New Books Coming Soon!

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

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

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

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

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

Trucks, Trucks, Trucks
By Peter Sis

Age: 0-2 years, 3-5 years

Fun and imaginative!

The Enormous Carrot

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

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

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

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.

C is for Carrot

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

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

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

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

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.

B is for Boat

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!