All posts tagged: reading with kids

THE GRUMPY FRUMPY CROISSANT helps with kids anger management, plus a baking activity, how it might help with apraxia, more

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By Leslie Lindsay  A sip of milk and ten deep breaths: anger management for kids to help calm angry minds and soften misunderstandings. ~Apraxia Monday|Always with a Book~ Spotlight: Children‘s Literature & Emotions Croissant isn’t happy and he’s taking it out on the rest of the breakfast plate! Toast, Scone, and Milk think he’s being mean, but Croissant feels they’re being mean to him! So take a sip of milk, ten deep breaths, and everyone and calm down and be more open.  THE GRUMPY FRUMPY CROISSANT by Mona K. and illustrated by Korey Scott, is a delightful and quirky children’s book with bold, colorful, hand-drawn illustrations easy for any child to grasp. Here, kids learn that simple communication is often the best way to solve problems.  The book even contains a delicious recipe that parents and caregivers can make with their kids, plus full-page coloring activities featuring characters from the book.  Why it might be helpful for kids with apraxia:  It’s frustrating for kids to have ideas they want to communicate, but can’t. They may …

Toe-tappin’ Hip-Hoppin’ Llama Glamarama is all about marching to the beat of your own drummer, celebrating differences, feeling left-out, PRIDE and more

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By Leslie Lindsay  A bright and colorful rhyming story with a powerful message about celebrating differences, LLAMA GLAMARAMA is the perfect Pride picture book for everyone. ~Books on MondaY|Always with a Book~ Spotlight: Children‘s Literature Meet a dazzlin’ dancin’ llama who learns to march to the beat of his own drum by strutting his stuff with Pride (and a funky feather boa)! Larry the llama loves to move and groove! But will his friends all disapprove? Larry lives a slow and quiet life at the barn with all the other llamas, just the way they like it. But at night when everyone has gone to bed, Larry loves to dress up in bright costumes and DANCE! He has to hide this from the others, for fear that they won’t approve of his raucous ways. One day, he stumbles upon the Llama Glamarama, a carnival full of music, laughter, and yes – dancing! Will this vibrant celebration give Larry the pride he needs to bring his dance back home? Kirkus calls LLAMA GLAMARAMA (Scholastic/Orchard Books, June 1, 2021) …

Written by a nurse, illustrated by a 15-year old, and sung by a quartet of musicians, THE TEENSY WEENSY VIRUS is a fun, hands-on way to talk with children about the pandemic

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By Leslie Lindsay  Embracing the latest science, The Teensy Weensy Virus pairs simple, kid-friendly explanations with bright, colorful illustrations. ~BOOKS ON MONDAY | ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Children‘s literature COVID-19 is a big deal—but with all that adults have to worry about, it’s easy to overlook the pandemic’s impact on children. This book provides a great way for parents and caregivers to introduce and reinforce the importance of safety measures to children, while giving kids the opportunity to ask questions and share their feelings. Written and designed by a pediatric nurse practitioner with expertise on the other end of the spectrum: palliative care, Sherri Rose is well-versed in health, medicine, and children. Plus, what I really love is how THE TEENSY WEENSY VIRUS offers additional resources for adults and an informative song. This helps lighten the mood as families engage with this serious topic. I love the bright, bold illustrations, the sing-song-y lilt of this story, plus the playful nature and child-adult bonding that’s sure to happen. For all of those reasons, THE TEENSY WEENSY VIRUS …

Author-illustrator duo talk about their new children’s book, LET LIBERTY RISE, which is darling–about coming together for the collective good, the immigrant experience, color palettes, more

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By Leslie Lindsay  Fascinating and inspiring tale of how the American people came together to crowd-fund one of America’s biggest icons, the Statue of Liberty. ~BOOKS ON MONDAY|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Writers Interviewing Writers March Spotlight: Historical (Children’s) Fiction I LOVED this book! LET LIBERRTY RISE: How America’s Schoolchildren Helped Save the Statue of Liberty (Scholastic, March 2 2021) by Chana Stiefel (with warm, tender illustrations by Chuck Groenink) is an equally gorgeous, inspiring tale rooted in history and goodwill. I seriously cannot love this book any more. This book is a gem. The writing is smart and thoughtful, with obvious research and attention-to-detail, as are the illustrations. I learned so much about the American icon in this children’s book than I think I’ve learned about it through the course of my life. Seriously. I knew it was a gift from the people of France, but I didn’t realize it came to America in so many pieces (350, to be exact), that it weighed more than 40 elephants, and that the pedestal was to be created by the people of …

MALCOLM MITCHELL’S FABULOUS CHILDREN’S BOOK–MY VERY FAVORITE BOOK IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD, plus reading struggles, being a literacy crusader, more

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By Leslie Lindsay  Have you ever struggled to find the perfect book? I know I have! And I’m a ‘reader.’ How about a child in your life? I’m betting so. This darling children’s book–with bold, bright illustrations–by football champion Malcolm Mitchell is sure to delight.  ~BOOKS ON MONDAY|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ CHILDREN’S LITERACY  Henley hates to read. When Henley is supposed to be reading before bed, he builds a castle with his sheets. Henley hates reading so much, he took a wagon full of books to the town swimming pool to find out how well they could swim. MY VERY FAVORITE BOOK IN THE WORLD (Scholastic, December 29) is super-adorable–the words, the illustrations–all of it, is so heartfelt and moving. It’s about being a kid who hates to read, but all of his classmates seem to thrive with a book in hand. It’s based on the real-life experience of football star Malcolm Mitchell, who says, “When I was a kid, reading was my biggest challenge. It was the thing that scared me most, because it …

THE GRINNY GRANNY DONKEY GREAT FOR RHYTHM, REPETITION, LAUGHS, SPEECH DEVELOPMENT, plus an activity

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By Leslie Lindsay Fun-loving, silly story incorporates repetition and rhyme for an endearing tale about grandparents and the children they love.  ~FUN Friday|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Children’s Literature with Activity Another sequel to the laugh-out-loud viral sensation, THE WONKY DONKEY is here–just in time for the holidays from the internationally bestselling creators of The Wonky Donkey comes a third member of the family! There was a sweet donkey who lived on the heath.She was so funny with her false teeth…Hee Haw! This time, readers will meet Dinky Donkey’s grandma: a grinny granky plunky-plinky swanky clinky-clanky zonky dunky-drinky clunky donkey! Brought to life by Craig Smith’s signature playful verses and Katz Cowley’s charming illustrations, THE GRINNY GRANNY DONKEY (Scholastic, November 10; ages 3-5years) is just as fun as her off-spring. SPEECH-RICH ACTIVITY TO TRY:  Grab a little person in your life and read THE GRINNY GRANNY DONKEY together. Giggle and laugh and heck, read it again. Pay special attention to the silly, rhyming words, but also the repetition. Both rhyming and repetition are keys to driving home …

Darling children’s book TOLD IN HIGHLY IMAGINATIVE ILLUSTRATIONS SUPPORTS THE VALUE OF OBSERVATION, SMALL THINGS, CREATIVITY, CULTURE, PLUS EXPAND YOUR READING EXPERIENCE WITH AN ACTITIVITY

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By Leslie Lindsay  Delightful children’s book about a little mouse who comes to stay and leaves the family with a delightful array of treasures.  ~A LITTLE LITERACY|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Kid Lit Monday When a foreign exchange student comes to live with a typical suburban family, he brings with him a boundless sense of curiosity — and a stream of unexpected questions (which his hosts are never quite sure how to answer). But when the moment comes to say good-bye, a beautiful surprise awaits, and a gift the family will never forget. Here, this darling story of a little mouse who comes to stay with a family, we are introduced to a new way of looking at the world. All of the ‘big’ things in life are underwhelming to Eric. He doesn’t care about them, but is more intrigued with the scraps–the tin foil, a gum wrapper, a bottle cap. The family finds this strange, unsettling, but decide it must be his way. Here is where the real magic happens. Could it be that the …

Dr. Tinita Kearney talks about her new lift-the-flap book designed to help kids with yes/no Questions, WHO+WHAT+WHERE and speech development

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By Leslie Lindsay  Darling lift-the-flap board book for toddlers and their caregivers to teach basics of yes/no questions, receptive language skills, asking questions, more.  ~Books on Monday, Part 1|Always with a Book~ I’m so jazzed about this book! Not only did I love, love reading to my two when they were babies (even in utero!) and afterward, I love working with them on lift-the-flap books, too. The surprise and delight is such a fun way to bring a story to life, to give it a tactile approach and bring the world of the story a little more in grasp…quite literally! When I learned about Dr. Tinita Kearney’s new book, LOLA THE KOALA’S TRAVEL ADVENTURES, I knew I had to get in on the action–and share it with you, too!  The illustrations are bright and engaging. Plus, this is just the first in a series of Lola Koala travels. Join her as she treks across the globe…you and your little explorer will undercover fun developmental concepts and foundational language skills along the way! Each “Lola Koala’s …