Preschool Reads – Page 98

Blue Whale Blues: A good friend always helps cheer you up!

Posted on November 6, 2015November 6, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Blue Whale Blues, by Peter Carnavas (Kane Miller, Sept. 2015), $22.99, ISBN: 978-1610674584

Recommended for ages 3-7

Blue Whale is singing the blues about life’s little obstacles, but his friend Penguin is always there to cheer him up. Can the poor whale ever learn to laugh at himself and make lemonade out of life’s lemons?

This is an adorable story about something kids (and adults) will recognize right away – letting the little things get to you, and the importance of having a friend there to help you shake off the blues. Blue Whale sings about his “Blue Whale Blues”, but Penguin always jumps in with a better way of handling life’s little trials. Blue Whale Blues is about the importance of having a friend to boost you when you’re feeling down, but also the value in laughing at yourself – something Whale eventually learns. Preschoolers will love the cartoony art and the upbeat ending. Grownups, make up your own Blue Whale Blues tune and sing along – the kids will love it!

Blue Whale Blues is a fun addition to storytime and classroom libraries. It’s available through Usborne as well as through online retailers.

Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

Start the day off with Good Morning Yoga!

Posted on November 6, 2015August 24, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Good Morning Yoga, by Mariam Gates/Illus. by Sarah Jane Hinder (March 2016, Sounds True), $17.95, ISBN: 9781622036028

Recommended for ages 3+

Perfect for kids and grown-ups, Good Morning Yoga starts everyone’s day off with a series of yoga poses, accompanied by positive, uplifting visualization.

Kids are stressed out. Between test anxiety, general school and social anxiety, and overscheduling anxiety, kids are operating under a level of stress most of us never knew at such a young age. Yoga is a way to help everyone focus, breathe, and relax. Starting children off with a yoga practice is a wonderful way to give kids a head start on recognizing when and how to calm themselves and connect back with themselves when what’s inside them may go a little haywire – just like us.

Mariam Gates, the founder of Kid Power Yoga, wants Good Morning Yoga to help kids focus, relax, self-monitor, and self-soothe. She’s an experienced educator and yoga practioner – what a great way to bring the two passions together, right?

Ms. Gates and illustrator Sarah Jane Hinder put together a beautiful, calming vinyasa flow for kids and adults to follow to greet the morning. The book takes kids through a series of poses and breathing exercises, featuring multi-ethnic children and bright, varied backgrounds like a ski slope, a volcano, and a mountain top. The images illustrate that yoga is truly for everyone, everywhere.

The text leads the kids through poses and visualizations – a gentle stream, an explorer, a playful dog – and always, as with grown-up yoga classes, brings the children back to the centering breath with the repeated phrase, “As I breathe in, as I breathe out…” A series of pictures throughout the book and at the end guide the series of poses to create a flow that kids will quickly pick up. Each pose is fully explained at the end of the book.

I’ve been dying to do a yoga storytime for ages; ever since I read Storytime Katie’s Yoga post, where she did a preschool yoga program, and this book is going to be a valuable addition to my yoga libraries – both my work library and my home library! The book doesn’t come out until March, but never fear – Goodnight Yoga is available right now. Parents, check this book out, and do some yoga with your little ones. I used to do YogaKids DVDs with my older two when they were kidlings, and we had a great time with it. You’re laughing together, you’re creating fun poses, and for a little while, you’re just happy in the moment with the most important people in your life. Teachers, this is a great set of books to have on hand for a quick break in the day, especially during test season.

Here’s some of the beautiful art from Good Morning Yoga, to tide you over until March (or until you get your copy of Good Night Yoga).

Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads

Spotlight On: A Halloween Scare at My House!

Posted on October 29, 2015October 11, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

From the opening invitation to a Halloween Scare t0 the Halloween-motif endpapers, A Halloween Scare at My House is a perfect read-aloud for toddlers to Kindergarteners! Check out the Sourcebooks Spotlight below, with the chance to win your own copy of the book!

A Halloween Scare at My House Series, by Eric James/Illustrated by Marina Le Ray

Series Info:
Title: A Halloween Scare at My House
Author: Eric James
Illustrator: Marina Le Ray
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Description:
The perfect gift for every child or kid-at-heart who also loves celebrating the most eerie and thrilling night of the year, the Halloween Scare regional series offers a jaunty tale with a humorous bent—sure to ward off any creature who goes bump in the night in cities and states across the country!

Now with 78 titles highlighting different cities, states, and regions in the U.S. and Canada, each book in the Halloween Scare series features art and text created especially for a specific state or city. Fun Halloween creatures and critters haunt your favorite landmarks, including famous sites like the Statue of Liberty in New York, California’s Hollywood sign, the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp, Churchill Downs in Kentucky, the San Jacinto Monument in Texas and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina.

With its bouncing rhyme, colorful illustrations, and funny story, the Halloween Scare series is a delightful Halloween adventure for everyone who loves a silly, spooky tale. It’s perfect for younger readers who can explore their state or city and little learn more about the places and landmarks that make their homes unique.

Prepare, if you dare, for a Halloween scare,
A night of pure terror to whiten your hair.
A tale full of sights that are best left unseen. You ready? You sure?
This was my Halloween.

About the Author and Illustrator:

Eric James is a children’s book author, word tickler, and champion asparagus thrower. You can find him online at http://www.ericjames.co.uk. He lives in Bath, England, with his family.

Marina Le Ray has had success both as a children’s book illustrator as well as a greeting card designer. She lives and works in Nantes, France.

My two cents: This is an adorable book. The fact that it’s customized for different regions of the states makes it a great choice for read-alouds and for classrooms that want to incorporate some fun into their Social Studies curriculum. Leave time in a lesson to talk about Halloween in your cities, versus traditions from other cities. The rhyming text and story about a little boy who overcame his fear of Halloween and monsters will draw kids in, so don’t be afraid to read with different voices, make spooky sounds, and invite the kids to shriek and moan along with you. Halloween storytimes are the best storytimes ever!

Buy Links:
Available at all major booksellers

Don’t forget, enter this Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win your own copy!
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Animal Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Roar! A Tale of Friendship and Sleepless Adventure

Posted on October 11, 2015August 31, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Roar! by Julie Bayless (Oct. 2015, Running Press), $16.95, ISBN: 9780762457502

Recommended for ages 2-5

A little lion cub can’t get to sleep. When he tries to wake up his family to play, their snores send him roaming the savannah in search of fun. He meets a group of hippos and a group of giraffes, but his friendly “ROAR” scares them off, but he and a bunny hit it off perfectly, and spend the rest of the night yelling “ROAR!” and “MORE!” together!

Roar! is a fun tale of friendship and adventuring. Kids (and sleepy parents) will recognize themselves in the little lion cub, trying to no avail to wake up the sleepy grownups to have some fun. The little guy’s no predator, but his friendly exclamation scares off much bigger animals; when he meets a similarly spunky bunny, the fun begins.

The book mixes graphic novel-style panels with full-page spreads and shifts in perspective, making this a fun read that will keep little ones engaged. It’s interactive – I’ve read this to toddlers and preschoolers, and we’ve hollered “ROAR!” and “MORE!” to our hearts’ content as we read through the book. I had one group of toddlers demand a second reading, and the roars were wonderful!

The digital art has a beautiful sharpness to it. The backgrounds are largely dark violet-blue, with the animals crisply defined against them. There are few words to the story: mostly “Roar” and “More”, with a few snores, burps and sniffs thrown in for good measure, so there is a lot of room for interaction – kids can describe the land, name the animals the cub encounters, and veer off into their own narration.

Roar is a great storytime book, bedtime book, anytime book. It’s been kid-tested, mother and librarian approved – don’t miss it!

Early Reader, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

It’s a great day for A Visit to the Library!

Posted on September 10, 2015September 9, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

A Visit to the Library, by Mary Lindeed (Aug. 2015, Norwood House Press), $21.95, ISBN: 9781599536910

Recommended for ages 4-7

Take a trip to the library! Read a book, listen to a story at storytime, and use the computer! See what the librarian does, and check out a book! This Easy Reader is a great introduction to the library for young audiences and readers. There are vivid photos and informational, large print text, plus sight words and vocabulary at the end of the book. Activities round out the book and provide a neat little lesson for kids who are about to start using the library through school, maybe without a parent for the first time.

I’m going to read this with my preschoolers at my next storytime as a way to introduce them to the library, and talk with them about using the library. Norwood’s website suggests pairing At The Library with its fiction counterpart, Dear Dragon Goes to the Library by Margaret Hillert. Teachers may want to consider this pairing for a pre-library visit warmup, and parents could borrow this to read to their children in anticipation of a library visit.

A great addition to nonfiction collections.

Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads

Spotlight Tour: Max the Brave by Ed Vere

Posted on September 1, 2015August 24, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Max is a fearless kitten. Max is a brave kitten. Max is a kitten who chases mice. There’s only one problem—Max doesn’t know what a mouse looks like! With a little bit of bad advice, Max finds himself facing a much bigger challenge. Maybe Max doesn’t have to be Max the Brave all the time…

Join this adventurous black cat as he very politely asks a variety of animals for help in finding a mouse. Young readers will delight in Max’s mistakes, while adults will love the subtle, tongue-in-cheek humor of this new children’s classic.

Ed Vere is an author, artist and illustrator with a long track record of success in the picture book category. Max the Brave was named one of The Sunday Times’s 100 Modern Children’s Classics. His book Bedtime for Monsters was shortlisted for the 2011 Roald Dahl Funny Prize and Mr Big was chosen by Booktrust as the official Booktime book for 2009 (and was distributed to 750,000 British schoolchildren, making it the largest single print run of a picture book). Vere was the World Book Day illustrator for 2009.

Enter this Rafflecopter giveaway to win a copy of your own! (Contest runs Sept. 1-Oct. 31.)
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Social Media:
Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuNbrpUVunE
Website: http://books.sourcebooks.com/maxthebrave/
Activity Kit: http://sourcebooksftp.com/Email/MaxTheBrave/MaxTheBrave-ActivityKit.pdf
Educator guide: http://sourcebooksftp.com/Email/MaxTheBrave/MaxTheBrave-EduGuide.pdf
Twitter: @ed_vere, @jabberwockykids

Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

Busy Wheels’ Plane’s Royal Rescue is on a mission!

Posted on August 28, 2015August 27, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Plane’s Royal Rescue, by Peter Bently/illus. by Louise Conway (Aug. 2015, QEB Publishing), $14.95, ISBN: 9781609927912

Recommended for ages 3-6

Another book in the Busy Wheels series from QEB Publishing, Plane’s Royal Rescue tells the story of Plane, its clever captain, Captain Koala, and how they save the day for the traveling royal family. We meet Plane, who is getting ready for the day’s journey, and Captain Koala, who is talking to his copilot. The royal family is boarding a flight to the same destination, but when the jet takes off, the limousine driver discovers a big problem – the king has forgotten his crown in the car! Captain Koala and Plane step in to save the day.

This is such a fun series for young readers, and just enough detail to introduce them to the concepts of flying and the parts of a plane. There are details included throughout the story, including new vocabulary, and a Let’s Look at section that provides detailed pictures and terms for the parts of a plane and other airport vehicles. The kids at my preschool libraries will be happy to see this one Plane’s Royal Rescue join Train is On Track.

Early Reader, Preschool Reads, Uncategorized

Train is On Track is perfect for your transportation book lovers!

Posted on August 27, 2015January 30, 2026 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Train is on Track, by Peter Bently/Illus. by Louise Conway (Aug. 2015, QEB Publishing), $14.95, ISBN: 9781609927905

Recommended for ages 3-6

Train is in the rail yard, preparing for today’s journey. Dog checks the controls and gets the train moving, picking up and discharging passengers. But wait! During a thunderstorm, a tree has fallen onto the track and the mail truck has derailed. Can train help deliver the mail on time?

With bright colors and easy to read text, Train is on Track from QEB’s Busy Wheels series is a fun addition to any transportation library. Mr. Bently presents new vocabulary words for young learners; Ms. Conway’s art helps make the connections. A detailed spread at the end of the story, “Let’s Look at Train”, offers illustrations detailing different parts of railroad vehicles, such as the driver’s cab and switches, and several different types of trains.

The kids in my preschool libraries LOVE transportation books. Boys and girls alike, the books fly off the shelves, and I’m always on the lookout for good transportation books. This Busy Wheels series will be a great purchase for me!

Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads

Max the Brave is FEARLESS!

Posted on August 25, 2015August 23, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Max the Brave, by Ed Vere (Sept 2015, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-4926-1651-1

Recommended for ages 2-6

Max is a fearless kitten. He is a brave kitten. He does not like being dressed up in cutesy bows. He is a kitten who catches mice… or, he would, if he knew what a mouse looked like. He sets off in search of a mouse, politely asking several animals along the way if they are mice. Somewhere along the way, though, it looks like someone told Max a fib…

This book is adorable. The cartoony artwork will grab little readers and storytime attendees right away. Max is bold and black, with big yellow eyes. The animals he encounters are largely bold and black, set against bright background pages. The minimalist artwork makes it easy for younger readers to follow along, and the plain black text makes for an easy read for storytime.

The story reinforces manners – even though Max is brave and fearless, he’s always polite when asking for directions to Mouse. The story’s end will make parents giggle along with their children, and they will cheer for Max on his quest. There’s just enough repetition on Max’s search to keep kids engaged and interactive with the story.

I read this story to preschoolers and toddlers, and each time, they LOVED it. There was a fantastic amount of interaction, with kids calling out the names of the animals Max encounters and calling out advice to Max. The toddlers giggled and clapped and asked me to read it again – so I did!

Bottom line: Put this one on your Fall reading lists. The kiddies love it. There are great activities available as a free download from the publisher, and there’s also a free Common Core educator’s guide.

Watch this space – there’s going to be a Rafflecopter giveaway on this blog shortly!