“There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.” — Jacqueline Kennedy
Good Night, Gorilla
July 13, 2009 at 9:03 pm (Animals, Zoo Animals)
Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
If you are not familiar with this book, you have got to check it out at the library! This is a favorite among all children I know. As the zookeeper is putting all the animals down for the night, the gorilla steals his keys. He continues to be sneaky by letting all the animals out of their cages, at which point, they follow the zookeeper into his house (kids get a kick out of this part!). The zookeeper’s wife tells him “goodnight,” at which time all the animals say “goodnight” back to her. Her face is priceless! She walks them back to the zoo for the evening, not knowing that the gorilla is following her back into the house. The book ends by them all settling down for the night in the zookeeper’s bed!
The neat thing about this book is that it is practically wordless. The only words that appear are “goodnight” and the animal names. It’s a lot of fun to add your own narration, as well as to have your children “read” the words. My kids love to act out parts, such as the zookeeper’s wife’s eyes, and the gorilla’s grin when he is discovered. What a fun read!
Weslandia
July 8, 2009 at 8:30 pm (Uncategorized)
Weslandia by Paul Fleischman
Wesley decides to spend his summer project creating his own civilization. He begins by turning over a plot of land and lets new and unknown seeds blow into it. An unknown plant does develop, and Wesley uses that plant for the basis of everything–including food, clothing, and shelter. He develops his own alphabet and writes with ink from the plant. He tells time and develops his own number system using the flower with eight petals as his base. He also creates his own games and sports. Pretty amazing, huh?! When he returns to school in the fall, his old tormentors have now turned into good friends.
This is a fun and very creative book with amazing pictures! Younger children may not get the whole storyline, but they seem to enjoy the creativity and bright pictures anyway; it’s always been a favorite in my preschool and 1st grade classrooms. I think this would be a great book for older children though; how fun to see what type of civilization they could create using this book as a base! Check it out and see what your children think!
Fun with Oobleck
June 18, 2009 at 7:53 pm (Uncategorized)
Here’s my latest post at Blissfully Domestic about a fun summertime book and activity: http://blissfullydomestic.com/blissful-kids/fun-with-books-bartholomew-and-the-oobleck/
Bear Hunt
June 15, 2009 at 8:05 am (Bear)
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
Based on the classic rhyme, this book is a lot of fun!! The pictures alternate between black & white and color, making it interesting for kids. And the repetition is perfect for children to chant along with you (a great reading skill). We used this in preschool in a big book version; my family has the board book, and the kids just LOVE it! Check out the link above for some great reviews!
Round Trip
June 9, 2009 at 10:10 am (Uncategorized)
Round Trip by Ann Jonas
This is one of the coolest picture books ever written! It was one of my favorites as a child. The pictures are all black-and-white. You read it all the way through, enjoying the simple storyline about a family going on a trip. When you reach the end, it’s “time to turn around,” and you literally flip the book upside-down and read it again! This time the pictures create something completely different. This is one your children will want to read over and over! And it’s entertaining to adults, as well.
The Very Lazy Ladybug
June 1, 2009 at 7:41 am (Animals, Insects)
The Very Lazy Ladybug by Isobel Finn
Cute, cute story with very bright, colorful pictures. This ladybug is so lazy that she doesn’t even know how to fly! One day, she decides to look for a new sleeping spot, but because she can’t fly, she must come up with a way to move. So, she latches on to various animals throughout the story, only to find out that none of them are ideal: the kangaroo is too bouncy, the lion is too loud, the turtle is too hot. When she hops onto the elephant’s trunk though, she thinks she has found the perfect spot. But then, the elephant sneezes, and the lazy ladybug is literally blown out of the book as the pages unfold to extend into a longer shape. It’s at that point, that she eventually learns to fly!
The Three Pigs
May 25, 2009 at 8:44 pm (Animals, Farm Animals, Pigs)
This is one of my all-time favorite books!! The pictures are amazing! You MUST check it out from the library!
The Three Pigs by David Wiesner
Summary: If you think you know this classic story, think again!!! The storyline begins the same, but before you know it, the pigs have discovered that they can climb out of the storybook pages. They take a ride on a paper airplane, constructed from their very own story, and they meet up with many other fairytale characters. So cute!
What is your favorite version of the 3 Little Pigs?
Guest Post
May 21, 2009 at 10:16 am (Animals, Colors, Guest Posts, Shapes)
I’m guest posting over at Make and Takes today on this book:
Go check it out. And tell Marie I sent you!!
Froggy!!!!
May 17, 2009 at 7:57 pm (Frogs)
Froggy books by Jonathan London and Frank Remkiewicz
There are a whole bunch of these books. If you click on the picture above, it will link you to a list on Amazon.
Froggy is your classic kid–with fears, joys, and laughter. In these books, he usually is trying something new and hard. He always gets embarrassed. But then, everything turns out alright. Cute, cute books with lots of humor! Great for talking about new situations and how to appropriately deal with emotions.
Frog Fun
May 17, 2009 at 7:52 pm (Frogs)
From Tadpole to Frog by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Love this book!! The concepts are brought down to a simple level for kids and include amazing photographs so kids can see what the life cycle really looks like. They also do some close-up pictures, such as a frog egg and a frog’s webbed feet. This book also introduces kids to new vocabulary such as tadpole and spawn. Incredible book!
For some supplemental frog fun, I’m doing a frog week at Dresses ‘n Messes this week. Check back daily for a new activity! http://dressesandmesses.wordpress.com/
