Storytime Standouts Weblog - Raising Children Who Love to Read!

Alfalfabet A to Z The Wonderful Words from Agriculture
written by Carol Watterson, illustrated by Michela Sorrentino
Published by British Columbia Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation
This home gown alphabet book offers an amazing bounty of fresh, delicious and nutritious treats for young readers. Great for children who are learning the alphabet, Alfalfabet A to Z also offers all sorts of valuable information for older children, their parents and teachers. A perfect accompaniment to your next farm, orchard or veggie store visit.

Guess Again written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex
Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Phonemic awareness is a key to early reading success for young children. It is the understanding that words are made up of sounds and the ability to pick out and manipulate those sounds. When we read rhyming books to young children, we help to develop their phonemic awareness.

Guess Again is nothing at all like a “typical’ rhyming book – there are far too many surprises in store – especially if you listen carefully to the clues. Really good fun!

Guess Again! at Amazon.ca

Violet
Written by Tania Duprey Stehlik, illustrated by Vanja Vuleta Jovanovic
Published by Second Story Press
When Violet attends her first day at a new school, she meets red, yellow and blue children but she doesn’t see any purple children. Upon returning home, her mother explains, “I am red and daddy is blue and you, my beauty, are a bit of us both.” Together, they play with paints and discover that many beautiful colours are created through mixing. Simply told, Violet is a lovely story that reminds us of the richness and splendor of a diverse community.

Violet at Amazon.ca

For many adults, books are a great source of information as well as entertainment. Whether searching for a delicious recipe, researching an upcoming family vacation or deciding if a visit to the doctor is necessary, books can be inspiring, entertaining, informative and reassuring.

Just as adults seek information from books, children gain understanding and confidence as they explore new and unfamiliar situations through books. Whether heading off to preschool or elementary school, there are many delightful picture books available to help you and your child make the transition with relative ease.

Ready, Set, Preschool!
Written by Anna Jane Hays, illustrated by True Kelley

Ready, Set, Preschool! features stories , poetry and detailed illustrations that will enable youngsters to explore a typical preschool classroom, experience a field trip, observe playground activities and more. As well, the illustrations and text offer opportunities to practice counting, identifying colours, shapes, recognize rhyming words, the alphabet and letter sounds.

Extensive notes for parents provide helpful suggestions of ways to extend learning and prepare young children for their first school experience.

Ready, Set, Preschool!: Stories, Poems and Picture Games with an Educational Guide for Parents at Amazon.ca

Off to First Grade
Written by Lousie Borden, illustrated by Joan Rankin

I can still recall vividly a recommendation that was made when I attended my eldest son’s kindergarten orientation: make sure your child is not expecting to ride the school bus to school (unless he actually is going to climb aboard)! It was great advice. In those days he was captivated by large vehicles. Discovering at the last minute that he would not be riding the bus to school could have been terribly disappointing. The transition from kindergarten to grade one is explored thoroughly and with thoughtfulness in Off to First Grade. The author tells the story from a variety of perspectives. We discover some children will ride the bus and others will walk. Some are eager to begin grade one and a few think they would rather stay in kindergarten. Mrs. Miller is hoping to remember everyone’s name, the school bus driver is excited and the principal wonders which book to read aloud to the new grade one students.

Off to First Grade at Amazon.ca

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?
Written by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague

The latest How Do Dinosaurs title by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague is How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? Here the reader visits a conventional elementary school. The school, its staff and students appear quite unremarkable except for eight or ten extraordinary pupils. Enormous creatures from the Jurassic period demonstrate proper behavior enroute to school, on the stairs, in the classroom, during show-and-tell and at the playground. Lots of funosaurus for dino fans.

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? at Amazon.ca

As adults, we tend to think of reading and learning to read as a book-based exercise. Keep in mind that children learn in a variety of ways and providing tactile* experiences is one way to help your child to learn letters.

Try the following…

Put 5 wooden letters or fridge magnets into a bag. Ask your child to feel the letters and pull out the one you are helping him to learn. As he feels the letters in the bag, talk about the letter he is hoping to find. Does it feel curvy, straight or bumpy?

Encourage your child to build letters. She could use Lego, K’Nex,Tinkertoys, popsicle sticks or pipe cleaners. Building letters will help your child to notice how letters are alike and different.

Have your child make letters in sand or shaving cream. Alternatively, use masking tape or sidewalk chalk to make giant letters. Walk, hop or skip the letters.

Have your child sort magnetic (or other 3-D) letters. Make three groups: letters that are made up of only straight lines (M,X,I), letters that are made up of only curvy lines (S,O,C) and letters that are made up of a mix of straight and curvy lines (B,D,J).

Remember, children learn in a variety of ways. Providing tactile* experiences makes for fun play and an opportunity to boost letter recognition.

* relating to the sense of touch