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Scary, Scary Halloween

*Read to the children in your life every day.  You are giving them a gift that will last a lifetime!

Scary, Scary Halloween          By:  Eve Bunting          Illustrated by:  Jan Brett

Ages:  Preschool through First Grade

 

It’s that time of year when apples, candy corn and pumpkins can be found everywhere.  It’s time for Halloween and this is a book that can’t be missed.  In this story, it is Halloween night and there are green eyes hiding, as ghosts, witches and goblins roam the streets.  It will be fun for children to see all of the costumes and guess who is hiding in the night.  This is a great book to expand vocabulary, but more importantly, it is just a fun Halloween story.

 

 

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My Truck Is Stuck!

*Read to the children in your life every day.  You are giving them a gift that will last a lifetime!

My Truck Is Stuck!           By:  Kevin Lewis and Daniel Kirk

Ages:  Toddlers through Kindergarten

This is the perfect book for toddlers and preschool children because of its vibrant illustrations and repetitive rhyming text.  The dogs in our story have a heavy load of bones to deliver, but unfortunately, the truck gets stuck.  Many kind friends try to help, but just can’t get the job done.   Readers need to make sure to look at the pictures carefully to see what happens to the truck load of bones.  This delightful book also reinforces counting and number recognition through five.

 

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What Will Grow?

*Read to the children in your life every day.  You are giving them a gift that will last a lifetime!

What Will Grow?           By:  Jennifer Ward           Illustrated by:  Susie Ghahremani

Ages:  Toddlers through Kindergarten

 

I had the opportunity to meet, Jennifer Ward, the author of this lovely book.  She has written many books, but selected this one for us to highlight.  What Will Grow? is a rhyming flip book that shows what happens when you plant different seeds.  The story and beautiful illustrations take us through the growing season with the end result being a garden.  This amazing book is a walk through nature.  Children will enjoy the flip pages and the rhyming text.

 

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Leaf Man

Dear Reader,

This Blog is designed for the parents, grandparents and caregivers of young children.  Each post will highlight a great book that all children should hear, with tips to enrich beginning reading skills.  You will also find fun recipes that go along with each story.  Enjoy reading and cooking with the children in your life.

*Read to the children in your life every day.  You are giving them a gift that will last a lifetime!

Leaf Man              By:  Lois Ehlert

Ages:  Toddlers through First Grade

 

This beautiful book is a wonderful way to bring in the fall season.  The illustrations and colors are a perfect expression of autumn.  This story is about the Leaf Man and the places that the wind takes him.  Children will love looking at the pictures and finding what is hidden.  The child can read the repetitive text along with the reader.   It also gives the reader the opportunity to present directions such as north, south, etc.  Most importantly, this book is just fun.

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Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm

*Read to the children in your life every day.  You are giving them a gift that will last a lifetime!

Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm           By:  Joy Cowley          Illustrated by:  Elizabeth Fuller

Ages:  Toddlers through First Grade

 

The Mrs. Wishy-Washy books are among our favorites and Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm is one of the best.  In this story, the cow, pig and duck get really tired of being scrubbed in the tub and run away to the city.  They soon realize that the farm is a great place and that being scrubbed by Mrs. Wishy-Washy isn’t such a bad thing.  This book is not only a good story, but is also done in rhyming text with some repetition, which is great for early literacy development.

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Enemy Pie

Dear Reader,

This Blog is designed for the parents, grandparents and caregivers of young children.  Each post will highlight a great book that all children should hear, with tips to enrich beginning reading skills.  You will also find fun recipes that go along with each story.  Enjoy reading and cooking with the children in your life.

*Read to the children in your life every day.  You are giving them a gift that will last a lifetime!

Enemy Pie           By:  Derek Munson           Illustrated by:  Tara Calahan King

Ages:  Kindergarten through Second Grade

 

The new boy, Jeremy, who has not been very friendly, has moved into the neighborhood and has ruined summer.  He is now on the enemy list, but Dad knows how to take care of enemies.  He will make Enemy Pie.  What could possibly be in Enemy Pie and how does it work?  This delightful story is about the difficulty and rewards of making new friends.  This is a great story to foster discussion about friendship and to just enjoy.

 

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Ricky, the Rock That Couldn’t Roll

*Read to the children in your life every day.  You are giving them a gift that will last a lifetime!

Ricky, the Rock That Couldn’t Roll           By:  Jay Miletsky            Illustrated by:  Erin Wozniak

Ages:  Preschool through Second Grade

 

This amazing book is now one of our favorites.  Children will love the story line and adults will enjoy the humor in the comments made by Ricky’s friends.  This is a story of true friendship and problem solving at its finest.  It also explores the importance of perseverance and determination.  Children will encounter new vocabulary such as knoll, physique, dejected, etc., within the rhyming verse of the story.  The illustrator has done an amazing job of bringing Ricky and his rock friends to life.  This is a must read!

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Ten Magic Butterflies

*Read to the children in your life every day.  You are giving them a gift that will last a lifetime!

Ten Magic Butterflies            By:  Danica McKellar           Illustrated by:  Jennifer Bricking

Ages:  Preschool through First Grade

Danica McKellar has done it again with this beautiful book promoting math concepts for young children.  In Ten Magic Butterflies, children will discover different ways to group numbers to make ten, as the flowers turn into beautiful butterflies.  The author gives a list at the end of the book with math ideas to use with children.  This book also provides literacy opportunities for comprehension and rhyming patterns.  In addition, the flowers learn a very important lesson.  We previously highlighted Ms. McKellar’s counting book called, Goodnight Numbers.  

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The Day the Crayons Quit

*Read to the children in your life every day.  You are giving them a gift that will last a lifetime!

The Day the Crayons Quit           By:  Drew Daywalt           Illustrated by:  Oliver Jeffers

Ages:  Preschool through Second Grade

 

In our story, Duncan opens his crayon box and finds a stack of letters instead of crayons.  The crayons have many concerns and Duncan will need to find a solution to get them back on the job.  This absolutely delightful book not only helps children with color and color word recognition, but is great for beginning letter writing.  This is a very funny book and children will be able to relate to the story line.

 

 

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Officer Buckle and Gloria

*Read to the children in your life every day.  You are giving them a gift that will last a lifetime!

Officer Buckle and Gloria                   By:  Peggy Rathmann

Ages:  Preschool through Second Grade

 

 

In our world today, we are constantly reminding children about safety issues.  In this story, Officer Buckle has a difficult time convincing the school children to follow his safety rules, until his police dog, Gloria, helps him.  As this enchanting story progresses, Officer Buckle and Gloria realize that they are a great team and best friends.

 

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