READ THIS: The Adventures of Bella & Harry Let's Visit Istanbul! By Lisa Manzione Our Coverage Sponsored by Maine Woolens
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Most people will probably never go to Istanbul in their lives. So there is no better way to experience it with your children than in the pages of Bella & Harry Let’s Visit Istanbul! Learn about the traditional food of Istanbul with these darling little Chihuahuas. See the biggest covered market in the world...the Grand Bazaar. It is so great to introduce your children to other cultures and people in the world. Understanding their culture and way of life will help them be more tolerant of all people in the world. So enjoy the great illustrations and playfulness of Bella & Harry.
Hard cover series with beautiful illustrations by Kristine Lucco, and a delightful patter by Lisa Manzione, these books cover different cities around the world. But your tour guides are two fun loving hat wearing chihuahas. Bella and Harry take us on magic carpet rides to far away places, and in this volume, to Istanbul with costume references, new words, cultural graphics (even a genie!), we learn about the country, the city and the customs. It's a series that will delight every story hour crowd. The graphics are lush, with specific styles for each city/country that the two dogs visit. Colorful and engaging, their antics claim your interest from the cover onward. Each book is part of the series, and follows a road well planned for interactive learning. Teachers will love them, babysitters will love them. But above all, children everywhere will love their easy access informative text. Bella is a real dog, but in the series she and her brother Harry travel with their humans to places romantic and exotic.
Reading together with my son? Check. Reading something fun that will hold his attention? Check. Reading a book called "Let's Visit Istanbul" and having him ask me to read it again? Check. That's right, my son asked me to read again and again, "Let's Visit Istanbul". We're not talking about your typical travel guide here, we're talking about "The Adventures of Bella and Harry- Let's Visit Istanbul"! Author, Lisa Manzione, has done something wonderful with her Bella and Harry (sibling Chihuahuas) series- she has made learning history enjoyable for children! We are huge Bella and Harry fans and love to travel around the world with the adorable little pups! You won't want to miss Kristine Lucco's outstanding illustrations either as they are a wonderful companion to Ms. Manzione's tales.
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The Adventures of Bella and Harry
by Lisa Manzione
GLOBAL GEOGRAPHY TAUGHT THROUGH TWO CHIHUAHUAS IN NEW CHILDREN’S SERIES
- Children’s author exposes children to important world cities through the adventures of two small dogs
With kids today watching anime cartoons and nonchalantly snacking on things like hummus or lychee fruit, it’s becoming more and more easy to see the day-to-day effects of globalization in our American society. However, this welcome change doesn’t seem to affect our country’s knowledge of the world around us. In fact, according to a Roper poll done by National Geographic, nine in ten young adults couldn't find Afghanistan on a map of Asia. Despite the increasingly popular acceptance of cultural influences, America seems to be largely unaware of the geography that surrounds us. But there’s hope for the coming generations!
The new series The Adventures of Bella and Harry by Lisa Manzione will help young children get an early start on geography. Manzione’s books follow two small dogs as they travel the various major cities of the world, making geography fun and exciting for kids. As children engage in the series, they learn about different places of interest through the eyes of Chihuahua duo, Bella and Harry. Keeping with modern themes of global tolerance, Manzione touches on not only geography, but unique aspects that run deeply within each city’s culture.
“I do not believe that there are enough books for children between the ages of five and ten years that address geography, customs, cultures, etc...,” says Manzione. “I thought The Adventures of Bella and Harry series would be a good introduction for children, and hopefully stimulate their curiosity for more knowledge regarding the world in which we live.”
“Trying to teach tolerance of other customs and cultures is also something that I set out to do,” adds Manzione. “For example, one book in the series, Let’s Visit Istanbul! addresses mosques and Muslim faith and another, Let’s Visit Jerusalem! addresses the Western Wall and other religious landmarks.”
Major themes in the books include:
· Travel – The series gives children an exposure to traveling and the many gains one can acquire from it.
· Culture – Each book includes interesting things like typical food, dress, architecture, and religion.
· History – Landmarks are identified as well as ruins, museums, and even important bodies of water.
· Language – at the end of each book, Manzione includes basic vocabulary from the country explored, such as how to say “hello” and “goodbye”, and “yes” and “no.”
The books are written for elementary aged children and include adventures to London, Paris, Venice, Athens, Barcelona, Cairo, and Istanbul. Other cities such as Rome, Edinburgh, and Jerusalem are to be released within the year. The Bella and Harry website at www.bellaandharry.com also gives kids the opportunity to further interact with these two adorable dogs with coloring book printouts, interactive games, and information about the musical play based on the books.
Lisa Manzione has traveled to each of the cities that she cites in her books. Manzione started the series after discovering that her children had an inadequate geographical education from their public schools. She is the proud single mother of two college-graduates and currently resides in Delray Beach, FL with her Chihuahua, Bella.
For further information on the series please visit www.bellaandharry.com
