I was recently disheartened at the books at the child development center. The teachers’ books were unattractive and out of date. The books the children were allowed to handle were mostly paperbacks with ripped pages and scribbles.
I returned after a visit to the public library with some beautiful books to share. The teachers were apprehensive. I felt nervous too I but I decided that I could pay for one book. Until then, I would let the children look at the books under my supervision. I told them that these books were special and must be handled with care.
Here are the books I chose:
This is a wonderful concept book with so many things for children to enjoy. Fleming hides ladybugs throughout the book and the children loved finding them. I enjoyed watching the children go through the book, naming the animals, colors, shapes, etc. Earlier that week, I had listened to a teacher scold children for not knowing colors, and shapes, yet the children eagerly identified colors,.shapes and letters of the alphabet.
If you want to send preschoolers into a fit of giggles just mention underwear. This book combines a silly story with lots of counting and rhymes. All of the animals have one thing in common: they hate to share. The comical pictures of bears sharing underwear and skating ducks with sticks and pucks are delightful. Learning to recognize rhyming patterns is a great pre-reading skill. Without realizing it, they are beginning to recognize syllables and parts of words. The children spent a lot of time counting and identifying objects.
This book involves the children in a two-part guessing game. First they identify the color from a small circular opening on the page. They are also told one important fact about the animal. (i.e. I have a large trunk) Even after seeing the full spread, some animals like the Orangutan will be unfamiliar to children. This is a great book for reading aloud. It’s also a great way of introducing children to beautiful art. The children enjoyed guessing which animal would emerge on the next page.
The pictures in this book are amazing! The cover focuses on his large protruding teeth. There is a picture of a hippo devouring a crocodile in one bite. Almost every child reacted to the page where hippos stand rump to rump and throw dung at each other. This book has a broad appeal. The more general facts are in bold with smaller sections that give more information for older children.
The preschoolers loved
browsing this book about four mice brothers: Rick, Mick, Vick and Nick. Each wears a different color shirt, choses a different food and has a unique dream. Only little Nick must find his own way to shine-shades of Leo the Late Bloomer by Leo Lionni. This book was a little long to be read aloud to preschoolers but they enjoyed the colorful pictures.
No children’s books were harmed in this endeavor
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