When encouraging a new reader, it's important to find books that fit the child. Book Aunt wrote a great post a few weeks back about choosing the right books, if you are looking for specific tips. I've noticed that my daughter has definite preferences when it comes to books she wants to read independently. She loves books about baby animals, especially kittens, and she also gravitates towards books with a little girl as the main character.
We recently stumbled upon an I Can Read! book series by Lola M. Schaefer about a little gray kitten named Mittens. The books are "My First Readers" and are on the easier side of the beginning reader levels, perfect for preschoolers, kindergarteners and emergent readers. She adores this series because a). a cute little kitten is the main character and b.) she can read the books herself without any trouble whatsoever. We own all four in the series, and they've been in her book rotation all week long. The books remind me a of the popular Biscuit series books, except, of course, they are about a cat instead of a dog. My daughter wishes that Mitten's owner was a little girl instead of a boy.
Mittens
Follow Me, Mittens
What's That, Mittens?
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By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 4/2/2011
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JacketFlap tags: What my children are reading, Feed Me Books Friday, Kid Konnection, HarperCollins, Book Review, Picture Books, Beginning Readers, Chronicle Books, Wordless Picture Books, Add a tag
By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 3/26/2011
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JacketFlap tags: Book Review, Picture Books, Art, Imaginative Play, 2010, Henry Holt and Company, Macmillan, Philomel Books, Penguin Young Readers, What my children are reading, Feed Me Books Friday, Kid Konnection, Add a tag
Two of the books we brought home from our last library visit contain famous works of art. What an excellent opportunity to introduce my children to a few famous artists! This week we talked about Monet, Van Gogh, O'Keeffe, Matisse, Cézanne and more. It was a completely unplanned educational activity.
Have you discovered any other picture books that contain versions of famous works of art?
Bridget's Beret
Book Source: Copy from local library
"Before Bridget made any kind of art, she'd put on her beret and adjust it just right."
Bridget's favorite pastime is drawing. She has many art supplies, and, most importantly, like all great artists, she owns and wears a beret. Sadly, on a very windy day, her fabulous black beret blows away. Without the special hat for inspiration, Bridget finds herself suffering from -- *gasp* -- artist's block! Thankfully her sister comes to the rescue and helps her remember that when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade.
Lichtenheld's book overflows with creativity, cuteness and plenty of clever quips and illustrations. My family is a huge fan of Lichtenheld's previous books (Duck! Rabbit! & Shark Vs. Train) and love his entertaining comic illustration style. A talking rabbit is just one of the many funny touches. He manages to craftily work in a few interpretations of famous art into this book. Bridget creates lemonade poster renditions including one of van Gogh's "The Starry Night" and another inspired by "Whistler's Mother."
As soon as I read the inside jacket flap and discovered that this book was about a girl who loves to draw, I knew I wanted to read it with my daughter. Bridget's Beret is the perfect book for budding artists.
The book includes a handy "How to Start Your Art" guide in the back that discusses several famous works of art: Giuseppe Arcimboldo, "Summer" - Mary Cassatt, "Child with a Red Hat" - Paul Cezanne, "Still Life with Peaches and Pears" - Vincent van Gogh, "Bedroom at Arles" - Henri Matisse, "Icarus" - Claude Monet, "Still Life with Sunflowers" - Georgia O'Keeffe, "Above the Clouds I" - Pablo Picasso, "Bull's Head" - Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, "Self Portrait in a Cap, Open-Mouthed" - Georges Seurat, "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" - Alfred Sisley, "The Boat in the Flood"
Related Links:
Tom Lichtenheld Website
By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 1/8/2011
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JacketFlap tags: Classics, Winter, Book Review, Picture Books, Random House, Board Books, Wordless Picture Books, What my children are reading, Feed Me Books Friday, Kid Konnection, Add a tag
Even though we've received plenty of snow this winter, we still haven't had the chance to build a snowman. The cold weather and a few illnesses have put a wrench in our outdoor play. But there's plenty of winter left to build a snowman, so there's still hope. In the meantime, we'll have to remain content with reading about the white creations and imagining what would happen if one came to life.
The Snowman
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs is quite possibly one of the most famous children's books to feature a snowman. A series of small frames on each page tell the tale in this wordless picture book about the adventures of a little boy and his snowman. The softly hued illustrations are action filled and my kids really enjoy narrating the sequence of events.
A little boy wakes up to a snowy morning and runs outside to build a snowman. Later that night, the snowman comes to life. The little boy invites the snowman inside and they explore the boy's home. They do many things together--they switch the lights off and on, eat ice, the snowman tries on some clothes, they skateboards around the house and they even eat a snack. The snowman returns the kindness by taking the boy back outdoors for a magical nighttime flying adventure. Morning arrives and the boy must say goodbye to his friend.
My toddler son enjoyed paging through this book...that is until the last page. He wasn't fond of the ending. However, it gave us the opportunity to discuss snowmen and talk about how they don't last forever. The sun is a powerful foe. We found a few things interesting in the book. The boy doesn't design a typical three-ball snowman. His snowman is made from two segments and has arms and carved legs. Also, there's a little geography in the book. The boy and snowman fly over the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, England.
We own a lift-the-flap version of The Snowman and it ends happily. Perhaps that is why my little guy was shocked after finally reading the original version. He was expecting it to end like his board book version. In fact, several editions and versions of The Snowman exist and not all are wordless. The online reviews for all the books are combined together, making it difficult to determine what to expect if you purchase something other than the original. Here's our review of the Nifty Lift-and-Look Book Series version:
By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 9/11/2010
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JacketFlap tags: Book Review, Picture Books, Animals, Simon and Schuster, Macmillan, What my children are reading, Kid Konnection, Farrar Straus Giroux Publishing, Add a tag
What Are We Reading? Once again it's time to share favorite books of the week:
My daughter is Elisa Kleven's newest admirer, and she's requested Kleven's books nearly every night since we borrowed them from the library this week. So far we've read three of her books: The Apple Doll, A Carousel Tale and The Paper Princess. How is it that we've never read any of Elisa Kleven's books until just now? I just can't understand how this we missed this author/illustrator. Kleven's books are enchanting. Truly and remarkably enchanting. Her stories delight and her illustrations seem to swirl and dance right before your eyes. It's like opening up a bottle of captured, fond childhood memories. While we love them all equally, I only have time to review one of Kleven's books this week.
The Apple Dollby Elisa Kleven; Farrar, Straus and Giroux (July 2007); ISBN 9780374303808; 40 pages;
Book Source: Copy from public library
We picked up The Apple Doll
at exactly the right time of year. Kleven cleverly interweaves a story about starting school for the first time with the delights of freshly picked apples. On her first day of school, Lizzy picks an apple from the apple tree in her yard, gives the apple a twig body and names her newly-made apple doll Susanna. She whispers all her worries about school to Susanna and takes her new apple friend along to school for comfort. The other children make fun of her apple doll so Susanna stops taking Susanna to school even though she feels lonely without her. She confides to her mother that she wishes Susanna would last forever and her mother shows her how to turn her into a dried-apple doll. Lizzy is finally able to overcome her school-related anxieties and makes new friends after she proudly shows her new doll during sharing time.The best part of this book besides the glorious watercolor and collage illustrations? -- In the back of the book, Kleven includes instructions on how to make your own apple doll. My daughter has been begging and begging to make one so you can bet we're going to give this activity a try this week (a perfect activity for our Science Sunday post). At first I wasn't sure how my daughter would react to the sight of the wrinkled grandma apple doll in the book, but she adores it and thinks "grandma dolls" are pretty neat. Too bad my daughter doesn't have show-and-tell at her school! We're going to start our activity tomorrow
By: Brimful Curiosities,
on 4/10/2010
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JacketFlap tags: Book Review, Picture Books, Animals, Educational Resources, What my children are reading, Feed Me Books Friday, Kid Konnection, Add a tag
I mentioned in an earlier post that my daughter's pre-kindergarten class is waiting for three duck eggs to hatch. The eggs are inside a mini 3-egg incubator. On Thursday the teacher showed the children how to candle the eggs by shining a bright light through each of eggs. Apparently all the embryos are developing. We checked out a few books from the library about eggs and chicks this week. If you know of a children's book about ducks and eggs, let me know!
An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long.
This informative and detailed book has gorgeous ink and watercolor illustrations of various eggs from numerous different types of species (over 60). My daughter was surprised how varied the eggs are in color, shape and size. A detailed egg diagram shows the parts of an egg. The main text uses the repetitive phrase, "An egg is..." to talk about egg differences. Beautiful book!
This Little Chick by John Lawrence
We picked this book up for its unusual engraved illustrations. Appropriate for toddlers and preschoolers, the simple, repetitive text tells about a little chick that explores the farmyard and listens to the noises the other animals make. He meets pigs, ducks, cows, frogs, and lambs and heads back home to his mom and has plenty to say after his journey. The eye-catching engravings make this book stand out from other barnyard animal books. My daughter loved the duck illustration, of course!
Little Chick by Amy Hest, illustrated by Anita Jeram
Three stories in one book, this gem by Amy Hest is a quiet and thoughtful storytelling read. The short entries include "The Carrot That Would Not Grow," "The Kite That Would Not Fly" and "The Starry Night." In all the stories a wise and kind Old-Auntie chicken patiently offers guidance to a yellow Little Chick. Kids will sympathize with Little Chick's frustration. My daughter commented that she has a hard time making kites fly, too. Anita Jeram's soft watercolor illustrations pair wonderfully with the gentle tone of the stories.
The Mittens books look so adorable! A great way to get younger kids reading.
Oh! Mittens looks like it would be a perfect fit for my youngest!
I'm going to check out some of these Mittens books because Booking Son is starting to read!
We've read some of the Mittens books - the illustrations are lovely. Thanks for joining WMCIR!
Thanks SO much for stopping by and commenting on my blog! I'm adding yours to my book blog's sidebar...it's a real treasure trove of children's reading! Blessings...
I'm definitely going to check out the Mittens books. Thanks for the recommendation. I think you're right about our girls being around the same reading level and M loves cats!
Hi!
They all sound like great books. I'll have to check them out. Have a great day!
Sherrie
Just Books
Awesome! Thanks for sharing. My daughter would love this.