Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
I love good poetry anthologies for children or adults, and Read-Aloud Poems, edited by Glorya Hale (Black Dog and Levanthal, 2012) is a nice selection of poetry both classic and modern poems that parents and children can enjoy together. My son and I read a few poems each day for about a month, and he
Before I dove into the history of America with my homeschooling son, we did a general overview of the geography of the country. Although my son loves maps and would have had a great time pouring over maps of the states, I thought it would be more helpful to begin looking at the landforms of
Neville by Norton Juster, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Schwartz and Wade, 2011) captures the frustration of moving into a new neighborhood as a young child. A new boy wonders about his new neighbors and wanders down his new sidewalk. When he reaches the corner, he starts calling for “Neville.” When other kids join him in
Homer by Elisha Cooper (Greenwillow, 2012) celebrates the peace that comes from the familiar, from home, by focusing on a dog who stays on his porch all day. Other dogs want Homer to come race with them, the children invite him to race on the beach with them, but Homer stays where he is and watches.
Chloe, Instead by Micah Player (Chronicle Books, 2012) is a sibling book: an elder sister in annoyed by young Chloe, who is always making things difficult. When the sisters find a way to work together, with Chloe dancing to her sister’s music, the older sister appreciates her far more and is glad for Chloe. This was
Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Scott Magoon (Candlewick, 2012) is about a rough-edged dog who learns to have a little bit of a softness to him when fuzzy white bunnies begin following him around. Although Mike doesn’t want to be known as a softy, the fuzzy bunnies begin to grow on him. As
Z is for Moose by Kelley Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinksy (Greenwillow, 2012) is a creative alphabet book. Zebra is directing an alphabet of friends (including Apple and Ball and others) in a alphabet pageant, and Moose is really excited for his turn. The problem is that when it comes to the letter M, Zebra
One “cold little afternoon, in a cold little town,” Annabelle finds a way to warm her town when she finds a box full of yarn and she decides to knit sweaters for everyone and everything. Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen (Balzer + Bray, 2012) is a magical book, with a hint of intrigue
One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by David Small (Dial Books, 2012) features a very proper boy who adopts a very proper-looking kind of animal, a penguin. With his father always distracted inside of a book or newspaper, Elliot seems to be going about it without his father understanding. For example, Elliot very politely takes
Otto the Book Bear by Katie Cleminson (Disney Hyperion, 2011) was probably my son’s favorite book this week. Otto is a bear that lives inside of a book, but likes to come out when no one is around. When Otto gets left behind on the family moving day, he feels very small. He finds the world
Lemonade in Winter by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Schwartz and Wade, 2012) is a clever story to teach about money. A brother and a sister have decided to have a neighborhood lemonade stand, despite the fact that it is the middle of winter and snow covers the ground. Their parents suggest they won’t have
There seem to be a variety of ways of approaching explorers to America. Share superficial information? Delve into the negative facts about the explorers? Although I’m not keen on focusing on the negative colonial aspects of American history, it is important that my young kindergartner(age 5) get some type of overview of the various explorers
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