Category Archives: Early Learning

Little Pink Pup

Leave a reply

This book makes me squeal with delight! It’s Little Pink Pup by Johanna Kerby and it’s my new favorite non-fiction book. Pink was the smallest of twelve new piglets. He was so tiny that he couldn’t push his way past his siblings to get to his mother, and he ended up cold and hungry in the barn. His owners brought Pink into the house in hopes that Tink can help him. Tink was a dachshund mama with babies of her own to feed. When she saw little Pink, Tink cuddled him in close and treated him like one of her own puppies. The photos of the  little brown puppies and the little pink piglet snuggling in or playing together are cute beyond words. The last photo in the book showing a healthy, full grown Pink and his teeny but proud dachshund mama makes me happier than a pig in mud. It’s such a great story, and it’s a fantastic example of how engaging well-written informational books can be. Every kid I’ve shared this book with has swooned over little Pink and his doggy foster family, and I’m wondering how many holiday wish lists in my town had “piglet” added to them (sorry, parents!) You may not be in the market to bring home a hog, but you’ll definitely want to pick up Little Pink Pup to share with your little ones.

I’m not the only one feeling the love for Little Pink Pup; it just won the 2011 Children’s Choice Book Awards for Kindergarten – 2nd grade! If you go to author Johanna Kerby’s website, you can see tons of pictures of mama Tink, not-so-little-now Pink, and more of Kerby’s farm animals. I love that this book is a true story of acceptance illustrated with photos taken by the family. Have your little ones bring in family pictures to use as writing prompts – pictures of themselves as babies, pictures of their pets, etc. all will inspire great storytelling and writing. If family photos aren’t an option, consider taking photos in your classroom or library with a digital camera and printing them off to use as story prompts.

I hope that 2012 brings you all peace, joy, and plenty of great children’s books! I am so grateful to share my favorites with you!

For more information about Little Pink Pup, visit johannakerby.com.

So Few of Me

Leave a reply

“Leo was a busy lad. No matter how hard he worked, there was always more to do.” This time of year, I can totally relate to Leo in Peter H. Reynold’s wonderful book, So Few of Me. Some days, I wish I had what Leo had to help – another Leo. In fact, the busier he gets, the more Leos show up to lend a hand. But, more Leos find more and more things that need to get done. By the time the tenth Leo shows up to tackle the ever-growing to-do list, original Leo needs a nap, even though “dreaming was NOT on the list!” Leo realizes, “what if I did less – but did my BEST?” and gives himself time to dream.

Even little ones can relate to that overwhelmed feeling Leo feels in So Few of Me. Leo’s strategy of to-do lists is a good one to model and teach our kids. Now when I do storytimes, even with the 2-year-olds, I have a list that they can see of all the things that will happen during our time together. I made strips with words and pictures that say things like “book” and “song” and I hot-glued magnets to the back so I can stick them on my white board (I save the free magnets from pizza parlors and insurance agents to cut up and glue on). I pull off each activity as we do it so little ones can see how our time is passing. This visual plan is especially helpful for those who have trouble with transitions.

When my own kids were little and we had errands to run, it helped them to have a list for them to hold where they could check off items as we accomplished them. To avoid frustration (and meltdowns at the grocery store or bank), I tried very hard not to squeeze in “just one more” errand and instead I’d stick to the list.  Encourage your little ones to make and use lists of pictures and words. Don’t forget to save room on your to-do list for dreaming!

For more information, visit peterhreynolds.com.

Frosty the Snowman!

Leave a reply

When I sing to my own ‘tweenage kids, they roll their eyes and beg me to stop. But when I sing to preschoolers and kindergartners, I get instant engagement. That’s why I love books that can be sung, like Frosty the Snowman written by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins and illustrated by Richard Cowley.  When I opened this book and started to sing the words to my kindergarten classes, immediately I had kids singing along (including one sweet girl who knew none of the words but still sang “laaa laaa la la laaa!” with vigor and obvious enjoyment.) Fidgeting stopped, and swaying in time to the music began.  Eyes followed each page turn. And when I was done reading Frosty the Snowman, eager hands reached for it so they could sing-read it themselves.

Books that can be sung are perfect to support early readers because they can easily memorize the words and then use that knowledge to match the words they see on the page with what they already know. Frosty the Snowman also has that great, catchy part at the end: “Thumpity-thump-thump, thumpity-thump-thump.” After we read the book, we practiced patting that rhythm on our knees. You can count it as “1-2-3, 1, 1, 1-2-3, 1,1”. For a listening activity that involves movement, you can make up easy patterns for your little ones to hear and copy: “1, 2, 1,2” or “A, B, A, B”. It can become a sequencing activity and a “reading patterns” lesson. I’ve had kids tap out rhythms we write on the board in words: “knees, head, knees, head” or you can assign letters, colors, etc. Kids can read the pattern, predict how it continues, and then tap out the rhythm with hands, pencils, or chopsticks (I asked my local Chinese restaurant to donate 30 pairs and they gave me a huge bagful! Thanks, Golden Buddha!)

Follow up the listening/sequencing activity with a drawing/writing activity. Give students a sheet of paper with this written at the top:
Frosty the Snowman was a jolly, happy soul
With a _________ and a ________ nose and two eyes made out of ________.
Little ones can draw a snowman and fill in the blanks. With so many fun ways to use this book, Frosty the Snowman is sure to warm your kids’ hearts.

Elephants Can Paint, Too!

Leave a reply

I’m trying to use more non-fiction in my storytimes, so when I found Elephants Can Paint, Too  by Katya Arnold, I felt like I’d hit the jackpot. Katya Arnold shows in amazing photos her two different painting classes, one for children and one for elephants. It’s so fun to see on one page a young boy holding a brush in his hand and painting a mural of brightly-colored dots, and on the next page, a similar dot painting being made by an elephant with a brush wrapped tightly in her trunk! There’s large, minimal text for young listeners and more informational text for older readers, but all ages will be astounded by the beautiful art elephants can paint.

The best extension you can do after sharing this book with kids is to let them paint! Get out the watercolors! Try the fingerpaints! (Did you know that if you mix food coloring in with corn syrup, you can make your own edible fingerpaint? Yum!) To exercise both hemispheres of the brain, try painting with your non-dominant hand – just leave the nose-painting to the elephants!

I Had a Favorite Dress

2 Replies

As the season of present-giving draws near, I’d like to mention two books that not only make great gifts, but also talk about the value of making the most of what we have as well as recycling. I Had a Favorite Dress written by Boni Ashburn and illustrated by Julia Denos is a terrific twist on Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.The little girl in the story has outgrown her favorite dress, but her crafty mom uses it to make a cute shirt. When the girl outgrows that, mom uses it to make a tank top, etc. I won’t spoil the ending, but it comes full circle beautifully, making it clear that creativity can help us take minor tragedies and turn them into something wonderful. And not only is it eco-considerate, it even teaches the days of the week! Woohoo, Boni Ashburn and Julia Denos! Purchase “I Had a Favorite Dress”

 

After reading I Had a Favorite Dress to your kids, compare it with the Caldecott-award-winning story, Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. Both stories talk about taking an article of clothing that’s either worn out or outgrown and turning it into something else. Comparing and contrasting the two books will hit the Common Core State Standard of Integrating Knowledge and Ideas and inspire lots of higher level thinking. After all the analytical thinking fun is done (Venn diagram, anyone?), give your students scraps of fabric, scissors, glue, etc., and encourage them to make something from a bit of what looks like nothing much. Encourage everyone in your life to take their old, worn, outgrown clothing and either make something new or donate the items to charity. In the words of Boni Ashburn: “Make molehills out of mountains!”

For more information, visit boniashburn.com, juliadenos.com, or simmstaback.com.