Reviews for Sense-Abilities: Fun Ways to Explore the Senses: Activities for Childrens 4 - 8

The average rating for Sense-Abilities: Fun Ways to Explore the Senses: Activities for Childrens 4 - 8 based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-10-20 00:00:00 Melissa Wyatt Mary Azarian had done woodcut art for thirteen years before releasing A Farmer's Alphabet in 1981. She would continue to further her reputation as one of her era's finest children's book illustrators, but A Farmer's Alphabet was already a notable achievement, a loving ode to a slowly vanishing lifestyle. One can almost smell the sweet hay and hear the low hooting of an owl at night, sensations conjured by the images in this book. Mary Azarian proudly introduces us to the wonders all around an American farm. Animals play a big part on a farm. That's why C is for cow, D for dog, H for horse, L for lamb, O for owl, and T for toad. Produce is also important; some comes from animals and some from the land, the fruit of the farmer's labor to supply the world what it needs. That's why A is for apple, E for eggs, G for garden, M for maple sugar, P for pumpkin, and V for vegetables. But not every moment on the farm is work. I is for icicles hanging from the roof like crystal spikes in winter; J for jump, the thrill of leaping from a high ledge of the barn into a mound of soft hay, alone or with friends; K for kite, flown on windy days across open fields; N for neighbor, the friendships that form the social fabric a farming community depends on. R is for rocker, where a farmer can nap on the porch following hours of work beginning at dawn; S for stove, to cook nourishing meals and heat the kitchen in winter; and Y for yawn, a small concession to how tired the farmer feels after a satisfying day's work. Falling asleep in a warm bed when you're exhausted is one of life's pure pleasures. Eighteen years after this book, Mary Azarian's woodcuts for Snowflake Bentley won it the 1999 Caldecott Medal as the previous year's most distinguished American picture book. In the year 2000 she released a second alphabet book, this time in full-color woodcuts, titled A Gardener's Alphabet. But even without her later work, Mary Azarian would still have fans for A Farmer's Alphabet, a dignified slideshow of the farming lifestyle that wholesomely teaches the basics of the American language. Even in black and white, the woodcuts are superb. My favorite pages are B, the detailed rendering of the barn; E (for eggs), in particular the minute detail of the hen's feathers; F, the magnificent panorama of the entire farm; H, the two strong, noble horses ready to do whatever is asked of them; N, because of the beautiful zinnias in bloom by the fence as the neighbors converse; O, the owl in flight over its nocturnal kingdom; and W, a winter sledding scene on a steep white hill under bare-armed trees. If this book had a linear narrative, I'd rate it more than two stars. Mary Azarian is a wonderful artist, and we're lucky to have her woodcuts.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-10-03 00:00:00 Jay Dionida This is a gorgeous ABC book of woodcuts depicting life on a farm. Although I love all the pages, I think my favorite is 'C' showing a woman milking a Cow with a Cat at her feet and another up in the hayloft. I used to milk a cow named Princess every morning before going to school when I was young.