The Reading House introduces letter recognition to first readers. Small booklets display short stories featuring uppercase and lowercase single letters. After mastering the letter, a sticker can be adhered in celebration of the accomplishment in comprehension.
As you go to create the perfect Valentine's card, remember Tiny T. Rex and the Perfect Valentine. Sometimes our best efforts don't go as planned. But the effort itself is a gift to our beloved.
How do we show love? In many ways. Terry Pierce has created A Heartfelt Book featuring flaps of felt in displays of affection.
This work truly is extraordinary. Every last little bit can be used in eco-friendly projects. Thirty activities will keep you and your readertotz busy. You will cut, and fold, and tear, and glue your way through fun that will benefit our earth.
Illustrations by Pintachan are charming and Susan Hayes and Penny Arlan's text is engaging and not overly heavy. The entire work is a delight. Holding it in your hands, one is immediately inspired to action. The only difficulty is deciding where to start!
You can rescue old clothes, build a bug hotel, chase away electricity vampires, upcycle your junk, and more. Checklists are provided for various challenges as changes are attempted and actions are taken.
Alone and together, we can make a difference as we journey forward. Bravo, Earthaware Kids!
We can share our spaces. Eat Up, Bear! describes how people and bears can coexist. Campers can latch their boxes, hikers can pack their food out, coolers can be locked, and folks can throw away their trash. The repeating refrain is fun and catchy:
There's so much beauty in this upcoming picture book. My First Day takes the reader down the Mekong Delta to school as a Vietnamese boy paddles alone through the waters. Similarities and differences of experiences blend in the common feelings shared for walking or boating through firsts. How can you not marvel at this hero's journey through rain, forests, and waves?
The cover possesses the soar into the the future, but I find it doesn't fully capture the richness of other illustrations. The interior holds a stunning light you don't want to miss. This is a top pick from publisher Make Me a World, and the author and illustrator team Phung Nguyen Quang and Huynh Kim Lien. Brilliant!
There's an absolute zoo of these titles available for your readertotz. The series is from Chronicle Books, and illustrations are by Yu-Hsuan Huang. They are adorable and sturdy and with soft faces of the featured animal. Nonfiction facts accompany the puppet and illustrations.
Why not introduce your first readers to Richard Scarry's Busytown? You can now do that easily with the Good Morning, Busytown! board book, available January 6, 2021. All the familiar characters are running around town: Huckle Cat, Firefighter Smokey, Lowly Worm, and more.
Pages feature the residents depicted on the tabs. Join Huckle Cat and Lowly as they make their way across town to school, giving and receiving greetings along the way.
This precious book is not to be missed. The main character is saying good night to all around her after a "long and beautiful day."
Here's a tiny tale from the classic poem by Clement Clarke Moore, "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Shortened for first readers, Sandra Magsamen's work, which is illustrated to look like stitched cloth pieces, illustrates phrases from the quiet mouse to the reindeer pulling Santa through the sky, the night before Christmas.
How about a Bookscape Board Book for the holidays? Christmas Cheer brings a little scene of the holiday to your readertotz.
For the older siblings of your readertotz, look for the picture book, Sound, Shhh...Bang...Pop...Boom! With nearly dayglo colors, the sound vibrates straight out of this fascinating book. Graphic flat overlays of color create our auditory world.
Within the main text, such as:
Chronicle Books has fun for you and your totz. Two items will encourage reading the authors' books, while readertotz play and learn.
Taro Gomi's Play Anything Cards are a handy source for card playing enjoyment. An original group of characters fill the cards; yet, wee ones will likely recognize Gomi's distinctive illustration. They might reach for his My Friends to read after the game.
Happy playing and reading!
"We'll need a solid foundation.
A bulldozer will make our work so much easier!"
build! is A Handprint Book to read and play with. Watch your totz build a house with two adorable characters.
The featured women include Annie Leibovitz, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Yayoi Kusama. Here's a portion of the entry for Jacinda Ardern:
"Jacinda became involved in politics as a teenager and began campaigning for a kinder and fairer world. She became an MP in the New Zealand parliament at 28 and Prime Minister of New Zealand at 37-its youngest leader for 150 years."
And then you know how bingo rolls. Get your card and select your caller. It's time for B-I-N-G-O!
As we sit at home together, how about a family puzzle? With large pieces for your totz and smaller pieces for older folks, you can create a story together. Piece It Together, Family Puzzle, Owl Aboard! is available from Chronicle on November 10th. The work is illustrated by Wednesday Kirwan and Petra Hollander. Here's one more way to bond in the midst of our times. One piece at a time. Stay safe, all!
For those with a love of the stars, Chronicle has released A Little Zodiac Book series. Daria Harper's text walks first readers through the traits of the featured zodiac. Observations are tot specific and relatable. Each book begins with the corresponding refrain:
Beautiful black hair is celebrated in Happy Hair, written and illustrated by Mechal Renee Roe. Cool curls, a fab fro, or bangin' bantu are some of the ways to show you love being you.
"Pom-Pom puffs, pretty & stuff! I love being me!"
"Blowout! So much hair, everywhere! I love being me!"
How will your readertotz style their curls today? Cool Cuts is a companion work also available in board book form in 2021. Be inspired with your wee ones as you read this self-affirming delightful board book together.
