Jerry Pinkney is a Caldecott Award–winning author and illustrator, and his illustrations are stunning. His version of The Tortoise and the Hare is set in the desert, which allowed us to explore deserts and cacti. We also talked about the difference between a turtle and a tortoise, and a rabbit and a hare. I personally think we all … More THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE by Jerry Pinkney
Happy Lunar New Year! It is the year of the HORSE! We started our celebration at our preschool by taking a “flight to China”. We visited some famous sites and learned more about China. We also had a big parade to celebrate. The kindergarten class made this beautiful dragon, and the TK class made the … More THE TRUTH ABOUT DRAGONS by Julie Leung, Illustrated by Hanna Cha
Years ago, I installed this into the library. It is certainly looking a little worn, but the children still love it and want to know all about it. So of course, I had to find yet another version of Jack and the Beanstalk. This is my 6th version of the story! I love this story … More JACK AND THE BEANSTALK by Katie Daynes, illustrated by Paddy Mounter
I like to start this book asking about this picture. What season is it? How do you know? Do you see footprints in the snow? Who could they belong to? Is that a cave? Could a bear be sleeping in it? And then we can talk a little about hibernation. Our vocabulary word: It would … More BEAR SNORES ON by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
This week we read another classic Aesop fable. The older children were able to begin understanding the moral behind the story, while for the younger children I simply focused on introducing the story itself. It is a wonderful story for opening up conversations about honesty, lying, and the consequences our choices can have. Our vocabulary … More THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF by Mairi Mackinnon, illustrated by Mike and Carl Gordon
Welcome to Italian week! We started our week with a flight to Italy. Each student had their own passport and a boarding pass. Each child had a seat on the “plane”, our flight attendant and captain shared a safety video and facts about Italy. When the children arrived to Italy, they were all given cameras … More PASTA PLEASE! By Melvin Berger
Did you know that even a wordless book helps a preschooler learn? I love wordless books—there is something so satisfying about simply taking in beautiful illustrations. When we read wordless books with young children, they are still following a story, but they are creating it in their own minds. Some children already have the words … More THE SNOWMAN by Raymond Briggs
Christmas time at a preschool can be both wonderful and chaotic—full of loud, joyful noise. Between parties, concerts, Santa visits, and pure excitement, the days are busy and full. This book felt like the perfect choice to offer the children a small slice of calm and quiet amid all the holiday bustle. Mysterious was our … More THE CHRISTMAS QUIET BOOK, by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Renata Liwska
How does Santa go down the chimney? Isn’t that the question every child has asked for as long as anyone can remember? And they are still asking. What if you don’t have a chimney? This is a cute, funny book that addresses these questions. And of course, Mrs. Clause knows all. Does he go headfirst? … More HOW DOES SANTA GO DOWN THE CHIMNEY? by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
I love reading The Nutcracker with preschoolers, because it is about imagination, music, movement, emotions, culture, and the warmth of tradition. So many wonderful things included for our young learners. This page really got the attention of the children. Always the most favorite scene! The battle. Brave Marie. Land of the Sweets! I have an old toe … More THE NUTCRACKER by Susan Jeffers
Happy Thanksgiving! Did you know dinosaurs celebrated too? I used this book to talk about traditions. Traditions play an important role in children’s lives. They give children a sense of security, stability, and identity that’s grounded in family and culture. Sharing these experiences can strengthen relationships and can boost their confidence and social skills. Traditions … More DINO-THANKSGIVING by Lisa Wheeler, illustrations by Barry Gott
Did you know Aesop was an ancient Greek storyteller who was originally a slave? His stories have been around for thousands of years. They all teach a moral lesson, and it seems these morals are truly timeless. I read a book that referenced this fable, and it made me wonder whether this story is still … More THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGGS by Mairi Mackinnon, illustrated by Daniel Howarth
We are a play-based school. Sometimes I have to remind myself how important play is. This book is a lovely reminder. “Play-based learning is crucial in early childhood because it fosters cognitive, social, and emotional development through natural exploration and creativity. It enhances problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity, while also helping children develop essential social … More NOT-A-BOX-CITY by Antoinette Portis
It was a busy and fun week, wrapping up with our Halloween celebrations! This is a simple, not-too-scary book that I thought would be just perfect for this week. Jan Brett is one of my favorite illustrators. Our vocabulary word was growl. We practiced our growls and howls, so that the children could understand the … More SCARY, SCARY HALLOWEEN by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Jan Brett
We continued to celebrate our community helpers this month by reading this book and learning about fire safety. Fireman Small saved the cat! We all put up our hands and shouted “hooray” too! This book has wonderful rhymes and repeats, so the children can say it with me. (They don’t need to know rhyming and … More FIREMAN SMALL by Wong Herbert Yee
October is Community Helper Month! We are so lucky to have officers on duty at our school! This past week, they brought their police vehicles for us to explore and showed us their uniforms. We want to take a moment to thank our police officers for keeping us safe and for taking the time to … More THE POLICE STATION by Aaron Carr
Since October is the “spooky” month, I decided this might be a great book to read together. This little girl is convinced there are all sorts of scary things in her backyard. I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t take much for my mind to wander down that same spooky path! Our children have … More SPOOKY EERIE NIGHT NOISE by Mona Rabun Reeves, illustrated by Paul Yalowitz
We’re so lucky to have dear friends and family who help us navigate life when things go awry. We might talk about it, shout about it, remember it, laugh about it, hide from it, even think about throwing everything away or making someone else suffer. But often, what we really need is someone to simply … More THE RABBIT LISTENED by Cori Doerrfeld
We celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month at our school! It was so fun. This book is a simple, brightly colored, fun, bilingual book. The kids loved it. Hopefully they learned a few new words in Spanish. If nothing else, I think it is important to expose children to other languages. We reviewed most of the words … More I’M HUNGRY! TENGO HAMBRE! By Angela Dominguez
Creativity Courage Collaboration We celebrated International Dot Day! Dot day is a day that encourages creativity, courage, and collaboration by inspiring people of all ages to “make their mark,” beginning with just a small dot, and to share their creativity with the world. But really shouldn’t every day be Dot Day? We started the story by … More THE DOT by Peter H. Reynolds
I am sure it will come as no surprise that I absolutely love libraries. When my children were young, one of our favorite outings was to the library to gather stacks of books (mostly so I wouldn’t have to read the same ones over and over again—haha!). I hope you will consider making the library … More FROGGY GOES TO THE LIBRARY by Jonathan London, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz
“We’ve got spirit, yes we do. We’ve got spirit how about you?” The first day of school can be so exciting! We all wake up, get dressed, have breakfast and zip up our backpacks. (We were able to also make some fun noises with this book). The first day can also be a little scary. … More I GOT THE SCHOOL SPIRIT by Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Frank Morrison
Last year my sister Mother Goose came for a visit. Little did she know, that a little half elf-half fairy came along in her pocket. He loved St. James so much he decided to stay! He also invited other fairies to join. So now we have fairies everywhere! Look closely and you will see Mr. … More GOOD NIGHT FAIRIES by Kathleen Hague, illustrations by Michael Hague
The winner of the 2023 Caldecott Medal and a cute summer book. Poor dog is soooo hot. We had some fun making all the sound effects from these pages. She seems like a caring dog mom. We practiced calling a taxi too. A train. A boat. A pier. Where are we? So much fun. Oh … More HOT DOG by Doug Salati
We have been celebrating Mothers all week! Happy Mother’s Day! You know this illustration makes me happy. Is there any better way to spend time with your child? We identified the mommies and their babies. And of course all the wonderful things our mothers do with us and for us. Come on moms, let your … More I LOVE MY MOMMY BECAUSE… by Laurel Porter-Gaylord, illustrated Ashley Wolff
If you don’t know Doreen Cronin and Click, Clack Moo – you need to go look that book up now. They are cute, clever and funny books. The kind that are just as fun for the adults to read as the children. This one does not disappoint. Our vocabulary word (no, it is not a … More GIGGLE, GIGGLE, QUACK by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin
Happy Earth Day/Week/Year! Because really Earth Day should be everyday right? I want to give a big shoutout to Eleanor who brought this book to my attention. The beautiful illustrations of our Earth, combined with the sweet emotions of compassion and love make this an ideal book for Earth Day. Especially during a time where … More BENEATH by Cori Doerrfeld
A simple fun Easter book. I had planned this book months ago, and surreptitiously it was the book I needed for B’s transition (to becoming the Easter Bunny). Just like Santa, we know The Easter Bunny needs help as well. There go the helper bunnies to our houses! Our vocabulary word: After we read the … More THE BERENSTAIN BEARS MEET THE EASTER BUNNY by Mike Berenstain
This week, we read another classic Hans Christian Andersen story. This book is a simplified version of the story. Older children can grasp some of the lessons from this book. These include not judging others by how they look. Also about self-acceptance and just treating others nicely, no matter what we look like or do. … More THE UGLY DUCKLING by Mara Alperin, illustrated by Sue Eastland
Bonjour! For French week, what better book than the classic Madeline? A Caldecott Honor Book from 1940! The rhymes are wonderful. The older children were thrilled to point them out to me. Notre Dame and The Luxembourg Gardens: I will give you once guess why the children rolled around laughing after I read this page. How our … More MADELINE by Ludwig Bemelmans