Storybooks Can Teach School Readiness Skills!

I'm a firm believer that kids learn best by experiencing the world, which is why Little One and I treat every outing (from museums to gardens to shopping at Sam's Club) like an adventure worth great excitement and discussion.   And while I certainly don't read to my LO every day because I hope that she will read by age 3 and graduate from medical school when she's 15 (trust me, there's some genius out there who has done that!)..... I do value the future academic skills that a love for reading will hopefully foster in LO!

Here are a couple of particularly well-done books that LO adores for their humor and fun readability, and that I adore for the clever way that they teach important early-learning skills.

Big, Bigger, Biggest! by Nancy Coffelt

 

This book is amazing.  It teaches early quantitative skills by introducing the concepts of comparisons (for those grammatical purists out there, it is the concept of the adjective/comparative/superlative...).  We go through "Big...," "Small....," "Fast...," etc (including LO's favorite, "Slimy....").  Each concept has an accompanying animal, helping the child to conceptualize the relationships being described.  This alone is great.  Some of the comparisons can be played out using toys (Big/Small in particular).  This is a concept that we all work to teach our toddlers/preschoolers, and the book does a great job.

BUT WAIT!  THERE'S MORE!  For every page, there is also three synonyms, making this book Baby's First Thesaurus.  No kidding, my LO loves this book so much that she may be one of the only toddlers on the planet that knows the word "Lackadaisical."  She knows how to say it, and she knows that it means "slowest" (OK, not exactly a GRE-worthy definition, but it'll do for a two year old!).  Of course, not all the presented synonyms are quite as impressive....."pooped" is offered for "sleepiest," which is especially hilarious to a toddler in the throes of potty training.  But overall, this book has really been a great springboard for both language and quantitative learning.  And LO asks for it every day!

 

Up, Tall and High by Ethan Long

 

This book is really three silly stories in one.  The book is fun to read, with silly birds in silly scenarios, and several lift-the-flap surprises along the way.  It also does a good job of illustrating the differences between concepts that young children often get confused.  The birds go through a variety of scenarios in which they show that they may be up, but they aren't tall....they may not be tall but that doesn't mean they are small.... and what does it mean to be up or down?  Since we started reading this book, I have noticed that LO asks about whether we are up or down, and if things are tall or small.  The framework of the story has clearly taught her to ponder these concepts....all in a silly story!

Mother Love

The worst part about our impending move is that my family is not together.  My husband is in one place, my precious Little One is somewhere else, and I am holding down the fort here at home base, tying up loose ends.  In keeping with the theme of my previous post, I am very thankful to all our friends and family who are making this transitional time possible for us.  But I miss my family!  I have never been away from her for this long, and I look forward to her sweet hugs and her silly kisses soon.

Some of my favorite books to read to my sweet LO are about that pure love between a parent and their baby.  LO must pick up on the love that oozes from these stories, because she loves to read them with me.  Here are some of my favorites, for the kinds of love that they demonstrate so well:

 

All of Baby, Nose to Toes by Victoria Adler, Hiroe Nakata

 

Adoring love: This book is very simple and suitable to read aloud with an infant or young toddler.  But it is perfect in its simplicity, and LO loves it still!  Each "verse" describes what there is to love about one of baby's body parts, so it's a good way to teach eyes, ears, nose, arms, tummy, legs, etc.  The text has a great rhythmic beat, and LO doesn't quite know all the "verses," but she knows the cadence and sometimes when I am telling her that I love her, she will respond to the "tune" of this story.  The baby in this story is loved and adored by a family and pets alike.  "Who loves baby?  ME!  I do!"  When we originally checked out this book, I thought it was too young.  It has turned into an every day read!

Pouch! by David Ezra Stein

 
Supportive love:  The mother love in this story is not front and center, but more behind the scenes.  I include it in this post because it is a reminder to me that one of the things that loving parents must do is to encourage independence and growth.  Joey the baby Kangaroo has a hard time leaving his mother's safe, warm pouch.  He hops further and further away with each attempt (giving the reader an opportunity to practice counting with their audience), but it takes him awhile to feel safe enough that he doesn't have to return.   This book is very fun to read with a child, and LO always giggles when we scream "POOOOOUUUUUUCH!" A great lesson that mother will always be there for support as you become more confident and learn to explore the world.

Little Mist  by Angela McAllister, Sarah Fox-Davies

Inspiring love:  Little Mist is a beautiful baby snow leopard who has never left his mothers lair.  The story is of the mother leopard showing Little Mist his beautiful mountain kingdom, and telling him all the amazing things that he will do, see and become as he grows up.  The book is absolutely gorgeous, and perfect for kids that like animals (especially mommy and baby animals).  LO picked this book up off the floor in the library and wouldn't put it down, so I checked it out without knowing anything about it.  I am so glad that Little Mist found its way to our home!  It is a beautiful and very touching story about a mother's hopes and dreams for her baby.

Meet Me at the Moon by Gianna Marino

 

Persistent love: This story is the origin of my Little One's pet name, for Little One and Mama the elephant have a special place in our reading adventures together.  Like "Little Mist" above, this book is perfect for the animal lover, with gorgeous illustrations of beautiful creatures.  Unlike "Little Mist," Mama must leave LO in this tale, making it especially poignant for me right now while I am separated from my own LO.  I love this book because it teaches that parents come back, and that they love their babies from afar.  Mama tells LO, "You are in my most secret heart."  I say to my baby:  Mommy's always come back!  I will see you soon, and I love you so much!!

Being Thankful

My break from writing here has certainly not been due to a lack of great reading adventures, but more due to the addition of new adventures in the real world.  While my sweet Little One and I have continued to read great books for the last three months, we have also been consumed with preparations to leave our home and to explore another.  Our real life "moving adventure" will be a mix of the excitement of a new place and a return to the familiar, since we will be closer to family and our hometown.

Every move is challenging, and this one is particularly bittersweet.  This place was my first great adventure with my husband - we lived, learned and loved here for eight years.  We have wonderful friends here..... we bought and cared for our first home together here.  Most bittersweet of all, our LO first explored the world here, and it is hard to drive down a street without remembering something cute that she said or did in that place.

But for all the sadness surrounding this move, there are still many things to be thankful for.  I am thankful for the opportunities that my family had here, and I am thankful for the opportunities that have and will present themselves in our new home.  I am thankful for the great friends that we have made, and thankful for the opportunity to keep in touch with many of them through this blog.  And I am thankful for a curious and adventurous LO, who I know will grow and flourish anywhere that we go.

Here are some books that I have shared with LO about being thankful.  What a great life lesson and habit to teach every adventurous mind!

Gracias/Thanks by Pat Mora, John Parra

The perfect book about thankfulness for my Texan baby!  The bilingual storyteller shares his thoughtful sentiments in both English and Spanish.  He expresses thankfulness for the mundane and the profound, with humor and insight.  His expressions of gratitude are a great reminder for adults to see the world through a child's eyes....and they are great examples for children, to show them what thankfulness means.  If you are not comfortable reading in Spanish, you can certainly enjoy the book by reading English only.  As someone who studied Spanish for a long time, I enjoy reading both languages - it stretches my mind to enunciate and pronounce correctly, as well as refreshing my memory of vocabulary and grammar (in fact, this excellent book has made me seek other bilingual story books to read aloud so that I can continue to practice!)

The Thankful Book by Todd Parr

This book became a part of our permanent collection last year for Thanksgiving, and it is has become a year-round favorite.  Reading this book before bed has become a great point for which LO and I talk about the things in her life that she is thankful for.  While it still takes a lot of prompting from me at this point, I think that she is slowly putting together the concept of how she should feel thankful for the things that she loves, the people who love her, and the wonderful life that she has.  I am thankful for this book, because it has provided a colorful and poetic way to teach thankfulness to my young child!