We've also since finished book #9: Dolphins at Daybreak, which had me feeling a little claustrophobic as Jack and Annie found themselves stuck underwater in a mini-submarine with a leak in it that was unable to rise to the surface because it was being held in place by a giant octopus while a hammerhead shark circled around. Yikes! In the end, the octopus released them (did you know octopi have human-looking eyes and can shoot a black ink into the water as a means of defense to help them escape a predator?) and then they had to swim out of the sub and over to shore with careful, calm strokes (so as not to attract the shark). Thankfully, the dolphins they'd met earlier saved the day and swam them to shore much faster. How fun! This book started with a riddle to solve as well, which lets us play detective throughout the book.
Here's a (flash-brightened) picture of Will and I reading our mystery by flashlight. We normally don't read in the dark, but this was just for extra excitement. It was followed by a game of "flashlight tag" on the ceiling. ;)
This weeks picture book list comes entirely from the Scholastic book order. Such a great resource...1. The Hiccupotamus by Aaron Zenz was cutesy/rhymey but not my favorite.
2. Hattie Hippo by Christine Loomis was too girlie for Will. He wasn't all that interested.
3. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr & Eric Carle. Almost identical to Brown Bear, Brown Bear except with animal sounds. Will really liked this one and I heard him trying to recite it later.
4. Animal Strike at the Zoo by Karma Wilson was probably Will's 2nd most requested. Comical and clever.
5. Where is Home Little Pip? also by Karma Wilson is so sweet. Little Pip chases after something she's playing with (a feather?) only to find that once she's caught it, she's so far from home, she can't find her way back. She asks other animals "where is home?" but they only tell her where their home is. Finally, Pip sings the song her mother and father sing about "home" at bedtime every night. Her parents hear her singing and find her! Little Pip asks them if they're going home now and they tell her that home is simply wherever the three of them are all together... so this is home! Aww... I kind of teared up with this book.
6. The Very Sleepy Sloth by Andrew Murray pokes fun at the differences between animals and the skills they have. The sloth is very good at sleeping. :) I have a feeling if Craig could reincarnate himself, he'd choose to be a sloth. LOL
7. Big Chickens by Leslie Helakoski was clever with words and alliteration to tell the story of how three fearful chickens overcome their fears.
8. Alphabet Rescue by Audrey Wood was SO COOL! It was actually Will's #1 requested picture book and it was extremely encouraging for him to read and sound out a few words. You could just breeze right through this book or you could take your time and pay attention to all of the details that make each page so interesting. Very educational and definitely a MUST PURCHASE book some day.
9. Oh My Gosh, Mrs. McNosh! by Sarah Weeks. A woman takes her dog for a walk and winds up chasing him all over the place causing great havoc. She's sad and defeated in her failure to catch him until she walks home and finds him waiting for her and wagging his tail.
10. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. I have something very important to say! Are you listening? Go out right now and buy/borrow this book to read with your child. It is one of the sweetest stories I've ever read and Will and I have been doing "the kissing hand" all week and we both love it. The little raccoon is afraid to leave his mommy and go off to school. So mommy shares a secret with him. She slowly unfolds his fingers, opens his hand and plants a kiss in the center of his palm. Then she folds his fingers back up to keep the kiss safe and tells him that whenever he's missing her, he can just press her kiss to his cheek and say "Mommy loves me. Mommy loves me." Then the little raccoon does the same for his mommy. And I choked back my tears. So Will and I do this at bedtime now and we're going to start doing it when I leave for work too. So so sweet... 
These lists have been so helpful when it came time to do my Christmas shopping! I just scrolled back through them and purchased a bunch of the ones we liked best and would like to own.
2. Hattie Hippo by Christine Loomis was too girlie for Will. He wasn't all that interested.
3. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr & Eric Carle. Almost identical to Brown Bear, Brown Bear except with animal sounds. Will really liked this one and I heard him trying to recite it later.
4. Animal Strike at the Zoo by Karma Wilson was probably Will's 2nd most requested. Comical and clever.
5. Where is Home Little Pip? also by Karma Wilson is so sweet. Little Pip chases after something she's playing with (a feather?) only to find that once she's caught it, she's so far from home, she can't find her way back. She asks other animals "where is home?" but they only tell her where their home is. Finally, Pip sings the song her mother and father sing about "home" at bedtime every night. Her parents hear her singing and find her! Little Pip asks them if they're going home now and they tell her that home is simply wherever the three of them are all together... so this is home! Aww... I kind of teared up with this book.
6. The Very Sleepy Sloth by Andrew Murray pokes fun at the differences between animals and the skills they have. The sloth is very good at sleeping. :) I have a feeling if Craig could reincarnate himself, he'd choose to be a sloth. LOL
7. Big Chickens by Leslie Helakoski was clever with words and alliteration to tell the story of how three fearful chickens overcome their fears.
8. Alphabet Rescue by Audrey Wood was SO COOL! It was actually Will's #1 requested picture book and it was extremely encouraging for him to read and sound out a few words. You could just breeze right through this book or you could take your time and pay attention to all of the details that make each page so interesting. Very educational and definitely a MUST PURCHASE book some day.
9. Oh My Gosh, Mrs. McNosh! by Sarah Weeks. A woman takes her dog for a walk and winds up chasing him all over the place causing great havoc. She's sad and defeated in her failure to catch him until she walks home and finds him waiting for her and wagging his tail.
10. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. I have something very important to say! Are you listening? Go out right now and buy/borrow this book to read with your child. It is one of the sweetest stories I've ever read and Will and I have been doing "the kissing hand" all week and we both love it. The little raccoon is afraid to leave his mommy and go off to school. So mommy shares a secret with him. She slowly unfolds his fingers, opens his hand and plants a kiss in the center of his palm. Then she folds his fingers back up to keep the kiss safe and tells him that whenever he's missing her, he can just press her kiss to his cheek and say "Mommy loves me. Mommy loves me." Then the little raccoon does the same for his mommy. And I choked back my tears. So Will and I do this at bedtime now and we're going to start doing it when I leave for work too. So so sweet... 
These lists have been so helpful when it came time to do my Christmas shopping! I just scrolled back through them and purchased a bunch of the ones we liked best and would like to own. 
1 comment:
I love The Kissing Hand!!!!! Mom bought that book for my classroom library my first year of teaching! There are two sequels to it - A Pocket Full of Kisses and A Kiss Goodbye......tear!!!!!!
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