) is a stunning book. The imaginative story by Megan McDonald has lovely paintings by Peter Catalanotto. The surprise ending comes after seeing children in these places: the Philippines; Nepal; Ghana; Japan; USA: Indians in American Southwest; Mongolia; Brazil; USA: Alaska.
Look for these recommended books in your library or bookstore and enjoy with your children:
Getting to Know You: Rodgers and Hammerstein Favorites; People, Peter Spier; Ashley Bryan’s two books: Let It Shine and What a Wonderful World; My House Has Stars, McDonald/Catalanotto.
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