Gwyneth Paltrow Thinks She's Pretty Great

Like most working moms today, I was chuckling along as I read the scathing New York Post article: A Working Mom's Open Letter to Gwyneth Paltrow. I have to admit, I was initially annoyed by Ms. Paltrow's out of touch comments to E when she basically said she has it so much harder than us silly moms working our sweet and easy nine-to-fives. In fact, I acted very similarly to the goat in Bob Shea's genius book Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great. I was all like, "OH! Gwyneth Paltrow thinks she's pretty great!"

Illustration by Bob Shea

I kept thinking all these snarky comments about Gwyneth Paltrow...that was until I got sucked into reading the comments on the New York Post article. On the surface it seemed like working women were uniting on a common front: We work hard! We commute long hours! We run ourselves ragged! We make dinners, do laundry, make lunches, clean houses, put the kids to bed, answer emails late at night, love and spend time with our kids, and work 40 plus hours outside the home on top of that!!! However, instead of raising each other up, the people commenting were tearing each other down in an impossible game of "I have a tougher life than you do!" Look, no one will win that contest. I am pretty sure the moms who have it toughest are too busy dealing with things that they aren't online reading gossip. So we all lose. And suddenly this is how I felt:

Illustration by Bob Shea

It is like that time when you kill yourself staying up at night trying to make purple cupcakes for your kid's class after the teacher asked you to bring in a purple snack for a lesson on the color purple and after you take into account all the allergies (making them gluten free, dairy free, and egg free) the cupcakes don't really turn out right....AND....

Illustration by Bob Shea

some other mom makes it freaking rain cupcakes!! True story.

Illustration by Bob Shea

Suddenly, you find yourself bashing that mom. You find a million reasons why she has it so much easier than you do. Obviously she has help- like a nanny and family and a cleaning person and well the list goes on and on. It is a rediculously human reaction. And, the thought process runs counter to those lessons you have been probably teaching your kids. This is why reading children's books with your kids is so important. Even as adults we need to be reminded on how to be a good person. It isn't just the kids that should be learning, we as adults should be absorbing the invaluable lessons that children's books teach.

When I was a kid and would complain at the dinner table that other kids have it so much easier than I do, my dad would always say, "Don't judge them until you have walked a mile in their shoes." I never really understood what he meant. It is a REALLY hard lesson to learn. It is an ever harder to take the a time out and remember that even though I think that Gwyneth Paltrow thinks she's pretty great, she may be going though her own struggles. The crazy thing is we know she is going through her own struggles. So, maybe as women instead of tearing her and each other apart, we should be supportive.

Yeah, maybe Gwyneth Paltrow is this amazing unicorn, but I have freaking cloven hooves. What I mean is this: We all have our struggles, and it may seem that the other person has it so easy. However, if we took the time to focus on the other person's strengths, we women would be an unstoppable team.

Illustration by Bob Shea

And that is why you should run out and purchase your own copy of Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great written and illustrated by Bob Shea. I think the book is genius. We read it again tonight after I realized I needed to be reminded of the awesome lessons taught in this book. 

Written and illustrated by Bob Shea

I purchased the review copy of this book for my own personal library.  (We love Bob Shea so much I ran out and purchased it as soon as it was released in 2013.)

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, if you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Books, Babies, and Bows (at no cost to you!). Thank you for your support!

Usborne Activities: 50 Easter Things to Make and Do Giveaway!

I am so excited to be partnering up with Heather Bowling with Usborne Books to offer a copy of Usborne Activities 50 Easter Things to Make and Do just in time for Easter.


The Book: Usborne Activities: 50 Easter Things to Make and Do

Age Recommendation: Ages 6 and up.
Description: 50 spiral-bound cards each showing an Easter-inspired project to create. - Projects include decorative Easter garlands, fingerprint bunnies, a hatching chick card, decorated eggs and lots more. - Each card shows a colorful picture of the finished project, with clear step-by-step illustrations and instructions on the reverse. - The spiral binding makes the cards easy to use with no fear of losing favorite cards! 

My Review: 
My review copy of the book arrived at our house on Monday before I got home from work, which meant Miss M, who was home from school with my husband, had already put at least 10 bookmarks throughout the book on projects she wanted us to do. My daughter loves doing arts and crafts. Her room is always filled with scraps of paper that have been cut up, painted, and then shaped into all sorts of creative things. So, you can imagine that reviewing a book where I encourage her artistic tendencies was a big win in our house.

After much convincing, I was able to narrow her lengthy list down to two projects, and we did them tonight. What impressed me with the selection of activities in this book was that, in general, they could be completed with basic art supplies that you would most likely have around the house. I also loved that the book was spiral bound and on heavy weight paper, that makes it study enough to withstand the wear and tear of a super creative kid. Supplies needed for most of the projects include heavy weight paper, tissue paper, paint, crayons, and markers. The most challenging activities in the book include a couple of projects that require using an egg shell after you carefully crack it and pour out the egg. Other than the egg cracking activities, all the other projects are easy enough that I would be confident my oldest daughter, who is seven, could do them on her own. Also, all the projects can be completed in eight steps or less.

I really like the idea of getting projects to do from this book, as opposed to just searching on Pinterest for activities, mainly because the book not only has excellent photos and "how-to" descriptions but it also allowed my daughter to choose the activity. I am a firm believer in letting kids do things on their own, as long as it is age appropriate, with very little parental interference. My daughter is at her most creative when I am hands off with projects. 


The first activity we choose to do was to make the Chirpy Chicks. In this activity, the book includes instruction on how to draw a basic chick and then additional examples of all sorts of different ways to draw the chicks. My daughter wanted to make a full flip book, but I convinced her to scale down and only make four pictures, provided I would make them into a gif. These are the four chicks we made.

Make sure to read through to the end to see the gif we made. 

The second activity my daughter did completely without my help while I put little Miss J to bed. She choose the Painted Daffodils activity. This activity takes a step by step approach to painting daffodils, layering each step after the other.

After making the flowers and adding the stems, she felt the yellow I set out for her was too bright. So, she went back and darkened it up with the orange. Looking through the pictures, I think it was a nice choice.

And here is the finished product. She was very excited to see the flowers form before her eyes. I was impressed that she was able to follow the instructions, which are provided in both print and with pictures, without any parental help.

And here is the gif we made. I did the uploading, cropping, and editing for the gif. My daughter assured me she could help; but it was getting late, and she needed to get to bed.

One Little Chickie

 What do you think of our projects?

Overall, this book was a big win for my artistic oldest daughter. She has already informed me of some of the other projects she plans on doing the next couple of weeks. 

Want to add the book to your kid's Easter Basket? You can purchase it here: http://r2087.myubam.com/p/716/50-easter-things-to-make-and-do . 

In the mean time, enter to win a copy of your own right now! The winner will be announced April 7th on my Facebook page, Twitter, and on this blog.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  I was provided the review copy of the book from Heather, free of charge, in exchange for writing a honest review.

If Chocolate Were Purple by Jen Barton- A Review

Book: If Chocolate Were Purple
Author: Jen Barton
Illustrator: Yoko Matsuoka
Publisher: Flickerfawn Publications
Pages: 28
My recommended age range: 2-7

Having two girls, you can imagine that purple is a popular color in our house. In fact, I push the color purple to try and displace the sea of pink that plagues most girl toys. So, I was thrilled when I received the book If Chocolate Were Purple to review from author Jen Barton.

If Chocolate Were Purple is a playful book that takes your child's imagination in all sorts of silly ways to imagine how the world could possibly be different. Imagine rainbow sandwiches, rocketship stew, glow-in-the-dark bananas, and flying dolphins, just to name a few. If you don't start laughing after the first couple of pages, you are taking life way too seriously.

The easy rhythms and colorful illustrations in this book keep children entertained and giggling. My daughters loved imagining little stars coming into their bedrooms at night to sing them lullabies. The story really provided a springboard for discussing all the ways we could make our life silly by changing the way things are right now. I love books that spark the discussion, "Could you imagine?" We imagined Charlie and the Chocolate Factory manufacturing purple chocolate. I think this isn't really too much of a stretch. And, we felt that the chocolate river in the book would be much more appealing if it was purple instead of a muddy brownish color.

Given that many children are fearful of the dark and things that go bump in the night, my oldest daughter took comfort in the idea of lollipop soldiers that would stand by her bed to protect her from scary monsters.

What I adored about this book was how even though on the surface the book is just silly and fun, the overarching message of the book is that no matter how much things may change a parent will still love and be there for their child. That is such an important message to repeat over and over again to your children. You never know when life may turn upside down for your family, and having a child know in their heart that no matter what you will be there for them is invaluable.

Want to know more about the book and how the author came up with the concept? Check out her interview with ABC27 where she explains the inspiration for this story. Or, you can check out her website: http://www.jbartonbooks.com/if-chocolate-were-purple. Or you can follow her on Twitter (@FionaThornBoo) or like her on Facebook.

Both my girls highly recommend If Chocolate Were Purple. I know this because my youngest daughter brings the book to me at to read to her before bed almost nightly since receiving it, and my oldest made sure I wasn't giving the book away as part of some blog related giveaway.

You can find this book on:
Amazon: If Chocolate Were Purple, Barnes and Noble: If Chocolate Were Purple, or Good Reads: If Chocolate Were Purple.

IF CHOCOLATE WERE PURPLE. Text copyright © 2013 by Jen Barton. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Yoko Matsuoka. Reproduced by permission of the author.

The review copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. All
opinions expressed are my own.

FTC Required Disclosure:

This site is an Amazon affiliate, if you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Books, Babies, and Bows (at no cost to you!). Thank you for your support!

To My Dear Little Duckie- Quotes From Children's Books for When Things Are Not Going Your Way

To My Dear Little Duckie,

I know you have felt rather unlucky! And, just the other day, I heard you say...

Yes, my dear. There will be days like that. EVEN in Australia and New Jersey and Georgia. In fact, we all have pretty crummy days sometimes. While things may be crummy, things could always, and I mean ALWAYS be worse. Just remember what the old man in the Desert of Drize once said:

This doesn't mean that your struggles are not struggles or your fears are not valid. They are. However, it is important to always try to keep things in perspective and try to keep things light.

Sometimes, deadly serious situations require laughter or imagining the sunshine through the rain. It may seem like an endless winter, but spring, I promise, is on its way.

Because things will get better. Yes, my little Duckie, of that I am sure. Today may have been a difficult day, but please remember a bright tomorrow is knocking at the door.

And end every day being thankful for all that is good. Give thanks for your family, your home, and your friends. And please try to remember how lucky you are that you are....

Love these quotes? Read the books from which they came:

1. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Classic Board Books)
2. Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? (Classic Seuss)
3. A Wrinkle in Time (text only) by M. L'Engle
4. The Secret Garden (Sterling Unabridged Classics)
5. Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
6. Madeline

A Wonder Day Wearing Wonder Shirts

Today was a beautiful day for a myriad of reasons. The sun was shining. It was 70 degrees outside. And, after spending four days in the hospital, my oldest daughter was feeling much better and most importantly was home. 

We took advantage of the beautiful day outside by heading first to the park to play on the playground equipment and to check out the ducks at the pond. Notice how my youngest daughter won't look at the camera because she cannot keep her eyes off of the ducks. I know she is trying to figure out how to jump into the water with the ducks.

 

 We then headed over to the library to make an exchange of books. Right now, Little J likes to find chapter books that my older daughter reads, like Junie B. Jones, and pretend to read them. I just love it because she is emulating her sister who reads all the time. I hope this type of modeling will grow a reader.

After we were done at the library, we returned home to enjoy more play and some reading. My kids are loving the adorable Mo Willems themed t-shirts that we received from Wonder Shirts. (Check out my previous post where I share the t-shirt I received, free of charge, from Wonder Shirts.) Miss M is wearing the tan Pigeon t-shirt that says "Driven To Read," and Miss J has on an adorable Elephant and Piggie shirt.

 

Little J smiles every time she sees the t-shirt and makes the connection that the characters on her shirt are the same as the characters in her books. Even though Little J's shirt swims on her because she is so small, she insists on wearing it. I actually have to tie it in the back to keep it from hanging down like a dress. I love how the shirts reinforce characters from books with positive images of reading. I would take these shirts, hands-down, any day over the skin tight t-shirts they sell in the store to children with phrases like "Sparkle" on them. If you like these shirts, check out http://www.wonder-shirts.com/.

 Disclosure: As I stated earlier in my blog, I received the t-shirts shown here free of charge from Wonder-Shirts. All the opinions stated on this blog are my own.

Good Night, Animal World: A Kids Yoga Bedtime Story Blog Tour

 

About the Book

Title: Good Night, Animal World: A Kids Yoga Bedtime Story | Author: Giselle Shardlow | Illustrator: Emily Gedzyk | Publication Date: September 20, 2013 | Publisher: Company: Kids Yoga Stories LLC | Pages: 32 | Recommended Ages: 2.5 to 6 years Summary: Say good night to the animals of the world! Calm your mind and body before bedtime by taking a journey around the world with this kids yoga storybook. Join six Kids Yoga Stories characters as you perch like a bald eagle, crouch like a tiger, and curl up like a sloth. The book includes a list of Kids Yoga Poses and a Parent Guide with tips on creating a successful bedtime experience. Learn something new, explore movement, and unwind together before bedtime!    

Review

I cannot tell you how excited I was when I received Good Night, Animal World: A Kids Yoga Bedtime Story in the mail a little over a month ago. Since receiving the book, the pages have become worn and bent, and the story has become part of our nightly routine. The story has six yoga kids that show a variety of calming yoga poses inspired by animals around the world. As you travel around the world with the yoga kids, the poses become increasingly more calming, encouraging the child to settle down before bed.

The book itself is laid out masterfully to engage both the parent in the instruction of the yoga and for the child to follow along. The book begins with a letter introducing the book and suggestions on how to make the process of moving and reading enjoyable. The six yoga kids make their introductions, sharing the city and country of their origin. Then, as the story unfolds, each page introduces a beautifully illustrated picture of a new animal, a sentence explaining the movement of the animal, and a child showing the movement in the form of a yoga pose. At the end of the book there is a map of the world with the animals positioned in countries where they can be found and a wonderful list of the yoga poses. Finally, there is a wonderful guide that shares suggestions on creating a calming environment through yoga and other practices before bed.

It was completely serendipitous that I received this book just as our nightly book reading routine with my toddler had dissolved from snuggling on the rocking chair and reading, to a wild thing refusing to settle before bed. At 22 months, Little Jo is eager to get as much movement out of her little body and spend the absolute minimum amount of time sitting still.  From the day we received the book and every day since (including before nap times on the weekends), we have started out bedtime routine with this book. I have noticed how in the beginning, she would hold each post for a second or two, whereas now she can maintain the poses for much longer. She has also grown stronger. In the beginning, she used to have to rest her head on the floor when she would do the downward dog post; however just tonight I noticed that she sturdily held her head up off the ground, even while giggling with her older sister.

Not only is the book fantastic, but Giselle Shardlow's website for the series of books is a invaluable resource for incorporating yoga into other activities and reading. I especially love this article that suggests poses to do along with the Bill Martin books such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?

Not only has incorporating yoga into our nightly routine helped my wild monkey toddler, it has also helped my oldest daughter, who at seven years old very often tells me that she cannot shut her brain off when it is time for bed. I highly recommend not only the book, but please check out http://www.kidsyogastories.com/, as well for a complete series of yoga books for kids.

I was so thrilled with the positive effect the book had on our bedtime routine that I lent the book to my friend to try. Here are some adorable picture only friend my the poses with her son.

Want to see more? Check out this awesome book trailer:

If you would like to purchase the book:

There is a coupon code available during this awesome Book Tour which will provide a discount of 20% off the current sale prices on all of the Kids Yoga Stories books. Here is the link to the website:
http://www.kidsyogastories.com/
To apply the coupon code, you simply enter "marchtour" before you checkout and you will receive 20% off the cart value.  The coupon expires on 04/01/14.  Note that the 20% off will be on top of the current sale prices.

The Buzz

"This book has been so amazing for my 2.5 year old daughter! The illustrations are adorable! She is always so rambunctious at bedtime and this lets her get out some of that excess energy. She loves the book so much that this has been one we read every night. It helps my daughter fall asleep faster which means more time for mom in the evenings." ~ 5 Star Review, cwalt047, Amazon

"Another GREAT book!! I used this book for my kids yoga classes for ages 2-5 years old. After a very active yoga class, we read this book and did the yoga poses before the resting portion of the class. My little yogis loved the pictures and saying Good Night to all of the animals one by one. I played a calming song with some animal noises in the background and we were then able to quiet our minds and bodies for the pose of rest. I think this will become a regular pre-resting story for my classes with this age group. My 5 year old son loves to read this book again and again too! Keep the great books coming!" ~ 5 Star Review, Stacy Daniels - Kids Yoga Teacher, Amazon

"What a delightful book to get young children reading and moving in a wind-down, calming story about saying goodnight to the animals of the world. I am a k-12 Reading Certified teacher who blogs about parenting at The Educator's Spin On It. I am big fan of literacy activities that combine movement and geography in a loving parent / child interaction experience and Good night, Animal World does just that. This book would be a great addition to your book shelf." ~ 5 Star Review, Amanda at The Educators' Spin On It, Amazon

 

About the Author: Giselle Shardlow

Giselle Shardlow is the author of Kids Yoga Stories. Her yoga-inspired children’s books get children moving, learning, and having fun. Giselle draws from her experiences as a teacher, traveler, yogi, and mom to write the stories found at www.kidsyogastories.com or on Amazon (amazon.com/author/giselleshardlow) worldwide.    

Book Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Google+

 

Good Night, Animal World Blog Tour Schedule (2014)

March 10

Mother Daughter Book Reviews (Launch & Review)

My Devotional Thoughts (Review)

Books Direct (Author Interview & Review)

Amanda's Books and More (Review)

K&A's Children's Book Reviews (Review)

March 11

Brooke Blogs (Review)

Doodles, Doodles Everywhere (Review)

Reading List (Review)

Coffee & Books & Art (Review)

March 12

When I Grow Up I Wanna Write a Kids Book (Review)

Heart of a Philanthropist (Review)

Kay LaLone I Love Books (Review)

Alwaysjoart (Review)

March 13

Baby Bookworms in Black Words - White Pages (Guest Post)

Christy's Cozy Corners (Review)

Christy's Houseful of Chaos (Review)

Hazel Nutt's Toddler Talk (Review)

March 14

For the Love of Books (Review)

Books, Babies and Bows (Review)

Sweet Day's LifeBook (Review)

March 15

Stitch Says (Review)

WS Momma Readers Nook (Review)

Edventures With Kids (Review)

The Reading Room (Book Spotlight)

March 16

Deal Sharing Aunt (Review)

Lakshmi Gosyne (Review)

Growing Intentional Families Together (Review)

March 17

BeachBoundBooks (Author Interview)

Adalinc To Life (Review)

A Year of Jubilee Reviews (Review)

No Doubt Learning (Review)

March 18

Generation iKid (Review)

Domestic Randomness (Review)

Identity Discovery (Review)

Storytime Books (Review)

March 19

Victoria Simcox's Blog (Author Interview)

Mommynificent (Review)

Desperate Homeschoolers (Review)

March 20

Looney's Literacy (Review)

Dawn's Disaster (Review)

Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys (Review)

Hershey Wishes and Kisses (Review)

When Did I Become My Mom (Review)

March 21

Lobo's Follies (Guest Post)

Grandbooking (Review)

Picture Books & Pirouettes (Review)

Say What? Savannah Mae Kids (Review)

March 22

Nana Three and Counting (Review)

Once Upon a Time (Review)

Learning and Growing the Piwi Way (Review)

March 23

The Owl's Skull (Review)

The Squishable Baby (Review)

A Leisure Moment (Review)

Living as We (Review)

 

* $25 Blog Tour Giveaway *

Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal cash (winner’s choice) Contest ends: April 8, 11:59 pm, 2014 Open: Internationally How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Giselle Shardlow and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com. a Rafflecopter giveaway  

A Pre-Kindergarten Teacher's Perspective on Reading Aloud

In celebration of Read Aloud month, I am thrilled to be interviewing my oldest daughter’s pre-K teacher, Mrs. Valerie Bos. I have always valued the feedback that Mrs. Bos provided as I watched my daughter begin to read on her own. She helped me to understand that the most important thing parents and caregivers can do to help prepare a child for reading and learning is to read aloud.  

I thought it would be great to invite her onto the blog to share her perspective on reading aloud and literacy as a Pre-Kindergarten teacher.

Hi Val! Thanks for joining me today on my blog. Tell me about you path to becoming a Pre-Kindergarten teacher?

My father worked as a college professor.  He brought home worksheets, workbooks, textbooks… he even installed a full-sized chalkboard in our basement!  I would set chairs up in rows for my stuffed animals and teach them.  Once in college, I knew I would go into education.  I started as an English/Spanish major, got my Master’s in Secondary Education, and taught high school for five years.  After my children were born, my interest moved to Early Childhood, so I switched to Pre-Kindergarten, where I’ve been the last four years.  

Well, we are glad you decided to switch to Pre-Kindergarten. I know that one of my daughter’s proudest reading milestones occurred in your classroom when she read Hop On Pop aloud to the class for the first time. Tell me about the process of preparing pre-K students for reading? 

I remember that day!  Learning to read begins with your baby’s first babbles.  Babies listen intently to speech; before birth, they can differentiate between their native speech sounds and foreign ones.  As they grow, they strengthen their recognition of their native language’s vowel and consonant sounds.  By preschool age, they’re naturally engaging in whole language study as they begin to appropriate the vocabulary that’s being used around them:  “shoe” or “doggie,” for example.  By four years old, they are developmentally ready to learn the finer points:  letter sounds (what does S say?), blending sounds (d-o-g), and word parts (syllables).

So what advice would you give to new moms and dads out there? How can parents help with this process? 

Read, read, read to your children!  At the end of the year, I often asked my high school students who was read to as a child.  Consistently, those who were read to had higher verbal and written ability, as well as higher cognitive ability for understanding the content of their reading.  Turn off the background TV:  babies can differentiate language sounds easier without auditory competition.  Narrate your daily activities.  Point out objects and name them.  (See the dog?  The dog is brown.)  It can feel like “talking to yourself” when your child is too young to respond, but soon he’ll be old enough to parrot you.  You will strengthen his vocabulary as well as his phonological awareness (how he understands letter sounds and word parts).  His Pre-K teacher will then hone his phonemic awareness – the relationship between the word’s meaning and the printed letters on the page.

I know that for my oldest daughter, when she first began reading on her own, she wanted to hide it because she was afraid we were going to stop reading aloud with her. It took us a long time to figure out why she would get so upset when we would ask her to read to us at bedtime. What are some common mistakes parents make as their children learn to read?

I once had a parent who complained that his daughter was cheating when she used the book’s illustrations to help her understand the story’s text.  Support for emergent readers is not a crutch; shortened text and highly illustrated pages fosters the child’s interest and feelings of success, which is crucial.  

Parents often underestimate the child’s need to work through the steps of reading.  Language is a code:  there is no natural reason for T to make the letter sound that it does.  Children have to take our word for it, memorize it.  They must internalize that code of letter sounds and shape, then understand that words can be broken into parts.  They must recognize the left to right directionality of print, how to visually identify where one word ends and another begins – all before they can begin to read.  It’s a complicated process, and exposure and repetition is the key. 

That is great advice! What are some resources you would you recommend for parents to fostering a love of reading in their children? 

In the beginning, simply reading to your baby is best.  Snuggle her in your lap and read, even while she’s a tiny infant.  Later, introduce interactive books, such as touch-and-feel and lift-the-flap books for toddlers’ exploring fingers.  As she grows, there are some wonderful literacy websites:  Fisher Price has free games for learning the alphabet (http://www.fisher-price.com/us/fun/games/abc/).  Sadlier Oxford’s Bookflix is a membership site with phenomenal video books.  Starfall is another site with numerous interactive games for learning math and reading.  Most of the site is free.  ABC Mouse is a subscription-based website that many public schools use as well.

We will have to check those out. I had never thought to check out the Fisher Price website. What are the top five children's books all parents should add to their children’s libraries? 

There are so many good books out there!  Five of the best are:  Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss.  The playful text encourages recognition of rhyming words while the simple text is just right for toddlers’ attention span.  Cat in the Hat also facilitates discussion of good and bad behavior choices; kids love to point out what the cat does wrong!  Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar has engaging illustrations while introducing some science.  One of my very favorites is Megan Montague Cash’s What Makes the Seasons? She succinctly explains the complexities of weather and the illustrations are gorgeous.  I have great success with Eric Litwin’s Pete the Cat series in my classroom.  The children love jumping in to recite the text along with me, and Pete’s experiences offer a starting point for discussing how to handle disappointment. 

Great selections! What was your favorite children’s book as a child? 

My mother still groans a little when she remembers how often she had to read Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham to me! 

That is too funny. I can distinctly remember my dad reading that book to me. And finally, what does reading aloud mean to you?

To me, reading aloud is a metaphor for the parent/child relationship.  When they’re little, we hold them close – teaching, encouraging, and introducing them to the world around them in the same way that we hold them in our laps to read to them.  When they’re older, we gradually allow them to move and explore on their own, just as my own children read books alone now that they’re older.  It’s exciting to see your children coming into their own skills as young people, and reading is part of that as they take ownership of their book choices. 

I completely agree. It has been so exciting seeing my daughter come running into the kitchen to tell me about something she has just read. Thanks so much for taking the time to share such great advice with my readers.

Ms. Valerie Bos has been a lead Pre-Kindergarten teacher for Primrose Schools for four years.