I love giving books and getting books. Given the time of year, I've been on the hunt for chapter books to read to my own voracious beginner reader and am thrilled to discover two great books. The first is NICOLAS by Rene Goscinny, a collection of 19 escapades of a mischievous schoolboy and his friends. It was originally published in French in 1959 and is now available in English with wonderful illustrations by Sempe. The second is MY FATHER'S DRAGON by Ruth Stiles Gannet, adventures of Elmer Elevator on Island of Tangerina and Wild Island. Both these books caught my eye at my daughter's schools book fair because of the feel of their heirloom quality cloth cover and illustrations. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but with these two, I just couldn't help myself ... it also helps that both these stories are classics that never get old. I can't wait to give these to my daughter and to starting reading them to her.
