Category: Poetry

Posted on

Singing the Praises of Forest Has a Song

Forest Has a Song by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater and illustrated by Robbin Gourley has only been out for a few weeks and already people are singing its praises. forest-has-a-songIt was Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis’s February 2013 Book Pick, for example.

The accolades are well deserved. VanDerwater’s gentle poems about nature hit all the right notes. Any book that can evoke the cool summer feeling of wearing “moss socks” is sure to win the reader over. My personal favorite is “Forest News” about reading animals tracks in newly fallen snow, which makes me miss my New England roots.

Robbin Gourley’s illustrations are also marvelous. They reflect the poems, yet leave room for the child’s imagination to flow free. A few curled ferns, a leaf or two, interspersed with scenes of a girl and her dog (and her mother) hiking, playing or skiing in the woods. Poem Farm has a post about how Robin developed the illustrations.

The book trailer of Amy Ludwig VanDerwater reciting the title poem gives you the best impression of what the book is like.

 

 

Isn’t that lovely? In an interview at Nerdy Book Club, the author reveals the book took a long time to come out. It was well worth the wait.

Reading Forest Has a Song is a superb way to celebrate National Poetry Month and it sure to inspire some budding poets. It would also be a great choice to read for Earth Day and to celebrate nature. You will want to return to the Forest again and again.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has an awesome Poetry Activity Kit to accompany Forest Has A Song (plus three other books of poetry) to download or print out for free.

 

Age Range: 6 – 9 years
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Clarion Books (March 26, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0618843493
ISBN-13: 978-0618843497

This book was supplied by the publisher for review purposes.

 

 
trees
 

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by Booktalking to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s round-up can be found at a wrung sponge.

Posted on

Stripes of All Types Book Review

Are you looking for a children’s picture book to read for Poetry Month in April? Stripes of All Types by Susan Stockdale is a perfect choice. It combines rhyming text, incredible art and engaging science into one appealing package. stripes-of-all-types

It is hard to describe the visual impact of this book with mere words. The acrylic illustrations are so clean and crisp. The patterns are amazing. It is sure to stimulate the reader to begin looking for stripes and other patterns everywhere. To find out more about how Susan did the illustrations, check Creating Illustrations for Stripes and How I Created Stripes at the Peachtree Publishers blog.

Susan Stockdale highlights many unusual and intriguing animals with stripes, some with very subtle stripes like a turkey’s wing. In the back matter she discusses each animal in more detail, giving its name, where it lives and more about what its stripes might have to say. In the end is a matching game to reinforce learning, which asks the reader to match the square samples of different stripe patterns to the animal that wears them.

Stripes of All Types by Susan Stockdale is a bold look at animals of all stripes. The rhyming text is perfect for preschoolers and the youngest reader, especially those interested in animals. Pick it up for Poetry Month or before a trip to the zoo.

Explore the science behind the stripes at Growing With Science.

fish-outline

For a simple art activity provide children with a outline of an animal or have them draw one,

fish-outline-colored

and then supply markers, crayons and colored pencils for them to explore stripes. Fun!

Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (April 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1561456950
ISBN-13: 978-1561456956

 

The book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.
 

 

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

Posted on

Tons of Trucks is Tons of Fun

If you are a Sue Fliess fan like I am, you will be pleased to hear her new interactive book Tons of Trucks, which is illustrated by Betsy Snyder, is coming out this week. Written in fast-paced rhyme and illustrated with surprises, this book will be a sure winner with the youngest set.

Young children absolutely love to read about trucks and construction equipment. They also love interactive books with plenty of items to explore, move and touch. This book has a wealth of scoops to swing and cargoes to reveal  (The tar truck is going to be an extra fun surprise, but I won’t spoil it by giving away the secret.) Each vehicle is driven by a cute animal to identify, which will add to the excitement.

Parents will love that the paper is high quality and the pop-ups and pull-outs are carefully engineered to make them easy to move. It will stand up to loving use by young children. Parents may also value the book because, as well as engaging children, the interactive features help develop wee ones’ motor skills.

Tons of Trucks is a special book for small children that you are sure to be reading together again and again.

Check out the cute book trailer:

Bonus activities for the youngsters:

In addition to reading the book, playing with toy cars and trucks can be a fun way to learn. Children may

  • Learn or reinforce their knowledge of colors,
  • Practice some important math and science skills such as sorting,
  • Develop vocabulary.

Pull out an assortment of small toy cars and trucks.

1. Sorting

During a break in the play encourage children to sort the cars and trucks into piles by color. Show them how by sorting all the blue cars and trucks into a pile. Then find all the green cars, etc.

Once they have mastered colors, try sorting by size, pointing out the words big and small used in the book.


2. Identifying

With a variety of toy vehicles, identify a regular car, race car, a dump truck, a fire truck. Talk about the characteristics, such as the big wheels of a monster truck or the ladder on a fire truck. Show how the vehicles are the same (they all have wheels), and how they are different (trucks have a bed for carrying things).

There’s nothing like a great book to inspire hours of fun!

Ages: Up to 3
Hardcover: 18 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books (Releases July 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0547449275
ISBN-13: 978-0547449272

Book supplied by the publisher for review purposes.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by Booktalking to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s round-up is at Booktalking.

Posted on

A Stick Is An Excellent Thing: Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play

Just in time for National Poetry Month we have the picture book A Stick Is an Excellent Thing: Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. 

“School is done.

It’s a sunny day.

Goodbye, TV.

Let’s go out and play!”

Marilyn Singer’s poems are fast-paced, upbeat, and succinct. She effortlessly creates the rhythm and energy of children at play.

LeUyen Pham’s watercolors also capture the joy of children playing outdoors. All the children are smiling, laughing, moving.

It is easy to get caught up in nostalgia reading these poems. Remember the joys of blowing bubbles, playing with jacks or jumping rope? The reality is, however, that many children will never have the memories we adults take for granted because they don’t have many opportunities to go outside and play. Hopefully this book will inspire them to do just that.

Spring is a perfect time to read A Stick Is an Excellent Thing and then go outside and enjoy some of the activities pictured. When they come back inside, perhaps it will also entice children to read and enjoy poetry, and even write their own poems.

(Personal Note:  Kudos to Singer for suggesting children release their fireflies after only a minute or two.)

Reading level: Ages 4 and up
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Clarion Books (February 28, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0547124937
ISBN-13: 978-0547124933

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by Booktalking to see who is hosting each week.

Today’s round-up is at Rasco From RIF.