23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
fancy Nancy gets a little gross!!, April 2, 2009
This review is from: Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire! (Hardcover)
I have been a huge fan of the Fancy Nancy collection since the first time I opened the first book and began to read to a group of children.
As a children's bookseller, there are certain characteristics I look for when choosing a book to read aloud... will it engage the children, does the text flow, is the main character easy to relate to, etc.
Fancy Nancy...any which one... is all of those and more!!
We have had quite a few Fancy parties in our store with nearly one hundred children: tiaras, feather boas, blusher, body glitter, gloves, heels, beads and the list could go on forever!!! Jane O'Conner has been with us to celebrate on at least three different occasions and Robin at least once.
Okay, sorry for the tangent, Explorer Extraordinaire was a lovely surprise finding Nancy and Bree with their siblings and friends as usual however, this book includes wonderful non-fiction that almost every child aged 4-5-6-7+ years old will love! Butterflies, ladybugs, spiders and flies! Beautiful wildflowers, real recipes and even a map! Be sure that there's glitter and French and lessons to learn. Nancy is the same girl we have come to love, she's just a little older; just as most of her original fans are!
This book will not disappoint, Jane and Robin have done it again and it's wonderful!
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best one so far!, May 9, 2009
This review is from: Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire! (Hardcover)
I've loved all the Fancy Nancy books! I don't get into the glam as much as other Fancy Nancy followers, which is why I liked this one so much. This book is full of accurate scientific terms and information. This book is more structured & organized than other Fancy Nancy Books. It encourages children to focus their endless curiousity in an exciting educational way, while of course, being fancy =)
Book is approx. 9 in. top to bottom & 7 in. across. It is a bit longer than the other FN books, the story is 30 pages.
The book is about Nancy and Bree's exclusive explorer club - they collect leaves, watch birds and butterflies, and inspect insects. Before getting started,there a beautifully illustrated list of essentials & nonessentials needed to be an explorer extrordinaire
Club Rules: 1. map of territory (which limits on area they can explore)
2. Nobody in the club thinks bugs are gross.
3. No Touching: just looking
4. Crying is not allowed (unless a really good reason)
5. We never catch butterflies because they are fragile.
6. We don't pull leaves off trees,trees need them to make food
Rules 2 & 3 (pgs 8-13) the exploring gets scientific... physical features that make an insect an insect, anthill discovery & some sugar leads to brief overview of ant life, interesting facts about flies, benefits of lady bugs and spiders, and how spiders differ from insects.
Rules 4 & 5 (pgs 14-19) They move onto Mrs. Devine's flower garden full of butterflies. There are 3 different types of butterflies pictured. Butterfly life cycle illustration is too cute! Brief scientific information about butterflies being insects and their life cycle. A Look Alike page to illustrate the differenct physical characteristics of butterflies and moths. Four types of wildflowers are pictured...all with fancy names.
(pgs 20-23)Lunchtime leads to discussion about birds and what makes birds special. There are 3 bird pics - pigeon, robin, sparrow. Then the girls go to their club house and learn fascinating facts about Hummingbirds(the official bird of their club).
Rule 6(pg.24) thru end: The previous night's storm knocked off leaves from deciduous tress (evergreens are also mentioned)for the girls to collect. There a 4 different leaves pictured. The younger girls find a baby robin. Nancy's Mom returns the baby to it's nest, and shares some interesting information about animals and their babies. It ends with Nancy and Bree voting on accepting 2 new memebers =)
EXTRA FUN FOR MOM AND DAUGHTER:
Recipe to make Nancy's Extra-Fancy Lemonade
Crafts (easy to make) - 2 bird feeders
- Lavish Leaf Crown
I love this book, it's great to be fancy and smart =) Highly recommend for ages 4 & up....I learned a lot too!!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Little Tough for the Youngest, June 26, 2009
This review is from: Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire! (Hardcover)
I always enjoy the Fancy Nancy books and my daughter Nancy is always happy to have one read to her. We recently added this one to our collection. Like the rest of the series, it is a fun and worthwhile book; however, this one is a little tougher for the little ones.
As a parent and I teacher, I like this one a lot. It encourages kids to observe the world around them and teaches them how to be good and fairly scientific explorer. There's a lot of good information about insects, arachnids, and birds here, among other things. And, as always, Ms. Glasser's artworks pops off the page with its color and detail.
My only warning would be that this book is not as good as the others for the younger ones. My daughter just turned three and I think all the information is a little much for her. The story gets a bit subsumed by the teaching. In any case, she doesn't ask for this one like she does for the others. I'm sure that some day she'll appreciate this one much more, but it may take a few years.
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