Horse Song: The Naadam of Mongolia

HORSE SONG: THE NADAAM OF MONGOLIA; Ted and Betsy Lewin; New York: Lee & Low, 2008; unpaged. Juvenile Non-fiction.

If you have never seen the lovely Mongolian film "Naran" (and you probably never will, since it has become impossible to find), Ted and Betsy Lewin's Horse Song is the next best thing. Both stories follow a young Mongolian boy as he prepares to ride in the Nadaam, the summer horse racing festival in Mongolia. Tamir is a nine-year old boy who will ride his family's stallion. The Lewin's join the rest of the family in their ger, the portable Mongolian house that can be moved around the lande as needed. The Lewins drink fermented mare's milk, eat cheese curd, and paint beautiful, evocative, atmospheric pictures of one of the last unspoiled landscapes on earth--the steppes of Mongolia.

Comments

Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick

If there's one book today's kids need to read, it is Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) . The authors provide a fun format for teaching etiquette to children. They discuss proper behavior at home, at school, at other people's homes and in public places. The information is completely up-to-date with cellphone manners and netiquette included. Fun, cartoony illustrations are on practically every page giving the book great visual appeal. This book is perfect for boys and girls in the fourth grade or older. WARNING: Bodily functions are discussed.

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin Illustrated by Leslie Evans Charlesburg; 2009; unpaged Faces of the Moon is a short nonfiction book that describes the different phases of the moon and why the moon appears like it does on certain nights. This book is short and sweet so even the youngest of moon lovers will enjoy it. The layout is simplistic and easy to follow. I don’t know much about the moon so I found it very interesting.

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages. Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Search This Blog