Possibilities and Peas: books

Monday, May 6, 2013

Letter H Books

Here are five books that feature words that start with the letter H. They are all picture books, great for reading aloud or early readers.

No Roses for Harry by Gene Zion - Harry gets a sweater with roses. Harry doesn't like roses and tries very hard to get rid of the sweater.

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton - The story of a house over years as the city overtakes her.

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson - Harold takes his purple crayon and draws an adventure.

Old Hat New Hat by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Handmade Alphabet by Laura Rankin.

Here is a bonus book: Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden. A personal favorite of mine, for obvious reasons. The story of a little orphan girl, a doll and Christmas wishes come true. This book is a little longer than a picture book, but would still make a nice read aloud, it does have pictures.

{Linking up} with the fabulous Marcy over at Ben and Me with blogging through the alphabet.

*There are affiliate links in this post.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Picture Books About Winter For Kids

The last two weeks have been full of winter fun with picture book reading while the snow was blowing outside. I thought I would share with you twelve books we especially liked. I found these at our local library. If you would like to see more about the books, click on the picture to take you to the Amazon listing {these are affiliate links}.

1. Winter, An Alphabet Acrostic, by Steven Schnur is a beautifully illustrated book full of wonderful poetry. Many of us have done the acrostic poem where we've written a word up and down and filled in attributes of that word. Steven Schnur has taken that kind of poem to another level. A collection of twenty-six winter acrostics, each poem expands the word into a whole feast for the senses. I love the way that this books moves through the season as it moves through the alphabet.

2. The Snowflake A Water Cycle Story by Neil Waldman is really a story of what happens to the snowflake the rest of the year. It goes through month, by month as the snowflake falls, melts, goes into the earth, back in up in a stream, becomes part of a rainstorm, is collected for irrigation and so forth. This true science story is written with colorful descriptive language and is beautifully illustrated.

3. Snow Pumpkin by Carole Lexa Schaefer is a charming story about two friends and an early October snow. They try to build a snowman but there isn't enough snow for the head, so they borrow a pumpkin from a garden. This book is set in an urban setting with many multicultural details.

4. Winter Friends by Mary Quattlebaum is another delightful collection of poems. Each page is wonderful winter scene whimsically illustrated, capturing an aspect of a snowy winter day. From "After the Storm" to "More Snow", this book weaves together an almost story. My personal favorite poem is "Sledding". Printed on an illustration a big hill of snow with children sledding, it perfectly describes the amazing descent.

5. Snow Dance by Lezlie Evans shares the joy of snow. Starting out on a cold, gloomy afternoon, the children start to do the snow dance when they hear that a snow storm is forecasted. It snows all afternoon and evening making the perfect snowy day. Children dance and laugh through every kind of happy snow day activity, from putting on scarves, hats and boots, snowmen making and sledding, right until the last cup of cocoa drunk before a fire.

6. We had lots of fun with The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. There are loads and loads of great {free} learning activities out there on the web. (Check out some of the wintery activities on my Tot School Pinterest Board.) This is the classic, Calecott Award winning story of Peter, who wakes up to a snowy day and all the adventures he has. My favorite thing about this book is the title page, where Peter is sliding down a great mound of snow. Every time I open it up the Little Dude takes his finger down the hill and says "Wheeee".

7. A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann is the story of four kittens who have never seen snow. Three look forward to winter with some trepidation. One can't wait to see it. They go through each season thinking about winter and what the snow will hold.

8. Snow! Snow! Snow! by Lee Harper is the simple story of what happens when a Dad and his two pups go sledding on the world's best sledding hill. Not a lot of text, this would be a great early reader. The simple story also lends itself well to sequence cards or activities

9. Snow by Cynthia Rylant is the artfully told story of a little girl who gets to go home early from school because of snow and all the wonderful adventures she has. The delightful thing about this book is that it is written about the snow, all different kinds of snow and the relationship of snow to all different kinds of people. Not only is this a delightful read, but it is also beautifully illustrated.

10. The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader is the story of what happens to all the animals and birds living on a hill in winter. The big snow comes. Some sleep through it, some must look for food. The last page we meet our old friend groundhog, who sees his shadow, so six more weeks of winter. It is easy to see why this is a Caldecott Award winning book. Even though it was published in 1948, its timeless charm endures.

11. No by Claudia Rueda is a story about a little bear who doesn't want to hibernate with his Mama. The snow will be fun and exciting, but the little bear soon learns that it is much better to be safe with Mama than out in snowy, cold storm. This story is about obedience as much as it is about hibernation.

12. Jan Brett's Snowy Treasury is a collection of four of her most endearing, snowy, stories; Gingerbread Baby, The Mitten, The Hat and The Three Snow Bears. The Mitten and The Hat are two of my favorite books, period. I just love Jan Brett's skillful illustrations and humorous storytelling. These are stories to be read again and again.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Fall into Reading Book List

Drum roll please... here is the book list for the Fall into Reading Challenge. Some of these are new books that look interesting or were suggested by friends. Some are books I read long ago, remember liking and want to read again. In no particular order.

Join along, or find other fabulous lists of books at the Fall into Reading challenge. Just click on the graphic to find out more