What We're Reading Dec. 17

Today I am hosting “What We are Reading This Week” for the Well Read Child; so please comment or include a link in the comments to your blog post about what you are reading this week.

At the beginning of 2009, I decided to help the Elf to keep a record of all the books she would read this year. This was due largely to the fact that she had received twenty-plus books for Christmas and had read most of them by the end of January!

We started recording the details of what she was reading in an Excel doc.; the title, author, illustrator, whether it was fiction, non-fiction, picture book, and the month in which she read it.

Now, looking over that Excel doc. as we close in on the end of 2009, I see that she has read 121 books. Most of them have been fiction chapter books, from the Rainbow Fairies and Puppy Place to the Chronicles of Narnia and the Harry Potter series. Picture books were down in consumption from last year, numbering only 13. She has read some of her favourite books twice; Kenneth Oppel’s Silverwing series, for instance. Those books were the first three on her list in January 2009 and now, they are being revisited this month, this week.

This week, we did look at a picture book together; Nutcracker Noel by Kate McMullen and illustrated by Jim McMullen. A charming story of a young girl who dreams of dancing in the Nutcracker ballet and how she deals with disappointment by becoming the best tree ever!

At work this week, the theme is Red. To the children in my care, I read, Red Is Best. It has long been one of my best loved books for toddlers and preschoolers. Below is a short review I had previously written for it.

Red Is Best
by Kathy Stinson
Art by Robin Baird Lewis
Annick Press Ltd. Copywrite 1982
ISBN 0-920236-24-3 (bound)
ISBN 0-920236-26-X 9pbk)

Kelly’s mom just “doesn’t understand about red”.
Stinson gets it though. She thoroughly captures a young child’s affinity for all things “favourite”, and in this case, obviously, red! Any one who has ever known a preschooler will definitely relate.

And Kelly, well, she possesses the wisdom that all small children do… she instinctively knows that “juice tastes better in the red cup” and that she can “jump higher in (her) red stockings”. We could all learn from following these types of instincts. Some things just make us feel better and it is good to acknowledge this and surround ourselves in these comforts, whatever they may be.

I’m off now to slip into my deep purple chenille bath robe.
I relax best in my deep purple chenille bathrobe.

What We Are Reading This Week

Autumn is in full swing and I love this time of year, not only for the crisp fresh apples, brisk mornings and colourful countryside but for the chance to present my “Autumn Books” bin to my circle-time friends. My Autumn collection is one of my favourites.

The book I read on Monday (my circle day at the daycare) was:
Night Is Coming by W. Nikola-Lisa.

The illustrations by Jamichael Henterly evoke a sense of autumnal familiarity that makes me feel warm inside. The text is simply beautiful and poetic.

The rest of my autumn collection includes the following books:

• Apple Picking by Janet Craig
• Fresh Fall Leaves by Betsy Franco
• How do Apple Grow by Betsy Maestro
• I like Pumpkins, by Jerry Smath
• My First Halloween by Tomie DePaola
• Picking Apples and Pumpkins by Amy and Richard Hutchings
• The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons
• Sam the Scarecrow by Sharon Gordon
• Squirrels and Chipmunks by Allan Fowler
• Ten Apples up on Top by Theo LeSeig
• The Witch Next Door by Norman Bridwell
• Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watts
  

At home, when asked to choose a book for us to read together, my little elf chose Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox. I’ve had this book in my library since it was published in 2001, the year my daughter was born. She loves the fact that we are reading aloud together a book about reading aloud together!!

So do I.

A Book Give Away!!

I love books and reading. I especially love children's books.
Sharing books with children just may be the one thing I enjoy most about my job as an Early Childhood Educator. In fact, one of the intended purposes of my lil' blog here is to write about some of my favourite children's authors and books. (Watch for that, I WILL be doing it SOON!)

One thing that is almost as much fun as reading books is getting new books. And the one thing that is even better than getting new books is getting FREE new books.

That's why I am entering this contest offered by Jill over at The Well-Read Child and suggesting that anyone else who also likes FREE children's books should consider entering as well. It's easy. Even though... I'm going to win, I'm just saying... anyone else is also free to enter!!

The book Jill is offering is called Winter's Tail : How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again. It looks so adorable.

Oh, by the way Jill hosts a weekly event on Thursdays called What My Children Are Reading
and on Thursday December 17, I will be guest hosting!! So excited!! Should be fun!!