What? Another challenge? But you never finished this one!
No, I didn't. My father had to have brain surgery and has been in the ICU for over 2 weeks now. My extra writing time has been sucked up by trips to the hospital, conversations with the doctors, and updating family and friends. I've also been dealing with things with my mother who has Alzheimer's.
April has been a long, difficult month. But I vow to finish the blog posts for the original challenge and THEN I will think about working on this one. If not, please be assured that I will continue to update with books I have read and enjoyed, as well as a few that I didn't.
My sister and I are both logical people. We like to look at information and interpret it in our own educated ways. When we were kids, we enjoyed reading the Encyclopedia Brown series by Donald J. Sobel.
Now, my sister was more of an aficionado than I ever was. She devoured them the way that I was devouring other books. I now have the majority of the collection up in my attic library and I encourage parents to read them with their children.
Each book consists of mini "cases." Leroy Brown is known as "Encyclopedia" because he has a knack for trivia. His father is also the Chief of Police. He uses his knowledge to help his dad solve some big crimes, while simultaneously helping his peers with their mysteries. It's a little similar to Nancy Drew. The fun part with these books is that the reader is given the clues, then must deduce the truth on her own. Solutions are provided at the end of the book. It is fun to use your critical thinking skills and to test the skills of the kids in your life.
Tomie dePaola is another classic author of children's literature. I have used his books time and time again in the classroom, whether for simple story reading or for teaching a lesson. He is known for retelling favorite tales, such as in his Strega Nona series. His book Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs makes me cry every time I read it.
I also really like his books about the holidays. For Christmas and Easter, he is able to provide a balance with the religious aspects of each holiday. He also has written about other holidays.
I also admire dePaola for doing his own illustrations.
Some of the stories are too advanced for the young children that I teach. But most of them are appropriate for the elementary age. Check some of them out and see what you think.
Counting books are fun for kids as they learn how to rote count. My personal favorites are the ones that teach you how to count in a foreign language. I love learning foreign languages. And the sooner you start teaching kids words in different languages, the easier it is for them to learn them. I was fortunate to learn both French and Spanish when I was in Montessori school, focusing on French in elementary school. I can see how this foundation helped me in my later studies of other languages.
I have used these books with kids in my classes, as well as for my own personal studying. They are great for cultural lessons, too!
The Berenstain Bears are another classic children's book series that every child should read. They are wholesome role models who teach life lessons often overlooked in today's crazy society.
Children learn how to have good manners and to be respectful. They learn to appreciate what they have and to be grateful. They learn how to be good citizens, to care for the earth, and to care for each other.
They also have their own TV show and plush characters that kids love to play with. Just like my Arthur characters, I have several of the Berenstain Bear plush animals. I used to use them in after school care, and occasionally in my classroom.
This carousel of books below only features a few of the classic books. Start with a few, fall in love, and continue to enjoy the series! You may even learn something!
Jan Brett is one of my all-time favorite children's authors. I have been reading her books for as long as I can remember. Last year, I had the honor of meeting her. Of course, I cannot place my hands on the photo of the two of us together right now. Ah well.
She has written a few of her own original stories, but most of her books are retold fairy tales and folktales. What makes her books so unique and special is her illustrations. I can't imagine how long it takes for her to draw one page. The details are so intricate. When we saw her speak, she showed us how she quickly drew a picture of Hedgie. But that was just a sketch. Her paintings are amazing.
Another thing I love about Jan Brett is that she has her own educational website. Parents and teachers can print off numerous activities to use at home or in the classroom. There are also a lot of fun art projects for kids. You can also sign up to get postcards from Jan. And the best part is, they're all free! I have used many of them in my classroom and in tutoring sessions.
When I was a little girl, my mom took me to the local children's book shop, called The Reading Railroad. There was an author appearance that day, and I loved to read. I ended up purchasing a silly book called What Do You Call a Dumb Bunny? by a relatively unknown author named Marc Brown. He signed my book, complete with a quick sketch of a silly bunny. I read that book to pieces, and probably still have it somewhere in my collection.
Little did I know that years later, this author would become one of the most beloved in the history of children's books. Marc Brown created his character, Arthur, the same year that I was born, in honor of his own children. Arthurmania took over when I was in high school and college, giving rise to the TV show, games, and multiple book series. I have used Arthur stories in my classroom and after school care programs for years. I even have plush versions of all of the main characters. I used to put out a book featuring each character, including that character, in a special book basket for a special reading time. Kids went crazy for it. Having a character to hold brought them even closer to the book. It worked well for children who were feeling sad and needed to hug something. And it was fun to work on a theme for the week, featuring a favorite character or subject.
Arthur doesn't seem to be quite as popular as he was at his peak, but children still love to read him today. I have included a few of my favorites in these widgets, so that you can experience the joys of Arthur with your kids.
I have decided that I am a fan of alphabet books. I prefer them when they actually use the short vowel sounds, and get creative with the letter "i." I hate that so many of them use "ice cream." When children are learning their phonetic sounds, they learn the short /i/ sound, as in "big" and "pin." Later, they learn about the long /i/ sound, as in ice cream. It confuses them to teach the long vowel sound, first.
The first time I truly found an alphabet book useful was about ten years ago. I had a little boy who came to my class on Tuesday/Thursday afternoons. That wasn't much time to work with him. He was completely fascinated by dinosaurs and couldn't seem to get his sounds, despite numerous lessons with the sandpaper letters. Finally, I pulled out the Dinosaur Alphabet book, and spent a few sessions working with him using both the sandpaper letters and this book. He would trace the sound while I read to him about the accompanying dinosaur. BAM! He learned his sounds quickly.
I also like the "Little" series by Moncure, called something like "My First Steps to Reading." Each book has its own featured sound where a young child, such as "Little A" collects items into a box that begin with his or her sound. I use these at least once a week with my extended day students. After I read it, they are encouraged to come up with words that begin with those sounds. I love that they go for picture dictionaries and other word books for inspriation. And then, they write out those word lists. Great reading and writing skills!
So, here are some of my favorite alphabet books for young kids.
Ok, I give in. Since starting the A to Z challenge for other blogs, I keep having children's books ideas popping into my head. Now, I may not be able to post for every letter. They may not necessarily end up coming out when they are supposed to. But, it will be worth a shot.
I also won't necessarily be doing one of my real reviews. I think for this challenge, I will be featuring some favorite authors, book series, or even characters. That will be a fun way to categorize it.
I also plan to utilize my Amazon Associates store. Each post will include a widget of recommended books that follow each topic. Please feel free to shop around. You benefit from getting some great new books. I benefit from making a tiny percentage off of each sale made through my links.
Thanks in advance for the support, and happy reading!
