Friday, December 4, 2015

Animal Sounds Board Books

As soon as young children begin to talk, adults start encouraging them to imitate animal sounds. There are many books to support this early learning experience; today's post highlights some of the best available in board book format. 

Mice Squeak, We Speak by Arnold L. Shapiro, illustrated by Tomie dePaola (ISBN: 9780399237980)
This illustrated poem compares animal behavior and communication to that of human kids. The warmly colored illustrations are appealing especially to toddlers, even if the book might be too long to read in one sitting.

Honk, Honk! Baa, Baa! by Petr Horacek (ISBN: 9780763667801)
The text of this book is suitably basic for children who are just learning to speak, but the appeal is in the vibrantly colored illustrations which perfectly portray the demeanor and behavior of each animal. A lift-the-flap component also invites babies to interact with the book.

Roar: A Big-Mouthed Book of Sounds by Jonathan Litton, illustrated by Fhiona Galloway (ISBN: 9781589255937)
This book features a hole down the center which represents the open mouth of a different animal on each page. Accompanying these engaging illustrations are the sounds made by the animals and invitations to guess which one is coming up next.


Can You Say It Too? series by Sebastien Braun 
Each volume of this series focuses on a different group of animals from a different environment (farm, jungle, pond, forest, etc.) Each animal is hidden behind a flap to be found by the young reader.

Animal Sounds by Aurelius Battaglia (ISBN: 9780375832789)
This vintage Golden book has very straightforward text which asks what each animal says and then provides the answer. The illustrations strike the perfect balance between realistic and cartoonish.

Who Says That, Cat the Cat? by Mo Willems (ISBN: 9780062306548)
This book is one of a series of "mini" books Willems has done based on his Cat the Cat series for beginning readers. In the book, each animal makes its familiar sound, except for Bunny the Bunny, who doesn't say anything.

For more animal books for babies and toddlers, see last week's list of Animal Traits Board Books.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Third Grade CCD 2015-2016: The Liturgical Year (11/23/15)


This post has moved: http://ccdlessonplans.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-liturgical-year-third-grade.html

Monday, November 30, 2015

10 Picture Books About Winter Clothing


Today I'm participating in the Winter and Holiday Children Story Books Series hosted by The Jenny Evolution. The books on this list are all related to winter clothing!

  • Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin and Fumi Kosaka
    This poem about dressing in layers to go out in the snow comes to life with bright illustrations by Fumi Kosaka. The funny twist at the end is also an unexpected treat!
  • One Mitten by Kristine O’Connell George and Maggie Smith
    This book demonstrates that there are lots of things you can do with just one mitten - and just as many you can do with two!
  • The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel and Nancy Winslow Parker
    This cumulative story in the style of The House That Jack Built tells of a child’s experience playing in the snow, falling down, and heading inside for cocoa and comfort from his mom.
  • The Mitten by Jan Brett
    A young boy’s grandmother knits him a pair of new mittens and urges him not to lose them. When a mitten is dropped in the snow, however, a group of animals use it to take shelter from the cold.
  • A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert and Anita Lobel
    Times are tough after World War II, but Anna needs to be warm this winter, so her mother barters with various neighbors in order to find the materials needed to make a beautiful new red coat.
  • A Hat for Minerva Louise by Janet Stoeke
    It’s a cold and snowy day on the farm, and Minerva Louise wants to keep warm, but, muddled chicken that she is, she has funny ideas about what makes a good hat, scarf, or pair of mittens.
  • Shall I Knit You a Hat?: A Christmas Yarn by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise
    Little Rabbit loves the hat his mother has made for him so much that he encourages her to knit them for all of his friends as Christmas gifts.
  • Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett
    Annabelle’s magic box of yarn enables her to knit sweaters for everyone and everything, until it is stolen by an evil archduke!
  • Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters by K.G. Campbell
    Cousin Clara keeps making hideous sweaters for Lester, who continually finds more and more creative ways to get rid of them.
  • Baa Baa Black Sheep by Jane Cabrera
    A young girl asks a sheep again to use some of her wool, only to discover that she sheep herself now has nothing to keep her warm.

Activities to Accompany These Books: 

Friday, November 27, 2015

Review Round-Up: Books for Beginning Readers, November 2015


Happy Thanksgiving weekend! Here is this month's collection of reviews of easy readers and beginning chapter books.


Easy Readers


This month, Round One Cybils judge Jennifer had reviews of a bunch of the nominated easy readers at Jean Little Library and Flying Off My Bookshelf:


Flying Off My Bookshelf also featured reviews of Stingrays: Underwater Fliers and Don't Throw It To Mo.

At Step Up Readers, Katie from Storytime Katie focuses exclusively on easy readers. This month, she reviewed The Little Butterfly, all of the 2006 Geisel award booksHamster Holmes: A Mystery Comes Knocking, and the first two books in the Lana's World series.

Additionally, Literary Hoots reviewed Hoot, Owl!, Becky's Book Reviews featured I Really Like Slop, Redeemed Reader posted about Flop to the Top and Written and Drawn by Henrietta,  and Shelf Employed used What Does Otis See? to discuss some of the problems with publisher-assigned levels for easy readers.

Chapter Books


There were tons of great chapter book reviews this month! Tons!

Jennifer from Flying Off My Bookshelf and Jean Little Library reviewed lots of Cybils nominees:


Jennifer also reviewed Race the Wild: Rainforest Relay and Gymnastic Jitters.

Here at Story Time Secrets, I also reviewed a few Cybils titles:



Additionally, I featured a vintage beginning chapter book, Bears on Hemlock Mountain, in one of my Old School Sunday posts this month.

Mo Willems's latest book, The Story of Diva and Flea, was just published in mid-October. It was reviewed this month by Waking Brain CellsLiterary Hoots, and Geo Librarian.  Geo Librarian also reviewed the Oliver Moon series and The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party. The Princess in Black was also featured in a post about sequels on What to Read to Your Kids.

Sal's Fiction Addiction and Kids Book a Day continue to be great sources for beginning reader book reviews. Sal's Fiction Addiction reviewed Jasper John Dooley, Lost and Found and Princess Pistachio and the Pest, while Kids Book a Day covered Shelter Pet Squad: Merlin, Gooseberry Park and the Master Plan, and The Best Friend Battle.

Other November chapter book reviews included:


Submit Your Reviews! 


Do you review beginning reader books? Please let me know about any reviews you post in December by emailing me at storytimesecrets@gmail.com. Thanks!
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