Every Hero Has a Story: Picture Book Reading List

This year's summer reading theme is all about heroes! Get your youngest readers into the spirit with these great picture books, organized into four heroic categories.

Superheroes

• Princess Super Kitty by Antoinette Portis
  A little girl named Maggie uses her imagination to transform herself into the feline superhero Princess Super Kitty.
• Question Boy Meets Little Miss Know-It-All by Peter Catalanotto
  A boy who has the ability to ask question after question meets his match in a little girl who seems to have an answer for everything.
• Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod
  A series of silly superheroes illustrates the letters of the alphabet and their sounds.
• Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy by David Soman and Jacky Davis
  Preschooler friends Lulu and Sam become Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy and save the playground from imaginary enemies.
• Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom by John Rocco
  Rocco is convinced his hair provides him with superpowers, so the prospect of a haircut is worrisome.
  

Heroes in History

• Heroes of the Surf by Elisa Carbone and Nancy Carpenter
  When a steamship runs aground in 1882 New Jersey, two boys and many other passengers are saved by heroic surfmen.
• Bill the Boy Wonder by Marc Tyler Nobleman
  This picture book biography tells the story of Bill Finger, the real creator of Batman, who was never given proper credit during his lifetime.
• This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt and R.G. Roth
  This singable picture book celebrates great men in jazz history.
• John, Paul, George, and Ben by Lane Smith
  A silly and irreverent look at the childhoods of famous Americans John Hancock, Paul Revere, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. 

Community Heroes

• Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
  Author-illustrator Patricia Polacco pays tribute to the special teacher who helped her discover that she had dyslexia.
   
• The Impossible Patriotism Project by Linda Skeers and Ard Hoyt
  When Caleb is assigned to make something that will demonstrate the meaning of patriotism, he ends up creating a tribute to his father's service in the armed forces.
• This is the Firefighter by Laura Godwin and Julian Hector
  Simple rhyming text describes the work of a firefighter.
• Police Officers on Patrol by Kersten Hamilton and R.W. Alley
  When people need help, male and female police officers are ready to "rock and roll!"
  

Animal Heroes

• Madeline’s Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans
  Beloved French schoolgirl Madeline is saved from drowning by a dog named Genevieve.
• Swimmy by Leo Lionni
  After watching his own friends get eaten by a larger fish, a little black fish named Swimmy helps a group of red fish escape a similar fate.
• Pretzel by Margret Ray and H.A. Rey
  In this classic picture book, Pretzel, a very long dachsund, rescues a female dachsund who has previously disdained his length.
• Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
  A lively dog named Gloria helps add some excitement to Officer Buckle's otherwise dull safety presentations. 

Early Literacy Around the House: The Backyard

It truly is possible to have fun and learn something at the same time right in your own backyard. Next time you're in the backyard (or at a park with a big yard or field) with your preschoolers and beginning readers, try some of these simple literacy activities.

• Act out verbs. I always use a "bag of verbs" in my beginning reader story times. Each child takes a turn selecting a word from the bag (or basket, or jar, or whatever) and we all act it out together as a group. Doing this activity outside expands the possibilities. Kids can not only sit, stand, and turn around; they can also do a somersault, hop on one foot, run like a rabbit, or kick like a ninja (without hurting anyone else.)
• Put on a skit.  Backyards (and back porches, and front stoops, and driveways...) make excellent stages. Help your kids write or memorize a short skit, and then have them perform it for your family or even some of the neighbors. If you're feeling especially fancy, add costumes, scenery and props made from household objects. 
• Play with a “Magic Ball.” In this game, the leader names an adjective (heavy, sticky, cold, hot, light, etc.) then the children pass a ball around a circle, acting as though that adjective applies to the ball. This is a great way to expand kids' vocabularies to include more interesting describing words. (Credit for this idea goes to Mass Literacy.)
• Play yard games with a verbal component.  Games which involve giving and following directions and asking questions help kids to develop speaking and listening skills, which in turn lead to better reading skills. Here are just a few suggestions, with links to instructions on how to play. 
• Red Rover
• The Farmer in the Dell
• Mother May I?
• Fishy Fishy Cross My Ocean
• What Time is it, Mr. Fox?
• Witch in the Well
• Pies

Flannel Friday: One Brave Firefighter (Every Hero Has a Story)

Coming up on two years ago, I wrote an original rhyming flannel board story about firefighters for a community helpers story time. In my post about the session, I promised to share the flannel board on an upcoming Flannel Friday and then got busy and forgot all about it. When I started thinking about what I could contribute to the summer reading round-up,  I realized that story would be the perfect fit. It's called One Brave Firefighter, and it goes like this. (If you repost the story, please credit me - thanks!)

One brave firefighter putting out the fire.

Swoosh goes the water... 

...but the flames climb higher.

The firefighter calls for a friend with a shout.

“Help me put this fire out!”

Two brave firefighters putting out the fire.

Swoosh, swoosh goes the water...

...but the flames climb even higher!

The firefighters call for a friend with a shout.

“Help us put this fire out!”

Three brave firefighters putting out the fire.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh goes the water...

...but the flames climb even higher!

The firefighters call for a friend with a shout.

“Help us put this fire out!”

Four brave firefighters putting out the fire.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh goes the water...

and the flames stop climbing higher.

The firefighters clap their hands and shout,

“Hooray, we put the fire out!”

Flannel Friday is hosted this week by Miss Meg's Storytime. For more about Flannel Friday, visit the official website.

15 Literacy Activities for Rainy Days

I don't enjoy wet days that much, but I love doing literacy activities about rainy weather. Enjoy these with kids at home, in the library, or at school as April showers fall!

Books

• Rain by Robert Kalan and Donald Crews
  In this classic picture book, a blue sky turns gray and rain falls on everything. When the storm ends, a rainbow appears. The illustrations are especially appealing because the individual rain drops on each page are actually the word rain typed over and over. This book also makes a really good flannel board. 
• Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle and G. Brian Karas
  This rhythmic story tells how, when a storm descends upon the city, people seek shelter in the subway and make friends with strangers while they wait out the rain.
• Split! Splat! by Amy Gibson and Steve Bjorkman
  The sing-song text of this book includes lots of fun sound words that describe what it feels like to be out in the rain and mud of spring. A bit of a tongue twister, but worth the practice it takes to pull it off!
• Rain Dance by Kathi Appelt
  This toddler-friendly picture book counts animals as they react to a rainfall.

Action Songs & Rhymes

• I Like to See the Raindrops Fall
  In this song, kids can create a storm of their own with simple hand gestures. Fingers wiggle in a downward motion to make raindrops, hands open and close to make lightning flashes, and loud claps serve as thunder.
• Itsy Bitsy Spider
  This favorite nursery rhyme tells a simple story about what happens to a spider in the rain and how he bounces back. 
• Rain is Coming Down
  This action rhyme from the May 2009 issue of Highlights High Five Magazine emphasizes the sounds rain makes as it falls. (Link is to the audio version of the magazine.) 

Songs with Props 

• Rain Rain Go Away (with zoo puppets)
  When it rains at the zoo, some of the animals wish they could play! Sing this song as follows: "Rain, rain, go away. / Come again another day. / Little lion wants to play. / Rain, rain, go away!" Substitute any zoo animal for lion. Use hand, stick, or finger puppets to show kids the animals.
• It's Raining, It's Pouring (with a rain stick)
  Use a store-bought or homemade rain stick as an accompaniment to this soothing rainy day song.
• I Can Sing a Rainbow with colored flags
  Play a recording of the song, or learn it for ukulele or guitar, then invite the children to wave colorful flags as they sing along. 

Flannel Boards

• Red Umbrella Keeps Me Dry
  This song, sung to the simple tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb teaches colors using umbrellas. See a picture of this flannel board in use in my It's Raining, It's Pouring Drop-In Story Time plan. 
• Who is Tapping at my Window? 
  In this poem, the tapping on the window comes not from the animals, but from the rain itself. I have yet to try this one with kids, but Bridget from What is Bridget Reading? has a post about it!
• My Spring Garden 
  This piggyback song by Jean Warren is sung to the tune of "Skip to My Lou" and it emphasizes the role of rain in the growing of spring gardens. 

Crafts

• Paper Plate Umbrellas
  Use half of a paper plate as the top of the umbrella, and a pipe cleaner, straw, or candy cane as the handle. Decorate with pictures of objects beginning with the letter U, or with decorative stickers. (I originally adapted this idea from these two pins on Pinterest for use in this story time.)
• Rain Cloud Sewing Cards
  Provide pre-cut clouds with pre-punched holes and encourage kids to sew around the edges using yarn. (This idea was originally used in my Up, Up, and Away preschool story time.)