Retold by Susanna Davidson, Illustrated by Mike Gordon Queen Library here. This is a story about my great, great grandfather. In preschool, our job is to provide building blocks. One of these blocks is introducing the children to classic stories. They may not understand all of the lessons from these stories now. But if they… More THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES by Hans Christian Andersen
In a world of globalization, it is important that our children learn about other cultures. This week we celebrated Italy. The food, the historical sites, and the language. How fun! In the library, we read Pasta Pasta Lotsa Pasta. We looked at all the pastas from the book. Do you know them all? Do you… More PASTA PASTA LOTSA PASTA by Aimee Lucido, illustrations by Mavisu Demirag
The last week before Christmas break is always busy. Christmas concerts, parties and all sorts of activities. So I thought I would keep it simple and have some Pigeon fun! The children always have fun saying NO to the pigeon. Not to mention some good ole’ belly laughing! Our Vocabulary word: NO Pigeon! The Easter… More DON’T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE SLIEGH! By Mo Willems
This is an old Brothers Grimm story that highlights helping, giving and receiving. Our vocabulary word. What a great word, and to hear the children (at least try to) say it is priceless. Which shoes do you want? Elves! Giving AND receiving, both make us happy. Are the elves going to your house? On the… More THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER by Jim LaMarche… More THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER by Jim LaMarche
It is a simple theme this week. Thanksgiving, and remembering to give and say THANKS! My favorite page of this book: This colorful picture book has some wonderful rhymes (remember: rhyming is a building block of reading). Our vocabulary word – perfect for Thanksgiving! Beatrix has so many cousins: Lots of empathy. On the projector… More BEAR SAYS THANKS by Karma Wilson, Illustrated by Jane Chapman
This is a widely popular book with our students. It is brightly illustrated and funny. It seems to get their attention instantly. You know I love to make reading and learning fun – this book does that! Our vocabulary word. I also had a basket of leaves to show what rustling leaves sound like. (Sorry… More THE LEAF THIEF by Alice Hemming, illustrated by Nicola Slater
Last spring I attended a preschool education conference. A very talented and inspiring speaker, https://playtolearnpreschool.us, was giving away literacy sets from https://rallyfeltco.com, via numbers under our seats. How thrilled was I to win this!? You know it is one of my favorites. Retelling a story is so important for our emerging readers. I have not… More THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF by Mara Alperin, illustrated by Kate Pankhurst
There were ghosts in the library this week as we celebrated Halloween and The Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead is celebrated mostly in Mexico. It honors loved ones who have passed away. The children loved this book. It is cute, colorful and just a little spooky. I think almost every child… More GUSTAVO THE SHY GHOST, by Flavia Z. Drago
We wrapped up our community helper month with a fire truck visit and a book to go with it. Our vocabulary word was handline. If you watch the video above, toward the end, you will see the firefighter showing us their handline. We talked about fire safety. Do we touch a hot flame of any… More A FIRE TRUCK’S DAY, by Lily Schell, Illustrated by Mike Byrne
Did you know I like monster books? Probably because the children do. This one is so cute and interactive, they loved it! You know Miss Library is not happy. This monster is eating the book! Yes B eats paper too – but not from a book. I especially like these next few pages because the… More THERE’S A MONSTER IN YOUR BOOK, by Tom Fletcher, illustrated by Greg Abbott
In music class at our school, Miss Jennifer told me she likes to incorporate a German-Octoberfest theme. She plays polka music for her students. I thought it would be fun to do the same in the library! What better story than Grimm’s classic of Hansel and Gretel? (This James Marshall version makes it fun and… More HANSEL AND GRETEL by James Marshall
Look at this brightly colored and beautiful illustrated book. It brings art, music and culture together. Our vocabulary word: “You can always make something out of nothing” This book is based on a song: Here is the version of the song I played: We danced like Joseph might have danced at his nephew’s wedding (to… More JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE OVERCOAT by Simms Taback
It is Hispanic Heritage Month! What is more fun than a well known bilingual fairytale? Our vocabulary word this week was lobo (wolf in Spanish): Flamenco dancers on the projector: During my afternoon classes, we looked at a few more Three Little Pigs books. We also acted out the story. We made wolf puppets: And… More LOS TRES CERDITOS/THE THREE LITTLE PIGS, adapted by Luz Oriheulo, illustrated by Maria Ruiz
Jack and the Beanstalk, retold by Carol Ottolenghi, illustrated by Guy Porfirio As long as I have “Jack” still hanging down from the library ceiling, I have to read this story. The children love it. We have so much fun, stomping and acting out being the giant in the book. Five magic beans! Fee, fi,… More Jack and the Beanstalk Returns to the Library!
How could I not bring a real chicken into the library with this story? I had to explain what a light bulb means to most of the children (see page below). Our vocabulary word for this book was flock. Looks like fun to me! We colored and glued feathers on a chicken during my after… More CHICKEN STORY TIME by Sandy Asher, illustrated by Mark Fearing
The end of the year always comes upon us, fast and furious. And as always I am ready, but not ready. I am never ready to let go of the students leaving. This week I thought we would just have some plain old simple bubble fun! Parents, don’t be mad at me, but I did… More BUBBLES, BUBBLES EVERYWHERE by Dwight Kuhn and Melvin Berger
A few months ago, I asked my director if she would consider “flying” the children at our school to Paris, because I had this cute book about Paris that I wanted to read. (When she she taught, she would usually take a “trip” somewhere with her children). She said yes! In my mind I had… More EVERYBODY BONJOURS by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Sarah McMenemy
A classic fairy tale, originally written by Hans Christian Andersen. I love the illustrations in this book. It is also simple and easy for the children to follow. After the story we looked at a real pea. How did the princess feel this under twenty mattresses? Each child then got to see if they were… More THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA retold by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Emily Bolam
Earth Day was on Monday, but we know everyday should really be Earth Day, right? We celebrated our Earth all week long. How perfect that our chicks hatched this week too! This is our 7th year hatching chickens. It is truly such a wonder, and never gets old. The children have been so engaged -but… More OUR EARTH by Anne Rockwell
Miss Library’s Sister, Mother Goose is always happy to see all of the children! Each child jumped over a candlestick to get into the library (and took home this card so they could jump at home!): Mother Goose reminded the children how she gets around (on her goose of course) and where she lives(in this… More Mother Goose reading LITTLE LUMPTY by Miko Imai
It was FARM WEEK at our school! This was a wonderful opportunity to make sure the children know their farm animals, and the sounds of each one. Who does not like to make farm animal noises? Our vocabulary word from this story was SNOUT. I am not sure why, but I love this word. Lots… More A DAY AT GREENHILL FARM by Sue Nicholson
This is a funny little Easter book that has some subtle character lessons in it for the children. Cat is JEALOUS (our vocabulary word) of the Easter Bunny. He chooses a motorcycle to get around, which of course the children love. He also puts together a snazzy outfit. But Cat soon learns how hard he… More HERE COMES THE EASTER CAT by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Claudia Rueda… More HERE COMES THE EASTER CAT by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Claudia Rueda
It is Spring! Have you heard the birds? Have you seen any nests? It is a short week for us (conferences), so I thought this Mo Willems book would be perfect for the first week of spring. My favorite thing to do for this book is to have the children tell me the title of… More THERE IS A BIRD ON YOUR HEAD by Mo Williams
We went on safari this week in the library! This is a fun and silly story and perfect for identifying and talking about animals. The illustrator is one of my favorites – Peter H. Reynolds. The pictures are colorful and expressive. I like to stop at this point. It would seem that this story is… More WHAT TO DO IF AN ELEPHANT STANDS ON YOUR FOOT by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
GREEN EGGS AND HAM by Dr. Seuss. We started our Dr. Seuss week with a wonderful parade. The Kindergarten class made a large birthday cake and Trufulla trees, and the TK class made a Dr. Seuss Hat (all made in maker space): Every year, I swear I am going to choose another book for the… More I DO SO LIKE GREEN EGGS AND HAM. THANK YOU! THANK YOU, SAM-I -AM
This book was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1986. A bathtub be can such a wonderful place of play and imagination for children, and this book reminds us of that. I love the illustrations. Before we even start the story, we can see the outside of the castle and the King bathing. I love how… More KING BIDGOOD’S IN THE BATHTUB by Audrey Wood, Illustrated by Don Wood
Happy Lunar New Year! The year of the DRAGON! The dragon represents power, strength, good luck and wisdom. I love learning and teaching about other cultures. The Lunar New Year is a fun one. The Lunar New Year is celebrated in many Asian cultures but this story takes us to China. They “sweep, mop and… More DRAGON DANCE by Joan Holub, illustrated by Benrei Huana
Another classic tale, this story is repetitive and easy for the children to remember. Wonderful for language, pre-literacy skills, brain development, creativity AND just fun! After the story we used this cute little set to retell the story (and they will stay in the library for the next few weeks for the children to continue… More THE THREE LITTLE PIGS by James Marshall
After we read the story, we had a lot of fun pretending to be Goldilocks and The Three Bears, acting out the story. Experts say that play based learning is the fastest way our little ones learn. This is a perfect example. The children are having so much fun, and have no idea how much… More THE THREE BEARS by Paul Galdone
This book was a Caldecott Medal winner in 1964. There is a reason children still love this book. I love this book. It captures emotions and imagination so well. “Let the wild rumpus start”…best line ever. Personally, I think we all need a little more rumpus in our lives. 🙂 …and it was still hot!… More WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak