Early Chapter Books

Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse by Torbin Kuhlmann

Published on May 31, 2014 | Leave a response

Beautiful illustrations tell the story of a creative flying mouse in Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse by Torbin Kuhlmann (North South books, 2013). When new mouse traps and an abundance of cats overrun the city where a clever (unnamed) mouse is living, he decides he must go to America for freedom. His creativity and insight help him build himself a plane, and he flies to New York.

This longer-than-normal picture book is a masterpiece of art. Gorgeous realistic paintings show the mouse in various stages of the story: reading a book, avoiding the mouse traps, drawing and creating airplanes, avoiding bats and owls, and flying through the sky into New York, where he is greeted as a hero. I loved the paintings, and although the story itself was cute, it was the paintings that made this book a delight for me. (more…)

Daisy’s Big Night by Sandra Feder

Published on May 15, 2014 | Leave a response

Last summer, my son really enjoyed reading the Daisy books. Even with my limited blogging over the past year, we still managed to write about them both!

To his complete delight, there is now another book in the series! In Daisy’s Big Night, Daisy is looking for something to contribute to her last day of school sharing night. Others are showing their dance routines and other skills, and Daisy is not sure what she can present or show that she is as proud of.

Just as the other books are about Daisy’s love of words and alliteration, this book is about a new aspect of language for Daisy to love: poetry. This was a perfect book for my son to read as we likewise talked about poetry (free verse, haiku, and poetic elements) in the writing class I teach at our homeschool co-op.

I love how Daisy learns throughout each of the books. I love that she experiments and discovers that it is okay to make mistakes and so forth. I especially love how a love of language and words is the most prominent part of Daisy’s life!

But don’t just take my word for it! Raisin is hear to share his thoughts too! Listen to the podcast below.

Books mentioned:

Note: I am an Amazon Affiliate. Also, I received a digital review copy of Daisy’s Big Night from the publisher for review consideration.

The Daisy Books by Sandra Feder

Published on August 27, 2013 | Leave a response

Raisin enjoyed reading the early chapter books about a word-loving girl named Daisy. In Daisy’s Defining Day by Sandra Feder, Daisy discovers the joy of alliteration and finds herself as she seeks out the perfect alliterative title for herself. As she searches for some fun phrases to enjoy, she also learns a few lessons about friendship and how to deal with people who think differently from herself. It’s a fun excursion into language, and it is also a nice story for a child who, like my son, does not always think about what other’s think since the world seems to revolve around themselves!

Similarly, in Daisy’s Perfect Word, another book in the series, Daisy learns that her teacher is getting married so she wants to find the perfect word to share with her as a wedding gift. As she goes through her days, she writes her favorite words in a notebook so she will remember them. It’s a fun search for a favorite word and I loved her ultimate discovery!

Raisin enjoyed reading these books. I believe he would like to make his own search for alliterative phrases and “perfect words.” After he read them both, he asked me if there are any more Daisy books! He wants to visit her world again. I’d like to as well!

Note: I received a digital review copy of Daisy’s Defining Day.

A Few Early Chapter Books Series

Published on August 31, 2012 | 2 Responses

Raisin is well in to early chapter books now. With Strawberry’s arrival and my subsequent absence from the blogosphere (as compared to my posting habits before her birth), I haven’t posted on his reading as frequently as it deserves. I feel like his reading skills improve from week to week!

Back in March, I posted about the early readers he was enjoying, including Fly Guy series by Tedd Arnold and P.J. Funnybunny books by Marilyn Sadler. Now, just six months later, I feel we’ve skipped into an entirely new category. Here are some of the early chapter books he currently enjoys. (more…)

Kids Corner: First Quarter 2012

Published on March 31, 2012 | 2 Responses

First quarter 2012 has been spare on the blogging front, but it’s been busy and delightful on the home front from my perspective! Strawberry is now five weeks old, and Raisin and I are starting to settle in to a routine again of reading picture books. I’m reading Strawberry The Secret Garden aloud, and occasionally Raisin and I read a chapter in a Boxcar Children novel.

In general, the past few months have found Raisin steering himself toward the early reader books, partly because he love the sense of accomplishment when he can read to me and partly because I haven’t had as much time to read picture books to him! We have found some memorable picture books in the past weeks, but we haven’t been plowing through them at the rate (30+ a week) that we read them last year. We both are eagerly awaiting the time when Strawberry will show an interest in the board books Raisin tries to show her.

In addition, since January, we’ve done a fair amount of “school at home,” which Raisin regulary asks for because he simply loves to learn. I hope that his interest continues because I’ve enjoyed learning with him.

This post is huge because I don’t want to split it up: it’s much easier to keep it all together. So I apologize that it is so long, but I don’t know when the next time I’ll have to blog will be so here we go… (more…)