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.

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.

Raffi and The Centre for Child Honoring

For those of you that grew up listening to Raffi, you may be interested to know that he has formed the Centre for Child Honouring. It is rare that a childhood hero exceeds expectations formed in childhood wonderment, but Raffi does. He is dedicating his life to the compassionate, reverent actions he called for in his songs for children. As I watched videos of his speeches and read through the Centre for Child Honouring's website I felt grateful, centered, and touched. As a child I sang "Baby Beluga" over and over and over again. The gentle lyrics, "Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea, you swim so wild and you swim so free, heaven above and the sea below, and the little white whale on the go," opened my heart to the natural world, and sparked a compassion that would lead me to become a vegetarian at the age of twelve. I had tears in my eyes when I read Raffi's lyrics for his "Beluga Grads," of which I count myself a proud member.

“Now you've grown and you're on your way,
Making waves in the boundless bay,
With your shining light and your dreams alive
For the young you'll have one day.
Grown-up beluga, grown-up beluga,
Sing a song of peace, sing with all your friends,
We need to hear you!”

Raffi on a "Child-Honoring" Society

Raffi: "By the year 2020, it is our daring hope to seed a social revolution that hasn't been tried yet, that has at it's heart the growing child as a universal symbol and reality of human experience."

As a child I listened with rapt attention to Raffi's songs. His gentle, lilting voice sang of the beluga whale, of thanksgiving, and of the the universality of the human experience. Through his songs my compassion and reverence for the natural world and my fellow human beings grew. Now Raffi is dedicating his life to the transformation of our society into a society that honors children.