Preschool Reads – Page 101

Animal Fiction, Fiction, Preschool Reads

Ten Birds Meet a Monster teaches us to count and describe things around us.

Posted on March 22, 2014March 22, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Ten Birds Meet a Monster, by Cybèle Young. Kids Can Press (2014), $18.95, ISBN: 9781554539550

Recommended for ages 4-8

Ten little birds discover a scary shadow outside their door – what can they do? One by one, the birds rally together to create different beasts using the clothes in the closet, each shape becoming more amorphous than the last, with increasingly wild names to accompany their shapes: we have Vicious Polka-dactyls, a Gnashing Grapplesaurus, a Frightening Vipper-Snapper, and more. Will the monster be more scared of them than they are of him and leave the birds alone?

Ten Birds is a concept book meant for a slightly older child, due to the more elevated language. We go beyond counting here, althoug counting from one to ten is certainly the basis for the story, and delve into adjectives and wordplay. Every bird is described with an adjective as he or she jumps in to help: “always resourceful”; “always diligent”; “always creative”. Each concoction the birds come up with is also defined with an adjective, allowing the opportunity for a good discussion about adjectives and describing words. This would be a fun enhancement to an English lesson in addition to a Math lesson.

The story is repetitive,which appeals to younger readers. The black and white ink and paper artwork is spare and beautiful, with beautiful detailing on the birds’ faces and bodies. The white background and framed pages make this an art book almost as much as it is a concept book for children. The font is a simple, black font on the white background, giving the sign that this is a read-aloud book – no fancy or fun fonts to distract the reader or the audience.

Ms. Young has written and illustrated an earlier Ten Birds book – Ten Birds – where the birds encounter a problem and have to solve it with their own wits, much like they do in Ten Birds Meet a Monster. Ten Birds received the 2011 Governor General’s Award for Illustration. The Birds series is a good one for young readers and I look forward to seeing what other predicaments Ms. Young can find for these birds. Maybe a board book for little hands and minds next?

Animal Fiction, Media, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

In Which I Explore an An Animated Book: Hondro & Fabian

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Hondo & Fabian. Written and Illustrated by Peter McCarty. 6 minutes. DVD. Weston Woods. 2006. $ 59.95 ISBN 0-439-84909-8

Suggested for ages 3-6

When I saw the animated books at my local library, I have to admit I wasn’t sure what to expect. Was I just going to be staring at a static series of pictures with a voiceover laid over the whole business? I decided to give it a shot with Peter McCarty’s Caldecott Honored-story, Hondo & Fabian. I am very happy to say I was delighted by what I watched.

Hondo & Fabian is the 2003 Caldecott Award-winning story of Hondo & Fabian, a dog and cat who live in the same household and have very different experiences one day, when one goes to the beach and one stays home with the family baby. Who has the better day?

Weston Woods produced this animated version of the book for schools and libraries, and author Peter McCarty’s soft, grey pencil on watercolor paper illustrations come to life as narrator Jeff Brooks tells the tale of the two friends who spend their day in two different ways. The illustrations are animated, allowing viewers to see Hondo’s ears blowing in the breeze as he hangs out a window, and Fabian putting his claws to work, shredding toilet paper. The story is brief, and Joel Goodman and David Bramfitt’s music adds to the beauty of the artwork, bringing with it a relaxing feeling as the story’s events unfold. Readers will enjoy viewing this story about pet friends; the option to use English subtitles will allow for new readers to read along with the narration. A study guide comes with the DVD that provides pre- and post-viewing activity ideas that can be incorporated into a storytime session, such as a discussion about pets and which animals are pets versus which are not.

This would be an interesting addition to a pet-related storytime. The DVD could break up the routine of a traditional read-aloud and attract renewed attention from attendees. The Perry Public Library’s Parade of Pets storytime theme has pet-related songs and fingerplays, and having a sing-along to an animal song-related CD, like Raffi’s Animal Songs, would make for an interactive and fun time.

The Hondo & Fabian animated book has received numerous accolades, including designation as an ALA Notable Video; Honorable Mention from the Columbus International Film & Video Festival; and was an Official Selection at the Kids First Film Festival.

The Hondo & Fabian series of books by Peter McCarty also includes Fabian Escapes.

Fantasy, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

When You Wish Upon the Moon… Randy DuBurke’s Moon Ring Takes You on a Trip

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Book Review: The Moon Ring, by Randy DuBurke, Chronicle Books 2002
Recommended for ages- 4-8

Maxine, a young girl, sits on the porch, with her grandmother, seeking relief from the summer heat, when a magic ring seemingly falls from the blue moon. Maxine is swept away on a magic ride around the world – to the South Pole, a wild savannah, and New York City, accompanied by some new friends. But what happens when she runs out of wishes?

The book is a fun fantasy tale about magic and the moon. We always hear about wishing on a star, but the moon is the star of the show here (no pun intended). Randy DuBurke gives readers a classic fairy tale elements – granting wishes, being transported to exciting adventures and locales, and the temporary scare – the wishes have run out!

Young readers will enjoy the close relationship Maxine and her wise grandma who knows that magic is out there. Maxine is drawn with a wonderfully expressive face – it makes for fun reading, with prompts to children learning about facial expressions and emotions. The exciting, changing landscapes are beautifully rendered in pen, ink, and acrylics on cold waterpress paper. The story uses its space well, alternating between full-bleed spreads and framed panels. I read the digital version of this book, so I can’t speak to the fonts, but I’m sure a read-aloud with the actual book will work better with a young group.

The Moon Ring is a playful, fun book that makes for a good read-aloud session. This would be a great addition to a read-aloud about magic, imagination, or the moon. There are many rhymes and fingerplays about the moon that would be good companions to this book – Hey Diddle Diddle would be a fun start!

Fantasy, Preschool Reads

Book Review: Doug Unplugged, by Dan Yaccarino (Knopf, 2013)

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Recommended for ages 4-8

This fun, retro story by Dan Yaccarino tells the story of a little robot boy who decides to “unplug” one day and explore the world. Little Doug is a robot boy whose parents plug him in every day so that he can learn while they head to work. One day, while learning about the city, Doug spies a pigeon at his window, and he’s fascinated. He unplugs himself and heads off on a day of exploration where he rides the train, scales a skyscraper, and makes a friend. After reuniting his friend with his parents, Doug decides to head home and tell his parents about his exciting day.

The story is sweet and packs a powerful message in our highly technological society. When most of our kids spend their days behind their iPads and computer screens, this simple message – unplug and learn by getting outside and doing – is a welcome sigh of relief. Packed with Yaccarino’s fun, adorable retro-futuristic artwork, Doug is a little boy on a big adventure that kids will enjoy living through vicariously. He may be a robot, but he’s easily distracted – there are many kids who can relate to the excitement of a pigeon landing on the windowsill at school or while doing homework at home. He spends a day exploring the city, yet manages to find a friend, and knows that he must go home at the end of the day. The art consists primarily of blues, greens and yellows, with other colors showing up to punch up the landscape. I read the digital version of this book, but encourage adult readers to use the physical storybook, which has smaller black font (it’s a great read-aloud book), usually at the bottom of the page or individual pictures so as not to detract from the artwork. There are whole spreads and chunked panels throughout the book, giving a fully-fleshed-out feeling to this story.

This would be a fun addition to a storytime on robots and would provide a more human perspective on a robot read-aloud. There are many robot printables and crafts online, and the author’s website offers information about his books, blog, social media, and speaking engagements.

mythology, Preschool Reads

Book Review: Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth by Sanjay Patel & Emily Haynes/Illus. by Sanjay Patel (Chronicle, 2013)

Posted on January 15, 2014January 30, 2026 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Recommended for ages 4-8

This adorable story puts a new spin on the Hindu myth that tells the story of how Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, came to help write the epic poem, The Mahabharata. Young Ganesha has a sweet tooth and particularly loves laddoos – a kind of jawbreaker candy – until one day, he breaks a tusk on one! What’s a young godling to do? He meets the poet, Vyasa, who offers a surprising way to make the best of the situation.

I can’t say enough about this book. The art is stunning. Sanjay Patel is an animator at Pixar Studios, and the look and feel of the overall story definitely has a fun quality to it that Pixar fans will appreciate and everyone will enjoy. The colors and Indian-influenced artwork are breathtaking. This is artwork I would hang in my kids’ room, it’s so beautiful. It’s colorful and exciting, and introduces children to Indian-influenced art, which many will likely never have seen before.

At the same time, the artwork is adorable. Children will adore Little Ganesha and his best friend Mouse and relate to them. What child wouldn’t want to sit and eat candy all day long? What child doesn’t believe he or she is invincible, as Ganesha does? When Ganesha breaks his tooth, he is worried about his appearance and becomes angry and frustrated, throwing his tusk at the moon. He loses his temper, like any other child would in a frustrating situation, and there is a friendly adult, in the person of Vyasa, to deflect Ganesha’s anger and channel it into something productive.

There are good lessons to be learned in this story, including making the best of a bad situation and how sharing is important, as illustrated between Ganesha, Mouse, and their other friends. I read the digital version of the book, but encourage adults to read the actual storybook, as the font is playful, round, and fun, attracting young readers’ eyes and directing them to the action and flow of the story. The artwork will keep little eyes busy – there is so much to see! – and the story lends itself to great post-storytime discussions about sharing, listening to your friends, and seeing the good in every situation.

Preschool Reads

Book Review: Emily’s Out and About Book, by Cindy Post Senning and Peggy Post/illus. by Leo Landry (Collins, 2009)

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Recommended for ages 4-6

Little Emily and her mother have errands to run: they go to the library, the doctor’s office, the market, and then stop for lunch before going home. At each stop, Emily demonstrates good manners, from using her inside voice in the library to asking a neighbor before petting her dog. Emily shows young readers that remembering good manners makes the day more enjoyable for everyone! Written by manners maven Emily Post’s great-granddaughter Cindy Post Senning and great-granddaughter in-law Peggy Post, Emily’s Out and About Book never reads like a rule book for children; the watercolor illustrations and subtle text, dressed in fiction, communicates the valuable information that preschoolers should know about manners as they get ready to enter Kindergarten. The colors are sedate and colorful on a white background, and the perspective changes from neighborhood spreads to individual pages featuring Emily and her mother. The endpapers provide a map of the neighborhood featured in the story. The plain black font tells the story simply and plainly. A word from the authors to parents at the book’s end explains the importance of manners and encourages parents to use the book as a teaching opportunity.

With preschool-age children getting ready to enter Kindergarten, a manners-related storytime would be a valuable way to reinforce positive social skills. Bay Views offers Manners/Etiquette storytime suggestions that suggests the song “Where is Thumbkin?”, which includes proper etiquette for greetings and saying thank you; it also links to Step by Step CC, a page that offers manners-themed activities. For a smaller storytime group, a tea party, serving iced tea and cookies, would be a good way to reinforce manners learned in the book. Other works by the authors include Emily’s Caring and Sharing Book; Emily’s New Friend; and Emily’s Christmas Gifts.

Preschool Reads

Book Review: Bumble-Ardy, by Maurice Sendak (HarperCollins, 2011)

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Recommended for ages 2-6

Beloved author Maurice Sendak’s Bumble-Ardy is inspired by a short, developed by Mr. Sendak and Jim Henson, for Sesame Street.

Bumble-Ardy is a young pig who has never had a birthday party because his family “frowned on fun”. When he was eight, his parents “got ate” and he went to live with his Aunt Adeline. Finally, for his ninth birthday, Aunt Adeline gives him a “hotsy tottsy cowboy costume” and leaves for work; Bumble decides to throw himself a masquerade birthday party that quickly escalates out of control, just as his aunt returns home from work. Sendak uses watercolors to illustrate his story, and the rapidly escalating party brings to mind the Wild Rumpus from Where The Wild Things Are.

The number nine is a major theme throughout the book: the party takes place at ten past nine; Aunt Adeline kisses Bumble-Ardy nine times over nine, and the number shows up in a great deal of the artwork, from a birthday candle on Bumble’s cake to the signs partygoers make for the celebration. Readers and listeners will enjoy the story of a little pig who wanted a birthday party so badly that he threw one for himself; they will also be reassured by the theme of forgiveness; Aunt Adeline can be angry, yet still kiss him and tell him she loves him.

This would be a fun addition to a birthday-related read-aloud. I would set up the read-aloud like a birthday party, with mini-cupcakes rather than cake, and milk, and decorate the storytime area as I would for a birthday party, with streamers and a sign. I would ask if there were any birthday boys or girls in the room, and have birthday ribbons for any birthday children to wear. Singing the Happy Birthday is a must, and the Perry Public Library has a Happy Birthday theme that includes other birthday-related songs and rhymes. Bumble-Ardy would also be a fun book to use a flannel board with, particularly for the party scenes.

Preschool Reads

Book Review: Moonlight, by Helen V. Griffith/Illus. by Laura Dronzek (Greenwillow Books, 2012)

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Recommended for ages 2-6

Told in rhyme, Moonlight tells the story of a rabbit that is so sleepy, he cannot wait for the moon to come out from behind the clouds, and heads to his burrow to sleep. When the moonlight emerges from behind the clouds, it coats everything it touches in a “butter trace”. It even reaches into Rabbit’s burrow and into his dreams, waking him up.

The illustrations, done in deeply saturated acrylics, set a drowsy, sleepy tone as readers see the moon lazily “butter” everything in its path with its light. The stars and comets look almost like Van Gogh’s Starry Night; the animals bathed in its light all sleep peacefully, and the landscapes – mountains, trees, and streams – all seem soft, relaxed. The brief text itself seems quiet and relaxed, showing up unobtrusively on each spread and without punctuation to halt the eye or the mind.

This would be a wonderful addition to a bedtime read-aloud. Audiences can attend in their pajamas with a favorite stuffed animal, and serving milk and cookies would add to the storytime atmosphere. There are many bedtime rhymes and songs that can fit in with this theme. Using a flannel board may add to young audiences’ appreciation of the story.

Preschool Reads

Book Review: Ride, by Stephen Gammell (Harcourt, 2001)

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Recommended for ages 3-6

A mother and father decide to take their children on a Sunday ride. The siblings don’t share their parents’ enthusiasm. Once in the car, it begins. First come the insults: “You’re a poopy face.” “You have booger breath.” The argument escalates into an all-out fantasy brawl, with furniture flying, rockets blasting off, and a dinosaur showdown. Mother offers a snack, which calms things down momentarily: but for how long?

Mr. Gammell’s pastel-pencil-watercolor illustrations are bursting with color and energy. His rainbow palette is reminiscent of a Spin-Art machine, with splatters and smudges throughout each page. The text is woven into the story, as there is no narrator, only the dialogue between family members. The bold text exists in the same space as the illustration, with exaggerated sizes, colors, and splatters. The book will appeal to young audiences, especially those with siblings or other family members who can relate to being stuck in a car with someone who drives them crazy, and the imaginative tussles that the siblings create.

This would be a fun addition to a sibling read-aloud. It may also be enhanced by using puppets to act out the family’s interactions; in particular, the brother and sister, whose battle frames the book. There are songs and fingerplays about siblings available that can be easily taught to audiences, including “Here is Sister/Here is Brother”, to the tune of Frere Jacques.

Preschool Reads

Book Review: Rainstorm, by Barbara Lehman/Illus. by Harry Bliss (Henry Holt & Company, 2004)

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Recommended for ages 3-6

When the moon comes down, in pieces, on a neighborhood street, everyone works together to get it fixed and back up in the sky.

Influenced by the events of September 11^th, Jean Gralley wrote this story about a neighborhood’s first responders and citizens coming together in the wake of a potential disaster: the moon falls, breaking into pieces, from the sky. The story celebrates teamwork and its accomplishments as evidenced by the Fire Chief, Rescue Workers, Helper Dogs, and “people everywhere”, all who come running to help, in answer to the question, “Who will make it right again and set it in the air?” A Fred Rogers quote at the beginning of the story reminds children to “Look for the helpers”.

The gouache and mixed media illustrations on white backgrounds soften the images; the author is not interested in focusing on catastrophe, but on collaboration – an important message for a preschool audience. The sparse, rhyming text sits on the page, never intrusive, in a plain black font. Volunteers smile and cheer one another on in their mission, making sure to include everyone: even the Helper Dogs. The book has been used to help children deal with fear and grief surrounding current events like disaster, war, and ever-changing security alerts because of its messages of endurance and optimism.

The book would be a good addition to a read-aloud on rescue workers – firemen, policemen, medical technicians, doctors and nurses – for its positive portrayal of these first responders and their ability to work with everyone around them. Displaying toy fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances around the storytime area will set a mood for the storytime and allow for play. There are firemen and policemen printables available online that children can color and bring home.