What's on our Bookshelf? Jessna's Picks: ABC is for Circus by Patrick Hruby

 

Jessna is back to share another book pick: ABC is for Circus by Patrick Hruby.  This book is definitely an eye catcher with it's bright colors and shapes.  Jessna immediately took to this book and loves to point at the pictures.  This is a board book and very good for babies, it also introduces kids to the circus!

I love books!

 

What's on our Bookshelf? Jessna's Picks- Tickle Time by Sandra Boynton

I don't post too much about "Little Girl" on this blog, but soon things will be changing. Jessna is one year old now and you will see her face around more often. In fact, I decided to let her have a little spotlight once a month for a book pick. This month Jessna wants to share Tickle Time!: A Boynton on Board Board Book by Sandra Boynton with you.  Everytime I read this to her I tickle her!  She just giggles so cute.  And of course, Sandra always writes enjoyable books for kids. We encourage you to check this one out. 

Jessna is very interested in books and will sit down and look at them for 10 minutes or so.

What's on our Bookshelf? Dog's Colorful Day by Emma Dodd

Dog's Colorful Day: A Messy Story About Colors and Counting by Emma Dodd is about the cutest dog book ever!  This little white dog goes on a walk and gets colorful spots from red jam, blue paint, a green grass stain and much more.  Each time adds one more spot until there are 10 spots.  At the end he gets all washed off.  This book has big and colorful pictures that engage a child through the whole story.  There are so many learning points too with colors and counting.  Hmm, I just might have Shrade make his own book someday!  I recommend you check this one out from your library today.

What's on our Bookshelf? My First BOB Books Pre-reading skills

I have heard of BOB books, but mostly for readers.  This group of books just hit it right with me for my 3 year old!  There are 12 books and they all center around Sally the Circle and her friends as they teach kids about shapes, sorting and classifying, patterns and sequencing.  The books start off at an easy level and increase in difficulty (but not too much for a preschooler).  I was surprised and pleased at how interactive these books were.  I highly recommend these prereading BOB books.  Check them out at the library!

What's on our Bookshelf? Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear?

Jessna and I had fun reading Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Eric Carle.  It's very similar to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, but this one focuses on animals not quite as well known and their sounds.  One thing I learned going to story time is that this book and others like it can be sung to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  How about that?  Learning with singing is always more fun.  Enjoy!

What's on our Bookshelf? My Four Book (My first steps to math)

This month I've been really concentrating on math concepts.  I picked this book up at the library- My four Book - My First Steps to Math and I was really impressed at the simplicity, yet the complexity of teaching math in repeatedly different ways to master one concept.  This book was very interactive and draws the reader to count along with the story.  There is addition, subtraction, and ordinal numbers (first, second, third, fourth).  There is even a little practice page at the end of the story.  And this story centralized around a little boy's visit to the zoo.  It was all very fun and presented some great first steps to math.  I'm excited to explore more of these books.  At my library they have 10.  Happy reading and learning!

What's on our Bookshelf? Tip Tip Dig Dig by Emma Garcia

There is nothing more exciting to me than to read my son a story and have him go back and look through the book.  A few weeks ago the librarian read this book Tip Tip Dig Dig at story time.  I decided to check it out because I knew Shrade would really like the pictures of the construction vehicles and the simple text.  I was never more surprised than after just a few readings he plopped down on the floor and "read" through the book himself, turning pages and remembering most of what the book was about.  I'm so amazed and he was so proud of himself.

Take a look!

What's on our Bookshelf? The Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton

We absolutely love Sandra Boynton books!  This  is another silly one.  This book is about a bunch of hippos who LOVE their belly buttons.  The little hippo calls his "Bee Bo."  Shrade likes to say that part when I come to it.  The funniest thing is when all the hippos go to Belly Button Beach, one of them is wearing a shirt that says Naval Academy.  This is just fun book to talk about belly buttons.  We usually tickle ours after we finish reading!

What's on our Bookshelf? Opposites

Sandra Boynton never disappoints!  This book about opposites not only has adorable pictures and features 2-3 opposites per two page spread, but they all rhyme as well.  I also love the font of the words as it shows exactly what the word is.  Tall is very tall!  This is such a fun way to learn opposites.  So get going and be silly with Sandra Boynton!

What's on our Bookshelf? Hello Bugs!

This book is so cute!  There are several different bugs featured along with their "sounds" of movement.  My son can basically "read" this because all it says is , "hello, bee" and on and on.  At the end it says "good-bye" to the butterfly.  Also, the pictures are dark with shiny colors that catch little brains.  This is perfect for babies and great for pre-reading with toddlers.

What's on our Bookshelf? I Like Fruit by Lorena Siminovich

I Like Fruit: Petit Collage by Lorena Siminovich is a fun touch and feel board book with bright colors and interesting textures.  It focuses on colors and highlights several fruits in that category.  There are also labels for each color and fruit.  At the end enjoy a "fruit salad."  This is a great book for babies and toddlers to look at and also if you have that fruit, experience the taste as well.  Yum!

What's on our Bookshelf? I Can Help by David Hyde Costello

This is an absolutely adorable book that we picked up from the library.  This poor little duck gets lost and another animal says "I can help."  So the duck reunites with his family.  In the meantime this animal needs help and another one comes along.  This happens for several jungle animals until the duck again helps one of the animals but gets lost himself.  At the end they all help duck to find his family.  My son enjoys this book because he gets to say, "I can help."  And he knows exactly when it's coming!

What's on our Bookshelf? Truck by Donald Crews

There is nothing that excites my son more than finding a book that captures his attention with abandon.  Truck is that book right now!  The most wonderful thing about this book is that it has no words and so it is open ended for great discussion.  However, there are many signs and vehicles that make this story a great way to teach your child to tell a story.  We also learn about the different avenues of travel such as the tunnel, uphill, downhill, interchange and fog.  My son is learning to recognize signs in our world as we point them out because he has seen them so many times in this book.  This is definitely a boy book, but girls would benefit too!  Enjoy!

What's on our Bookshelf? All Fall Down by Helen Oxenbury

This book had my son begging for more!  There are only 4 short phrases in this book but we made the fun last for 20 minutes!  So, I read this story and each page has an action.  My son went wild with delight with the singing, running, bouncing and falling down.  He kept saying "More, more!"  The other day I pulled it out again and he grabbed a pillow (which is what we bounced on) and off we went.  He absolutely loves Ring Around the Rosies and the falling down part.  So this book was perfect for my 2 year old who needed to release some energy.

What's on our Bookshelf? City 123 by Zoran Milich

Zoran Milich's book City 123 is an outstanding photo journal of numbers in a city.  There is one page that has numbers 1-10 written out and with dots under the number that is shown in the picture as well as the number word itself.  My 2 year old son was able to count the dots and also look for the number in the picture.  Also, each photo page has a number that has that many objects to count.  There are even some pages with numbers in order to count that you would see in the city.  This book has fantastic photography and one page is dedicated to the firefighters of Engine 8 Ladder 2 from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.  Check out this spectacular book filled with many learning opportunities and be amazed at all the numbers in our world that you find on your adventures!

What's on Our Bookshelf? Tall by Jez Alborough

Next to Hug, Tall is one of the cutest books for babies and toddlers!  This is about a little monkey that is small, but wants to be tall.  Everytime he thinks he's tall, he sees someone taller and becomes sad.  Eventually he falls and his mama catches him.  That's when being small seems just right.  This book worked great for our Jungle theme and my son learned about being small and tall.  He even pretended to be Bobo on our recent hike and he's named one of his stuffed monkeys Bobo and re-creates the story in our home.

What's on Our Bookshelf? Monkey and Me

This book Monkey and Me is so adorable!  It is a rhythm and rhyme story that features a little girl and her stuffed monkey and what they pretend to be.  It's really fun for the reader to guess what the little girl and monkey are posing as before turning the page.  It would also be a fun book to act out as well.  Happy reading!

What's on our Bookshelf? The Noisy Counting Book

This is such a cute book!  Not only does your toddler learn how to count, but they also learn all the special sounds of animals and insects that live around the pond.  I read this book and my son always laughs.  The more I read it, the more he gets involved in all the sounds.  He especially loves the frog- Ga Dunk!  He also learned a new word to say- Quiet.  This is a great book about a boy who decides to go fishing and one by one the pond animals start making noise until he yells- QUIET!  See what happens after that.  :)

Check it out: NOISY COUNTING BOOK (Tough Enough for Toddlers)

What's on Our Bookshelf? Ten Red Apples

Oh, my goodness, this book is TOO cute!  This month we are focusing on apples as part of our "curriculum."  I blindly picked this up at the library since it had apples in it and it looks like it had some counting.  Oh, but there is so much more!  First of all, the author is Pat Hutchins who also authored Rosie'S Walk.  This had to be an all time favorite for me as a teacher. 

Well, Ten Red Apples is equally enjoyable and very educational.  There is a farmer who is so proud of his apple tree that has ten red apples.  He says, "Yippee, fiddle-dee-fee.  Along come different animals on the farm and pluck an apple from the tree.  Each time we learn the name of an animal, how it chews and what sound it makes.  The farmer is distraught and yells after each one, "Save some for me!"  We also learn about counting and subtraction.  At the end, the farmer's wife is sad because there are no apples left for her to make a pie until the farmer discovers another apple tree!

The story is cute with lots of repetition and the illustrations are simple and colorful.  My 21 month old son loves this book and we are using it to count apples, learn about animals on the farm, and practicing new vocabulary.  I would recommend this book from ages 2-6.  Enjoy!

What's on Our Bookshelf? (Guest Post) Grandma Drove the Garbage Truck

We read a number of books about the Fourth of July this week. Grandma Drove the Garbage Truck by Katie Clark was our favorite by far. Grandma usually runs the office and her sons drive the truck and collect the garbage. One July 4th all three of her sons are sick and it is up to Grandma and her grandson Billy to collect the garbage before the parade. There is a problem. Grandma can barely see over the steering wheel of the truck and she doesn't drive well. She gets her mailbox, one neighbor's roses, and another neighbor's clothes line wrapped around her truck in her attempt to collect garbage. She also ends up at the front of the parade with a ribbon for Most Creative Float. JDaniel thought this book was really funny.

I decided to make JDaniel a garbage truck and have him decorate it. He had a blast.

I drew the garbage truck on cardboard.

JDaniel painted it with Bingo markers.

He added stickers to decorate his truck.

This was contributed by JDaniel4's Mom who has a wonderful blog of many fun learning activities and giveaways too! Thank you!!