Tuesday, April 26, 2016

A Few Books to Get You Started

Here are some books to get your family started on a summer of reading fun!
Your public library will have most of these books.  1/2 Price Books is a great place to purchase children's books at a very reasonable price.  Garage sales and Amazon both have bargains with a bit of searching.

Some Book Suggestions for Children  birth-6

First Words    Snapshot Books          A series of books with simple, clear pictures of every day objects in the child’s world.   These are wonderful books for learning new words.  Titles:  First Words Clothes, First Words Food, First Words Kitchen, First Words Garden, also shapes, fruits, and many more.   Some titles are available in Spanish.

The Carrot Seed  Ruth Krauss   The story of a boy who plants a carrot seed and cares for it even though others tell him it won’t grow.  Of course, it does, to everyone’s amazement.

Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown Perhaps the perfect children's bedtime book, Goodnight Moon is a short poem of goodnight wishes from a young rabbit preparing for--or attempting to postpone--his own slumber. He says goodnight to every object in sight and within earshot, including the "quiet old lady whispering hush."

Eye-Openers  DK Books  A series of books with great pictures and information.  Titles include: Farm Animals, Zoo Animals, Trucks, Pets, Dinosaurs, Cars, Ships and Boats, Planes, Insects and Crawly Creatures and many more.

Caps for Sale Esphyr Slobodkina  An old folk tale about a peddler with a huge stack of caps for sale.  One day he stops under a tree to take a nap.  A tree full of monkeys creates a very funny situation.

McDuff Books  Rosemary Wells  A series of delightful stories about McDuff, a West Highland Terrier puppy, who finds a wonderful home, has an adventure chasing a rabbit, adjusts to a new baby in the house, and helps rescue Santa. 

Books by Eric Carle All of this author’s books are great childhood favorites:  Pancakes, Pancakes, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Grouchy Ladybug, and many more.  Most titles are available in Spanish.

Gray Squirrel at Pacific Avenue Geri Harrington.  Published by the Smithsonian Institution, this book, and others in the Smithsonian’s Backyard series, are exciting tales of realistic animals and their adventures. 

You Are Just What I Need  Ruth Krauss  "One morning a mother saw a strange bundle under the blankets in her bed." So begins this charming story of a treasured moment between mother and child. In a familiar game, the woman tries to guess what this child-shaped object may be. A pile of laundry? A bunch of carrots? She is sure she doesn't need any of these things, and each time the squirming lump says, "No." Finally, a face pops out of the blanket and yells, "It's ME," and the two share a hug. In a perfect ending, the mother affirms, "It's you. And you're just what I need."


Rookie Biographies:  Dozens of titles available about real heroes and famous people

Eyewitness Books  Many topics from DK books
Read and Find Out Books  many in series on nature and science

Lights of Winter Winter Celebrations around the World

True Books:  continents, countries, every topic

Rookie Read about Geography series

Where do Frogs Come From     Eric Vern

Animal Hospital  Judith Walker Hodge

Books to Remember Series (highly recommended


Some Book Suggestions for Children 6-11

Children in this age group are curious about the world, history and people.  There are many biographies available to introduce your children to real heroes.  In addition to many of the books above, which can now be read by the child independently, these are more advanced reading for the 6-11 year old. 

Books on science, plants, weather and long ago times will fire your child’s imagination and spark creativity.

Rookie Biographies  Dozens of titles are available in this series of stories about real heroes and famous people.  Introduce your child to Paul Revere, Martin Luther King, Neil Armstrong, Jackie Robinson, Marie Curie, Oprah Winfrey, Johnny Appleseed, YoYo Ma, Harriet Tubman, Amelia Earhart, Cesar Chavez and many more writers, scientists, athletes, musicians and human rights pioneers.

Eyewitness Books DK Books  A series of books covering nearly every topic of interest to this age child.  Castles, dogs, dinosaurs, oceans, pirates, the human body, weather, cowboys and hundreds of others are explored in depth with good pictures and readable text. 

 This is also the time for reading the classic stories:  Heidi, Charlotte’s Web, Toad Hall, Little House books, The Velveteen Rabbit, Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland and all the other treasures we grew up with.  These books are often best read with the child, perhaps with the parent reading for a bit, then the child taking a turn. 
These are just a few ideas to get you started.  Visit your local library in person or on-line for thousands of other great books to help your child become an eager reader!










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