Abigail and the North Pole Adventure #Book #Review

#ABIGAILandtheNorthPoleAdventure

     I've been thinking for a while now how awesome it would be to have a theme night or theme week each month when my family would just immerse ourselves in another culture.  Decorate the living room, eat only cultural dishes, learn a few words in that language, maybe learn a dance or dress the part, maybe a craft or two... how fun that would be!  Can you imagine easting fish and fry bread while we sit in our suede winter coats in our cardboard igloos?  Awesome!

     And of course we would take the time to read up on that culture.  Luckily I acquired some pretty amazing encyclopedias from my grandmother and a ton of other super helpful reference books, but they can be a bit old for the younger kids.  Young kids want to learn without being overwhelmed. 

     That's why I really like Abigail and the North Pole Adventure, written by Tali Carmi and illustrated by Neda Fuchedzhieva.  It's geared for younger kids and helps them learn about the Eskimo lifestyle in a fun and easy way.  The book teaches kids about where Eskimos live, how they keep warm, and where they find their main source of food.  It even shows what kind of animals they live with.
     The book is about a girl named Abigail.  Her grandparents own a magical bike and book that she uses to explore different areas of the world.  This time, she chooses to explore the North Pole.  While there, she learns about the culture, makes friends, and gets to help a little polar bear out of a dangerous situation.

     To be honest, at first I thought the idea of a magic bike was a little weird, but then I realized that it's not any more weird than a magic dragon scale, like in Dragon Tales, or a magic tree house, like the popular kids books my daughter reads.  So I got over that idea pretty quickly and just enjoyed the adventure.

     The illustrations are a little more simple than older children's books, which help smaller kids to focus without the visual clutter.  I definitely feel like it's a great way to introduce different cultures to young children, and that's something I definitely want to do with my kids.  So I recommend this book to pretty much any families with children.
     Have you ever celebrated different cultures at home?  What is your favorite way to celebrate?

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.