Reading with Little Miss Muffet: May 2015

New Book Behaviors

• Character Recognition. This month, Little Miss Muffet has become much more interested in the characters in her books. She likes to hear their names, and when given a name, she can usually point to the correct character. In certain books, she will even wave to her favorite characters to say hello or goodbye. 
• Shhh, they're sleeping! Any time a character's eyes are closed in an illustration, Miss Muffet assumes he is asleep, and therefore points to him and says, "Shhh!" I spend a lot of time saying, "Hmmm, I don't think he's asleep. I think his eyes are just closed." She has a great eye for detail, though - half the time, I haven't even noticed a character's eyes are closed until she shows me!

Current Favorites

• Gossie and Gertie by Olivier Dunrea. We borrowed the entire Gossie & Friends series from our local libraries this month, but Gossie and Gertie was Miss Muffet's breakout favorite. Any time I suggested reading a story, this was the first book she brought to me, and sometimes hearing it just once wasn't enough. Though I do love this series, I was definitely ready for this one to go back to the library when it was finally due. 
• Such a Little Mouse by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Stephanie Yue. This is a new picture book we stumbled upon at the library. It follows a mouse through the four seasons, as he observes the conditions outside of his hole, and gathers food to keep in his storeroom. Miss Muffet squeals with delight at the sight of the mouse, and of his other furry friends, including squirrels and beavers. Each month, when the mouse pops out of his hole, Miss Muffet enthusiastically throws her hands up and says, "Pop!" 
• Mrs. Wishy Washy by Joy Cowley. Miss Muffet's grandma purchased a library discard copy of this book from a book sale when she was visiting last year, and we just recently pulled it out again. Miss Muffet loves to jump like the cow and paddle like the duck, and she loves it when Mrs. Wishy Washy says, "Just look at you!" I have this book memorized, so I also recite it to her in random places - public transportation, the bathtub, the doctor's office waiting room, etc. 

One Tip from Mom 

• Enhance the reading experience with props. Little Miss Muffet and I have had a great time this month exploring props to accompany our favorite books. We continue to love Stanley the Farmer (mentioned in the April edition of Reading with Little Miss Muffet), so I took the time to print, cut, and laminate the flannel board pieces for the book. She is completely enamored of them, and can easily spend 30 minutes at a time, sorting them and arranging them on the flannel board. I also happen to have a set of Mrs. Wishy Washy finger puppets, which give her busy hands something to do while I read the story. I don't recommend having a prop for every single book you read, but some carefully selected choices make reading time a little less monotonous for you, and even more fun for your little one.