Hooray!
Here is a recent find for Beginning Readers: I’m always on the lookout for books that beginning readers can successfully read on their own. These books offer clear photos that closely correspond to the text and offer enough repetition to build reader confidence, while also offering enough variety that the reader (and listening adult aren’t bored.
Hooray!
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I recently discovered the whimsy and wisdom of Author and Illustrator Peter Reynolds. Here are three books that are worth sharing with young readers: THE DOT When Vashti becomes discouraged with her drawing skills, a gifted teacher encourages her, inspires her and ultimately teaches her to pass on the lesson to others. ISH Not perfect? No problem. Draw beautifulish pictures. Write wonderfulish poems. Dance magicalish movments. A gloryfulish life awaits you! GUYKU This is a year of haiku for boys and it captures the fun, adventure, and discovery that awaits anyone with an ear for beauty and a heart for nature. My boys have the math curse. - When I tell my 6 year old asks what time Dad will be home-- he translates the time to the number of minutes until arrival. - When shopping with my 8 year old -- he races to tally the total cost before the cash register. It’s a bit like living inside a math story-problem 24/7 -- which is exactly what happens in Jon Scieszka's MathCurse. The main character, in this imaginative picture book, is sucked into a world where everything he looks at, or thinks about, becomes a math problem.
Stopping to by a chocolate bar on the way from home, I reach into his pocket and find a $5, 1 $1 bill, a quarter and a penny. George Washington is on both the quarter and the $1. Abraham Lincoln is on the penny and the $5 bill. So which is true: a) 1 Washington equals 25 Lincolns b) 5 Washington equals 1 Lincoln. c) Washington equals 100 Lincoln. d) 1 Lincoln equals 20 Washington's. Entertaining, mind teasing, and humorous -- your math lover is sure to enjoy this book x 2. Attention Teachers and Parents of Toddlers: Marc Brown's cutie of a book, Hand Rhymes, is a home run when it comes to early literacy activities at home and school. Each page of this book offers a simple poem, an illustration, and directions for hand movements to accompany the reading.
Great as a birthday gift for young children -- Match this title with Brown's other books, Finger Rhymes & Play Rhymes, and you are well on your way to early reading fun. This home-school Goddess I call friend (and family) recommended Joy Hakim’s “A History of US”. I checked out several of the Hakim’s books and discovered that my oldest son’s school uses them as well. Packed with information, maps, pictures, and reproductions of original documents – both my sons and I enjoyed the series. Perhaps the history buff at your house will too.
I love a good mystery. Always have. Growing up I remember reading the Encyclopedia Brown series and (you guessed it) I’ve passed them along to my own boys. In each Encyclopedia book, readers will find a handful of short mysteries starring the smart, teenage detective. All the clues are in the story with the answers revealed in the back pages of the book - so folks can make their own guess before the solution is unveiled. Other ideas for mystery lovers… HBO had a TV series based on these books in the late 80’s. Those shows can now be found on VHS tape at the local library and are fun to watch after completing the book series. These videos are hokey, cheesy, and all around painful to watch if you are a lover of quality acting. My boys failed to notice my groans however, and instead paid close attention to the clues hidden within each mystery. Bug Meany’s gang does resort to name calling (and Sally lands a few well-aimed punches in defense of her friend), so I wouldn’t call these videos squeaky clean, but as a follow-up activity to reading the books I’d give the videos a B- for entertainment purposes. This 30 Second Mysteries board game is for children ages 8 and up. Each game card features one case, a question to be answered and four clues that will lead players to the answer. Two readers can play or two teams of readers can compete. For older readers (high school +), Ken Weber has a series of Five Minute Mysteries that follow much of the same format of short-story with final question and answers in the back of the book. Fun for road trips, campfire chats, and short reads that make you use your noggin to discover “Whodunit?” And for online reading: Mystery.net provides short online stories for children, teen and adults. Read the mystery, click on the answer you believe to be true and then read the revealed answer (as well as the stats for how many other people got it right). It can be a tricky task to find reading material for beginning readers. You want to provide books with simple words for decoding, but not so simple that the storyline is boring. You want to have simple pictures to help the reader understand the story, but not so simple that they aren’t interesting to explore with your eyes. Recently, our family hit upon these lovely Brand New Reader Books that fit the bill perfectly. Sitting down with the 'Ethan' series, I found that my son was able to practice the three basic skills for young readers and also get a good giggle from the storyline. Spoiler alert: In "Ethan's Bike" each new picture shows an additional band-aide on the new bike rider. What are those three skills? 1) The link between letters and sounds. In fancy talk that’s called “Phonics.” In practice, it’s “Sound it out.” 2) Understanding the meaning and flow of the story. Teacher word= “Context Clues.” Mommy words= “Does that make sense?” 3) Understanding how the pictures correspond to the text “Visual Cues” or “Picture Clues” Saying “What is that?” while pointing to the picture. How does this look in action? (Give or take the adorable toes that bounce to each spoken word.) Where can your reader get these beautiful books? The publisher sells them directly at: http://www.brandnewreaders.com/ Amazon gives you a discount at: http://www.amazon.com The public library has them for FREE: http://catalog.ccrls.org Sarah may be plain, but Patricia MacLachlan’s writing in this classic tale is anything but. This perfect home (or school) read-aloud unfolds like beautiful poetry. Word choice and tempo draw the listener to the Kansas prairie and introduce characters that will soon be loved. Skillfully crafted, MacLachlan’s writing also leaves just as much unsaid as is said -- a tricky line to walk in children’s books, but done here with grace and precision. Follow-up activities abound for teachers and home-schoolers, and for those looking to read even more - Sarah’s story continues in Skylark, Caleb's Story, More Perfect than the Moon, and Grandfather's Dance. My family, of course, followed the reading of these books with the watching of the movie version. If you think you liked Caleb on the page, wait until you see this cutie on the screen!! When Joshua’s family leaves Missouri in hopes of finding a new home in the Oregon territory, his grandfather gives him a journal so that the young boy can record “the good and the not-so-good.” Thus begins the My America series by Author Patricia Hermes which illustrates the joys and tragedies of travel along the Oregon Trail. My eight year-old first found these books, but I too have enjoyed reading the first-person, journal-entry formats. The themes of life and death, growing-up, caring for others, and greed are explored through Joshua’s young eyes with a wonderful innocence. After several losses among the wagon train, the boy begins to understand a glimmer of the worry his mother must feel for him and his young sister. As an admittedly overprotective-mother, I was touched by the story that unfolds over the trail, in Oregon City, and as the family builds their new home.
After reading all three books in this series, my son and I talked about the relationships in the books and how they are similar and different than our own. In books (and life) I have great respect for any boy’s journey to becoming a man. How have I not yet blogged about Charlotte’s Web? This classic is such a perfect classroom and family read aloud – its almost criminal to not sing its praises. Generations of readers have entered the wonderful barnyard world created by E.B. White and have cheered for Charlotte, Wilbur, and even Templeton. With this book, E.B. White created a cultural icon. Yearly, my children I attend the State Fair and make a beeline for the pig stall in the agriculture barn. In fall, we gaze at the spider webs on the front porch and appreciate the arachnid handy work. At petting zoos, we assume the resident pig is named Wilbur and when we call it such – everyone within earshot smiles.
Readers across the world have enjoyed this story. Children as young as 3 will delight in the storytelling. School activities are limitless around this classic tale. Isn’t it time you shared it with a young reader you know? |
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