Tag Archives: Frederick

Animal A to Z Picture Book Recommendations for Great Summer Reading

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Summertime gives us a wonderful opportunity to get outdoors.  Kids love hiking in the park, going down the slide and playing ball at the playground, building sandcastles at the beach…sometimes it seems as if they have a boundless well of energy.   But even kids need to sit down in a cool spot to relax…that’s the perfect time to get out the books!

If you have young children, what will you are reading with them?  Studies show that reading to kids on a daily basis helps children succeed in school as it helps develop their literacy skills, build self-esteem and strengthen the parent-child connection.  What’s even better is that it is SO MUCH FUN for the kids and the adults!

Here’s a list of wonderful picture books…all about animals (a favorite subject for most kids) from A to Z.  Most can be found for FREE at your local library…I hope every parent is taking advantage of the amazing summer programs available at many libraries.

I’ve added a link if I found a review and activities for that particular book…many of the reviews are mine and a few of the links will take you to a review done by one of the contributors to Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book Friday posts.  If you need any other picture books for summer reading and beyond, please check out her Perfect Picture Book page.  

  1. ARMADILLO: Milo Armadillo by Jane Fearnley
  2. BEAR: Gift-Bear for the King by Carl Memling
  3. CAT: Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
  4. DINOSAUR: Dinosaur vs. The Library by Bob Shea
  5. ELEPHANT: Babar by Jean de Brunhoff
  6. GOLDFISH: Gilbert Goldfish Wants a Pet by Kelly DiPucchio
  7. HORSE: Indian Two Feet and His Horse by Margaret Friskey
  8. IGUANA: I Wanna Iguana by T.E.Watson
  9. JELLYFISH: Joy the Jellyfish by Kristen Collier

10. KANGEROO: Yes We Can! by Sam McBratney

11. LLAMA: Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

12. MOUSE: Frederick by Leo Lionni

13. NEWT: Newt by Matt Novak

14. OWL: Owl Moon

15. PIG: Sloppy Kisses by Elizabeth Winthrop

16. QUAIL: Looking After Me by Denise Leroy

17. RACOON: The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

18. SHEEP: Can’t Sleep Without Sheep by Susanna Leonard Hill

19. TIGER: Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus

20. UNICORN: Unicorn! Unicorn! By Geraldine McCaughean

21. VOLE: The Vole Brothers  by Roslyn Schwartz

22. WHALE: Pipaluk and the Whales by John Himmelman

23. XIPHIAS (SWORDFISH): Swimmy by Leo Lionni

24. YAK: Kami and the Yak by Andrea Stenn Stryer

25. ZEBRA: How the Zebra Got Its Stripes by Justine Fontes

Badge created by the talented Loni Edwards

I also wanted to add a note about a great creative writing activity going on right now…Susanna Leonard Hill has organized Summer Short and Sweets…if you have been thinking about writing for children and want to get your feet wet, this is the perfect opportunity.  The kid lit community that gathers there is generous, helpful, caring and inspiring.

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Follow-Me-Fridays: Where’s Miss Vivian?

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Image by Amy Bonner via Flickr

The school year is winding down

Thursday was my next-to-the-last Show-Me-How Story-time presentation.

So, I was just a little bit sad as I walked into Trailblazer Elementary School in Colorado Springs.

But, you can’t remain sad long when surrounded by smiling eager kindergarteners!

The children sat on the story rug and I sat in the story rocking chair and I read them Frederick, by Leo Lionni.  This picture book is definitely a favorite with young children.  The simple yet engaging illustrations clearly convey the frustration of Frederick’s family as they assume the young mouse is just trying to get out of collecting food supplies for the winter. 

The story shows that each of us is a unique individual with different qualities and strengths.   As a poet, Frederick used words to create pictures in the minds of his family members.  And this, the story brings out, is equally as important as food…in fact, you might say it is a different type of food.

The teachers and their aides had done a stellar job of preparing the simple materials needed for the craft project.  There were so many different colors and shapes of construction paper flowers; I thought there was a spring garden blooming on the teacher’s desk.

I am always amazed and excited by the comments I hear from the children.  All three kindergartens were able to take part…the teachers split them into two groups for back-to-back story and craft presentations.  After the story, the children were eager to tell me what supplies Frederick brought and what foods his family collected.  They also discussed poetry and were able to come up with many rhyming words.  Each time I would ask a question, almost every hand would wave excitedly as each child wanted to be the one to provide the answer.

Next month I have one more presentation and then the school year will be over.  I look forward with anticipation to reading and crafting with a new group of children in August.

Please don’t forget about the Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Blog Hop and Giveaway of a copy of Show Me How.  All you need to do is click on the link and subscribe to my blog and leave a comment on why you’d like to win the copy of this great resource for parents and teachers.

Follow-Me-Fridays: Where’s Miss Vivian?

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Group of children in a primary school in Paris
Image via Wikipedia

When I introduced the SHOW ME HOW Story-time Program to District 11, I had no idea how popular it would be.

But I guess when you combine picture books and young children and craft activities, you are bound to get positive results!

Yesterday morning found me at Edison School…just three minutes from my house.  It was easy to find because I’d been there before…not to read or craft, but to vote. 🙂

The kindergarten children in Ms. Gustafson’s class were eager to hear about Frederick, the little mouse whose family is preparing for the winter by collecting corn, straw, wheat and nuts.  Although it looks like Frederick is sleeping most of the time, he tells his family that he is busy…gathering the sun’s rays, colors and words.  When winter comes and the mice have eaten most of the food and are cold and hungry, Frederick offers up the supplies he brought and warms his family with his words about the sun’s golden rays and brightens the gray winter day by talking about the colors of the flowers in the spring.

I was so impressed with the children’s level of attention…smiling faces and raised hands greeted every question I asked as we discussed the difference between the supplies Frederick gathered and those his family brought.  They understood that even though food and shelter were important, the beauty that Frederick supplied was necessary for life also.

After the story and discussion, the children moved to their tables where they worked on creating a colorful flower picture.  Many of the children added their own touches…some drew Frederick and his family…one boy raised the edges of the construction paper flowers so that they had depth, just like real flowers do.

I was touched when one student wanted to give me his picture to take home with me…what an honor!  However, the teacher was going to hang all of the pictures on the wall outside the classroom, so I thanked him and told him that I would be able to enjoy seeing it again the next time I visited Edison School.

As the children put the finishing touches on their pictures, I thanked them for having me, said goodbye and walked down the hall to the other kindergarten where 15 smiling children waited to greet me and hear all about Frederick.

Based on my book for parents of preschoolers, the SHOW ME HOW Story-time Program helps encourage young children in school to become readers and lovers of books.  If you’d like to have this unique resource available to you and your child, please visit my website where you can purchase a copy at 50% off the cover price.  For just $22.50, you will have 100 story summaries, 100 simple craft projects and 100 easy healthful cooking activities right at your fingertips!  And you can enter to win a selection of craft supplies for your preschooler.

I’m looking forward to April 12th when this blog will be a stop on the book blog tour of Max the Dog Who Works. He is also in the People Telly Awards competition and the following is a message from him about a youtube video he made:

This competition and the People Telly Awards are chosen specifically by online voters.  We are seeking your help to share and gain as many votes as possible to show support for Leader Dogs for the Blind.  To vote, please visit the Link provided below and rate it using the ever famous “thumbs up” system.  Videos that earn the most thumbs up – win! 
 
The more people you share this link with, the greater the chance of earning recognition for Leader Dogs.

 Visit: http://www.youtube.com/tellyawards?x=TNRiC8lMBoU     to cast your vote

 Hugs and Licks:Max!

Leader Dogs for the Blind…a very worthwhile organization…please give your support by watching the video and voting for Max!