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
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
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
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
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 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
A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, effort, and learning, rather than being fixed traits, encouraging individuals to embrace challenges and learn from setbacks. Every once in a while, people give me books by friends or family. This is one of them, and look how cute it is. … More THE YET PET by Theresa Tan
In this version she is taking Brussels sprouts soup to her grandmother. Hahah. Of course, we needed to look at the rules of the woods. 1. Keep to the path 2. Don’t talk to wolves. Oh no! She forgot one of the rules. (Our children felt confident they would never forget that one). What a … More LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD, retold by Susanna Davidson, illustrated by Mike Gordon
This book is a 2018 Caldecot Medal winner. The illustrations are amazing. There are very few words in this book, and really none are needed. The children (even the 2 year olds) were all enthralled. (Notice the Little Red Riding Hood similarity). This reminds me of Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. Who is more … More WOLF IN THE SNOW by Matthew Cordell
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
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
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
This is always a big “crowd pleaser”, the children love this book. Most children love pizza, but did you know they might prefer to be made into one? We had just as much fun as Pete. We kneaded the dough: And stretched it this way and that: Hahahah, we did NOT whirl and twirl! But … More PETE’S A PIZZA by William Steig
We have a spring science table at our school. It is wonderful for hands on learning. The children can watch the caterpillars turn into butterflies, tadpoles turn into frogs, dig for worms, watch the ladybugs, and count the days until the baby chicks hatch. What a wonderful way to show the children the science and … More FIRST THE EGG by Laura Vacarro Seeger WAKE UP, IT’S SPRING! by Lisa Campbell Ernst
Told and sung by The Good Fairy, Illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson There is a reason this is a classic. When you can take a story, and combine it with a song and movements, the children have no idea how much they are learning. It is just pure fun! We wondered what a Good would … More LITTLE BUNNY FOO FOO
Here is a short movie of our week: I believe in imagination. I believe in creative play. Good thing the children love it. We always have so much fun acting out a story after we read it. We are very lucky to have a room across from the library that we can use for stories … More GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS by James Marshall
This week, all of the students worked on part of a collaborative dragon for the Chinese New Year, which we will be learning about next week. So we read about dragons this week! THE PAPER BAG PRINCESS by Robert Munch, Illustrated by Michael Martchenko and IF I HAD A DRAGON by Tom and Amanda Ellery. … More Dragon Fun in the Library…
By Jonathan London, Illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz We had snow in the library… Find cutouts here: http://www.kizclub.com/storypatterns/froggy.pdf We made snow! Lots of fun with frogs and snow! Go here for more ideas to go with this book: