You Read to Me, I'll Read to You Meme week5

What I Read to NMD:

• The Fortune Tellers by Lloyd Alexander, illus. by Trina Schart Hyman
• Little Red Bird by Nick Bruel
• One Giant Leap by Robert Burleigh; paintings by Mike Wimmer
• Pegasus as told by Marianna Mayer, illus. by K.Y. Craft

It's a rather short list this week, and all my own reading; NMD was too busy with her private reading to contribute much to bedtime sharing. Still, it was a chance to revisit some classics as well as discover some newer titles. My thoughts on One Giant Leap have already been posted on this blog. And I mentioned The Fortune Tellers in Week 2, in comparison to Doctor All-Knowing. Having revisited the older title, I still see a similarity between the two stories, although it is not as pronounced as it was in my memory.

In terms of revisiting classics, I thought it was time to share some mythology with NMD, since she has not gravitated towards it herself. I went through a distinct mythology stage as a young reader, which I eventually read my way through until 1) there were no new myths to read and 2) the gods and goddesses were too annoying to reread. I thought the story of Pegasus was a good place to start, since NMD is as fond of horses as the next eight year old girl. With illustrations done in a pre-Raphaelite style, this is an attractive if unembellished version of the original myth. She liked it well enough.

Now Nick Bruel happens to be a favorite in our house, and I had high expectations for Little Red Bird. The rhyming text is easy to read, particularly as there is the repeated refrain of "What would YOU do" which the reader can toss out to great effect. And I liked how the story of a bird who must decide whether to return to the comforts of his cage or enjoy the uncertainty of freedom is left open ended--left blatantly in the hands of the reader, in fact. But it lacked the spark of Bad Kitty and the meta-fiction fun of Who is Melvin Bubble. Like its winged protagonist, this book isn't quite settled.

See what other bloggers are reading at the Well-Read Child, which is hosting the meme.