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!
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.