Read A Book Day

Today is National Read A Book Day- what better way to celebrate than by finding your next read aloud right here!

Today I decided to share with you the book The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting.  This book is great to share, especially with older children (2nd grade and up) because of the plot and it is a little longer.

This story is about a grandmother and her granddaughter spending time together on Wednesday nights. Mom has to work late on Wednesdays, big brother Sam has basketball and dad is out of town driving his truck for work, so grandma comes and takes care of Anna.  During their time together they work on a surprise for Dad's birthday.  You get a few clues about what the surprise might be like Grandma brings bags of books and they spend hours reading, but you are not totally sure what Anna and Grandma are up to. You begin to think that Grandma is teaching young Anna to read. 

Finally, it is time for Dad's birthday.  The family eats dinner together and Dad opens up all of his presents.  When all of that is through Anna brings out Grandma's bag of books, she pulls one out and it is Grandma that begins reading.  The shock of the family and the reader is great, everyone is so proud that Grandma has finally learned to read after all this time and that it was Anna that taught her!

What better book for Read A Book Day- a book that is all about learning to read, no matter how old you are.  I  have a feeling that Anna did a lot of reading aloud to Grandma to help her finally learn to read!

What book are you reading today to celebrate Read A Book Day?

Happy Reading!

Laura

Throwback Thursday

Today I want to share with you another great book to read aloud for Grandparent's Day.  The Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman is a great read aloud for older children and could also be used as a writing mentor text.

The Song and Dance Man is all about a grandpa who used to sing and dance on the vaudeville stage.  The story is told from his grandchildren's point of view.  One day the grandchildren are over visiting their grandparents and grandpa takes them up to the attic.  In the attic he gets out his old props from his vaudeville days and puts on a show for his grandchildren.  They children love watching their grandpa and say, "it is better than any show on TV."  They sing, dance and laugh and in the end grandpa tells them that he "wouldn't trade a million good old days" for the days that he spends with them.  It is a very heart warming story about the good old days that I think many children will relate to.

The figurative language is great in this book.  The sounds his tap shoes make are compared to woodpeckers tapping in a tree and is voice is compared to a canyon echo.  Karen Ackerman uses a variety of author's crafts in this text.  It would be great to use as a mentor text when writing memoirs or personal narratives.  Mostly, it would be great just to listen to!

Happy Reading!
Laura

Two for One

I told you that if you continue to follow this blog you will see more posts about Todd Parr's books.  Today I am going to share with you 2 of his books that are perfect for celebrating grandparents!

The Grandma Book and The Grandpa Book have every type of grandma or grandpa imaginable.  Each page describes a different grandma or grandpa by saying, "some grandma's have..." and then fill in the blank.  Maybe the page is about grandma's having cats, playing bingo or driving slow.  It is the same pattern in The Grandpa Book.

The text is so simple that any child can make connections to these wonderful books.  I know my little boy would love the page that says, "Some grandpa's make you laugh," because his Papa is always being silly and making him laugh.  After reading take the time to talk about the book and what your child's grandma or grandpa might be like.  The book will definitely spark so great conversation with you child, because who doesn't love grandma and grandpa!

These two books are a must have for any family, in fact by 2 of each one for home and one to keep at grandma and grandpa's!  Be sure to put a picture of your own grandma and grandpa in the back of the book.

Happy Reading!
Laura

Grandparent's Day Sept. 9

Grandparent's day is coming up on Sunday so this week I wanted to share with you some books about- you guessed it- Grandparents!

One of my favorite books about grandparents is called the Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster,  Maybe it is the wonderful illustrations by Chris Raschka but I think it is more the storyline- that reminds me a lot of my own grandparents.

The Hello, Goodby Window tells the story of a little girl who loves to visit her grandparents, who she calls Nanna and Poppy.  The little girl tells about all the things that she loves to do with Nanna and Poppy and they all revolve around the kitchen window.  She can see Nanna and Poppy waiting for her when she comes to their house.  She can watch what is going on outside through the window.  Her and her grandparents even play a type of peek-a-boo game in the window.  The love that the little girl has for her grandparents is evident and relatable to many children and adults.  

This book touches a soft spot in my heart because my grandma had her own hello, goodbye window.  She loved to sit at her kitchen table and look at the window, and because of that she could always see when we were stopping by for a visit. I cannot wait for my son to be older and to read this book to him and share stories of my own grandparents. 

Check back tomorrow for another great grandparent book!

Happy Reading!

Laura