Wild About Books by Judy Sierra, Illustrated by Marc Brown
Sophisticated language (and plugs for reading!) made fun using a Dr. Seuss-like rhyme scheme and bright animal pictures
Hey parents- kids are soaking up words like crazy now! If you find them in books they’ll listen to, read them repeatedly! It will show up in their SATs
I had no idea this one would work so well. It took a little while to get into it, but by the end they were all mesmerized by the rhymes and loved picking out the animals (“Ooh! I see a snake!”). I was worried a lot of it would go over their heads, but I guess the Cat In The Hat and Harry Potter references balanced out Nancy Drew.
Some kids complained they couldn’t see. The pictures were a little busy for the way the colors were mixed. Someone publish a big book of this!
Also: The otter “never goes swimming without Harry Potter. I want to know: where’s my waterproof copy?
Kipper’s A to Z by Mike Inkpen
Kipper and his friends find something for every letter of the alphabet. There’s something to be said for brand recognition. Also for concept books that both entertain and drive the concept home.
Again, it took a little while to get into this one, but getting everyone to say what the letter was for (Ll is for lots of…Ladybugs!) helped. Maybe a little too well with the older kids. They all wanted to be called on to say other things that begin with each letter. This took up half the story time. The big kids were enthralled- and surprisingly good at the game. The little ones, not so much.
Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney
Llama Llama gets bored at Shop-o-rama and throws a fit! What will Mama do? Bouncy and rhythmic with lots of llama rhymes. I love this book. And her other, Llama Llama Red Pajama. I hear Llama Llama Misses Mama is coming out soon too. The “llama drama” never wears thin.
Grownups were laughing more at this one than the kids, but the rhymes and likely the all-too-familiar setting kept their interest.
I reminded the grownups that rhyming books help kids learn to separate words into sounds, which later helps them to read. I didn’t call it “phonemic awareness,” but maybe I should have.
Neighborhood Mother Goose by Nina Crews
Mother Goose in an urban setting, illustrated with photographs of ethnically diverse children that bring sometimes confusing rhymes into context. “She will have music wherever she goes”- of course, she’s riding a merry-go-round. And naturally, Georgie Porgie is chasing girls around at recess. We didn’t get to my favorite- The little girl with a little curl on her forehead looking guilty as she hesitates with scissors at Barbie’s hair.
The kids joined right in with the ones they knew. The ones they didn’t know held their attention. More shouting out details in the pictures.
And a good time was had by all.
