Review of
The
Spectacular World of Waldorf: Mr. Waldorf Travels to the Huge Russia,
by Barbara Terry, Beth Ann Stifflemire and Vladimir Kirichenko ISBN
978-194327442-0
Five out of five stars
Mr. Waldorf is
an intelligent canine that needs spectacles to read. He is also very curious
about the world and so he travels to the largest country in the world, Russia.
While there, he visits some of the primary wonders in the country, both natural
and man-made. He visits the ballet, opera and zoo in Saint Petersburg, losing
his spectacles while enjoying the opera.
From there, he
travels eastward to Lake Baikal, the deepest freshwater lake in the world.
While boating, he has a conversation with a large fish. His next stop is in the
eastern forests, where he has a conversation with a Siberian Tiger.
His last stop
is in the capital Moscow, where he visits the Russian State Library. While
there, he finds his spectacles and then settles into a comfortable chair to
read a book by Tolstoy. This will give him an opportunity to rest and
recuperate before he leaves for his next adventure.
The text is
written at roughly the second grade level and the message is clear and
appropriate for the age level. It gives the reader a solid introduction to
Russia and some of the most spectacular sights in the country. There is little
mention of the people, the only conversations are with other animals and the
only pictures of humans are the ones of the ballet and opera.
The images are
very colorful, the contrast between the colors is strong without approaching
the overwhelming. They complement the text very well and there are a few
amusing asides within them. For example, the polar bear in the zoo is eating a
popsicle.
This book is
one in a series of adventure books for children produced by the authors. From
what I have seen here, they will form a significant resource for the study of
various places around the world.
This book was made available for free for review
purposes.
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