Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

I guess I had heard of this book before, but I had never read it myself. Then I came across a few reviews of it by other parents, so I looked into it. I knew that we liked Bill Martin Jr, since he wrote the famous -- and Allen favorite -- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (along with the companions Baby Bear, Polar Bear, and Panda Bear all illustrated by the amazing Eric Carle) so I decided to purchase this book as well.

It's a recurring favorite of Allen's. He absolutely adored it when we first got it, as you can see from this post on my personal site. And he's now smitten with it once again. It rhymes, it's colorful, and it teaches him the alphabet. It's easy to read enthusiastically with spunk and a little attitude ( Mommy likes to dance as she reads "Chicka chicka boom boom," swinging her shoulders back and forth).

I always point to the letters as I read them so he can learn to identify them, and now I'm encouraging him to point to them as well (they are lowercase letters, so it's a little more challenging for him. He's more familiar with the capital letters). It's a book I feel really good about reading to him because I know he's learning as well as enjoying the book.

This is one of my personal favorite children's books for the above reasons. I recommend it for all parents of young children. It's pretty much universally adored by toddlers, I think. And because it's got such a nice rhythm to it and it's short, parents don't get sick of reading it.

Enjoy the book and have fun with it!

xoxo,
Allegra

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

I admitted to Allegra when she told me this was the next book that she wanted to share that, not only do I not have this book, I only read it a few times to the Kindergartners in whose classrooms I found myself. A quick Google search, however, revealed this lovely video. I watched it twice and found myself bopping around to it. I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KpW5oWxRto

An additional at-home activity has to do with matching the upper and lowercase letters. This book features the lowercase letters which may be new to some pre-schoolers as many other alphabet books use the capital letters. Print and cut out a set of letters in their upper an lower case forms. 52 cards in a Memory style game is too many (it's too many for adults...even the game I play on my DS only uses 32 cards). Try using just the vowels or maybe the letters in their name. It's a quick and, I think, fun game. I used a similar idea with numbers and pictures to represent the number (ie: 3 matched a card that theree stars on it). Great for developing 1 to 1 correspondence.

Happy Reading!

Stellaluna

Allegra has already introduced you to the basic story line in Stellaluna. This is a book I was introduced to in my Children's Literature class in my teacher prep coursework. I fell in love immediately.

The most moving and effective part of the illustrations, I believe, is the small pen and ink drawings on each page. The main illustrations tell Stellaluna's journey--where she has been, how she got, there and who she is with. These other, smaller illustrations, tell the mother's story. How frantic she is as she searches for her lost child. I'm not a mother, but I could certainly feel this mother's love and fear for her child.

So find this book. Support your local library and check it out. Share this gem with a child--both you and he will enjoy it.

Happy Reading!
Kristen

Stellaluna

Without further ado, we'd like to begin with our first book: Stellaluna.

I have discussed Allen's reaction before, but I will restate here that Allen adores this book. While it's meant for children older than two (4-7-year-olds) Allen has been mesmerized by the illustrations for quite some time now. When he first pulled it from his bookshelf about six months ago, I think he grew tired of the story before its completion, but now it holds attention completely. He loves it and asks for it frequently.

Ms. Cannon tells of a little fruit bat and her bird friends, in this sweet story of friendship, acceptance, and love. It's s book that I genuinely enjoy reading to Allen as often as he requests it.

And while it is a lovely story that will teach him about friendships and acceptance as he grows older, right now I think he loves it simply because he thinks Stellaluna is cute. On occasional evening walks, Daddy and I will point out a bat to him, and he immediately responds by gasping and saying, "Steyayuna!" That is enough for me to make it worth reading to him again and again.

This is a book that I have to thank Kristen for, because without her I would never have known it existed. I know she has more gems about the book that she will point out to you (like the pen and ink illustrations on each page), so I will turn the posting over to her now.

xoxo,

Allegra

**Update: Daddy just informed me that Allen took Stellaluna out this morning and "read" almost the entire book (quoting various parts about the owl, falling from the branch, and the comments of the three birds)**

Welcome and Happy Reading

You've already met my sister, Allegra. Well, I wanted to get in on this, too. I love children's books. Picture books, early reader books, all the way up to young adult novels. I'm not embarrassed to say that I even seek these books out for my own enjoyment. I also feel a responsibility to keep my nephew stocked with quality books for little people.

So having said that, I will welcome you to our humble, but we think worthwhile, blog.

Happy Reading!

Welcome to our blog!

Kristen and I would like to welcome you to our new blog about children's books. This blog will feature all children's books all the time (with the occasional anecdote of our favorite "reader" Allen).

For those of you who may not know us, Kristen and I are sisters. I am a 30-something mom of a two-year-old boy, Allen. He's full of energy and life, and he loves -- I mean loves -- books. We have been reading to him since birth, and he now carves out time each day to books of one kind or another.

Kristen is a 30-something domestic goddess, who prior to getting hitched and moving far away, was a fantastic elementary school teacher. So, I rely on her to recommend (and sometimes buy) the perfect books for Allen. She has never let me down.

Together we hope to provide you with a well-rounded review and discussion of various children's books, both from the educator and mom perspectives.

Enjoy!!