Preschool + Storytime Books

The following books are books that I recommend for storytime for preschoolers and early elementary students.  I have tested them myself in storytimes with children ages 3-5, and they have proved to be engaging and fun.


*Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Day by Judith Viorst


Baby Bird by Joyce Dunbar


Big Bear Hug by Nicholas Oldland


*Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina


Click, Clack, Moo by Doreen Cronin


Clocks and More Clocks by Pat Hutchins


The Fantastic Mr. Wani by Kanako Usai


Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin


I Am the Best! by Lucy Cousins


*Ira Sleeps Over by Waber


It’s My Birthday by Pat Hutchins


Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes


*Leonardo the Monster by Mo Willems


Mostly Monsterly by Scott Magoon and and Tammy Sauer


My Garden by Kevin Henkes


Not Last Night, But the Night Before by Colin McNaughton


Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
 
*Denotes personal favorite.

Toddler Storytime - Good Books

The following books have been tested during toddler (18 months-3 years) storytimes.  I have personally tried the following books, and highly recommend them. 

Airport by Byron Barton

*Bark, George! by Jules Feiffer

Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker

Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss

*Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas

Chicken Little by Ed Emberly

Dinosaur Vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea

The Farmer in the Dell by John O’Brien

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

Good Morning, Chick by Mira Ginsburg

Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins

*I am the Best! by Lucy Cousins

Machines at Work by Byron Barton

My Car by Byron Barton

*Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin

*Rosies Walk by Pat Hutchins

Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort


*Denotes personal favorite.

Education Revolution!

According to Sir Ken Robinson, it is time for an education revolution, and SCHOOLS KILL CREATIVITY.  What do you think? 

"Human intelligence is richer and more dynamic than we have been led to believe by formal academic education."

The Developing Brain and Apps Vs. Books

I've been pondering the effect that learning to read primarily through books might have on the developing brain.  If Nicholas Carr was right, in his Atlantic Monthly article published three years ago, Google may be making us stupid.  It may be impeding our ability to think deeply, and to concentrate for long periods of time, and the act of reading from an electronic device that constantly tempts us to shift our attention from one subject to another may be decreasing brain activity that is responsible for helping us think deeply and for a sustained amount of time.  If this is the case, then it would seem to follow that learning to read from an e-reader with interactive apps may increase distractibility in the developing brain.  ADHD is already in full-on epidemic mode.  What are we doing to our brains? 

Here is an article that promotes the reading apps.