Customer Reviews

Ralphina, the Roly-Poly

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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Rare and Wonderful because....

Its is a book that is great for those who read to children as well as for children who can read themselves

The illustarations are not only vivid but they are so well done that as you or the child reads, you pause and see things hidden in the illustrations, be it the number of leaves, their texture, the other animal life, or the flower pots on a porch.

The child gets math from the book, because they or the reader can pause and count leaves, trees, flowers, roly poly, sea life. This means you are taking the time to savor the book and not just get thru the book.

There is science, because the book explains how roly poly is related to crabs and lobsters.

The roly poly is a girl and the human is a boy. So both girls and boys will find the book fun.

And they are both lonely and somewhat bored, so the book encourages each of them to think outside the box and find something fun to do, that doesnt cost money.

The book shows how beautiful and varied the colours are around us outside.
Like on the Who Knew pages, we read of the seven colours a rainbow has and is actually a circle but we only see half of the circle.

Or that Roly Polies act as composting tools because they eat dead or decaying plants. And they roll up into a ball because of a special reason. You have to read the book to find out.

Even I as an adult couldnt put the book down, which means as a Grandma this book will be read over and over and over.

Call this little garden dwelling creature what you will - Roly Poly, Sow Bug, Pill Bug or Potato Bug. Whatever you call them, this book will become a favorite of young boys and girls alike. With fabulous, very colorful illustrations, a charming story of friendship, and a bit of science thrown in, this children's book has it all.

In this beautiful hardbound book, starting from the cute author's greeting on the front jacket dust cover, through the quaint and unique story of new found friendship between a little boy named Alec and Ralphina, the Roly-Poly, to the end of the book which has scientific facts about the Roly-Poly and rainbows, this book is one that my granddaughter begs me to read over and over to her.

The text of the story flows and reads quite effortlessly, the characters are fresh and new, the very colorful illustrations are quite beautiful, and the educational information really engages children which is always a plus.

I plan to read Ralphina, The Roly-Poly this summer to a group of children at our public library along with bringing a jar of these fascinating creatures for the children to see and ask questions about.

This is truly a great and unique book. The material is so fresh and new. It is a cherished book for my granddaughter and no doubt will be to many other children as well...

Happy Reading!

Many, many years ago, my mother first introduced me to the little grayish creatures we called Roly-Polies. I literally spent hours as a little one searching these little creatures out and playing with them. You can imagine my delight when I received this truly remarkable little book for children on the subject of one of my childhood friends.

Ralphina, a Roly-Poly lives in a nice garden with her mother. She is lonely and wants to make friends with the little boy who lives in the house. This is a very simple little story of friendship and at the same time is a wonderful nature lesson for children, and I must admit, adults too. The book is targeted for children from 4 to 8 but with this particular work I should think that the age limit could be expanded somewhat in either direction.

This work has a lot going for it. Not only is the story delightfully sweet, it is well written and completely understandable. The art work is some of the best I have seen in this year's crop of children's books, with bright bold colors that are truly eye catching. You can tell by the quality and detail of the illustrations that the author certainly enjoys what she does, and this shows on every page throughout. The book is absolutely perfect for reading to a group of children as the pictures are bold and go with the text perfectly. They can be easily be seen at a distance. As a matter of fact, like all children's books I review, this one was kid tested. I read it to a kindergarten class (a group of 23 very hardcore literary critics, I can tell you) and to a class of first graders who where even more sophisticated in their reading taste. I received rave reviews from both groups and in fact was asked for a second reading. This one would also make a perfect bed time read, or a read from grandma or grandpa's lap, for that matter.

In addition, the author has been rather sneaky and has actually inserted many wonderful facts about these amazing little critters. The children are actually getting a very good natural history lesson and will come away from the experience much wiser in the ways of nature. I suspect that a lot of parents and teachers will too, even though they might not want to admit it.

So we have a book that teaches the children about friendship, about being ones own self and a story of gentleness and acceptance. We also have a very good biology lesson and the author has also slipped in a neat little lesson about the colors of the rainbow, which not only covers what a rainbow is, but gives a very nice little art lesson as to colors. While the book is 32 pages long, it is the type of story that you can read over and over and over again to your child without getting absolutely glassy eyed and sick of the thing. I noted that each time I went through it that I spied some new detail in the paintings that I had missed before. Really, what more could you want? As an added bonus, I loved the way the little boy was so inquisitive and above all, gentle.

This is a hard covered book and the binding appears to be very good. The pages are of glossy paper. This is type of book that can stand up to rough handling and still be in good enough shape to pass on to the next generation.

I strongly suspect that we will be seeing much more from this author down the road. I do highly recommend this work.

Ralphina the Roly- Poly is a children's book about a small bug and her attempts to find a friend. This children's book follows a young roly- poly as she successfully attempts to get the attention of a young boy named Alec who lives in a nearby house. She decides to dig in the family's garden to help the tulips bloom. Once the tulips bloom, Ralphina reasons, the young boy will notice them, will pick one, and will hopefully notice her as well.

This children's book is quite simple and there really isn't much more to the plot than what I mentioned above. But this book is better than average because of its educational value to young children. Once the boy notices Ralphina, he picks her up and she rolls into a ball. He cannot understand why, so Ralphina explains that this is a defense mechanism. She also points out that she has fourteen legs and it would take seven pairs of shoes to cover all of her feet. She then points out that she is related to sea- dwelling creatures like crabs and lobsters.

One interesting thing to note about Ralphina the Roly- Poly is that it offers educational material that can benefit many adults as well as children. Most of the educational material presented in children's books covers basic facts that most adults already know. But how many adults in the general population realize that roly- polies breathe through gills? Or that roly- polies are related to crustaceans? Or that roly- polies can live up to three years? I think it's a safe bet that the majority of adults do not know these facts about roly polies and this makes the book educational for old as well as young. The book even includes some quick facts about rainbows that will surprise some adult readers.

The other important quality to any children's book is its illustrations and Ralphina the Roly- Polydoes offer some nice, colorful illustrations. They are drawn and colored by the author herself and they will certainly appeal to the targeted age group, which is four to eight years of age. They look like sketches colored using crayons and a touch of oil paint for a textured appearance.

Educational material is always welcome in a children's book and Ralphina the Roly- Poly is certainly a book that aims to inform. The story is very basic, but the educational aspects of this book and its colorful, memorable photographs make it a book that will thrill youngsters and even fascinate some adults with its facts about this tiny little bug with fourteen legs.

Claudia Chandler is a primary educator with a Masters Degree. This book is written to both be fun and to educate. It has bright vivid illustrations and a unique story. It is the story of a Roly-Poly bug in the garden that is lonely and wants to befriend the boy who lives in the house. It is the story of friendship and the story of learning to understand people and things that are different from us. It is a great little story with fantastic artwork.

Ralphina is a roly-poly, also known as a pill bug, sow bug, or potato bug. She is lonely in the garden and wishes that the boy in the house would come outside and play with her, but her mother thinks that he doesn't know she's there because roly-polies are so small. So they try to think of a way to make him notice her. Ralphina decides to work hard at digging in the garden to help the tulips bloom. When the boy comes to pick a tulip for his mother, he will see Ralphina. Indeed, the boy sees the beautiful tulips, and it gives Ralphina a chance to tell him all about roly-polies. Do you know what kind of animals roly-polies are? (Hint: if you said "insects" you might want to recheck your facts). And do you know what animals they are related to?
Practically every child has been fascinated by roly-polies (remember Tuck and Roll in A Bug's Life?). When I was growing up, we called them pill bugs, but my parents, who were raised on the farm, called them sow bugs. Some people may find any kind of "bug" disgusting, but all of them, including roly-polies, serve important functions here upon earth. This wonderful children's picture book, with its colorful illustrations by the author, is not only a fun read but a great tool for learning more about roly-polies. Children are naturally filled with awe and curiosity about the amazing world of God's creation around them. Ralphina, the Roly-Poly, intended to appeal to preschoolers and early readers, seeks both to encourage and to satisfy that curiosity. It is a truly charming book.

Ralphina, the Roly-Poly, is a marvelous book for kids. It is about the story of a tiny insect, Ralphina, who needs a friend to play with. Eventually, she finds a human friend, despite the drawback of her size that makes her unnoticeable, and feels happy.

It is a great story highlighting friendship and educational facts about roly-polies, the tiny insects we hardly notice in nature. The author has created beautiful colorful illustrations that stimulate imagination and carry readers to the magic world of nature and fiction. It is an entertaining book for kids, but parents and teachers will love it too! Get it from [...], amazon and other online stores, as well as from the author's site at [...].

Liana Metal, author of Storytime

I don't know about you but as a child with my sisters we always loved the Roly Poly. It was always a joy to find the little creature rolling around in mom's garden on a warm summer day. We would watch them roll up in a little ball with amazement, and of course mom always told us not to hurt them, so we would sit and wait and see what they would do. These little guys gave us hours of entertainment. I was thrilled to see a book that brought to life in such a fun interesting way the, Roly Poly.

Inside this book we meet, Ralaphina, an adorable roly who is lonely and wants to befriend the little boy, Alec, who lives in the house by her garden home. She isn't quite sure how to get his attention and her mom gives her some advice that works. Soon Ralaphina and the boy become friends and she beings to share with him her life. How interesting it is to learn facts about the roly poly and what a charming way it it is done. The illustrations are big, bold and colorful bringing the story with brilliance to the mind's eye, definitely holding your attention from page to page.

This book is more than a children's story. Through the colorful illustrations and wonderful words, the reader learns about finding a new friendship and sharing that, and learns facts about another of earth's creature that we share this world with. This is a beautiful book, one that we can all relate to, one that will touch on memories from childhood for those of us who have moved on in life, and one that we can share with our own children and grandchildren the friend who awaits them right outside in their own yard. Well done, one I am proud to recommend.

Written and illustrated by elementary school teacher Claudia Chandler Ralphina, the Roly-Poly is a cheery children's picturebook about a roly-poly (also known as "potato bug", "sow bug" or "pillbug") who befriends a young boy. She teaches him amazing things about roly-polys, such as how they roll up into a ball to protect themselves, and how they're related to crustaceans such as crabs. The whimsical, brightly colored illustrations add an upbeat touch to this enjoyable picturebook for any child who has ever noticed a curious, rolled-up bug and wanted to learn more.

Ralphina is a roly-poly (also known as a pillbug, sow bug, or potato bug) who lives in a garden but is lonely and hopes that the boy who lives in the nearby house will come and play with her. Her mommy helps her think of a way to get the boy to notice her - by helping the tulips in the garden to bloom in every color of the rainbow. When the boy, Alec, comes out to pick a tulip for his mommy, he and Ralphina become friends. Ralphina teaches Alec some interesting facts about rolie-polies, and then she helps him pick the perfect tulip for his mommy.

As well as telling the story of Ralphina and Alec, this book also teaches nature facts in two ways. The first is through Ralphina's explanations to Alec about the characteristics of rolie-polies, such as their fourteen legs and their close relation to crustaceans. The second is through a brief appendix with information about both rolie-polies and rainbows. Rolie-polies are an insect familiar to any child who's ever dug in the dirt, and this book provides a pleasant way to teach children about the world of nature all around them. Chandler's drawings are colorful and whimsical, and contribute well to the gentle light-hearted nature of the book.