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. :)
"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.
"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. :)
