Christmas books!
06 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Babies, Holiday, Toddlers and Preschoolers Tags: books, children, christmas, kids, reading, songs, tradition
Several great Christmas books I found! Check out the link…
Come Along, Daisy by Jane Simmons
24 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
in Babies, Toddlers and Preschoolers Tags: books, children, kids, reading, story
I love this book! Need I say more?
OK, I will. This is about a little duckling who is easily distracted and doesn’t stay by momma duck, and the pond becomes a very scary place full of danger when she finds herself all alone. So it’s a cautionary tale. I had really hoped that reading it to my son (who would constantly run off with zero concern about being away from mommy or getting lost) would learn a little lesson from it(heh heh). Yeah, it didn’t change anything. But it does provide a platform to talk about the importance of staying with mommy or daddy when out in public.
I love the word choice: my favorite page goes, “Plog! went a frog. ‘Quack,’ said Daisy. ‘Ribbit,’ said the frog.” And the pictures are darling. This would be a good one to “read” to babies. Pick a favorite page, or however many they’ll sit through, and just tell a simple little story about just that page. Point out the characters and where they’re at and just let them take in the picture.
more Thanksgiving…
24 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
in Holiday Tags: books, children, holiday, kids, reading, story, thanksgiving
OK, maybe it’s a little late at this point (Look here again next year!) but I wanted to add a couple more fun Thanksgiving books that I found. “Five Silly Turkeys” by Salina Yoon is a cute counting book for babies and toddlers. It’s a simple five-page spread where a turkey is subtracted on each page, until they all meet up again on the last page, and each page has a shiny textile feather that you can turn the page with.
“Turkey Trouble” by Wendi Silvano and Lee Harper is great for maybe 3 and up. It’s about a turkey who is trying to escape being eaten for Thanksgiving dinner and so dresses up as other farm animals to hide from Farmer Jake. “His costume wasn’t bad. In fact, Turkey looked just like a pig…almost,” is one of the repeated phrases. The story structure has a funny repetition as he uses items from around the barn to make different animal costumes. Repetition provides a great structure for children, and as they start to pick up on the pattern as you read it, have them predict (guess) what’s going to happen next.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tip Tip Dig Dig by Emma Garcia
06 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
in Picture Books Tags: book, boy, education, preschool, reading, story, toddler, trucks
This story is great for little boys who love trucks! There are 2 main elements to this book: First there is a big mess, then the trucks get to work – what do you think they’re making? Predicting is a great thing to practice. Even if they’re wrong, they are thinking! The 2nd element is all of the concept words. You can show and play these concepts with your hands, body, toy trucks, or something you are doing, such as “Watch me mix mix mix the pancake batter!”
- Buy it at: Your local independant bookstore or www.amazon.com
- Author: I couldn’t find an Emma Garcia website but you could do a google search if you want to find out more about her
Over the River… by Lydia Maria Child/Christopher Manson
06 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
in Holiday Tags: book, children, kids, reading, song, thanksgiving
I had a request for a Thanksgiving book and I want to explain why I picked this one. I don’t particularly care for books that awkwardly explain to a child in the story what Thanksgiving means; I can awkwardly explain to my child on my own. (I might add probably the best place to start with young children is talking about people and things that we love and make us happy.) I also didn’t pick one that focuses on the food because it seems the adults are the ones that really appreciate the homemade feast. I think most kids would be happy with a bowl of macaroni and cheese. So I have picked this old song that was put into a book and illustrated with woodcuts by Christopher Manson, because kids love songs and songs can become family traditions.
If you are reading to a baby, they will be delighted to just hear you sing it. If they are a little older you can talk about the pictures and how before cars, people would ride in a carriage or sled pulled by a horse.
List of Great Picture Books
06 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
in List, Toddlers and Preschoolers Tags: children, education, kids, picture books, preschool, reading, story, toddler
I will be adding to this list so check back for more!
Here’s my listing of great picture books to check out. A great book is one that you can read again and again without growing tired of it. Great literature inspires imagination, whether it reminds you of something or someone familiar, allows you to see the world in a new light, or drives you to create something in response to it. Upon first readings, just read the story, maybe predicting what might happen next. But on subsequent readings, feel free to indulge in counting, having your child describe what they see in the picture, having your child tell the story themselves, etc. Just remember reading requires the reader to be active and thinking. These are listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name. This is just a starting point, check out other books by these authors as well.
- Brown, Margaret Wise/Hurd, Clement “Goodnight Moon”
- Cronin, Doreen/Lewin, Betsy “Click, Clack Moo Cows that Type”
- Garcia, Emma “Tip Tip Dig Dig”
- Johnson, Crocket “Harold and the Purple Crayon”
- Martin Jr, Bill/Archembault, John/Ehlert, Lois “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”
- Masurel, Claire “Two Homes” (About divorce)
- McMullen, Kate and Jim “I Stink!”
- Rosenthal, Amy Krouse/Corace, Jen “Little Pea”
- Shannon, David “No, David!”
- Shea, Bob “Race You to Bed”
- Simmons, Jane “Come Along, Daisy”
- Urbanovic, Jackie “Duck Soup”
- Vere, Ed “The Getaway”
- Willems, Mo “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus”
- Wilson, Karma/Chapman, Jane “Bear Wants More”
- Wolf, Sallie/Davies, Andy Robert “Truck Stuck”
- Wood, Audrey and Don “The Napping House”
- Yolen, Jane/Teague, Mark “How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?”
- Zion, Gene/Graham, Margaret Bloy “Harry the Dirty Dog”
