Winter Reading

During the winter we continued our visits to the library.  We didn't always go every week, but it was pretty close.  In December I was looking for cute holiday books and after that I switched to snow/winter related books.  Of course we found books on all kinds of topics as well!  I'm hoping if I post our winter reading list spring will hurry up and get here and we can get rid of this cold weather!

 

• The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson, I loved this book.  It was so neat that it started out far away and then zoomed in and then back out.  It would be a great book to read in class when we discuss small moments in writing and zooming into one part of the story.  We'd talk about how if the author zoomed into one part she could really add lots of details.  Carter liked that the pictures were black and white with pops of yellow.  We checked it out as a board book which he loved.  It would be a great book for a younger baby as well.  I'm always keeping an eye out for good black and white books for babies who can't see color yet.

• The Nice Book by David Ezra Stein, the first thing I noticed and loved about this book was the simplicity of the pictures.  This would be a great book to read to Carter again when he's a bit older and then let him finger paint afterward.  I felt inspired to finger paint after reading the book due to the cuteness of the pictures!  It would also be a great book to read at the beginning of the school year to start a mini-lesson on being nice.  The book could be followed by a student-generated anchor chart on ways to be nice.  Another mini-lesson could focus on the page that says "say how you feel" and then the teacher modeling "I messages" for students and allowing them practice with role playing.  I also loved the front and back inside covers with adjectives describing an animal all over them, such as "magnanimous monkeys, kindhearted koalas, etc."  We could do a lot just reading and discussing those pages.  If you couldn't tell I love, love, loved this book.  As with great mentor texts I just kept thinking of mini-lesson after mini-lesson this book could be used for!  This book was quickly added to my wish list for both Carter and my classroom!

• White Snow Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt, In the beginning of the book the author included a poem which was my favorite part of the book.  The book was a little bit outdated with the jobs (especially the wife at home with a broom) but it was cute.  Carter loved the simplicity of color in the pictures.  The illustrator stuck with mostly red, yellow, brown, green, white, and gray which really made the colors pop.  I felt the author really captured the magic of waking up to snow.

• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, Although I've read this book time and time again, I had to include it on a winter book list.  It is the perfect book to read on a snowy morning before going out into the snow.  Then out in the snow Carter and I could try pointing our toes in and out like Peter did in the book.  You also have to love that this was the first full color book to feature a black hero!

• Baby's First Year! by Rick Walton, When Carter and I went to the library the week of his birthday we came across this book and I checked it out to read to him on his birthday.  After we read it on his birthday morning I kicked myself for not reading it earlier in the week.  I would have gotten on Amazon and ordered it for his birthday with our free 2-day shipping and given it to him for his birthday!  It was adorable and perfect.  I ended up ordering it for him for Christmas and writing the dates he hit each milestone onto the pages of the book that talked about that milestone.  It's a sweet book and would make a perfect first birthday present!

• Big Rig Bugs by Kurt Cyrus, Carter LOVED this book.  We read it multiple times because he kept pulling it out of our book bag.  I liked the comparison between the bugs and the construction vehicles.  I have a feeling we will be reading a lot more books like this as Carter gets older.  It had 2 things boys tend to love, bugs and vehicles.

• Hello Dinosaur by Dwell Studio, This book was so cute.  When you lift the flap it reveals what dinosaur the page was talking about underneath the flap.  Carter loved lifting the flaps and each flap lifted in different directions.

•  Mo's Mustache by Ben Clanton, This book will be a great one to bring out when Carter's little sibling is copying what he does.  You can tell kids time and time again that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but this book does it in such a cute way!  Plus who doesn't love a well-placed mustache!

•  My Nose, Your Nose by Melanie Walsh, This book is so sweet.  I love how it talks about all kinds of differences there are between children.  I also love how that is followed up by a way they are the same. 

• One Special Day by Lola Schaefer, The little boy in the book is carefree and loves playing.  It goes through his day and talks about all the things he does.  Then at the end he has a big change, he's a big brother.  It is a sweet book and I'm excited to read it to Carter again! 

• Baby Bear's Books by Jane Yolen, I loved this book and how the baby bear is so engrossed in books.  I loved that it talked about reading the pictures.  That's such an important step toward reading the words and is often times overlooked.

• Look! Look! Look! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace, I loved how this book showed so many different ways to look at a piece of art.  I read this to my class and then we took frames and placed them on different parts of paintings to focus on different aspects of the painting.  They loved it and it was so cool to see what we noticed when we used the frame to help us focus.

• Toddlerobics: Animal Fun by Zita Newcome, This book was so neat.  It would be a great one to read on a winter day when you are all cooped up inside.  Each page had different animal movements for children to copy.  I love having lots of different ways to exercise when you can't get outside and this was a perfect one!