Parent Reading Resources: Picture Books

This month I plan to post resources to help parents as they try to raise a reader.  Perhaps through the resources I share, you’ll find something to help you engage your child in reading over the summer (and beyond!).

Over the weekend, I started thinking about how I might be able to shake things up a bit around my own house this summer.  We read all the time, and often times I wonder if my kids are getting a bit bored with the books we read.  I certainly do sometimes!  So, I decided to turn to my Twitter friends and Facebook followers to get their opinion on picture books.  I asked for their top two favorite new or semi-new picture books.

I figure, if I feel the need to shake things up a bit in my house this summer, you just might feel the same!  So, I’m super excited to share the list with you.  I’ve listed contributors by their Twitter name and if they have a blog, I’ve noted that as well:

@beckymaher suggested Can I Play Too? (An Elephant and Piggie Book) and City Dog, Country Frog both by Mo Willems (and if you are a regular reader of Literacy Toolbox, then you know I love MO!)

@TeachJohnson suggested Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio

Justine blogs at Random Thoughts of a Teacher

@Cathy_Blackler suggested  Adios, Oscar!: A Butterfly Fable by Peter Elwell

Cathy blogs at Picture Books, Novels and Bios, Oh My!

@TWRCtankcom suggested Piggie Pie! by Margie Palatini and Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs by Alan Katz

Julie blogs at TWRCtank

My current favorites are My Garden by Kevin Henkes and Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct
by Mo Willems.  The latter isn’t exactly new, but is a current favorite.  And, while I have heard of all of the books recommended here, I have not read any of them to my children yet, so I believe a trip to the book store or the library is in order today (the first day of summer vaca for my kiddos!)

What are your top two favorite picture books to read with children? Leave them in the comments or join the discussion on Facebook!

©2010 by Dawn Little for Literacy Toolbox. All Rights Reserved.  All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.

Ten Tips for Reading Aloud with Your Preschooler

This month, I plan to post about “Reading with Preschoolers.”  To begin, I’ve provided “Ten Tips for Reading Aloud with Your Preschooler”:

1. Read to your child every day. Choose a specific time and/or spot. Make it special.
2. Make it fun! Act out the text or animate your voice for the characters and events in the story.
3. Read wordless picture books with your children. Create a story for your child based on what is happening on each page. If your child is old enough, ask your child to “read” the story to you.
4. Tell your child stories from your childhood. This weaves in your family history, and your child will appreciate hearing about your youth.
5. Read a fairy tale to your child and have him/her act out the parts of the story. This is especially fun if you have dress-up clothes foryour child to wear.
6. Read to your child’s interests. If your child likes cars and trucks, read aloud books about cars and trucks. If your child likes princesses, read aloud books about princesses. Books read aloud don’t always have to be fiction, choose some nonfiction pieces, too. Talk to your child about the difference between fiction and nonfiction texts.
7. Read poetry aloud. Poetry is often a neglected genre, but can help your child learn to feel the rhythm of a text.
8. Read stories with predictable texts. This will get your child interested in the story, and he/she will learn to figure out what comes next. This is an important stage in literacy development.
9. Create a special area for your child’s books in the house. A cozy corner just for him/her will encourage your child to enjoy reading.
10. Let your child choose his/her own books when at the library or book store. Even if they aren’t of the highest quality or at your child’s reading level, you are sending the message that his/her choices are important.

Wordless Picture Books

Pancakes for Breakfast by Tommy dePaola

10 Minutes to Bedtime by Peggy Rathmann

Truck by Donald Crews

A Boy, a Dog, a Frog, and a Friend (Boy, Dog, Frog) by Mercer Mayer

Fairy Tales

Fairy Tale Classics ETR Collection (Easy-To-Read Collection) by Harriet Ziefert

Poetry

Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young Edited by Jack Prelutsky

Where the Sidewalk Ends 30th Anniversary Edition: Poems and Drawings by Shel Silverstein

Poetry Speaks to Children (Book & CD) (Read & Hear) edited by Elise Paschen

The Bill Martin Jr Big Book of Poetry edited by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson

Predictable Texts

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?: 40th Anniversary Edition (Brown Bear and Friends) by Bill Martin, Jr.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Book& CD) by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

What favorites do you and your preschooler read aloud?  Do you have any other suggestions for ways to engage preschoolers in literacy?

©2010 by Dawn Little for Literacy Toolbox. All Rights Reserved.  All Amazon links are affiliate links and may result in my receiving a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.