Never Forget

Today marks the 13th anniversary of 9/11.  It is so hard to believe that it was 13 years ago my sociology professor got a phone call in the middle of class, it was his wife telling him a plane had crashed into the World Trade Tower.  He immediately told us to go home, "This is not where you need to be, this is not good.  Go home and check on your families," he told us.  By the time I got back to my dorm and turned on the television a plane had struck the other tower.  Like everyone else in our country I was shocked and scared.

In the days after 9/11 our country united.  It was probably one of the most patriotic times I can remember in my life time.  Everyone was truly proud to be an American.  Everyone was helping one another, supporting one another.  You could not go anywhere without seeing a flag flying.  It was bright side to a horrific tragedy.

It is crazy to think that most school aged children were not even born when 9/11 happened.  Just like I was not living when Pearl Harbor was bombed, Kennedy was assassinated or Martin Luther King Jr. killed.  But just because I was not alive at the time, does not mean I don't need to know about it.  Our children need to know what happened on 9/11 and more importantly how we came together as Americans to support, reach out and love one another.  It can be a difficult topic to approach, especially with children, so many issues that are hard to understand.  Luckily, we can always turn to literature to help us teach children.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, by Mordicai Gernstein is the true story of Philippe Petit, a tightrope walker who dared to walk between the two towers.  Phillipe normally performed in the park.  But when he saw the towers being built he just had to walk between them.  One night him and some friends strung a wire between the two towers and at dawn Phillipe began to walk between them.  Quickly the police ran to the top of the towers yelling, "You are under arrest."  But no one would come and get him as long as he was on the wire.  "For almost an hour he walked back and forth, he walked, danced, ran and knelt in a salute upon the wire."  Eventually he surrendered to the police and was sentenced to performing for children in the park.  The book ends with Phillipe falling, but catching himself, during one of his performances, and telling us the towers are gone now but their memory is still imprinted in the sky.

For kids who know nothing about the towers, this book offers a story about them as well as beautiful pictures.  The reader will also notice how Phillipe, although he fell, was able to catch himself, which is just what America did.  On 9/11 America fell, but we were able to catch ourselves and 13 years later we are still a country where freedom reigns.

How do you talk to your kids about September 11?

Never Forget,
Laura

International Literacy Day

How great is it to have an entire day devoted to reading and literacy?  Last year I shared a book about reading with you all for International Literacy Day (see that post here).  So I think I will do the same this year!  This one just happens to be written by my favorite author and includes two of my favorite literary characters!

Gerald and Piggie go on yet another adventure in We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems.  This time the two friends realize that they are in a book and are being read.  They love it!  It is so cool that they are being read they chant it, "We are being read!  We are in a book!"  Then Piggie realizes that they can make the reader say different words, but only if the reader reads out loud.  Piggie makes the readers say, "banana" and Gerald and Piggie are overcome with laughter.  Banana is so funny to the two of them! Heeheehee Hahaha!  Then Gerald realizes that soon the book will end and he goes from laughing to crying.  He tells the reader that he, "has more to give.  More words... more bananas!"  Luckily, Piggie once again saves the day by asking the reader to, "Please read us again."

My son got his own copy of this book for completing the 1,000 books before kindergarten challenge from the Louisville Free Public Library.  For more information about this program you can click here.

You don't have to read a book about reading today, but at least read something in honor of International Literacy Day!

Happy Reading!
Laura

Related Posts:
Reading Makes You Feel Good
Reading Magic

Read from Birth

One reason I wanted to start this blog was to encourage parents to read to their children, no wait scratch that- I want parents to read to their BABIES and as soon as they are born.  Reading to babies, toddlers, and kids makes such a difference in so many aspects of their life.

Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics has my back.  They are recommending that parents begin reading to their children at birth.  Here is a great article from the Huffington Post.  Books are Just a Start, explains the decision of the AAP why reading is so good for our BABIES.

The article lists so many positives from bonding, to better brain development.  But what I like best is at the end.  It is not just parents who need to read to babies but also the people who care for these babies while mom and dad are at work.

What do you think? When did you start reading to your child?
How can we encourage parents and other caregivers to read to babies?

Happy Reading!

Laura

First picture of my son being read to.  He was not even one week old.  

Yes, Let's

With this weekend being the "unofficial" end to summer I think it is only appropriate to share a book about a favorite summertime activity... hiking!  Summer and fall are the perfect times to get out into nature and do some hiking, just like the family does in the book, Yes, Let's.

Using a rhyming text, Yes, Let's tells the story of a family who wakes up early, loads up the station wagon and heads out of town, into the forest, to spend a day hiking.  What is great about the day is that they don't just hike, the swim, build dams, make boats and relax.  They are truly spending a day together as a family.  No phones or tablets, just family and nature.  I really like the pictures in this book.  Even though the words tell the story of a "perfect" family, who has a "perfect" time together in the woods, the pictures tell otherwise.  In the pictures you can see teenage daughter and mom arguing about wearing boots, mom is getting scared by a spider and brother is covered in mud.  The pictures tell the story of what really happens when you take your kids hiking.  But in the end the family enjoyed every minute of it, they don't want to leave and can't wait to go back.  This book perfectly sums up summer, long tired days, bug bites and scratches, getting annoyed by siblings but in the end you would do it all over again!

If you like to hike, or just want to make some memories with your family, Louisville has so many great places to check out:

The Parklands: Complete with a spray ground to cool off in after hiking.

Bernheim Forest: I especially like to walk through the fairy garden and edible garden.

Jefferson Memorial Forest: Offers programs for kids of all ages to help them explore nature.

Many area parks like Cherokee, Joe Creason, EP Tom Sawyer and Iroquois also have great hiking trails to explore.

Where is your favorite place to hike?

Happy Reading!
Laura

Throwback Thursday

For this week's Throwback Thursday I am sharing a lullaby illustrated in a book.  This particular lullaby is not one that I remember from my childhood, but is one that I learned in my son's music class last year.  For those of you not familiar with the song you can hear it here:

All the Pretty Little Horses is a traditional lullaby that originated in the slave culture of the American South.  The book I found is illustrated by Linda Saport includes an extra verse that is not usually in the popular version of the song (but is included in the version I posted above).  The illustrations in this book are made with pastels, which creates a very dreamlike and soft feeling- perfect for a lullaby.

I wanted to share this song with you because it is one of my son's favorites.  He is not a big lullaby fan but when we found this song written in a book he loved it.  Now he asks to read this book every night. It is a simple and soft lullaby easy to sing to your child when going to sleep or upset.

What lullaby do you love singing to your child.  I will help you to find it written as a book!

Happy Reading!

Laura

Hot Summer Days

On these hot summer days, when the humidity is about 100% and you begin to sweat as soon as you step outside, we will try anything to cool off.  I have a "cool" book recommendation for you to help ease the heat on these hot, hot days.

Nanook & Pryce Gone Fishing by Ned Crowley is the story of two boys who set out to go ice fishing.  Their chunk of ice breaks off and they set off on a journey around the globe.  The entire book is written in two-word, rhyming lines. When Nanook and Pryce come across a giant octopus the books reads, "Something rustles.  Something squirms.  Little tussle.  Out of worms.  The pictures shows a giant octopus under Nanook and Pryce's ice block that is stealing all of their fishing worms with one tentacle and snatching the dog with another.  The style that the book is written in is enjoyable to young children because it creates a great rhythm and cadence.  Also, the use of few words really allows children to gain meaning from pictures, which is how story telling and reading begins!

After cooling off by reading Nanook & Pryce Gone Fishing try having some fun with ice.  All you have to do is fill tupperware (I also used different shaped sand toys) with water and stick them in your freezer for a night.  I added small toys to the water for added fun.  When ready pop, the ice out of the containers and let your child go to town!  They can paint the ice, hold the ice, try to get the small toys out of the ice by using hot water or different tools.  No matter what they do with it they will stay cool,  have lots of fun and learn a thing or two about science!

What are some of your favorite things to do to stay cool?

Happy Reading!
Laura

Hidden Poetry

I have talked before about how when you can read aloud a book with rhythm and rhyme children will automatically become hooked and begin to listen.  They love the ebb and flow of the text, whether the rhythm be up tempo or down tempo. Books with rhyme and rhythm are also easier for kids to "read" or memorize.  Recently, I have stumbled across a few books that have beautiful rhythm and rhyme, so much so I felt as though I found poetry hidden in the pages of children's books.  

The first hidden gem was Rain Play by Cynthia Cotten.  The text is very simple, two short lines on each page, but the story it tells speaks to every child who loves to splash in puddles and play in the rain.    The children are "at the park (as) the sky grows dark."  Then it starts to gently rain "Plip, plop. Drip, drop."  Some people leave the park because of the rain, but these children stay to play, "running, romping, puddle-stomping."  That is until, "Flash!, Boom!" the storm comes and its time to go.   The books ends with the children watching it rain from home until the sun comes out again.  

You can see from the examples above just how poetic the language is, and its not just the rhyme that makes it that way.  The author uses sound words like drip, plip and BOOM!  All these techniques bring the reader in, even your youngest readers.  My son is just two and he loved to listen to us read this book.  

So, besides reading a good book what is your favorite rainy day activity to do with your kids?  We love to run and jump in the puddles once the storm is over!

Happy Reading!

Laura 

Ice Cream.... YUM!

I don't know about you but when I think of summer, ice cream almost ALWAYS comes to mind.  There is something about that cool, sweet treat on a warm day that can make you forget all about how hot it is.

If you are an ice cream lover, like me, then you probably already knew that yesterday, July 20, was National Ice Cream Day!  If for some reason you missed it, don't worry Ronald Reagan designated the entire month of July National Ice Cream Month- so you still have 10 days to celebrate and enjoy.

I have a couple of suggestions of how to enjoy the last 10 days of National Ice Cream Month.  First, if you are in the Louisville Area, try out some of these local ice cream treats.  I am sure that they are all AMAZING!

Then, you need to have an ice cream themed read aloud.  Although there are several high quality books about ice cream for this occasion I am going to recommend Should I Share My Ice Cream?  by Mo Willems.

Should I Share My Ice Cream? is an Elephant and Piggie book, that will speak straight to any ice cream lovers' heart.  Gerald the elephant loves ice cream (what elephant doesn't right?) and is so excited when the ice cream man shows up that he buys a cone.  As he is preparing to devour his cone he remembers his best friend, Piggie and wonders if he should share his ice cream with her. Then the ever indecisive Gerald goes back and forth between sharing his ice cream and not sharing his ice cream until... his ice cream melts and drops on the floor.  He is beside himself with sadness.  Not only can he not share his ice cream with Piggie, but he can't even eat any ice cream.  In the words of Gerald he, "blew it." Piggie shows up and saves the day with another ice cream cone for the two to share, teaching us there is nothing better than sharing a yummy ice cream cone with your best friend on a hot day!

I hope you enjoy the rest of ice cream month as much as I will!

Happy Reading!
Laura

Geisel Honor Books

The Geisel Honor Books are all books that are written for early readers.  What is neat about this year's honors is that all the books hit different spot on the spectrum of "early reader"

First on the spectrum is the book Ball by Mary Sullivan.  This book is written for your earliest readers because there is only one word in the entire book... you guessed it ball.  Most of the story is told through the humorous pictures and the punctuation included with the word ball.  Ball is the story of a dog who loves to play ball.  As soon as he wakes up he has is ball and is begging his little girl to throw the ball.  When she has to go to school he is left alone and has no one to play catch with.  He tries mom, the baby and the cat but no one wants to play.  He takes a nap and dreams of catching the ball.  Then finally the little girl gets home from school and they can play ball again.  What is neat about this book is that anyone can read it because all it says is ball!  My 21 month old loves this book and will bring it to us saying, "ball."

The next book on the spectrum is ironically also about a ball.  A Big Guy Took My Ball by Mo Willems.  Willems is no stranger to writing award winning book, but he really knocked it out of the park with this one.  This book is for an early reader who has great knowledge of sight words and can use some other decoding strategies to figure out harder words, most first graders could probably read this by the middle of the year.  In this Elephant and Piggie book Piggie was playing with a big ball when a big guy came and took it.  Gerald wants to play the hero so he decides to go and get Piggie's ball back.  Then he sees the big guy and he is BIG.  Gerald gets scared and does not get the ball back for Piggie.  While Piggie and Gerald and talking about how BIG this BIG guy is they hear a loud voice say, "EXCUSE ME."  It's the big guy.  It turns out the ball belonged to the big guy and he is sad because no one ever wants to play with him.  Elephant and Piggie make the BIG GUY feel better by offering to play with him.  This book not only teachers the concept of big and small but also about how to make others who are different feel welcomed.  You will find out very quickly that if you read this one out loud children will love it and will be laughing out loud!

The Geisel Honor book on the spectrum is Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes.  This book is a short beginner chapter books, your child should be able to read this on his or her own by then end of first grade or beginning of second.  You can see what a big difference there is between A Big Guy Took My Ball and Penny and Her Marble, children really develop in their reading during first grade.

In Penny and Her Marble Henkes takes Penny on yet another adventures (this is the third book so far in the Penny series).  This time Penny is taking a walk and finds a marble in her neighbor's yard.  She picks the pretty blue marble up and takes it home.  Once she is home she feels guilty for taking the marble, thinking that it might belong to her neighbor.  She could not eat dinner, she couldn't even eat dessert!  That night Penny had bad dreams about the marble.  The next morning she decided to take the marble and put it back in her neighbors yard.  Just as she was turning around to go home her neighbor stopped her.  Penny's neighbor wanted her to have the marble!  Penny was so excited to get to keep the pretty, blue marble!

Hope you enjoy all of these great early readers!

Happy Reading!
Laura

The Caldecott Honors

The Caledcott Medal honored three books this year in addition to the winner (which I will blog about Friday).  Each of the three books honored this year were wordless, which I feel speaks greatly of the illustrators who were able to tell moving stories using only their artwork.

Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle is a sweet story of a young girl, Flora, who meets a flamingo.  Flora, who is dressed in pink decides she will mimic the movements of the flamingo.  Through the turning of the pages and the lifting of the flaps the story of friendship unfolds.  One move is a little hard for Flora and she falls, embarrassed.  The flamingo doesn't skip a beat and helps Flora up.  The two then dance a beautiful ballet together, like great friends.  The illustrations are simple but the pink stands out on the plain white pages.  The perfect book for any young ballerina in your life!

David Wiesner is no stranger to the Caldecott Medal.  His books Tuesday, Three Pigs and Free Fall have all either won or been honored by the Caldecott Medal.  His latest wordless book, Mr. Wuffles, is a 2014 Caldecott Honor book.  Just like his other books, Mr. Wuffles, is fully of fantasy.  Mr. Wuffles is a cat, who is picky about the toys that he plays with.  One day he finds the perfect toy, which unbeknownst to him, is a UFO.  Wiesner goes on to tell the story of Mr. Wuffles and the UFO through a comic book style layout.  When Mr. Wuffles breaks the UFO, the aliens must leave their flying saucer to fix the broken piece.  The aliens receive help from some ants hidden behind the radiator, all while Mr. Wuffles is waiting for them.  When the aliens finally make a dash back to their UFO Mr. Wuffles is ready, but not for an ambush!  The ants and other bugs help the alines get safely back to their UFO and they fly off, leaving Mr. Wuffles with no toy to play with.  Wiesner's pictures sure to are spark the imagination of any child, telling a different story every time it is read!

The last 2014 Caldecott Honor book was one that many believed should have won the medal.  Journey by Aaron Becker is a wordless masterpiece taking us all on an adventure to magical lands.  The story starts with a little girl sitting on her front porch looking bored.  She goes inside, picks up her red crayon and lets her imagination take her away.  She travels through her imagined world, sometimes getting into trouble but always using her red crayon to find a solution.  Her red crayon even helps her to make it back home safely.  This is an amazing book with even more amazing pictures and a MUST for every bookshelf!

Here are links to the trailers for all 3 of the 2014 Caldecott Honor books.

Flora and the Flamingo

Mr. Wuffles

Journey

Happy Reading!
Laura

2014 Award Winners

Last week the American Library Association announced its award winners for 2014.  This month I am going to take the time to share the books that won and the books that won and the runners up.  The American Library Association gives out several awards each year.  The most popular awards are the Newbery, Sibert, Caldecott and Geisel.

The Newbery Medal is awarded to the "most distinguished children's book published the previous year."  So this year's Newbery Medal winner was published in 2013.  The medal has been awarded since 1922.  The first book to recieve the medal The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willen van Loon.  All winners receive a gold seal on the cover of the book. The runner's up are called Newbery Honor's books and receive a silver seal on the cover.

Just like the Newbery Medal, you are probably familiar with the Caldecott Medal.  The Caldecott Medal is awarded to the best illustrator of a picture book.  The award was first given in 1938 and its first winner was Animals of the Bible illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop.  Just like the Newbery Medal the Caldecott winner receives a gold seal on the cover and the honor books a silver.  

The Sibert Medal is a newer award, first given in 2001.  This award goes to the author and illustrator of the previous year's best informational book.  The first book awarded with this honor was Sir Walter Raleigh and the Quest for El Dorado by Marc Aronson.  Just like with the other awards the book receives a gold seal and the honor books receive a silver seal.

Lastly, there is the Geisel Medal, named after the oh-so-popular Dr. Seuss, who has helped millions of children learn to read.  This award is given to the author and illustrator of the best early reader.  This will often be books with fewer words so that the beginning reader can read on their own.  The first winner of the Geisel Medal was awarded in 2006 to Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Sucie Stevenson.  These books also receive seals on their cover.   

So all throughout this month I will be sharing with the this years medal winners and honorees.  Check back often to see what the American Library Association thought were last years best books!

Happy Reading!

Laura

"Souper" Bowl Sunday

I have a great book for "Souper" Bowl Sunday this year- no other than the classic Stone Soup.  I could have gone with a book about football like  Family Huddle by the Mannings or You Can Do It! by Tony Dungy.  But let's face it, I like to eat Super Bowl snacks more than I like to watch the Super Bowl Game.  So no matter if you are cheering for the Broncos or the Seahawks, you will love this book.

Stone Soup is an old folk story found in many different cultures.  The version I am sharing with your today is written and illustrated by Jon Muth and uses and Asian culture to tell the story.

If you are unfamiliar with the story of Stone Soup it is a story of kindness and generosity.  You see in the story there are three travelers who come across a village who has seen very hard times.  Because of these hard times neighbors are strangers.  There is friendship or community, everyone is on their own, until the three travelers arrive.  Upon arriving in the village no one greets them or offers them a place to stay and the three travelers all agreed that "these people do not know happiness."  They decided to make stone soup.  The three travelers make a fire in the courtyard and fill a small pot with water.

A little girl approaches the men and asks what they are doing.  They tell her they are making stone soup and need three round, smooth stones.  The little girl quickly finds some stones for the travelers and even offers her mothers larger pot so that more soup can be made.  The travelers went on poking the fire and making their stone soup and as the fire grew so did the curiosity of the villagers.  They began coming out of their homes to see what stone soup was about.

As people asked about stone soup the travelers would make comments like, "This soup would be better with salt and pepper," or "Carrots would make the broth much sweeter."  With each suggestion on of the travelers made the villagers would full fill the request bringing carrots, onions, mushrooms and anything else they could think of to make the soup more delicious.

"Something magical began to happen among the villagers.  As each person opened their heart to give, the next person gave even more."

When the soup was finished all the villagers game together at one large table to share the delicious meal they had made from their generosity.  They shared stories, sang songs and opened their doors to give the travelers a place to stay.  The travelers had reminded the villagers that sharing makes us all richer.

So whether you are going to a Super Bowl party or enjoying the day at home with only your family, enjoy some soup today and have a truly "Souper" Sunday full of richness and generosity.

Here are some of my favorite soup recipes.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

*Cut in half if you are making for 4 or less people or you will have a lot of leftovers.

1 1/2 qt. water
3 potatoes peeled and diced
3 carrots
1 onion
20 oz frozen broccoli and cauliflower
3 chicken bullion cubes
3 TBS parsley flakes
pepper
2 cans of cream soup (your choice)
1 lb of Velveeta

Cook first 8 ingredients until tender.  Use immersion blender or regular blender to slightly puree the vegetables.  Return to the pot on low heat and add cream soup and Velveeta.  Stir well.

Chicken Stew with Tortellini

2 c. water
1 14 oz, can chicken broth
1 med. yellow squash cut
6 c. spinach or greens
1 green pepper
1 c. dried tortellini
1 med. onion cut in thin wedges
1 med. carrot sliced
1 1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. seasoning blend
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 c. cooked chicken
1 TBS basil

In dutch oven bring water and broth to a boil.  Add squash, greens, pepper, pasta, onion, carrot, rosemary, seasoning and pepper to dutch oven. Return to boil.  Reduce heat. Simmer covered for 15 min.  Stir in chicken.  Cook covered 5 min.  Stir fresh basil in soup.  Top with grated parmesan.

Don't forget reading recipes is just as great as reading books!

Happy Reading!
Laura

Girl Power

It is always very difficult to find good quality biographies to read aloud.  Sometimes biographies tend to be long or wordy, not ideal for a read aloud.  Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors by Tanya Lee Stone, is not only a great biography to read aloud, it also encourages young girls to work hard no matter what their dream is.

In this book the author tells the story of Elizabeth Blackwell becoming the first woman doctor.  The story starts out giving a history of what the world was like in the 1830's.  It's great to start the book like this because it might be hard for girls now to understand that not too long ago women did not have many choices.  They were expected to stay home and take care of children, or perhaps become a teacher.  Then it goes on to tell about Elizabeth as a child.  From this part of the story children will be able to infer many different character traits like strong, curious, smart and determined.  Then a sick friend encourages Elizabeth to become a doctor, she wasn't sure at first but eventually decided to go for it.

When Elizabeth began applying to medical schools and she always heard back the same answer, "NO."  The author spends a few pages on the fact that Elizabeth was constantly told no, but never gave up.  What an important lesson for our children today- sometimes we have to fight hard for what we want.  Finally, Geneva Medical School accepted Elizabeth, but that didn't mean the job got any easier.

Elizabeth was teased, ignored and disliked by other students and people in the town, but that did not stop her from working hard and studying.  She graduated from medical school with the highest grade in the entire class and the first woman doctor in American, inspiring many others.

We need to make sure to make time to read about amazing women and their resiliency to achieve greatness so that our young girls know they can also achieve greatness!  This book is great from grades 4 and up.  The back of the book also gives more information about Elizabeth Blackwell after she graduated from school.

If your girls like learning about Elizabeth Blackwell check out Clara Barton and Florence Nightingale also!

Happy Reading!
Laura

Books With Repetition

I know I have written about this before, but reading books with repetition to young children, even pre-readers is a great way to build many different emergent reader skills.

One book with repetition that is fun to read is The Napping House by Audrey Wood. This book is all about a house on a rainy day where the grandma, the child and all the animals are napping... in the same bed.  That is until the wakeful flea bites the mouse and wakes everyone up!

So what makes this book so great for young children?  How does it help them to learn to be readers?  Well the first feature is the predictability in the repetition.  In the napping house each page ends with "in a napping house, where everyone is sleeping."  Children catch on to that repetition very quickly and soon they will begin saying the words with you as you read them.  Next, when the child is "reading" the book by themselves you will notice that the say the repeated phrase over and over."  Then, when you are reading to them you will notice that they will begin to point to the repeated phrase and that will slowly evolve to pointing to each word in the repeated phrase.  This is called one-to-one matching or corresponding- and early reader skill.  It is repeated phrases like this one that help children to become readers.  

A few other things that this book has that helps children become readers is pictures that match the words.  The Napping House is a progressive book.  On each page someone new climbs into the bed.  For a child that is beginning to read they will be able to use the picture to figure out who gets in the bed next.  The pictures help to give meaning to the text. 

Lastly, this book has great vocabulary.  Here are all the different words that the author uses for the word sleep: napping, snoring, dreaming, dozing, snoozing and slumbering.  What great words for kids to learn.  When reading this aloud take time to point out how all those words mean the same thing- sleep!  

Here are some other books we love to read that have repetition to help young children become readers:

Goodnight Gorilla

Click, Clack, Moo

Jump, Frog, Jump

No David

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Happy Reading!

Laura

Patterns

As a teacher, math was always the subject that I struggled with connecting to literacy.  I could never find great books about the topic.  I usually just ended up making up my own stories (which my students loved).  However, there are a few math concepts that have some really great read alouds and one of those concepts is patterns.

Trudy Harris and Anne Canevari Green have collaborated to create two really great books to help teach the idea of patterns in Pattern Fish and Pattern Bugs.  Even though patterns are nowhere to be found in the common core for primary grades, basic patterns are essential for understanding higher math problems- because as these books will show you patterns are everywhere!

The books are both very similar except for one uses bugs and the other uses fish.  Harris, who is a teacher and wrote these books for her class, writes a cute rhyme that has a pattern like, "Up-down-around-around, up-down-around-around.  A silky silver moth takes flight near the lamppost, late at night.  Up-down-around-around, up-down-around-around, up-down-around..." Then the pattern will stop and you have to turn the page to find out what comes next in the pattern.  It is also neat because the illustrations have patterns everywhere.  There might be a color pattern, a shape pattern or an up down pattern.  It is fun to look at the illustrations with your class to see what patterns they can find.

These books have endless ideas for activities from creating your own pattern bug or fish to adding numbers to the patterns to see how patterns look using numbers.

Happy Reading!
Laura

Snow Days

With much of the country covered in snow and in below zero temperatures I am sure there are plenty of kids at home enjoying a SNOW DAY!

This map shows the snow amounts across the country. 

In honor of the snow and cold temperature, this week's Throwback Thursday is dedicated to the classic by Ezra Jack Keats, The Snowy Day.  In the story Peter wakes up to every child's dream, the ground is covered in deep, cold snow.  He does not waste anytime, eats his breakfast, gets dressed and heads outside to play.  Peter explores the different ways to make tracks in the snow.  He walks with his feet pointed in, he drags his feet and he finds a stick to make a track with.  Peter continues to play in the snow.  He sees the big boys having a snowball fight, he makes a snowman and a snow angel.  The very last thing he does is make a snowball to put in his pocket to save for tomorrow.  That night when he goes to check on his snowball and it had melted.  But it doesn't matter because when he wakes up the next morning the snow is still there and new snow is falling.  

Ezra Jack Keats does a great job of painting a picture of every child's dream snow day.  There is not a single snow day activity that he missed, except for maybe the hot chocolate.  He was even able to capture the sounds of a snow day using words like,  crunch crunch crunch, s-l-o-w-l-y, and plop.  I can't think of a better book to share on a snowy day like today.  

So bundle up and get outside to play because we all know in a couple of months we will be wishing for cooler temps.  

Happy Reading!

Laura

"Love is the key"

Today schools, banks, government offices and many more are given the day off in honor of an extraordinary man and his dream.  Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who gave our nation so much hope and love, that he deserves more than one day to be honored.

Reading aloud a book to your child about MLK might seem like an insignificant way to honor such a significant person in our nation's history, but without reading aloud and discussing who MLK was your child may never understand the importance of his movement.

My favorite book to read aloud to children about MLK is Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Bryan Collier.  This book so elegantly and simply tells the story of Dr. King's life from childhood until he was taken from this world much too early.  Intertwined in the text are actual quotes and words of MLK.  His own words flow so smoothly with Rappaport's words and adds so much richness to the story. I like that this story tells of Martin as a child because I think that helps children to relate to him even more.  To make the story even more more appealing the illustrations by Collier are amazing.  At the beginning of the book Collier discusses his inspiration for the collages used through out the book, which makes the art speak to you almost as much as the words.

Today would also be a good day to share with kids MLK's most famous speech, "I Have A Dream." Of course you can find a lot of variations on YouTube but there is one very simple video found at Readeez.  This video has one simple picture and you can hear about 1 minutes and 42 seconds of his speech.  The words simple and slowly flow across the screen so older children can follow along with what MLK was saying.  Check it out sometime.

So, today many have been given the entire day off- let's do something that would make Dr. King proud.  Help a neighbor, send a care package to the soldiers, make a meal for someone in need, READ a book to someone.  Dr. King said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"  What will you do for others today?

Happy Reading!
Laura

Why?

Do you have a curious little one that loves to ask why?  Why do birds tweet?  Why do squirrels have busy tales?  Why? Why? Why? Well if you do I have the perfect book for you! Why? by Lila Prap takes all those questions kids asks you all day long and answers them in a funny yet informative way.

Take, for example, the question, "Why do rhinos have horns on their noses?"  Well, I don't know about you but I am not really sure why rhino's have horns and if my child answered this I would stumble to find a suitable answer probably making something up that sounds about right.  Well in Prap's book she gives all those silly answers that a parent would make up on the spot like- "They wouldn't grow anywhere else."  But she also gives the real answer in a short, one paragraph explanation.  FYI- rhinos use their horns for protection and fighting.

If you have a young one who is really curious try making a why book with them.  Together you can record the questions that they come up with then pick a few and research the answers.  Parents can scribe the text and children can work on the illustrations.  A perfect snow day project when someone has a bad case of the why's!

Happy Reading!
Laura

Childhood Favorite

Today for Throwback Thursday I want to share with you one of my childhood favorites, There's a Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone.

I don't even know where to begin in telling you what makes this book so amazing.  First, it is a Little Golden Book, and if you are like me just seeing that gold binding brings back memories of childhood reading.  When I first had my son and I saw this book at the bookstore I had to buy it for him- it is his first Little Golden Book.

What else makes it amazing you ask?  Well the plot for one.  Here is Grover having a conversation with you about how he absolutely does not want to see the monster at the end of the book.  He tries everything begging, pleading, tying and nailing pages together.  Grover will stop at nothing to get you to stop turning pages.  But of course the reader cannot help but turn the pages because they want to see the monster at the end of the book.  When you finally get to the end of the book the only monster there is Grover who is "So embarrassed."

I am not going to stop there.  My one and a half year old loves this book, even he gets the humor in it.  It is a book that we can interact with.  When Grover is pleading not to turn the page I always ask my son, "Should we turn the page?" and the answer is always yes.  I love reading it to him and hearing him laugh at what he thinks is so funny, that must be why it is a "Little Golden Book" because anything that can make a baby laugh is golden to me!

Lastly, this book was written by an original Sesame Street writer.   Jon Stone wrote the pilot episode of Sesame Street, directed and produced several episodes.  He was the director from 1969 to 1994.  If The Monster at the End of this Book  was written by a Sesame Street director than it has to be good.

If your child does not yet have a Little Golden Book, make this their first one, or at least add it to the collection.  It is totally worth the $2.99 it costs!

Happy Reading!
Laura

Together Again

Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld collaborate to once again create a wonderful book.  I have blogged before about Good Night, Good Night Construction Site written and illustrated by this duo and in 2013 they did it again with Steam Train, Dream Train.  

Steam Train, Dream Train is a magical book about a train arriving in the night and animals loading the train up with its freight.  What makes this book so magical is that the train is loaded with every child's dream- TOYS!  The kangaroos load the hopper with balls, monkeys fill the box car with "things that rock and roll and spin." The tankers come next and are filled by elephants with colorful paints and then the reefer car is filled with ice cream!  Already this train is full of so much fun and we still have gondolas, autoracks, well cars and flatbeds to fill!   Once the train is loaded and the crew is tucked in tight to sleep we turn to the last page and see a small train enthusiast asleep in his bed, dreaming of what his train is carrying! Children will love turning the page to see what is loaded on the train next as well as listening to the lyrical rhyming text.  

Rinker and Lichtenheld know just how to get little boys interested in reading and listening to reading.  I look forward to another book from these two again soon!

Happy Reading!

Laura

   

Another ABC Book

We got another ABC book for Christmas that is truly a work of art.  Alphablocks by Christopher Franceschelli takes the alphabet book to a entirely new level.

What makes Alphablock so neat is that each of the letters is cut out, which you can see from the image below.

Then when you turn the page the cut out becomes part of the illustration.  

My favorite letter is X.  It says X is for X ray and when you turn the page it takes an "x-ray" of the hand. 

This book in not just great for the amazing illustrations and details but also because of the tactile experience it can give young learners.  Children are able to touch and feel the shape of the letters, which could help many learn the subtle difference in some letters.  If you are looking to add to your ABC book collection make this your next purchase!

Happy Reading!

Laura

B is for Bulldozer

My son got so many books for Christmas that are really good and I want to share them with you!  I am going to start with his favorite.  Since Christmas he has bee OBSESSED with B Is for Bulldozer by June Sobel.

This book has everything for a truck enthused little boy, or girl.  Every letter has something to do with construction.  L is for loader, E is for excavator, C is for crane.  This book is hardly missing any machine that has to do with construction.  To make the book even better it actually tells the story of building an amusement park.  The same two boys are on every page watching the progress as the machines build all the different rides.  In the end the two boys are riding the roller coaster.

This book was a last minute purchase.  I was at Target just looking at the books and thought I have to get this one.  Little did I know it would end up being his favorite.  Right now we read it approximately 10 times a day.

Check back tomorrow and I will share another new book we got for Christmas!

Happy Reading!
Laura

Happy New Year

A new year is all about- new books of course!  Here are 5 books being released this year I am looking forward to.

1)  I love Mo Willems but I especially love the pigeon.  When I found out there was going to be a new pigeon book in 2014 I knew it was going to be a good year.  In The Pigeon Needs a Bath, I am sure that the pigeon has a thing or two to say about getting a bath and I absolutely cannot wait to hear what they are.  This book arrives on shelves April 1.

2) We cannot make it home from the library without a Byron Barton book.  Barton's books are perfect for toddler and preschool boys who love any kind of transportation.   His newest book My Bus, is being released April 15 and will take us on a trip through the eyes of a bus picking up passengers.  Barton has been writing and illustrating books for years so I am sure this one will not disappoint.

3) Informational books are getting better and better every year.  This year (on Jan 7) Sandra Markle and Howard McWilliam will release their second book, What if You Had Animal Hair. This book is very similar to their book What if You Had Animal Teeth. One page will give information about the animal and it's hair and on the next page there will be a humorous picture of a child with that animals hair as well as a statement of what you could do with hair like that.  This book will sure to please intermediate children and will lend itself to several lesson ideas and activities across several content areas.

4) My list of books to look forward to would not be complete without a book of poetry.  In February Jon Muth will release Hi Koo! A Year of Seasons.  In this collection Muth takes you on a journey through the four seasons using different Haikus.  I could imagine reading this aloud to a class or even my own children and seeing if they could correctly guess the season.

5) The last book I am looking forward to in 2014 is Ruthie and the (Not So) Very Busy Day by Laura Rankin.  In this story Ruthie is looking forward to Saturday, a day off from work and school.  However, when Saturday gets here everyone is too busy to relax and have family time.  I hope that this book will serve as a reminder that in 2014 we need to do less not more and enjoy time with our little ones.  Maybe even set aside more time for family reading.  This book hits the shelves in May.

What books are you looking forward to this year?

Happy Reading!
Laura