Early Literacy Around the House: The Bedroom

For many families, bedtime is the traditional time of day for reading stories, singing songs, and engaging in other quiet early literacy activities together. Here are some suggestions to add to your own evening repertoire.

• Have a special bedtime poem. When my daughter was still less than six months old, we borrowed Here's a Little Poem from the library. In it were several bedtime poems, and I read them to her every night before bed until the book went back to the library. When it was due, I made sure to memorize my favorite one of the poems - "Silverly" by Dennis Lee - so I could continue to share it with her every night. Not only is poetry a great way to introduce language to young babies, it is also a perfect way to signal that it's time to go to sleep. We have gotten out of the habit of saying the poem as regularly now, as toddler bedtime is so much more boisterous than baby bedtime, but when we do have a moment, we still share that poem. I hope to continue the same practice with baby #2!
• Say prayers. As Little Miss Muffet has entered toddlerhood, we have started to include prayers as part of her bedtime routine every night. She has several board books (My First Prayers with Mary, My First Bedtime Prayers and A Small Child's Book of Prayers) which contain kid-friendly prayers accompanied by illustrations, and each night after her teeth are brushed, she has the opportunity to choose the one we will say. Like poems, prayers introduce rhythm, rhyme, and vocabulary, and, if you are hoping your child will eventually memorize certain prayers, saying them at bedtime also helps with that learning process. (For more Christian-themed early literacy activities, see my post about Church.)
• Share a book with a stuffed animal. A stuffed monkey and a baby doll are Little Miss Muffet's two bedtime loveys. Sometimes, we will snuggle with them and read a favorite board book before bed. (For some kids, this activity might be too stimulating to settle them, in which case it is also fun to do first thing in the morning!) 
• Review the day. As Little Miss Muffet gets ready for bed, I often review with her what she has done that day. I start with the morning, and just list a few of the highlights - where we went, who we played with, what toys we enjoyed, and what we did when Daddy got home. This gives her the language to hopefully express her own thoughts about the day as she becomes more verbal, and it also calms her down so that she is in the right frame of mind for drifting off to sleep.

Finger Puppet Board Books

This week's list of board books focuses on books where a finger puppet is part of the story.

In My… series by Sara Gillingham and Lorena Siminovich
This series publishes very short books for very young children featuring different animals snuggled up with their families in their various habitats. In each book, a finger puppet of the starring animal peeks out through a hole in the center of all the pages, so that the animal engages in a different action on each page. Animals represented in the series so far are: butterfly, owl, fish, bird, rabbit, bear, dolphin, monkey, mouse, deer, and horse.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Finger Puppet Book (ISBN: 9780448455976)In this simplified version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the caterpillar munches and counts his way through several pieces of fruit, then transforms into a beautiful butterfly.

My Little… holiday series by Sara Gillingham 
Each of the books in this series features a finger puppet of a baby's face, which peeks into various scenes to teach little ones about a given holiday. So far, this series includes books about Valentine's Day, Christmas, and Easter.

Little… series from Chronicle Books 
These very basic books each introduce a different animal, who is part of a simple story introducing his or her habits and habitat. There are more than 20 books in the series, included titles about a bunny, ladybug, bee, duck, and lion.

9+ Kids' Books Illustrated by Julia Denos

Many of my favorite children's book covers have been illustrated by Julia Denos. Check out some of these titles below, then visit the sketchbook on her website for more beautiful artwork!

Novels 

Lexie  by Audrey Couloumbis

Ten-year-old Lexie loves going to the shore on vacation every year with her parents, but she is resistant to the changes that come to her favorite trip after her parents divorce and her father decides to invite his girlfriend to tag along.

Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker 

In this middle grade novel by the author of the Clementine series, main character Stella has trouble getting along with her great aunt's new foster child, Angel, until a tragedy forces them to rely on each other. 

My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer by Jennifer Gennari 

Twelve-year-old June Farrell really wants to win a blue ribbon in the pie contest at the upcoming fair, but she is discouraged by her mother, a proponent of the disputed civil unions in the state of Vermont, who asks her to keep a low profile. 

Letters to Leo by Amy Hest
Annie writes letters to her dog, Leo, which confide her innermost feelings about her strict new teacher, her former beloved teacher, and her newfound interest in poetry. (This book is a sequel to Remembering Mrs. Rossi, but it can be read on its own.) 

Series

 

Sleepover Squad by P.J. Denton

The covers of this paperback series for early elementary readers have been redone with new illustrations, but Julia Denos did the originals. The series follows a group of girls who love to have sleepovers, but run into various problems preventing them from running smoothly.

Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Readers follow Alice McKinley through middle school, high school and beyond in this beloved series which ran from 1985 to 2013. The earliest books of the series have been re-released with these beautiful covers which truly capture Alice's personality and frequent embarrassments.

Casson Family by Hilary McKay 

This British series follows the children of eccentric artists, all of whom are named for colors. I reviewed the first book, Saffy's Angel, in the very early days of this blog!

The Fairy Bell Sisters by Margaret McNamara
This beginning chapter book series by the author of the Robin Hill School easy readers focuses on the younger sisters of Tinkerbell: Clara Bell, Golden Bell, Rosy Bell, Sylva Bell, and baby Squeak. 

Numbers Board Books

Today's board books are all about identifying numbers and learning to count.

Hippos Go Berserk by Sandra Boynton (ISBN: 9780689834349)

One lonely hippo makes a phone call, and suddenly, it's party time for him and all of his friends in this rhyming book.
  

One Duck Stuck by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Jane Chapman (ISBN: 9780763603342)

When one duck gets stuck in the muck, groups of animals in increasing numbers try to rescue it.

Say and Play: Numbers by Sterling Publishing (ISBN: 9781402798917)
Clean and simple photographs illustrate each number from one to ten. 

Let’s Count to Ten by Richard Scarry (ISBN: 9781742118918)
With his detailed, busy illustrations of anthropomorphic animals eating breakfast, driving cars, and feeling grumpy, Richard Scarry helps the youngest readers understand the concept of counting.

1 2 3 by Simms Taback (ISBN: 9781934706893)

Simple bold illustrations make this small, short board book a perfect introduction to counting for the littlest babies! 

One Red Sun: A Counting Book by Ezra Jack Keats (ISBN: 9780670884780)

This wordless book shows a numeral and a corresponding group of items on each page, all created using Keats's distinctive illustration style.