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.
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 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.
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!
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!
