Tongue Twisters=Word Fun

Books that mimic the sounds of machines or musical instruments, or that feature the sounds that animals make, are a great way to tune your child's ear to the sounds of letters and words, a helpful pre-literacy skill. And, for four and five year olds, nothing beats tongue twisters for hours of fun playing with words. Kids will revel in testing their ability to articulate these funny phrases, and they'll probably want to test you too!

One of the best books on tongue twisters I've seen lately is Six Sheep Sip Thick Shakes and Other Tricky Tongue Twisters by Brian P. Cleary. It features 22 original twisters, each whimsically illustrated. Best of all, at the back of the book Cleary shares tips on how to make your own tongue twisters! For other books on tongue twisters click here. Have fun!

Little White Rabbit

Little White Rabbit is full of imagination. As he hops along one morning exploring his world, he begins to wonder: What would it be like to be as green as the grass? What would it be like to be as tall as a tree? Each question is followed by a beautiful two-paged illustration that brings Little White Rabbit's imagination to life. Children will want to pause over Henkes' boldly outlined pictures because there is a lot to talk about in each one.

Although we really are able to observe and get a sense of a child's make-believe play around the time they are two or three, the development of pretend play begins as early as year one. While Little White Rabbit really shines as a catalyst to further make-believe play for preschoolers around ages three and up, it's also a great cuddle-up book for parents and toddlers.

Along with Little White Rabbit, Kevin Henkes has written many other wonderful children's books such as A Good Day, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, and 2005 Caldecott winner, Kitten's First Full Moon. Henkes is an author your child can grow with since he has published everything from boardbooks to late elementary level novels. Reading, talking and imaginative play are essential to early literacy skill development. Check out Kevin Henkes and see what conversations and fun his books can inspire at your house today!

~Miss Robin

Fun with Letters!

There are so many wonderful alphabet books to share, and The Zoo I Drew by Todd Doodler is one of them. It features an animal per letter, and both the text and the drawings are playful and engaging.

Learning letters is an important early step towards reading, but sometimes alphabet books can seem just a little too long when read A to Z. One of my favorite ways to read an alphabet book is to hop around and spell things that mean something to the child who is listening. For example, the first letters we learn to recognize are usually those in our name. So one great way to break the book up might be to start with the letter "K" for Kate. I wonder who we'll find on that page?

Let's see...

It's a Koala! We could keep looking for the letters in my name, or we could look for Mom, Dad, or anyone else who is special to us. Be creative with your words and don't be afraid to get silly with it! You'll be amazed at how much fun an alphabet book can be.

Miss Kate

Real Animals!

If your child is a budding zoologist, check out the Amazing Animals series all by Valerie Bodden. These books are a perfect fit for preschoolers and may even enlighten you! Each of the titles focuses on a particular animal, showcasing it with over sized photos and short bits of interesting information, all packed into a picture book-sized package. Bodden's book on polar bears, for instance, equates the size of the bear (1,500 pounds), to something young children can relate to: "eight grown-up men put together". She goes on to say that "a polar bear standing on its back legs could touch the rum of a basketball hoop", and that "polar bears sometimes stand up for a look around".

Oppportunities to introduce new words to your child's vocabulary abound, and the book even includes a short explanation for some of the more unfamiliar words (like "predator" or "Arctic").

You will probably want to read all of the titles available in our library. In addition to Polar Bears, these include Monkeys, Penguins, Lions, and Sharks.

Minji's Salon

An ice cream shampoo and watercolor highlights--what more can a dog ask for? When Minji sees her mother enter a beauty salon, she knows her fluffy-eared dog deserves nothing less than to be the lucky recipient of her own prodigious styling skills.

The author/illustrator, Eun-hee Choung, displays a great sense of fun throughout Minji's Salon with parallel shots of the mother and dog's makeovers. Children everywhere who have ever gotten into their mother's makeup stash will enjoy Minji's "salon's" grand opening.

Minji's problem solving skills are creatively highlighted through complimentary text and artwork. The language is simple and humorous, making it easy for young readers to relate to Minji's unabashed exuberance. Adults will appreciate the author's tongue-in-cheek commentary and deft handling of Minji's mother's surprise homecoming.

Mighty M

Bears on Chairs

Counting! Rhyming! Bears on Chairs! There is a lot to like about Bears on Chairs. This book combines Shirley Parenteau's bouncy, preschool-friendly rhymes with simple and sweet illustrations by David Walker.

While children already have strong ideas about right and wrong, Bears on Chairs tackles two important concepts for preschoolers that can sometimes seem to be in conflict: fairness and sharing.

All is well in the pastel world of bears Calico, Fuzzy, Yellow and Floppy. Each is happy to be sitting on his or her own chair. One chair apiece is clearly a fair and equitable distribution of seating resources, but the arrival of Big Brown Bear complicates the situation. How to share four chairs between five bears? After some experimenting, a solution is found to satisfy even the most stringent of pint-sized moralists. All of the bears share by pushing their chairs together into a kind of bench that can hold everybody.

There are many points to talk about as you read this book with your child. How many bears and how many chairs do you see on the cover? How do you think Calico, Fuzzy, Yellow and Floppy got their names? What would you do to help Big Brown Bear? You probably have everything you need at home to keep the story going into playtime with your own stuffed bears and your own chairs.

Check it out! Use Bears on Chairs as a fun way to read, talk and play with your child today.

~ Miss Robin

The Creative Family

Do you like to play, create, sew, imagine, and explore with your children? Having a hard time coming up with just the right project or running out of ideas? Then it is time you checked out The Creative Family and two other inspiring books by Amanda Blake Soule. In her introduction Soule writes about how her need and desire to create was initially sparked when she became pregnant with her first child; how she feels more complete when her creativity is expressed; and most importantly how she has nurtured her children's growing, creative spirits. Soule's book of simple projects and activities is arranged in four parts; gathering, playing, living, and connecting. There are projects for felting, drawing, finger knitting, and weaving; recipes for natural glue, henna and earth dyes; patterns for bedtime bags, birthday banners, and wool blocks. One of my favorite ideas is creating a musical banging wall (outside, of course) made up of pots, pans, plastic bottles and other items found around the house. (see page 196) Soule's writing has inspired and enriched my life. May it do the same for you. Her other books are Handmade Home: simple ways to repurpose old materials into new family treasures and The Rhythm of the Family: discovering a sense of wonder through the seasons.

Miss Julie