In order to celebrate the launch of The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature in March, we invited OUP staff to dress up as their favourite characters from children’s books. The result was one surreal day during which our Oxford offices were overrun with children’s literature characters, ranging from the Cat in the Hat to Aslan, from Pippi Longstocking to the Tiger Who Came to Tea, and from Little Red Riding Hood to the Very Hungry Caterpillar. It was a brilliant and brave effort by all those who attended. Particularly those who commuted to and from work in their costumes!
The post Who is your favourite character from children’s literature? appeared first on OUPblog.
It’s holiday time so some shows based on outstanding children’s books are currently being performed in Sydney and surrounds, as well as in other cities around Australia. A highlight is The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Penguin), a production created around four books by Eric Carle: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, of course, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse – […]
Krista Dawson, who has been getting books from First Book for years, works with preschool children in Richmond, Virginia and recently responded to us with a great list of books that she uses to get kids started with reading. We love the list so much we created a bundle on the FB Markeplace to share with you!
First Book: How long have you worked with kids/literacy groups in general?
Krista: I have been an educator for 25 years and doing literacy work specifically for the past 5 ½ years.
First Book: Do you have a favorite story about working with your kids and/or First Book?
Krista: When providing my first site visit for my first First Book grant, I took the book, Five Little Ducks by Raffi. I had made foam stick puppets for retelling the story and when I shared with the group, they were already familiar with the song and were thus very engaged. My surprise came the following month when I returned with the second book to share and immediately the children began to shout “Five Little Ducks! Five Little Ducks!” They had obviously remembered me but only by the book I shared. Every month after that, no matter what book I brought, the children always wanted to recite the Five Little Ducks song before moving on to the new book. My personal takeaway from this is that songs and books with songs really stick with young children and are a great way to engage and build memory. The repetition and rhyme are powerful tools for literacy development (by the way, I still pick Five Little Ducks as our first book for each grant because I KNOW the power it has to anchor all future visits).
First Book: Do you have a favorite moment involving a child reading/enjoying books?
Krista: This was shared with me by one of the children’s staff that provide the site visits for our First Book Grants. “The other day a FB student came into the library. The student was very excited to see me at a different library from where I do the First Book Program. She grabbed her mom by the arm and very excitedly said, ‘Mommy that is Miss Heidi! She is the book fairy that gives us all of our books to take home!’ I had no idea that I was a book fairy but I am happy to accept that title.” (Submitted by Heidi Yannetti, Children’s Associate for Belmont and Main Libraries)
Early Childhood Ready to Read Collection: Two Copies of Each Book
Very Hungry Caterpillar (Special Edition) (Board Book)
Alphabet Book (Board Book)
Cleo’s Alphabet Book (Board Book)
Elephant and Piggie: We Are in a Book (Hardcover)
Elephant and Piggie: Listen to My Trumpet! (Hardcover)
The Mitten (Board Book)
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Board Book)
Princess Bedtime Stories (Hardcover)
From Head to Toe (Board Book)
Big and Busy Ocean (Board Book)
The post Early Childhood Ready to Read Collection Created By Krista Dawson appeared first on First Book Blog.
In honor of Eric Carle’s classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, today is Very Hungry Caterpillar Day.
Each year there is a theme around Very Hungry Caterpillar Day and for 2012 the theme is “inspiring hungry minds to grow.” Carle’s books have helped generations of children learn basic concepts like colors and counting, encouraged healthy eating, and inspired kids to grow their imagination. In honor of the day, we have some fun downloadable activities including Caterpillar ABC's and Counting Fruit--you can find all the Very Hungry Caterpillar Day activities here, under the heading Activities for Your Hungry Reader.
For over 40 years, The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been a staple on baby's first bookshelf and seems to be universally loved by those who read it as a child, or who have read it to their own kids. Several of us in the office developed a bit of a crush on this remarkable author/illustrator after watching the video of Carle talking about his inspiration for The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse (you can see it here). It's fortunate that Eric Carle's passion for writing books that teach and excite young readers hasn't waned in the decades since The Very Hungry Caterpillar first arrived on the scene, and I always think it's fun to see what people's favorite titles are. I especially love The Grouchy Ladybug, Mister Seahorse, and The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse. What are your favorites?
At First Book, we tend to notice (and love) all things that are children’s book-related. So it’s really no surprise that one of my co-workers came across this great blog post from Lyndsey at Coco Cake cupcakes in Vancouver, BC.
Tasked with creating refreshments for a Very Hungry Caterpillar-themed 1st birthday party, Lyndsey created the caterpillar himself out of cupcakes! Check out the Coco Cake blog to see all of the photos of the making of the caterpillar party train.
And if you’re near Vancouver, be sure to check out how to order all sorts of unique and delicious-looking cupcakes!
Photo courtesy of : http://www.cococakecupcakes.blogspot.com/
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