Amy Krouse Rosenthal has endless amounts of books that appeal directly to kids. They teach simple lessons about life to kids in an easy and understandable way. One of my favorites is Little Pea. Little Pea is just like any other pea he likes playing with his friends. But what is really awful about being a pea is that you have to eat candy for dinner. Little Pea HATES candy. He complains and complains but his mom and dad always MAKE him eat 5 pieces of candy for dinner (tragic right?) After his dinner he is rewarded with dessert- a big bowl of spinach.
Picky eaters will definitely appreciate and understand the twist- a pea that hates eating candy for dinner. The whole time they will be thinking, "It's not fair, I want candy for dinner!" Little Pea is also a good example for these picky eaters, because even though he doesn't want to eat the candy, he does what his parents say.
If you like Little Pea you need to check out two more books by Rosenthal Little Hoot and Little Oink. Little Hoot is about an owl who hates stay up late. Little Oink stars a pig who hates being messy.
Everyone needs a good how to tutorial. We have all read a how to book about something (how to make more money, how to be happy, how to raise a child), but have we ever read a book on how to read a story? It might sound a little redundant, reading a book on how to read but Kate Messner brings us a lovely read aloud that shows kids how to read a story in just 10 easy steps!
Step 1 of course is to find a story, a good one of course. Step 2 is to find a reading buddy. Step 3 is find a cozy reading spot. The list goes on and on, telling the reader every imaginable step to reading a story like reading in fun voices and what to do when a hard word comes up. It is such a fun read aloud because the book reads just like a conversation. This is a fun book for any reader to read, but an especially great read aloud for kindergarten and first grade when they are just beginning to become independent readers.
What would your steps be for how to read a story? Would you read with a buddy or just by yourself?
It's that time of year, gardens have been planted and are beginning to grow yummy fruits and vegetables. We have already been cooking and baking with our strawberries, kale and lettuce. It won't be long until the beans, peas, tomatoes and other veggies are ready to pick. In the mean time pick up some fun garden read alouds to help pass the time until harvest!
Up in the Garden Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
Anyone who loves gardening will enjoy this comparison book with beautiful language. A child and her Nana begin getting their garden ready to plant. One page will describe what is happening up in the garden, while the next pages describes what is happening down in the dirt to help the garden grow. The book takes us through the seasons beginning with late winter/early spring and ending with the snow covered winter. Each season and stage of garden is beautifully described and paired with illustrations that are just as beautiful.
Garden Rhymes by Clare Beaton
A collection of super cute and classic poems all about the garden. You will find Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, Lavender Blue, Here is the Bee Hive and others. The pictures are all felt stitched which adds the the quaintness of this perfect spring board book.
I Have a Garden by Bob Barner
This is a great book for early readers. Your young reader can read about all the animals they might see in their own garden. Barner uses the repeated phrase "I have a __________ in my garden," through the book. Your beginning reader can easily fill in the blank with the correct word by looking at the picture and beginning sound of the unfamiliar word. Try covering the animal word up with a sticky note. Then have your child read the phrase and guess what word could be under the sticky note. Be sure to prompt them to look at the picture. Once they make a guess ask were you right? Does bird begin with? Young readers love trying to guess the missing word by using the picture- a great early literacy skill!
Munch! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Flemming
In Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! All Mr. McGreely ever wanted was a garden. When he finally decided to plant a garden, bunnies got in and ate all his vegetables. He then put up a fence figuring that would keep the bunnies out, but those bunnies found a way in. Day after day Mr. McGreely put a new obstacle in the bunnies way. Then night after night the bunnies found a way through, over or under the obstacle. In the end Mr. McGreely gives up and shares his vegetables with the bunnies.
I love Fleming's use of sound and action words through out this book. The bunnies dash and spring and scratch and splash through the obstacles and then muncha all the vegetables! Her use of these words add to the excitement of the book and make it fun to read! If you children are into listening to audiobooks Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! read by William Dufries is also great!
Inch by Inch The Garden Song by David Mallett
The Garden Song Inch by Inch complete with illustrations of a young boy planting his garden and harvesting giant vegetables. In the back of the book there is the sheet music so that you can sing the song while reading. Here is a clip of John Denver singing The Garden Song on Sesame Street.
What are your favorite garden books to read while waiting for your yummy vegetables to ripen?
Four years ago today our oldest was born. Since then my husband and I have been blessed beyond measure with the opportunity to be his mommy and daddy. He has taught us so much about life, love and how to have fun! I cannot think of a better book to share today than Sherri Duskey Rinker's Silly Wonderful You.
Silly Wonderful You is written by a parent to a child. The mother remembers a clean and quiet house, never quite imagining just how loud and messy a house could get. She reflects on early morning wake up calls, the number of toys and the sheer exhaustion of being a parent. The books ends with parent and child sleeping together in a chair with the line, "dreams really do come true." Silly Wonderful You is the perfect ode to children, how they change our lives for the better and all the love that comes with them.
Anthony reading through the years! #raiseareader
So today I want to wish a Happy 4th Birthday to my silly wonderful Anthony!
Chances are you might know a kid that is scared of monsters. They can't sleep at night because of monsters, or maybe they need the light on. Marilyn in the book Marilyn's Monster gives monsters a new name. All the sudden monsters aren't to be feared, but they are friends to play with.
Everyone in Marilyn's class was getting a monster. You had to wait for your monster, your monster would come and find you. Your monster might find you riding your bike, or taking a test at school. The problem is Marilyn waited and waited for her monster but he never came and Marilyn was the only kid without a monster. She had no one to play with or laugh with. She had no one to keep her safe at night. Monsters were pretty great and Marilyn really wanted one. She could not wait anymore and decided to go and find her monster. She walked and walked and searched and searched. She yelled out "WHERE ARE YOU!" and heard a soft voice reply, "here." She had found her monster! He had gotten lost and stuck but Marilyn came to save him. Marilyn took him home and they were best friends!
Marilyn and her monster might help your child get over a fear of monsters. You could also have your child draw and create their own monster. All the monsters in the book are so different and unique, just like our children. What kind of monster would your child come up with?
Here is a blog with some really fun monster craft ideas:
For kids, learning to be friends is so hard. Little kids struggle so much with right and wrong, playing together and what friendship really is. Luckily, there is a book out there to define friendship for children (and adults too!)
Friendshape by Amy Krouse Rosenthal uses the 4 basic shapes (circle, rectangle, square and triangle) to tell us about friendship. Rosenthal uses short simple sentences to tell us what friends are, and in a couple sentences what they are not. Every sentence starts with friend, so there is no mistaking what we are talking about.
I love the page that says, "Friends play fair..." and shows a picture of all the shapes flying a kite. The Circle says to Rectangle, "Your turn next ok?" What a great image that so many of our really young kids need today to understand that friends share and take turns.
Get this book for your child or your best friend because the inside flap says it best, "Friends shape who we are."
Happy St. Patrick's Day! I know you are wearing green, eating green and drinking green so we should why not read green today. To celebrate St. Patrick's check out Laura Vaccaro Seeger's book Green.
Green has every color green imaginable khaki green, jungle green, faded green and even wacky green! I love that Seeger even uses foods like limes and peas to describe different green colors.
Kids will love turning the pages and seeing what new image the subtle die-cuts make on the next page as well as seeing all the different color greens there are! As a fun activity, divide a paper into 9-12 squares and give your child paint to see how many different shades of greens they can make today!
What St. Patrick's Day books will you be reading today! Share in the comments!
