The Queen's Progress by Celeste Davidson Mannis

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• Age Range: 5 - 8 years
  Grade Level: Kindergarten - 3
  Hardcover: 48 pages
  Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition (May 26, 2003)
  
  
  Book Summary from Amazon:
  Rhymed verses, stunning illustrations, and a fascinating text all come together to form this imaginative story about Queen Elizabeth and her progresses, or journeys, through England's countryside. Ibatoulline's illustrations are not only beautiful colorful works of art, they also tell a story within a story-one about the attempted murder of the queen and about her loyal servants who seek revenge. The main text follows Elizabeth's travels and is filled with anecdotes and historical details.
  
  
  Perfect for history-lovers, alert readers, and suspense-seekers, this multi-layered picture book reveals something new with each reading.
  
  
  My Review:
  With Elizabeth I being my favorite English queen, it's not much of a surprise that I liked this book. The Alphabet part of the story is told in rhymes,

and each letter has a corresponding prose fact. This, in my opinion, makes the book multi-use, you could read the letter rhymes, the prose facts, or read them all, depending on the age and attention span of the reader or listener.

I love Ibatoulline's illustrations. They're detailed, and very Tudoresque. Ibatoulline inlcudes subtle details about the story, like the many attempts on Elizabeth's life: pictured below Elizabeth's page stops an arrow from hitting the Queen.

My nephew loves the rhymes, and my niece (who is older) likes the prose facts, so this is a good book to read-a-loud to them. 

Overall, the language and the illustrations make it appropriate for children; It's format is like that of an "easy" reader fiction book, so even though it's non-fiction, it will still engage and amuse children.

Read-a-likes:

Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ted Rand (Illustrator)

Just about everyone's studied Longfellow's poem Paul Revere's Ride in school--it was required memorization for me. Rand's illustrations help flesh out Longfellow's words, and make this an entertaining book for kids.

Pioneer Life from A to Z (Alphabasics) by Bobbie Kalman 

A to Z books are handy for kids learn facts about subjects/people like Elizabeth or pioneer life. Pioneer Life is a little more advanced than The Queen's Progress but is equally engaging and informative for young readers.