A few people have asked me to give a review on the books we ordered, so this post is primarily about the books. Enjoy!! I also want to thank Allison because she directed me to a couple of them. Okay, so here it goes:
"Tastes and Tales from Russia" - a cookbook. Author: Alla Danishevsky I haven't cooked from it, yet. However, the tales and recipes look good. There are also black and white photos in it that are pretty nice. The tales are fairly short and could be read to children when they are a little older.
"Please To The Table - The Russian Cookbook" Author: Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman This one contains 400 recipes from the Baltics to Uzbekistan Again, I haven't cooked from it yet. It looks really good though. Besides recipes it includes numerous write-ups on customs, sayings, quotes, hospitality customs, etc. This book is more extensive than the first. However, for those of you who have adopted, say from Kazakhstan, Carrie, this book would be good. The authors took 3 years compiling the recipes all over Eastern Europe.
In both cookbooks there are recipes such as: Chicken Kiev, Beef Stroganoff, Pelmini, Borscht, etc. We recently learned that Beef Stoganoff originated in Russia. It became popular in the US after the war. Soldiers returned with the recipe and that is how it became popular. We tried Borscht 2 times when we were in Russia. It was really tasty. Pelmini is a small dumpling that looks like tortellini, except it has meat in it. It originates in Siberia.
"Jack's New Family" Author: Dee E. Thompson This written in Russian and English. It is an older child adoption story. Joel and I both like this short book for a couple of reasons: 1. it gives you the perspective of a child transitioning to a new home, culture, etc. 2. it is neat that it is written in Russian as well as English.
"Russia ABCs" by Ann Berge A book for younger children. It goes through our alphabet but corresponding words are Russian vocabulary. For example, the letter R is for ruble and the letter K is for kremlin. With each letter there is an explanation for each word.
"Baboushka and the Three Kings" by Ruth Robbins. This is a Caldecott Medal winner. It is an adapted Russian Folk Tale. At first I didn't think I would like this one, however, it is really good. The kings are searching for the babe born in Bethlehem and knock at the Baboushka's house. (Baboushka's are grandmothers in Russian) There is also a song printed in the back. I would think most libraries would carry this for check out.
"Sasha's Matrioshka Dolls" by Jana Dillon. I bought this book used from a library, however, through Amazon. It is a story about nesting dolls. The illustrations are colorful and very much like the Russian culture. The story is endearing.
"Look What Came From Russia" by Miles Harvey. This book covers many topics and uses real photos. Topics include: food, inventions, space travel, fashion, sports, animals, arts and crafts, instruments,etc. This little book is packed with information. You can also find this book about other cultures.
"Mishka - An Adoption Tale" by Adrienne Ehlert Bashista. I LOVE this book! This book will be perfect for our little ones. It will help them understand their story. Their are details down to picking them up at the orphanage, to going to the US embassy in Moscow, to riding on the plane.
"The Fool of the Worls and the Flying Ship" retold by Arthur Ransome. This is a Russian Tale and another Caldecott Medal winner. I haven't read this one, yet. I purchased it because Allison said her 2 boys love it. I figured our kiddos would like it as well.
"Russia" by Kathleen Berton Murrell. This is a DK eyewitness book. This is loaded with history, architecture, festivals,traditions, famous writers, Stalin, etc. This is definitely for the child who is older. This will probably challenge Joel and I, as well.
"The New Oxford Picture Dictionary" Author: E.C. Parnwell The language is in Russian and English. I purchased this thinking that it will help us a family with the language barriers. I have emailed our translator in Astrakhan and she said she would be willing to help me with transliteration of words. This way Joel and I will know how to pronounce the words in Russian, since we can't read in Russian.
Well that is it - thank goodness. I hope this helps. I will try and write again soon. There are a lot of preparations in the works.
1 comments:
I am really impressed! You have certainly been looking for all the many ways to make your children feel welcome. Ann
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