Happy Mother’s Day! We have been celebrating all of the moms this week at school. What better story to read than this one — a beautiful reminder that love, care, and kindness make a mama – human or animal! To all the mamas of every kind… we celebrate you. 💕 Steven Kellogg’s illustration include other … More IS YOUR MAMA A LLAMA? By Deborah Guarino, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
The end of the year brings a special kind of chaos — high energy and excitement is in the air. This book seems like the perfect antidote: simple, gorgeous, and quietly calming amid all the buzz. We started this book by listening to this robin singing near the window. Even the older children liked to … More BIRDS by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek
It was Farm Week. Our chicks hatched for us on Monday – perfect timing. “Farmer Library” told the story this week. The Grumpy Morning? Another Grumpy book? (Last week we read Grumpy Monkey). What is going on? Oh – they are just hungry!? The children identified the farm animals they saw on each page. I … More The Grumpy Morning by Pamela Duncan Edwards, Illustrated by Darcia Labrosse
At this age, many children are still figuring out what “grumpy” really means. They can recognize the mood—they feel it, they see it—but they don’t always have the vocabulary or emotional awareness to name it in themselves. That’s what makes Jim such a lovable and relatable character. The children have no trouble spotting his grumpiness, … More GRUMPY MONKEY by Suzanne Lang, illustrated by Max Lang
Another Aesop fable! (If you are not familiar with Aesop, please see link at the end of the blog). This is a nice story to talk to preschoolers about the difference between the country and the city. I also liked this story because I could ask questions, and have the children really look and think. … More THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE retold by Susanna Davidson, illustrated by Jacqueline East
The Three Little Pigs is one of my favorite stories to read to the children. This well-known tale helps them grow as early readers. The repeating text gives children confidence. They begin to anticipate the words, join in with the phrases, and quickly memorize key parts of the story. Before long, they aren’t just listening — … More THE THREE LITTLE PIGS by Mara Alperin, illustrated Ag Jatkowska
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