Limited

So, I just found out as I was trying to create a new page that I have a limited number of pages that I can have as part of this blog.  Being an extremely new blogger... I had no idea about this.  Technically, on the last post I wanted to include Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? in the category of Dr. Seuss Books.  Because I have reached my limit, that won't be happening.  I suppose this one is fairly obvious since it is by Dr. Seuss, but that was just how I saw it organized in my own crazy brain.  I will continue to post and put books into categories, even if I don't have a page for that category.  It will just be more difficult to look for books in specific categories... unless I decide to combine some of these pages.  I am not totally sure what I want to do with this one right now, but I will need to figure something out eventually.

What do you hear?

Now that all of my son's books are on the new bookshelf, which was bought to accommodate the books from his birthday, it is a much better experience to find books to read.  Tonight before bed we read two books which both focused on sounds.  We started with Mr. Brown can Moo! Can You? : Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises by Dr. Seuss.  The version of this book that we have is from the Bright and Early Board Books Series.  This book definitely had my son's attention as each page had a new sound.  I absolutely love the use of onomatopoeia in the book and it gives sounds beyond just animal sounds.  This book is a great way to introduce children to everyday sounds.  This book is in the categories of: sound exploration.

 

The other book we read tonight was also from the Bright and Early Board Books Series.  We read The Ear Book by Al Perkins.  This book also focuses on sounds that our ears can hear.  The Ear Book also has a natural rhythm to it that is interesting to listen to.  I have to admit that I am not one who usually pays much attention to the illustrations, but these really caught my eye.  I really appreciate that these illustrations are simple and not overwhelming.  The pictures only display what the words on the page actually say.  Also, while reading this book we identified where our ears are located.  This book is in the categories of: sound exploration and body parts.

Push, Poke

A recent favorite has been from the series "Poke-a-dot!"  We have been reading the "Old MacDonald" version in this series mainly, but also have been reading "10 Little Monkeys" and "Who's in the Ocean?"  These are such fun to read.  A familiar song set with illustrations.  Of course the best part is being able to poke each of the animals and count them.  The poke spots are just plastic, but my son loves poking each and every one of these.  As he gets older we will spend more time counting each of the dots.  With each book starting at 10 and counting down, there are LOTS of dots to poke throughout the whole story.  Such a great way to work on counting down.  The focus has been on "Old MacDonald" and we were able to say the animal names and also what each of the animals say.  I normally wouldn't do all of these as one entry, but we haven't stopped reading those this whole week.  "Poke-a-Dot: Old MacDonald" is in the following categories: animals, counting, songs, and fine-motor skills.  "Poke-a-Dot: 10 Little Monkeys" is in the following categories: animals, counting, songs, and fine-motor skills.  "Poke-a-Dot: Who's in the Ocean?" is in the following categories: animals, counting, and fine-motor skills.

   

Some Animals...

We really have been reading over the last couple of weeks.  Things have been so busy and crazy that I haven't had a moment to post what we have read.  One of the favorites during this last week was the board book, "Mouse Paint" by Ellen Stoll Walsh.  The board book is a much simpler version of the original story and focuses on colors, without overwhelming young children with a plot to follow.  This book is so much fun and is a great way to explore the primary colors and how they can make other colors.  My son especially liked the part where the mice "...swirl and mix, and mix and swirl..." the paint.  As we read this part we tried to move along as if we were also mixing paint.  This book is definitely in the category of: colors and animals.

The other more popular choice this last week was "Old Bear" by Kevin Henkes.  This was a wonderful way to introduce the concept of seasons to children.  The bear had slept and dreamt that he was going through each of the seasons.  By the time the bear really woke up, it was only the spring after his long winter hibernation.  I think this book was also a great way to help children understand that different animals have different lifestyles, where some hibernate during the winter and others may not.  The illustrations in this book were very colorful, but were still simple enough to see the main idea of the picture.  This book is in the following categories: animals, seasons.

There were other books from the library that we had during the last couple of weeks, but I have to admit that they were really not winners on my list.  I would post about them, except that I have already turned them in and they didn't make that big of an impression on me. 

Hopefully this next week I will be more on top of this posting business.  We now have LOTS of books from my son's first birthday that we need to read and add to our list of Children's Books.

"Book!"

I know that seems like an odd title for a post on a Children's Books blog, but that is what my son has been walking around the house saying nonstop for the last couple of weeks.  He carries a book with him almost all of the time and says, "Book!" over and over again until someone takes the book from him and reads it to him.  One of the books he has been really attached to recently is Whose Nose? By Fiona Munro.  This is one that we picked up on our most recent library trip.  This lift-the-flap book has wonderful rhymes that help the reader guess whose nose is being focused on each page.  My son loves to open and close the large flaps in this book.  Also, while reading this one we have been trying to identify noses on my son, myself, toys, and various other things that might possibly have a nose.  This has been such a fun book to read with my son because he is discovering that he also has a nose.  This book in in the following categories: animals, body parts, lift-the-flap.

More from the Libraray

So this week has been busy as we have been trying to finish all of the books that we borrowed from the library since they are due today.  We were able to read each book at least twice, so that was good.  It is at least enough to write about each of the remaining four books.

We read Spot Loves Sports By Eric Hill.  This is one of the many books in the Spot series.  Each of Spot's friends had a different sport that they enjoyed and were good at.  This gave a quick overview of a few different sports and the pictures were great in showing how each of the sports is played.  There was also a focus on friendship in this book because Spot and his friends encouraged each other to do well in the sport that they were playing.  Therefore, this book is in the categories of: sports and friendship.  

We also read Click Clack 1, 2, 3 By Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin.  I love the original in this series, Click Clack Moo Cows that Type.  This was a watered-down version of the many antics that the animals on the farm get involved with.  This was a great way to count the different animals or the different parts of the plan to drive the farmer crazy.  This book is in the following categories: animals and sports.

    

The next book we read was definitely not my favorite in more ways than one.  We read Time By Simon Basher.  It highlights the daily life of a baby, using very few words.  The concept of making a book that focuses on "breakfast time" or "play time" is great, but I don't think this book quite captured that.  The pictures in this look very strange to me and are of this little character named BoBo.  I don't know if I just didn't get it, but typically I don't think of kids in books having X's for eyes and being shaped like some weird blob.  We really didn't spend a whole lot of time with this book and it is a rough introduction to the concept of time.  This book is in the category of time.

 

The last book that we borrowed from the library this last time was Snowflake Baby By Elise Broach.  This is a lift-the-flap book that is about a child who is playing in the snow.  My son really liked the flaps in the book, but I don't think he was all that interested in the way the words sounded.  Maybe that is because in California we don't experience snow in that way.  This is a great book as an introduction into the winter season.  This book is in the following category: winter.

   

So, we had some winners from this last pick at the library.  We also had some that were... not-so winners.  Of course that is all a part of the adventure of reading.  We will go to the library again today and who knows what we will end up with this time.