To thank you all for reading (and for passing on the word about this site), I went to one of my favorite bookstores, Elliot Bay Book Company, in a place I used to call home - Seattle. I looked around for a long time, debating what would be best. There are way too many books that I would call "essential" for an early childhood classroom. I thought about something about teaching, but I don't think we get the best inspiration from books for teachers. We get them from children. And so, the giveaway is a FANTASTIC book that always gets children talking, playing, and interacting.
I'm giving away a copy of the Abiyoyo Book and CD
by Pete Seeger. He is a wonderful storyteller and musician, and this story has the imagination and magic that so many children connect to. I have seen some fantastic retellings of the story as children browse the book themselves. It would be a great addition to your classroom or home bookshelf.To win, just leave a comment here about reading with children. What do you love to read with children? Why? Perhaps we can get some ideas to talk about in the coming weeks in this space.
The contest ends next Sunday, July 24th, at 8pm PST. I'll announce the winner on Monday, July 25th, and ship the book from Oregon to wherever the winner is.
Good Luck!
My favorite thing to read to children is always Strega Nona or any other picture book by Tomie dePaola. They are just fun to read and I have never met a group of reader who hasn't fallen in love with Big Anthony and his misadventures.
ReplyDeleteSummer makes me think of the book Night Letters by Palmyra Demonaco. I really need to see if I can find a used copy to own but I used to get it from the library and read it to my students at the end of the school year. It is about a little girl who explores her backyard and writes letters to all the creatures she meets.
ReplyDeleteWe love to read, "green eggs and ham" because it reminds my 2-year-old son (and us) that you have to try new things!
ReplyDeleteThe Very Hungry Caterpillar. Although I've read it one thousand times already, I still love building up the suspense of the 'beautiful butterfly' at the end.
ReplyDeleteWhitney, I also love Strega Nona, and Tommy dePaola's books are a favorite of mine, too. Strega Nona is a fantastic picture walk book, too -I love to introduce it without words and let the children think about what might be happening!
ReplyDeleteJuliann, I'm not familiar with Night Letters, but it sounds lovely, and I'll definitely look for it so I can browse it. The way that embeds writing sounds like it could be a really interesting prompt for extensions on the story.
Danielle, I feel like I could sing Dr. Seuss' praises all day, every day. The rhymes and the rhythms alone make them fantastic, and on top of that, you get stories with timeless messages. I think my absolute favorite is Yertle the Turtle.
And Natasha, Eric Carle has created timeless books, and every child should have experiences with the Very Hungry Caterpillar. I find that it is one of the first books I see children "read all by themselves" - or joining in with every word in a group storytime.
Thanks to you all for sharing, and good luck with the giveaway! You may soon have another fantastic read aloud in your hands.
I loved TIKI TIKI TEMBO as a child and still enjoy reading it - it's fun to say! I also like I AIN'T GONNA PAINT NO MORE. It's a silly book. I sing the words and the children guess the next body part based on rhyming. The artwork is astounding! I had read ABIYOYO years back and wanted to read it again, but had forgotten the name - THANKS!
ReplyDeleteWe read so much. Homeschooling for us is mostly reading! Right now my kids are LOVING Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff. We read several chapters a day!
ReplyDeleteReading to and with the children is my favorite part of being a preschool teacher! It takes me back to when my own children were little. We did a lot of reading back in the day!
ReplyDeleteWith toddlers, reading is all about the art of improvisation - being flexible in using the words and pictures in whatever ways the children lead. My favorite part of reading with them is the little things in the background I've never noticed that they point to and are interested in. My class is obsessed with the book "Go Dog Go!" by P.D. Eastman right now.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is "Because A Bug Said Ka-Choo" by Rosetta Stone AKA Dr. Seuss. I also love "Someday" by Alison McGhee, "On the Night You Were Born" by Nancy Tilman, and "God Gave Us You" by Lisa Bergren.
ReplyDeleteI also love going to the library and bringing home a stack of books and working our way through them, we have discovered many gems this way.
My favorite part of the day is reading to my preschoolers. One of my favorite books to read to the children is Pete The Cat: I Love My White Shoes.
ReplyDeleteAs David Hornsby says...'laughing kids learn...' How can one go past a funny book?
ReplyDeleteMy favourite book to read with children is Jan Ormerod’s “Moonlight”. This book was written the year I was born (1982)! I think my parents were given it as a baby gift. It's actually a wordless book in a comic-strip-like layout. It seemed to me that this book was written about me! Early on it was my parents who would 'tell' this story about our daily ritual when we read the book. Later I became the confident storyteller, just as I see happen in the children I teach!! There is a second book called “Sunshine” (which was actually written the year before in 1981), which is just as great!
ReplyDeleteThank you all so much for your comments so far - there is still some time to enter - I'll accept comments for about 3 more hours! Thanks for sharing some favorite titles and some older onces as well - I'm sure there are some gems that we don't find on the Barnes and Noble shelf.
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog and I really like it. Too bad I missed the contest though. I look forward to reading more. Thanks!!
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