I've been spending my spare time writing kids books. It was always one of my dreams to be an author, but I'd never want to dig too deep into plot and character depth. I'm more about fun, Seussy stories with captivating and colorful pictures. A picture book! And when I read books like Tali Carmi's Abigail and the Tropical Island Adventure, it makes me want to get back to the drawing board and finish one of my own. Tell me you don't want Neda Fuchedzhieva's art skills! The book is so simple, yet attention grabbing and fun, the whole thing is very child friendly and exciting.
The book begins with a rainy day. Abigail wishes that she could be somewhere where the weather is always nice. So she goes to her trusty magical bicycle and the book that goes with it and says the magic words. Soon she is flying over tropical islands and landing on a hot and sandy beach. She soon meets a friend Lelei, who shows her around the island.
As always, Abigail learns all about her new environment while she is there. She learns why shells make a sound like the ocean, how pearls are found, and that start fish are not actually fish at all. And also, as usual, she found a way to be helpful. She used her inherited inventor skills to help save Lelei's birthday party.
At the end of the evening, when she goes home, her mother heard Abigail's account of where she had been and she chalked it up to an overactive imagination. But Abigail knows it was more than that.
I love that Tali Carmi always incorporates animals and helpfulness into every one of her books. She also puts learning into the books in such a way that you don't even realize that you ARE learning! For instance, in this book alone, I found nine learning opportunities. Some of them even I didn't know.
I also love that Abigail gets to experience a new culture with each book, and so do my kids. I think I said it before in my last post about Tali Carmi's books, but I'll say it again... This book would go great with a themed culture week at home. For instance, cook up some pineapple ham, sweet rice, and make some fruity drinks for supper and have everyone wear grass skirts and leis. Maybe decorate the table with some shells and sand from the beach and later watch a movie or documentary about island living or listen to some island music. I love island music. That song above is my favorite islandy song. But anyway... that's neither here nor there. See how excited the book gets me?
Tell me, have you ever been to a tropical island? What was your favorite part about it?
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