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