5 Books a Day: week 5

Okay, yes it has been a while since we participated in this fantastic literacy challenge, hosted by Anna @ The Imagination Tree, but I've decided it is high time that we jump right back in (so to speak) with some of the new books my darling daughter (DD) received for her big 3yo birthday just over a week ago.

I have only taken one picture of our books this week ...

When I'm Feeling SAD, written and illustrated by Trace Moroney.  Everyone feels SAD sometimes.  It's a quiet, lonely feeling.  But it can often help to talk to someone about it. (blurb)  
I love this series - its such a great tool in helping you to talk about the various feelings we as humans experience throughout our lifetimes with our little ones.  This is one in a series of eight books I gave my daughter in a box set this past week.  The pictures are both cute and emotive.  They really help you delve into the topic (or feeling of note) and give children a safe context in which to discuss what they feel and how they can work through and experience that emotion in healthy, positive ways.


When I'm Feeling HAPPY, written and illustrated by Trace Moroney.  So many things can make you HAPPY.  Playing with friends, a special treat - or just a big hug. (blurb)
A second book from the same series.  Bright, bubbly and fresh illustrations alongside fantastic text that helps little ones explore what it feels like to be happy, ways they might explore happiness - even that "feeling happy helps me to have more patience and helps me not to get angry over small problems ... and makes me feel more kind and caring towards others."


The Magic Balloon, written by Oakley Graham, illustrated by Dan Crisp.  Many, many years ago, in the city of Montreal, lived a boy called Will, who was very, very tall.  Will was a great inventor and was over the moon, when he created the world's first magic balloon.  New and emerging readers will love to read about Will's adventures in his magic balloon, and will be captivated by the colour-changing balloon light. (blurb)
Such a creatively thought-up adventure for children, written in rhyming prose and illustrated in seemingly hand-painted imagery.  A gorgeous little story with a balloon light in the centre of the page which changes colour and gives it that little added-extra, though the amount of detail included in the illustrations is amazing.  A much loved gift from her god-mother.


Sesame Street My First Library: Abby Cadabby's Rhyme Time, by P.J. Shaw, illustrated by Tom Leigh.  
The much loved Sesame Street character Abby explores rhyming words - "you know, words that end with the same sound, like bat and cat!  Rhymes are so fun to find!".  As Abby goes along she does just that - looks for a word and then thinks up other words which rhyme with this original word.  A very cute book that explores this ultra-important concept; with gorgeous, dynamic illustrations featuring all your favourite Sesame Street monsters and puppets throughout.  As soon as I saw this one in the store I knew I had to get it for DD!

And last, but definitely not least ....

Sesame Street My First Library: Elmo Goes to the Doctor, by Sarah Albee, illustrated by Tom Brannon.
This month DD and I have had at least one visit to the doctor each week for various reasons and so when I saw this one at the shop I thought that this would be a good one to help us talk about what had happened when we went there - we really hadn't been all that regularly before this at all, and then five visits in as many weeks?!!!
This book is a delightful tale of a worried little Elmo ("Elmo really feels fine, Mummy," he said.  "Let's just go home.") who has to go to the doctor for a checkup and a shot.  The doctor checks his height, weight, breathing, heartbeat, ears, throat etc... A cute little story about all the different things a doctor might check when you go to the doctor for a routine health check - and later, if you eat "all the monstermallows out of the Monster Flakes cereal box"!  A fun, simple tool to help facilitate a discussion about going to the doctor in a positive way.

** Well, they are the books we are looking to read each day this week.  We didn't get to them this week (only just decided on our selection), but will make a great effort to read each at least once a day.

If you are looking for some more great options for reading with little kids, why not head over to Anna's host post for the challenge this week and have a look at the other book selections the other wonderful mothers are reading with their children this week.  I often find titles I'm either introduced to new (to me) titles, or reminded of beloved one's I've forgotten about from my own childhood, when reading the other participants' posts.

5 Books a Day: week 4

To say last week's selection was a wash ... is an understatement!  My daughter either wasn't interested in the selection of books or I forgot them in amongst all the others we did read.  She instead discovered my hard-cover Disney books - and has now decided she is old enough to sit through, and listen to, an entire long story!  *Bliss*  So far we've read Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella with Beauty and the Beast next in line - she loves the movie and when she saw it she was all "Beast!  Beast!  Read Beast Book!"  Lol!

So, without further ado, bring on this week's selection of books...

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Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell.

A favourite since she was little, my daughter can now name each animal, and almost all the characteristics that send them back to the zoo (too tall, too grumpy, too naughty etc).  Fun and loveable imagery, with repeated phrases throughout, and best of all ... flaps!!

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The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.

When my daughter was born, we were given a copy of Peter Rabbit's Bedtime Stories which I read to her when she was little.  About a month ago, 'we' discovered Mummy's little copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit - which she adores!  She will either sit there silently while I read, or look through it by herself telling herself a little story based on the pictures.  I really want to develop her knowledge of this delightful little tale!

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Dewdrop Babies: Viola's Secret by Patricia MacCarthy.

A little book I picked up at QBD last week which talks about Viola [who] is very brave because of the daring things she does.  But at bed-time they discover that she's got a secret and she's not so brave after all... (back cover)  Viola is afraid of the night-time ... and especially the DARK!

A beautiful way of talking about fear and being scared of the dark.  Hopefully it will help my daughter who seems to have developed this fear - the last couple of months she's been requesting that I stay with her at night until she goes to bed - with the lamp on as well!!

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The Little Red Hen (Little Golden Book version).

Rhythm, repeated text ... and baking fresh bread - what's not to love about this age-old story?!!  And so many off-shoot activities I could do with this one if I had the time!!

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The Three Billy Goats Gruff (First Readers version).

Rhythm, repeated text and beautiful pictures.  A really cute version of the well known fairy tale (?!), fantastic for just reading to your child, but also promotes your child's reading learning.

My daughter already loves this one - and will shout out "I eat you" (= "I'm going to eat you") when we get to those lines.

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Linking up with Ann's linky party this week.  Click HERE

**Edit: we have decided to read these books again this week (beginning 23rd May) due to time  commitments.

5 Books a Day: week 3

Last week was incredibly successful in teaching my daughter her nursery rhymes - while she loved all the other books, she seemed to respond best to Play-school's version of all those traditional nursery rhymes from 'back in our day'. She's even decided that Humpty Dumpty is her favourite subject to draw - and is repeatedly singing BOTH versions of Jack and Jill!!

Lately we've talked her through drawing the basic features of people - eyes, nose, mouth, arms, legs, hair etc. She took this 'knowledge' and drew the above picture of Humpty Dumpty ALL BY HERSELF - WITHOUT guidance or 'help' - and then brought it over to me with a simple "Look Mum!" SOOO clever! Note: Those circles at the top of his head are ears - and the single line up coming out of the top of his head ... hair!!

So for this week's selection of books, I have decided that we will repeat three books from last week (Play Schools' Nursery Rhymes, Clifford grows up, and There was an Old Woman who Swallowed a Fly), and just add two 'new' books:

Clifford's Manners by Norman Bridwell.
A second 'Clifford' book - this time discussing good manners in an easy-to-understand format for little ones.
I remember loving this series when I was little - and actually, these Clifford books are from my childhood!  I loved the stories of the little puppy that grew to be a very BIG dog, and my daughter is loving them just as much.  I thought it might be fun to include this one to encourage some of the other manners she's still to learn.  She is already saying "please", "thankyou", "excuse me" (!!) and "bless you" (!) We'll see how effective a tool this one is *grin*.

The last is a Where Do Kisses Come From? by Maria Fleming for Little Golden Books.
A fun and imaginative story about all the many reasons to kiss one's child. The images all depict the parent and child/ren relationship in animal pictures which makes it fun for children.  And I love the last page:

"But no matter what kind of kiss it is, ALL kisses come from love!"

*heart*


Hopefully we have a good week with this and successfully read each book each day, but if not I'm not totally worried.  We read a lot of books every day, so I'm just happy about that.

I am linking this post back to Ann's host post again on The Imagination Tree.  If you have little children around you at all I recommend you visit this site - SO many good ideas of creative things to do with your little one!  I love it!!





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Also, if you are a sew-er of any kind and looking for an 'excuse' to have a sewing night in, I encourage you to join in with the fun of the next Friday Night Sew In hosted by the lovely Heidi @ Handmade by Heidi on Friday 20th May.  This will be my first 'Sew-in', followed by a day of scrap-booking fun!  I'm looking forward to my creative 'weekend'!!  

5 Books a Day: week 2

We ended up deciding to read the books from the last 5BaD post again for a second week.  There were days when we ended up forgetting these in amongst  the plethora of other books we read, so I wasn't really worried.  Late Sunday afternoon, my father took my daughter along to the beach for some Grandad:Grandaughter one to one time which she thoroughly LOVED - especially since one of our books from last week was "Grandpa and Thomas", during which she enjoyed joining in with the "swish, swash, swoosh, sings the sea" phrase repeated each double-page spread.

So, this week we are going to attempt to read the following books at least once each day, in amongst all the others...

Five titles from the Learn about God series, published by Christian Focus Publications and Illustrated by Derek Matthews.
I know there are five books here already, but when we sit down to read one we inevitably end up reading the lot - so I'm kinda counting this as two, lol.  The titles we have are God knows everything, God is everywhere, God is faithful, God has power, and God is kind.  My daughter brings them over to me regularly and just loves hearing about God, and learning of just how much he loves us!  **Bless!!**

Play School: Come and Play: Nursery Rhyme Favourites
We got this one at Christmas last year as my daughter has become a very avid viewer of Playschool - she's regularly requesting one of her dvd's, participating, singing and dancing along with each segment!
Though this book is more of a 'introduction' to nursery rhymes (not all verses are included in many of the rhymes), it does provide delight in little ones, especially when they can recognise their favourite characters 'acting' out the rhymes.
My daughter is even singing the rhymes by herself now - and this makes this book even more delightful in her eyes!

Clifford Grows Up by Norman Bridwell.
A recent favourite, this book discusses 'growing up' through the compilation of 'past photos' of Emily Elizabeth and her special dog Clifford.  She is telling the story of her pet, from getting him as a puppy through the fun of puppyhood all the way to when he grew so big they needed to move from the city to the country so they could keep him.
The last few days this book has been pulled out almost every evening by an eager almost-3yo wanting to hear about the dog that grew soooo big!  A fun look at the past and growing up.

There was an Old Woman who swallowed a fly! illustrated by Wendy Straw.
Who hasn't heard this 'all-time favourite children's verse' of an old woman who swallowed a fly, spider, bird, cat, dog, goat, cow ... and horse?!!  Each subsequent animal was swallowed in order to 'catch the' previous inhabitant of her belly!  Such fun!  Such delight ... especially when you emphasise the spider wriggling, jiggling and tickling inside her with bouncy-ness and tickles of your own!
Since buying this one, it has regularly been pulled out when we wanted something fun to read.

So, what are you reading this week?  Whether for yourself or with your children?

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Once again I am linking up with Anna’s “5-a-day books” challenge" on her blog The Imagination Tree.  Though she is on her third week, we are only on our second.

5 a Day Book Challenge

This week I’ve decided to get on board Anna’s “5-a-day books” challenge.  A arty crafty ‘early years’ educator prior to becoming a stay at home mum to her two precious daughters, she regularly provides fantastic hands-on ideas of ways to enchant and enhance the learning of little ones in real and practical activities that she has done herself with her children on her blog The Imagination Tree.  If you are a mother of young children and haven’t come by this blog I definitely recommend a look-see!

Anyway, on to this weeks' “5-a-Day Books”challenge (week 1 was last week). Anna explains it best …

… So, how do you do 5-A-Day-Books with your own children at home or school? Simple! Choose 5 texts that are simple, short, appealing and which tap into whatever your child is interested in. Try and include at least two books that have rhyming text or a familiar, repeated refrain as studies show that children exposed to plenty of strong, rhythmic text/ song from a young age become more.

… [I] suggest choosing short picture books which feature strong rhythm and/ or repeated refrain so that the children can quickly memorise the words and join in with the story-telling. This empowers them to be able to "read" and re-tell stories from a young age, and also makes them very fluent in a range of text types and literature styles. [HERE]

So, what are our chosen books to repeat this week?

Little Sheep Gets Lost: The Story of the Lost Sheep (Author: Tim Dowley)

I really love this version of Jesus’ parable of the Lost Sheep (found, Luke 15) for little kids.  The bright, lovable pictures provide a feast for young eyes, while the clear and simple text recreates the story in a way that is easy for them to understand.  No more than four lines of text (actually, the majority of pages have two lines), it is also a quick moving recreation – which is always a major factor in choosing stories for my little one!

Stories from Jesus: The Friendly Stranger (Author: Margaret Williams)

Another favorite version of one of Jesus’ parables for little tackers – The Good Samaritan (found, Luke 10:25-37).  Once again, this book has bright, interesting illustrations and clear, easy to understand text which highlights the major points in Jesus’ story while emphasizing the message of kindness and compassion, regardless of any perceived differences.

Indigo and the Mistletoe (Author: Janelle Fisher)

An absolutely adorable book written, illustrated and published by a strong woman of faith I am proud to call ‘friend’.   In her own, perfect explanation, this book is ‘a little story to help little people understand some of the big things in life.  How little problems can grow, but that big, caring people can help fix them.  And that who we are, and the decisions we make affect others.’

Who Sank the Boat? (Author: Pamela Allen)

A long-time favorite book of mine going back to my own childhood, by a long-time favorite award-winning children’s author.  If you haven’t read the book – DO!  The simple rhythm and rhyme, the fun illustrations, and the fact that my daughter regularly requests this book makes this book a fantastic choice in our house.

Grandpa and Thomas (Author: Pamela Allen)

Another book by Pamela, this fun rhythmical book about a child’s visit to the beach with his grandfather is another favorite.  We originally came by this book when we saw it being read on Playschool.  “Swish, swash, swoosh, sings the sea” *heart*

So there you have it – the five books I intend to regularly read with my daughter this week throughout our day.


This post is linked in with Anna's post.

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On a side note, this weekend I finally finished my “Ooopsy Daisy Table Runner”, designed by Jenny of Elefantz.  I fell in love with this design as soon as I saw it and was quick to buy a copy of the pattern from her Etsy shop.  This runner I made for a dear friend for her 30^th birthday and, though unfortunately belated, she will receive the finished product at our mum’s & bubs bible study later this week.  

The first image is of the whole table runner...

... followed by a close-up of the applique and embroidery.  

What do you think?     I personally can’t wait to make one I get to keep!!