Archive for the ‘Preschooler’ Category

Bear with Me by Max Kornell

September 25, 2011 - 10:36 pm No Comments

Owen’s parents bring home a surprise…a bear. Owen is certain he doesn’t want a bear and he’s even more certain when Gary (the bear) breaks his swing and doesn’t put the caps back on his markers. Things start to look up though when it turns out that Gary is very, very good at building with blocks. A very cute story about an unlikely friendship.

How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills

September 20, 2011 - 9:23 am No Comments

A little yellow bird that lives near Rocket has opened up a school and is determined to teach Rocket how to read. Rocket learns the alphabet and how to put letters together to make words. School has to close for the winter while bird is away, but Rocket practices over the winter and is very ready to learn when bird returns in the spring.

If you have a child who is at that age where they really, really want to learn how to read or they are just beginning to read, they will absolutely love this book. It is such a cute story…I love the relationship between the bird and Rocket and I also love how, on the first day of school, she reads Rocket a book about a dog who is digging for a bone, but leaves off right before the dog in the story finds it. Rocket returns the next day very eager to find out what happens and that is when Rocket learns the magic of books.

Pirates Don’t Take Baths by John Segal

September 20, 2011 - 9:10 am No Comments

One little pirate piggy doesn’t want to take a bath, so he comes up with all kinds of adventures to go on so he doesn’t have to get clean. His very smart and wise mama, however, comes up with a different plan that steers him in the right direction. Super cute book that will speak to the little adventurer in your house.

The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

September 14, 2011 - 2:04 pm No Comments

Henry loves books…he just eats them up. No, not like that…he actually eats them and the more books he eats, the more he learns. This is a very cute story and it has a little twist at the end when Henry eats so many books at once that everything he has learned starts to get jumbled up and he has to go back to enjoying books the way the rest of the world enjoys books…by reading them. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the illustrations in this book. The illustrations are a masterpiece just by themselves, but coupled with the story they make a very good pair.

My Side of the Car by Kate Feiffer

September 12, 2011 - 10:44 am No Comments

Sadie has been planning on a trip to the zoo for FOREVER and incident after incident keep postponing it. Then, the big day comes and on the way to the zoo it starts pouring. She insists that it isn’t raining on her side of the car even though her dad can barely even drive it’s raining so hard on his side of the car. I love, love, love the determination of this little girl to get to the zoo no matter what. (I see a little bit of myself in her as well. I have been known to ignore the obstacles in the way and power through even though common sense is telling everyone around me that maybe it’s not the best idea.) 🙂 Maybe that’s why I loved this book so much.

Sisters & Brothers by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

September 8, 2011 - 9:48 am No Comments

This book explores the relationships that animals have with their siblings. It’a such a great book because kids of all ages will like it, but for different reasons. Younger children will love flipping through the pages and just looking at the picture of the animals. Children who are a little bit older will enjoy listening to how animal siblings interact with each other and children just a little bit older will be old enough to listen to the whole text (it’s a little on the wordy side) or even be able read it on their own. Don’t let all of the words discourage you from checking out this book. Just pick and choose which parts you want to read to your child. They will be so fascinated with the pictures they won’t even notice you didn’t read the whole thing.

Are You a Horse? by Andy Rash

September 7, 2011 - 11:27 am No Comments

A not so bright cowboy goes on a search to find a horse so he can use his new saddle. He gets many clues along the way as to what a horse looks like and well, he does finally find one. There is a twist to the end of the story though that your little ones will think is hilarious. This book is definitely worth the giggle at the end. 🙂

Duck Duck Moose by David Horowitz

September 7, 2011 - 11:19 am No Comments

Duck and Duck decide it’s time to head south for the winter and they want Moose to come, too, but he thinks it’s a horrible idea and is going to stay right where he is and have pancakes with Bear. He quickly realizes that Bear is going to be asleep for the next few months and the adventure begins. Duck, Duck and Moose have several adventures while they’re away and it turns out that Moose is the one who is sad when it’s time to finally go home. Moose figures out a way to bring a little bit of Florida back home with them though. Super cute and a good one to read as fall sets in and you start to see birds heading south.

A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech

September 7, 2011 - 11:06 am No Comments

The principal at Tillie’s school loves his school and thinks it is a “fine, fine school”. He loves it so much he decides that they should start having school on Saturdays. After a while he decides they should also start having school on Sundays. The principal calls everyone together one day (the teachers and students are very nervous as to what this announcement could be) and Mr. Keene has decided that because it is such a “fine, fine school” they should also start going to school on holidays and during the summer. Tillie starts to realize though that she doesn’t have time to teach her dog how to sit or to teach her little brother how to skip or swing because she’s at school all of the time. Tillie goes to Mr. Keene with her concerns and, well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out what he thinks about not spending as much time at his “fine, fine school”. 🙂

This is a fun one for kids as they head back into the classroom. It’s a good discussion starter too. What kinds of things would you want to learn about if you had to go to school every day? What would you miss the most if you spent all of your time at school? What things do you learn at home that you may not know if you were at school all the time?

Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook

August 29, 2011 - 10:13 pm No Comments

Zack quickly learns that when his new teacher, Miss Smith, tells a story she sure knows how to “bring it to life”. Things get pretty exciting in 2nd grade, especially when Miss Smith is gone for the day and things in storyland start to get out of hand. This book shows the magic of what great storytelling can do as well as the magic of a fantastic teacher.