Kindergarten read aloud

All posts in the Kindergarten read aloud category

Corduroy, by Don Freeman

Published June 10, 2013 by Dagmar

corduroy 1 I think I read this book to my son about a million times – no, two milion times.  It’s a book I remember loving from my own childhood.  This book doesn’t seem to age.  The best thing, though, is to see the looks on the faces of my preschoolers and kindergartners when I read them this book.

Corduroy is a about a little teddy bear sitting on the shelf of a department store who is missing a button on his overalls.  A little girl named Lisa wants to buy Corduroy, but her mother won’t let her, because he doesn’t look new.  A button is missing on Corduroy’s overalls.  That night, after the store closes, Corduroy searches the department store for a button to fix his overalls.  Lisa, determined to bring Corduroy home, returns the next day with all her savings so that she can buy Corduroy, despite his missing button.  In a very sweet ending scene, as Lisa sews on a new button to Corduroy’s overalls, both Corduroy and Lisa realize that they’ve each found a friend.

First the Egg, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Published May 4, 2013 by Dagmar

FirsttheeggThis is a Caldecott Honor Book and a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book. I am drawn to this book, because the simple life cycle concepts and great illustrations.  The illustrations appear to be oil paint on canvas.  Not only are the colors really vibrant and attractive, but cut outs on the page create additional visual interest.

The book starts with “First the Egg” and on the next page “then the Chicken”.  Each life cycle covers three stages, so we start with the egg, then then chick, then the chicken.  The book goes on to include frogs, flowers and butterflies.  I like the page that turns words into stories and paint into pictures.  The final page brings the book full circle by saying “First the chicken” followed by “First the Egg”.

This book makes an great read aloud, because there are so many opportunities to interact with students.  I really like that the book shows three stages of the life cycle.  I highly recommend this book for prek through first grade as a read aloud.

The Lion & the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney

Published May 2, 2013 by Dagmar

lionThis Caldecott Medal winning book is superb.  I have always been a fan of Jerry Pinkney’s illustrations, but this book is truly beautiful.  The Lion & the Mouse is a wordless retelling of  Aesop’s fable of a lion who spares a mouse’s life and then has his life saved by the mouse.  The moral of the story? “Even the strongest can sometimes use the help of the smallest.”

The illustrations in this book are breathtaking.  I love watching my students intently look at each page and then listening as they recount the story to me.  Pinkney says in his author’s note at the end of the book, “My curiosity and reverence for animal life has grown over the years, and my concern for them grows in equal measure.  It seemed fitting, then to stage this fable in the African Serengeti of Tanzania and Kenya, with its wide horizon and abundant wildlife so awesome yet fragile – not unlike the two sides of each of the heroes starring in this great tale for all times.”  It is clear that Pinkney loves animals, because I honestly believe that the detail is so wonderful in these pictures, that I can read the animals’ expressions.

This is a book that would be an incredible addition to any child’s library.

Swirl by Swirl, Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman

Published May 2, 2013 by Dagmar

This swirlmay be one of the most beautiful books in my library.  Swirl by swirl is full of illustrations by Beth Krommes (winner of the Caldecott Medal for The House in the Night)  that look as if they have been etched.  The colors are vibrant and really “pop” against the black background.  I use this book with my older grades to show them the incredible art work and talk about seeing shapes in nature.  I use the book in my younger grades to show the students all the ways that swirls exist in nature.  Either the way, the book is always a hit and would make a great gift for any young child at all interested in nature.  The words are simple, but the concept has lots of room for discussion.

“A spiral is a snuggling shape.  It fits neatly in small spaces.  Coiled tight, warm and safe it waits.”  The pictures show a woodchuck, an eastern chipmunk and a bull snake curled up in their burrows underground. “A spiral is a growing shape.  It starts small and gets bigger, swirl by swirl.”  This page includes a swimming nautilus and a cross section of a nautilus shell.  As the book progresses, we see ferns, snails, hedgehogs, millipedes, the horns of rams, octopi, seahorses, elephants’ trunks, spider webs, ocean waves, flowers, the Milky Way.  There are endless things to talk about.

This is an incredible book worthy of any school library or any bookshelf at home.  It’s a favorite of mine.  I hope you enjoy it!

Ginger, by Charlotte Voake

Published March 15, 2013 by Dagmar

A sweet book about adapting to change.www.ginger

Ginger is a ginger-colored kitty who is pampered by the little girl he lives with.  She makes him delicious meals and gives him a nice basket.  He’s very happy, until…a little kitten joins the household. The kitten upsets Ginger by eating out of his food bowl and trying to call into his basket.  Ginger is so upset that he decides to leave home.  The kitten misses him and gets into all kinds of trouble.   The little girl finally realizes that Ginger may be upset and might have run away.  She finds him outsie in the rain, sitting alone under a bush.  After bringing Ginger in, the little girl makes sure that Ginger has his own bowl and his basket back.  The kitten gets his own cardboard box to sleep in.  What a sweet ending when the little girl finds Ginger and the kitten in the cardboard box together.  The book’s large type and simple theme makes this book great for young students and anyone who loves cats.

Boot & Shoe, by Marla Frazee

Published March 15, 2013 by Dagmar

Boot&Shoe-103112-kids-380This book is fantastic and has the funniest, sweetest ending.  The language is up-to-date, the illustrations are really great.  I loved it as did my students.

Boot and Shoe are two adorable dogs who were born in the same litter.  They do everything together, eat, sleep, pee…but Boot likes to be on the back porch and Shoe spends his days on the front porch.  One day, a squirrel causes havoc.  Boot and Shoe chase and chase the squirrel until they get totally turned around.  Boot ends up on the front porch and Shoe ends up on the back porch.  Boot and Shoe are determined to wait until the other returns to their proper spot.  They wait and wait and wait.  Finally, they decide they should check the other porch.  Without seeing each other, Boot ends up back on the front porch and Shoe ends up back on the front porch.  They wait all night for each other.  Finally, they miss each other so much that they cry.  All my students are really sad at this point in the story.  Luckily, every dog has to pee.  Where do Boot and Shoe finally find each other?  You’ve got it…at their favorite place to pee, the bush.  You can’t help but giggle.

This very cute book is highly recommended for K-3 students.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, by Simms Taback

Published March 15, 2013 by Dagmar

josephThis beautiful book is a Caldecott Medal winner is based on a Yiddish folksong, “Hob Ich Mir a Mantl”.  I read it to my preschoolers and kindergartners and got a wonderful response.  This book is not only set apart because of its beautiful, colorful illustrations but because of the cutouts that show how Joseph creatively uses his old overcoat as it shrinks to a button and then, finally, to nothing.   “Joseph had a a little overcoat.  It was old and worn.  So he made a jacket out of it.”  My favorite message is on the last page.  When Joseph finally loses the small button he’s made out of the remains of his overcoat, he says, “So Joseph made a book about it.  Which shows…that you can always make something out of nothing.”  A great message and a beautiful book for little ones.

Perfect Square, by Michael Hall

Published February 13, 2013 by Dagmar

perfectsquarePerfect Square is just a perfect book. Imagine just being a square – a plain, red square, but a happy square. Then imagine that one day someone cuts you into pieces and makes holes in you. This is the classic story of making lemonade out of lemons. Each day of the week, the square is somehow ripped, torn, cut, wrinkled or folded. Each day, the square thinks of something wonderful it can be.

This book is great for young kids, because the colors are bright, the drawings simple but beautiful, and the ending really wonderful. It’s a wonderful imaginative book. This book is great for color recognition and learning the days of the week as well. Highly recommended for pre-k-1st. Honestly, older readers will love it as well.

Tikki Tikki Tembo, by Arlene Mosel

Published February 9, 2013 by Dagmar

TikkiHow many of you can say, “Tikki Tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo” without even thinking?  I had great memories of this book from my own childhood, then reading it to my son and now reading it to my students.  I’m thrilled to see that my students can chant the name just as enthusiastically as I used to do. I love the story and the incredible illustrations by Blair Lent.

First published in 1968, Tikki Tikki tembo is the retelling of an ancient Chinese folktale.  It’s the story of two brothers.  The first, honored son has a great, long name, which means “the most wonderful thing in the whole wide world!”  The second son has a short name, Chang, which means “little or nothing.”  Tikki Tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo pays the price for his great, long name when he falls into a well and needs to be saved.  His little brother struggles to tell others that his brother has fallen into the well.  It’s a classic and well worth a read.  Enjoy.

Where’s Walrus, by Stephen A. Savage

Published January 28, 2013 by Dagmar

wheres walrusIf you want to really get those preschoolers shrieking, read them Where’s Walrus.  There are almost no words, just a walrus they have to find on each page.  I didn’t realize exactly how amusing this book would be with our preschool class, but my goodness it was popular!  Walrus is hiding in very funny place, as a dancer, as a bricklayer, as a painter in a park.  That tricky walrus sure does know how to get children to laugh.  The illustrations are great, like cutouts, with beautiful, bright colors, grey, red, yellow and teal.  Highly recommended for young children.