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.

Continue reading Leaf Man

*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.

Continue reading Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm

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.

 

Continue reading Enemy Pie

*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!

Continue reading 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!

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.  

Continue reading Ten Magic Butterflies

*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.

 

 

Continue reading 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!

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.

 

Continue reading Officer Buckle and Gloria

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

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten              By:  Joseph Slate            Illustrated by:  Ashley Wolff

 

 

This is a must read for any child getting ready to enter kindergarten.  This humorous book expresses the mixed emotions of getting ready for the first day of school.  The child will get a sneak preview of how kindergarten teachers get ready for their students.  The book incorporates the alphabet and rhyming text as the story unfolds.

Continue reading Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten

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!

Big Red Barn          By:  Margaret Wise Brown         Illustrated by:  Felicia Bond

Ages:  Toddlers through Kindergarten

 

This wonderful book holds a special place in my heart, because it was my son, Trevor’s, favorite book when he was two years old.  We read it so many times that he memorized every page.  This book highlights the life of the animals on a farm (no people).  Children will learn animal names and the sounds that they make.  It also is written in rhyming verse and is great for vocabulary development.  It is a gentle book that is perfect to read before bedtime.  Thanks for indulging me.  Judy

Continue reading Big Red Barn

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

Little Blue Truck          By:  Alice Schertle          Illustrated by:  Jill McElmurry

Ages:  Toddlers through Kindergarten

 

This amazing book provides many learning opportunities for children.  It explores recognition of colors, animal sounds and rhyming patterns.  However, the best part of this delightful story is that it shows the importance of being kind to each other and how valuable friendship can be.  It is just a fun story that children will want to here over and over again.

Continue reading Little Blue Truck