Bridges
By Etta Kaner
Age: 5-7 years; 7-10 years; 11-13 years
Informative and particularly interesting for kids who love man-made structures, I liked how this book taught about the different types of bridges. We skimmed most of it because it was packed with information (and many more words than a preschooler can generally sit through), and we still learned a lot. If you have a bridge enthusiast in your family, I recommend this book.
I Drive a Dump Truck
Written by Sarah Bridges
Illustrated by Derrick Alderman and Denise Shae
Age: 3-5 years; 5-7 years
This book will teach you all kinds of things you never knew about how dump trucks work. If you and your children like this book, you might also enjoy I Drive a Bulldozer and similar books by Sarah Bridges.
Let's Try It Out with Towers and Bridges
By Seymour Simon and Nicole Fauteux
Illustrated by Doug Cushman
Age: 3-5 years; 5-7 years; 7-10 years
I'm putting the younger age category on here because if you have a preschooler who is really into building things, this book is a great resource. We checked this out one time and did the simple activities with paper. The second time around we actually tried building a suspension bridge with kitchen chairs, heavy books, yarn, and cardboard. Next time I'll try that project at a different time of day - 4pm is about the worst time to attempt anything and this proved to be a disastrous bridge-making endeavor. Joshua (4 years old) loved it, though, and can't wait to try it again.
The Airplane Book
By Cheryl Walsh Bellville
Age: 5-7 years; 7-10 years
As part of preparing for our around-the-world trip to Australia, we checked out this book about airplanes. Actually, Hannah (3 years old) stumbled across it on the library shelves and had to check it out. In the end it was too long and wordy for her, but she and Joshua (4 years old) had a good time looking at all of the pictures. Maybe when they're older they will appreciate this book more. In the mean time, I'm still glad we found it.
Out and About at the Fire Station
Written by Muriel L. DuBois
Illustrated by Anne McMullen
Age: 3-5 years; 5-7 years
Simple and engaging book about fire safety. Abby (15 months) liked pulling this one off the shelf to "read" on her own.
Fire Truck
By Peter Sis
Age: 0-2 years; 3-5 years
This book, like Sis's Trucks! Trucks! Trucks!, is fun and imaginative. Perfect for any child who easily gets lost in his/her imaginary world.
Emergency!
By Gail Gibbons
Age: 3-5 years; 5-7 years
As always, Gail Gibbons does a great job in this book about emergency vehicles. This one was less wordy than some of her other books but just as informative. When Joshua first saw this book tucked away on the shelf in his preschool classroom he shouted out "That's the book we have at home!". Doesn't it feel good when you're one teeny, tiny step ahead of the preschool pro's. :)
The Firehouse Light
Written by Janet Nolan
Illustrated by Marie Lafrance
Age: 5-7 years; 7-10 years
Again, I'm recommending a slightly older audience for this book, but both Joshua (4 years old) and Hannah (3 years old) enjoyed reading this book. If you have a kiddo with a short attention span, maybe wait a bit before checking this one out.
This is based on a true story of a light bulb that has been burning in a California firehouse for over 100 years. I like the historical aspect as the author tells the story of time passing as the little light bulb keeps burning. You can learn more about the Centennial Bulb and even see footage of their live webcam by visiting their website.
Fire! Fire!
By Gail Gibbons
Age: 5-7 years; 7-10 years
I'm recommending this for elementary school ages and not preschoolers because it is wordy. That said, we've checked it out two or three times since Joshua was 3 years old, and he's only 4 now. For younger kids, I ask them to pick one section - there are sections about fires in the city, country, forest, and water - and then I skip over some information if I start to lose their attention.
All of that said, this book is just as good as you would expect from Gail Gibbons. Packed with information, simple but detailed illustrations, and an exciting topic, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in fire trucks. I liked that this one discusses lesser-known fire emergency vehicles such as helicopters and fire boats. I'm sure we'll be getting this one many more times before the kids outgrow the children's room at the local library.
Firetrucks
By Peter Brady
Age: 3-5 years; 5-7 years
It's always fun to check out non-fiction books about trucks! This one was informative, simple, and had real-life photographs.
Note: We did not read this in Spanish, although it would have been a fun exercise to try. I could only find a photo of the Spanish edition.
I had intended to follow the original Read to Me & ABC suggestion for the letter "F". Joshua's preschool class, however, had a fire truck visit just a couple of days before our library trip. Hannah and Abby were invited to tag along - with Mom, of course - and the result was great inspiration to check out books about fire trucks. So, here we have F is for Fire Truck. It was a fun unit - one that I will most definitely repeat. Because fire trucks are such a hot topic for children, our library was full of books. We really struggled not to check out every book on the non-fiction shelf and just when we thought we finished, we found an entire section a few aisles down.
Above is a picture of our letter craft. The kids wanted to cut out their own letters, which turned out to be a great scissors practice activity. They enjoyed gluing the craft stick ladders and, as you can see, they even added their own "flare" to the trucks. :)
Twenty-One Elephants and Still StandingWritten by April Jones Prince
Illustrated by Francois Roca
Age: 5-7 years; 7-10 years
This became a favorite even before we checked it out. Joshua (4 years old) absolutely loves architecture - buildings, bridges, if it's man-made he's fascinated by it! Living just outside of NYC, he is especially inspired by the many monumental skyscrapers and bridges in the area.
Over the summer we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge - a free activity that I highly recommend to anyone visiting or living in the NY area. So, when I ran across this book about elephants AND the Brooklyn Bridge in my search for books on elephants, I was excited. And this book did not disappoint our high expectations. The illustrations are beautiful, with some spectacular ones of the bridge itself. The story is interesting, chronicling a true story of P.T. Barnum Bailey's stunt of walking his 21 world-famous elephants over the newly constructed bridge. I'm sure you and the kids in your life will enjoy this book!
Big Little Elephant
By Valeri Gorbachev
Age: 3-5 years; 5-7 years; 7-10 years
This is the second book by Valeri Gorbachev that we have checked out, and it is the second book of hers that we have liked. There's something about her style that is inviting. In this book, Little Elephant learns about being a friend - a lesson that most children love (and need) to hear.
Tweak, Tweak
Written by Eve Bunting
Illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier
Age: 3-5 years
Cute illustrations for a cute story! I enjoyed reading about this curious little elephant and was definitely inspired by her (very) patient mother. Hannah (3 years old) seemed to like this the most of all her siblings.
Elmer's Colors
By David McKee
Age: 0-2 years
This book inspired our mosaic "E". You can enjoy an entire series of books about Elmer, a very colorful elephant.
Splash!
By Flora McDonnell
Age: 0-2 years; 3-5 years
This was one of the first books I checked out from the children's library when we lived the simple life of a family of three. Joshua (now 4 years old) was very small at that time and we both enjoyed reading this book. I like its simplicity best. We've enjoyed checking it out many times since Hannah (3 years old) and Abby (15 months old) have joined the family. I'm sure we'll continue to enjoy it.
We changed up the Read to Me & ABC letter ideas. Instead of egg we went with elephant. I didn't have any ultra-creative ideas for crafts and activities, but we did make a mosaic letter "E" - which I failed to get on camera and although I could walk over the school shelf, take out our letter binders and snap a quick photo, I'm just a bit too tired to do it right now. But if you can imagine a very cute and colorful cutting and gluing project resulting in a multi-colored "E" you've got the idea of what we did.
So, without further ado I'll launch into our "E is for Elephant" book list.
Enjoy!
Yes, it has been a while! Since the end of October our family has traveled to and from Australia, I had an unexpected trip to Montana when my grandma passed away, and we've been trying to pick up the pieces of our life and hopefully return to a normal routine. Needless to say, blogging has not been on the list of top priorities. But tonight I have a few minutes - kind of - so I thought I'd get started on adding some great books that we read through the month of October and beyond.
In the following posts you will find a lot of books about elephants, fire trucks, and (as always) various forms of transportation. Hopefully it won't be another two months before the next installment!
Enjoy!
Have no fear, the books are here...almost. I have a huge stack of books all about elephants, bridges, elephants and bridges, fire trucks, and more.
Check back in the following week for more books to check out during your next library visit!
I Drive a Bulldozer
By Sarah Bridges
Illustrated by Derrick Alderman and Denise Shae
Age: 3-5 years, 7-10 years
There are a few books in this series and every one of them is great! Like Huge Earthmovers you'll most likely find this in the Children's Non-Fiction section. Joshua (4 years old) was really excited to find this in the library bag last week.
Huge Earthmovers
By Meish Goldish
Age: 7-10 years (but our 4-year-old loves this)
Joshua (4 years old) has started taking an interest in anything that is big, fast, and/or potentially destructive. He has checked out this book a couple of times and enjoys it more with each read. If you have a boy who loves construction trucks and wants to see just how impressive the biggest trucks can be, then this is a great book to check out! Look for it in the Children's Non-Fiction section of your local library.
Nascar ABC's
By Paul DuBois Jacobs and Jennifer Swender
Illustrated by Aaron Zenz
Ages: 3-5 years, 7-10 years
What could be more exciting to a little boy than a rhyming ABC book about Nascar! :) Even I enjoy this book and I'm not real big on the car thing. The text has a nice rhythm to it and the illustrations are bright and cheerful. A good tool to reinforce the alphabet letter seqence.
My First Airplane Ride
By Patricia Hubbell
Illustrated by Nancy Speir
Age: 3-5 years
This is a definite favorite in our house. We check this out so often that I have thought of purchasing our own copy. My favorite line is: "Snacks are coming on a tray. What a long, exciting day!" :) We're heading to Australia in about a month - I think the last half of that line will pretty much sum up our travel experience!
In the future, look for more books written by Patricia Hubbell on this blog. She, along with various illustrators, has written several transportation-themed books that the kids love.
Trucks, Trucks, Trucks
By Peter Sis
Age: 0-2 years, 3-5 years
Fun and imaginative!
The Enormous Carrot
By Vladimir Vasil'evich Vagin
Age: 3-5 years, 7-10 years
We LOVED this book! Each time we visit our library we find good books, but it's still a rare to find a book that is so engaging for all of us and has the kids talking about it during their free play. That said, I'm not sure what drew us to this book. Just check it out for yourself and find out if you enjoy it as much as we did. :)
The Tiny Seed
By Eric Carle
Age: 3-5 years
Bright and beautiful pictures make this an enjoyable book, like pretty much everything else by Eric Carle!
How a Seed Grows
By Helene J. Jordan and Loretta Krupinski
Age: 3-5 years, 7-10 years
I'll admit that we only read this once, but that was because we were really excited about one of the other carrot books. I really liked the teaching aspect of this book. Check it out if you're considering teaching your kids about how plants grow - it even has a great activity which allows children to see the different stages of seed growth as it happens. Fun!
The Carrot Seed
By Ruth Krauss
Age: 0-2 years, 3-5 years
Hannah (turning 3 tomorrow!) picked out this book before I even got to the shelf. I didn't think much of it, but after reading it throughout the week I came to appreciate it. The main character is a little boy who demonstrates great faith. When everyone around him says that his carrot seed won't come up, this boy goes on watering and weeding. His faith and perseverance pay off big in the end!
I liked that Hannah - the one whom the Lord has indicated has a great gift of faith - was drawn to this simple yet inspirational book.
We did absolutely nothing for this week's Read to Me & ABC. Well, that's not entirely true. We did read and talk about carrots...a lot of talk about carrots! We also played a game called "Veggie Match" which we found on Walking by the Way's sister site, Homeschool Share. So, I suppose that nothing is a pretty strong word to be using, considering we did actually do something carrot related.
Look here for some really great ideas, a book list, and other resources. And please, check out both of Ami's websites - Walking by the Way and Homeschool Share - for some excellent and inspirational teaching ideas.
Here's a photo of the carrot project that Hannah and I made in the front seat of our Toyota Corolla. :)
Boat Book
By Gail Gibbons
Age: 0-2 years, 3-5 years
What's a week without a book by Gail Gibbons? We've checked this out a number of times, and while it's not always a top pick for Read Aloud Time, it is still well-loved. This, unlike Marge's Diner, which is lengthy, this book is far from wordy. Joshua (4 years old) likes to take his time studying the detailed pictures.
Busy Boats
By Tony Mitton and Ant Parker
Age: 3-5 years
A friend of mine once made the following comment after reading one of Mitton and Parker's books, "Wow, that's pretty impressive to make rhymes about tractors!" She isn't as well-versed in the land of transportation picture books as I am since she doesn't have a son, but she is definitely right - Mitton and Parker have a way with rhymes and with vehicles.
This particular book really sparked Joshua's interest. He asked a ton of questions about the different parts of a boat and how each part was used. He has never shown an interest in boats before this week, and this book was most definitely a catalyst.
Boats
By Byron Barton
Age: 0-2 years, 3-5 years
We have other Byron Barton books and have enjoyed each one. Since it's a board book, I checked this one out primarily for Abigail (1 year old). She had very few opportunities to read it, though, because Joshua (4 years old) and Hannah (turning 3 tomorrow!) both wanted to read it too. Cute and colorful.
Busy Boats
By Susan Steggall
Age: 0-2 years, 3-5 years
This was a fun, colorful, and (like the title says) busy book about boats. The book was a tiny bit over-sized which meant that it didn't quite fit in our magazine file boxes. However, there's something nice about really huge picture books - and this book was definitely a nice read.
We finished week two of Read to Me & ABC. And while I didn't get around to making the ice boats from Walking by the Way, we still had a fun time reading about boats, painting blue B's, and working on a quick but fun activity called "Sink or Float".
Look here for a "B" book list, some fun activities, and other boat-themed teaching ideas. And look on our blog for reviews of the books we enjoyed this week.
Abigail thoroughly enjoyed her water "painting". And I was pretty impressed by her dexterity, especially since this was her first time using any type of writing/painting device.
"Sink or Float" is pretty much what it sounds like. We filled a container with some water, gathered random items from around the house, and then watched to see if they would sink to the bottom or float like a boat. Joshua (4 years old) and Hannah (turning 3 tomorrow!) had a lot of fun!
"Little House, Little Town"
By Scott Beck
Age:0-2 years, 3-5 years
The kids don't often choose new books from the library shelves. They know exactly where to find all of the old favorites. I was glad when Hannah (almost 3 years old) brought this to me. I really like the illustrations. Do I say that a lot??? Perhaps I do, but most of my time is spent reading picture books. :)
"Marge's Diner"
By Gail Gibbons
Age: 3-5 years, 7-10 years
When Hannah (nearly 3 years old) pulled this from the library shelf I wondered if it would be too wordy for her. It turns out that I was wrong. Both she and Joshua (4 years old) sat through this entire book more than once during the week. As always, I liked Gail Gibbons' clear and simple style of explaining how things work in the world around us.
"Up Goes the Skyscraper"
By Gail Gibbons
Age: 3-5 years, 7-10 years
Joshua (4 years old) loves this book! We check it out often and never get tired of it. There is a lot of information, but most of it can be skimmed for kids with a shorter attention span. A great book for the budding architect or construction lover!
"The Apple Pie Tree"
By Zoe Hall, Illustrated by Shari Halpern
Age: 3-5 years
We all enjoyed this book - especially the apple pie that it inspired! :)
"The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree"
By Gail Gibbons
Age: 3-5 years, 7-10 years
I always like books by Gail Gibbons. I enjoy the simple illustrations, straight-forward text, and all of the information packed into a picture book that kids enjoy.
There is a mention of Halloween.
"Ten Red Apples"
By Pat Hutchins
Age: 3-5 years
I didn't particularly like this book, but Hannah (nearly 3 years old) spent several days reading it to herself. It's very repetitive so after just one reading together she pretty much had this memorized.
"Apples, Apples, Apples"
By Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Age: 3-5 years, 7-10 years
This is the second time we have checked out this book. It is also the second time we have enjoyed it! It is informative but not overwhelming. We had fun following the applesauce recipe in the back of this book. :)
We read A LOT about apples last week! Hannah and I played a couple of apple games - matching upper and lower case letters, and an apple tree counting mat. We had fun!
At the end of the week the kids and I made an apple pie. Yum!
You can find a book list and links to other fun apple activities here.
I'm working through a reading program called "Read to Me & ABC" that I found on another blog - Walking by the Way
The goal is to read through the alphabet, week by week. We just finished "A is for Apple" so you won't be surprised to find a string of books all about apples. This week we're on "B is for Boat", but I'll admit that we haven't read any of the boat books yet. But there are still four more days this week - I have hope for us!
I hope to put a short post for each week with the list of books, a link to the original blog page where I got the ideas, and a picture of our special activity. The kids enjoyed last week, so Lord willing this will be a fun way to expand our book list.
I would like to be sure to clarify that I have not in any way developed this reading program, nor have I made any of the supplemental resources. Please see Walking by the Way for additional information and ideas. I'm just following along on a great idea!
"Baby! Baby!"
By Vicky Ceelen
Age: 0-2 years
This was a fun book for Abigail (1 year old). My favorite animal-baby pairing was with the chimpanzee. So cute!
"Count with Maisy"
By Lucy Cousins
Age: 0-2 years
Abby really liked this book. I think her attention was drawn to it because of the bright, contrasting colors and the cute mouse! Preschoolers might like this as well, but I did think it was a bit "baby" for kids older than 3 years old.
"Trucks"
By Byron Barton
Age: 0-2 years, 3-5 years
This is probably the twelfth time we have checked out this particular Byron Barton book. We love the simple, brightly colored illustrations and the just as simple text. Always a hit for little boys who love vehicles!
Our children are still young: Joshua (4), Hannah (nearly 3), and Abigail (11 months). Hence all of the board books and picture books posted!
You will find that nearly all of the current posts will range in age from 0-5 years. My apologies to anyone with older children. If I find any resources for older kids, I'll try to put some links here.
Also, my estimate of appropriate age is far from infallible. I'll do my best to be as accurate as I can, but please use your own discretion when searching by age.
"Alligator Alphabet"
By Stella Blackstone and Stephanie Bauer
Age: 0-2 years, 3-5 years
I really liked the colorful illustrations in this book. I didn't like that some of the animal names don't quite fit in with the phonics work we're doing at home. But it has helped Hannah (nearly 3) to solidify her letter identification (even though that pesky "G" introduced a mound of confusion).
"Hide & Seek"
By Janet S. Wong
Illustrations by Margaret Chodos-Irvine
Age: 3-5 years
Cute and colorful. This inspired some games of hide and seek around our house!
"Honk Honk! Beep Beep!"
Words and pictures by Daniel Kirk
Age: 3-5 years
Bright illustrations. Enjoyable. Joshua (4) and Hannah (nearly 3) fought over this book all week...it spent a lot of time on the counter top for that reason. After reading this book a couple of times Joshua started reading the words "honk" and "beep" by sight. I was excited about that! There is a hint of impatience in the tone - we used that as an opportunity to talk about being patient. Overall it's a nice book.
"Little White Rabbit"
By Kevin Henkes
Age: 0-2 years, 3-5 years
This wasn't my favorite, but the kids liked the illustrations. I don't blame them, the colors are beautiful and I liked how the pages were nice and thick. There's just something about thick pages.
"Alphabet City"
By Stephen T. Johnson
Age: 3-5 years
A neat concept to capture photographs that look like letters from the common city-scape. Joshua (4) liked it until I pointed out that you could trace the letter shapes with your finger. Now he won't read it even though I think he's intensely interested since he loves all things man-made.
"My Clothes/Mi Ropa" from the English-Spanish Foundation Series
By Gladys Rosa-Mendoza
Illustrations by Mary Collier
Age: 0-2 years, 3-5 years
We're always checking out books that introduce Spanish vocabulary and conversation. This is one of the better ones. I liked the simple, repetitive sentences to help learn more than isolated words. Joshua (4), Hannah (nearly 3), and Abby (11 months) all liked this book.
"What's Up, Duck? A Book of Opposites"
By Tad Hills
Age: 0-2 years
Cute. Colorful. Abby (11 months) loved it!
As I'm about to write this welcome post, my husband and I are in the midst of a conversation about the impact of media on our children. From TV to Teen Magazine, our kids are surrounded by the voices of this world. They are taught to think of themselves first, that disrespecting authority is cool, and that they must have the newest and best toys in order to be happy.
Sometimes families will turn to their local library to have better influences on their children. Because, of course, reading is a better sport than sitting on the couch in front of a video game. And while I would recommend reading and would turn to a book before a movie any day, I'm not so sure that just because it's a book means that the influences are always for the best.
My children and I love visiting our local library. It's one of our favorite outings (to this the librarians can attest). Two years ago I started searching the picture book shelves with a fine-tooth comb. Starting with A and moving to Z, each week I scoured the titles, turned many pages, and looked for books that wouldn't undermine what our children were learning at home about the Lord, about themselves, and about others. We found a lot of great books but we passed over about 9 for each "keeper". I'm glad our library has a large children's room. If not, we'd be reading the same 50 books until the cows come home!
The reason I've created "B is for Book" is to keep track of all the wonderful books that we have found and to provide a useful resource for other Christian families who are on the same quest as are we: to find media that will support the biblical values we are teaching our children.
So, have a look around. I'll be adding books all the time, but probably new posts will come weekly or bi-weekly depending on our library visits. Each book will have its own post and will be labeled according to subject. I will also endeavor to include the author/illustrator, subject, appropriate age range, and any other commentary from our own experience reading the books. I will not include books that we haven't read or that we will not read - meaning, no bad reviews. And I may even include some books for parents on subjects like cooking wither your kids, parenting, teaching, etc.
If you're looking for a specific genre of books, a particular author/illustrator, or needing some ideas to get started, just check out the side bar "I'm Goin' on a Book Hunt". Or use the search bar for more specific queries.
And just to clarify...these books are not all - not even nearly all - Christian books. Some will inevitably deal directly with character qualities, biblical principles, or godly values but I will not focus on such books. Hopefully this will be a resource where you can find books about trucks, telling the truth, and everything in between.
Enjoy!
I had intended to follow the original Read to Me & ABC suggestion for the letter "F". Joshua's preschool class, however, had a fire truck visit just a couple of days before our library trip. Hannah and Abby were invited to tag along - with Mom, of course - and the result was great inspiration to check out books about fire trucks. So, here we have F is for Fire Truck. It was a fun unit - one that I will most definitely repeat. Because fire trucks are such a hot topic for children, our library was full of books. We really struggled not to check out every book on the non-fiction shelf and just when we thought we finished, we found an entire section a few aisles down.
Abigail thoroughly enjoyed her water "painting". And I was pretty impressed by her dexterity, especially since this was her first time using any type of writing/painting device.
"Sink or Float" is pretty much what it sounds like. We filled a container with some water, gathered random items from around the house, and then watched to see if they would sink to the bottom or float like a boat. Joshua (4 years old) and Hannah (turning 3 tomorrow!) had a lot of fun!
You can find a book list and links to other fun apple activities here.