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

Dragons Love Tacos                   By:  Adam Rubin            Illustrated by:  Daniel Salmieri

Ages:  Preschool through Second Grade

 

 

Tacos are often a favorite family dinner, but what children may not know is that Dragons Love Tacos.  In this delightful book, there is a bit of a problem.  Dragons do love tacos, but they do NOT like spicy salsa.  This book is great for vocabulary development and the amazing illustrations assist with comprehension of the text.  But most of all, Dragons Love Tacos is just a lot of fun to read.

 

 

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

Gingerbread Baby              By:  Jan Brett

Ages:  Preschool through Second Grade

 

Most children know the story of The Gingerbread Boy.  Jan Brett’s colorful illustrations highlight this familiar tale with a new twist.  The Gingerbread Baby befalls many of the same problems as his predecessor, but the ending will be a surprise.  The child’s attention will be drawn to the story going on in the margins of every page.

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

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type                 By:  Doreen Cronin              Illustrated by:  Betsy Lewin

Ages:  Preschool through Second Grade

 

 

Children may need a little history lesson prior to reading Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. With today’s text messaging and e-mail, they may not know what a typewriter is and how it was used.  In this delightful story, the cows are very cold and find an old typewriter in the barn.  They send a letter to the farmer and the fun begins.  This award winning book helps to build vocabulary and is an example of the art of negotiating and problem solving.

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

Goodnight Moon               By:  Margaret Wise Brown                Illustrated by:  Clement Hurd

Ages:  Toddler through Kindergarten

 

This classic bedtime story is often given as gifts to expectant mothers.  The story describes the green room prior to bedtime, and wishes everything goodnight, including the moon.  This is a perfect book to read to a child before bedtime.  Goodnight Moon provides descriptive text and can foster vocabulary development as well as rhyming patterns.

 

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

Don’t Laugh Joe!               By:  Keiko Kasza

Ages:  Preschool through Second Grade

 

 

 

The first step in inspiring children to read is to capture their interest.  Find books that you think children will love.  Don’t Laugh Joe! is a book children will find enjoyable and funny as they follow Mother Possum’s attempts to teach her son how to play dead.

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

The Carrot Seed                By:  Ruth Krauss                  Illustrated by:  Crockett Johnson

Age Range:  Preschool through Kindergarten

 

As Spring approaches it is very special to see the emergence of leaves on the trees and flowers beginning to bloom.  Children can be a part of this by planting something that they take care of and watch develop into a flower or something good to eat.  The Carrot Seed is a book that has been around for a very long time, but is perfect in explaining the patience needed as you wait for your plant to grow.  The book also shows the care needed to grow a healthy plant.  This is a story of optimism that should not be missed.

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

You Are My Happy                        By:  Hoda Kotb           Illustrated by:  Suzie Mason

Age Range:  Toddlers through Kindergarten

Sometimes we just want to read books to children that express our love for them.  Hoda Kotb’s book does just that.  It is important to remember that reading to children doesn’t just help them be successful in school, it also creates a special bond that cannot be measured.  Reading at bedtime should be a tradition.  The only thing to be negotiated is the number of books you read.  Children also love to hear the same book over and over again and this is important to do.  Reading at bedtime is an experience that children will remember forever.

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

An Egg is Quiet         By:  Dianna Aston and Sylvia Long

Ages:  Preschool through Second Grade

 

 

 

Children’s curiosity is sparked when they discover a bird’s nest filled with small colorful eggs.  In the book, An Egg is Quiet, the authors explore a variety of interesting eggs found in nature.  What a wonderful way to expose children to science concepts at an early age.

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

Before You Were Mine            By:  Maribeth Boelts*         Illustrated by:  David Walker

Ages:  Preschool through First Grade

 

Having had two rescue dogs, I always wondered what their lives were like before they came to live with me.  Though one has passed away, both were and are such loving dogs, it was hard to believe that no one wanted them.  This thought provoking children’s book puts it all into prospective and stresses the importance of adopting dogs from shelters.  What an important message to share with children.  Reader, beware!  You may need a box of tissue as you read this lovely story.

*The author, Maribeth Boelts, is donating part of the profits from this book to the Humane Society of the United States.

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