Garden

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?

Happy Reading!
Laura

February and Hugs!

There is so much going on in February and so many books I want to share with you that I will be posting on Mondays and Wednesdays this month.  I want to give you some great Valentine's and love book recommendations and I also want to share with you some great books for Black History Month.

I am going to start out with a very simple book.  It's not your traditional Valentine's book or love book but it is a great book to share with those you love. 

Hug by Jez Alborough is a simple board book with one word... HUG!  Little monkey Bobo sees all the other animals giving each other a hug.  He is sad and wants his own hug.  He goes in search of a hug, not having any luck until he finds his mama!  His mama gives him a giant hug and Bobo is happy again.  The book ends with all the animals hugging one another. You can't help but want to hug anyone near you after reading this book, but especially those that you love! It's great to read with little ones because they will quickly catch on and start "reading" the one word text with you.  For bigger kids they will enjoy examining the pictures, that tell a little more of the story.  No matter what everyone can relate to Bobo and his need for a hug!

Start out this month by cuddling, reading with and hugging those you love!

Happy Reading!

Laura

Fun Words

When picking out a board book for your littlest baby sometimes it is good to try to find a book that has really fun language and a rhythmic text.  Any book that is more song-like than book-like is a good choice.  Babies find the rhythm calming and the more fun words we can get into our babies ears the better.

Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig is a perfect example of a book with fun words and rhythmic text.  Dancing Feet is a sing-songy book about animals, their feet and the sounds their feet might make.  The book includes repetition, silly words and rhyme, three things little babies love in their books! It is so fun to read words like tippity, thumpity and stompity and the question and answer format will engage a baby's curiosity.   Your baby will be sure to clap along to this fun read aloud.  At first it was always the book my daughter picked off the shelf to read and now she is saying, "again" when it is finished.  Even the pictures, by illustrator Marc Brown, appeal to kids. I love the footprints that trail throughout the book and the big animal feet that are on the question pages.  His illustration help give clues to the children about what animal it might be dancing around.

Lindsay Craig and Marc Brown have also collaborated to make Farmyard Beat a book very similar using farm animals.

Happy Reading!
Laura