Creative Family Fun

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Books for Kids

Loving Literature: Books About Dogs

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We all know about Clifford, Biscuit and The Poky Little Puppy.

But, there are many more fun books about dogs. So, for your puppy loving kids are are some favorites that we have found lately.

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The Great Gracie Chase: Stop that Dog! by Cynthia Rylant is a fun romp around town led by Gracie, who’s usually a quiet little dog. When the painters come and put her outside, she decides to run off and soon has the whole town chasing after her. She runs and runs until no one can keep up with her. My girls loved Gracie’s spunk and Mark Teague’s illustrations are well suited to the action in the book. It is a great read aloud choice!

Fergus is a little guy who can be just a bit naughty. But, like all dogs, we love him anyway! Good Boy, Fergus! by David Shannon is a fun story. Through the illustrations, we see Fergus’s day and through the words we hear what Fergus must hear as he goes about his day getting in all sorts of trouble. This has long been a favorite at our house and has been sitting in the bookshelf since my oldest was a baby.

Some Dog! by Mary Casanova is the story of George, a basset hound, who is well-loved and lives a quiet life. Then one day, Zippity, a stray dog, shows up and just like his name, jumps, bounces, runs around and is quite loud. Zippity disrupts George’s life and George even grows a bit jealous of the attention Zippity gets. Then one day, Zippity runs off in the middle of a thunderstorm and it’s time for George to save the day. George is a very lovable fellow and we enjoyed reading about his feelings and his loyalty as well as watching him learn to be friends with Zippity.

Sit, Truman! by Dan Harper is perfect for even the youngest dog lover. The words are few, but the story is in the illustrations of Truman, a big, lovable Mastiff. My girls fell in love instantly with Truman while they watched him go about his day. Pick this one up and when you’re done, you’ll want to find a dog to hug!

These are just a few of the great dog books we have found recently. Do your kids have a dog book they love?

Story Time: The Ghost Catcher

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One of the books I found to go along with our study of India was The Ghost Catcher by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss. It is a wonderful retelling of a traditional Indian folktale of a barber from Bengal who is so kindhearted that he does not want to charge anyone for his services. He and his wife are very poor and she becomes angry and tells him that he must start charging for his services. He goes to a neighboring town so as not to have to ask his current customers for money. While there he encounters a ghost. The barber is able to outwit the ghost and find a solution to all his problems. The story is fast-paced and witty and captured Lizzie’s attention immediately. The illustrations are bold and colorful and beautifully capture the colors and artwork of India.

I thought this was the perfect book selection to introduce India to my girls. I love to find a good retelling of a folk tale and The Ghost Catcher didn’t disappoint.

Book Bingo

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Lizzie has a tendency to not want to try new things, whether it be food, clothes or books.She’ll latch on to a specific book and want to hear it over and over. Or, she’ll want to wear the same outfit day in and day out, all the while refusing to wear a new shirt we just bought.

Now, I know this is very normal for a 4-year-old, but I’d still like her to branch out a little and be more willing to try new things. That’s where Book Bingo is (hopefully) going to help.

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I made up a grid with a selection of different book topics. I made some very broad and others quite specific.I put some selections on there that I know are favorites, such as an Amelia Bedelia book and a fairy tale book.

I then added all sorts of different subjects, such as books about dogs, horses, shapes, bugs, etc.

Her goal is to have us read one book of each subject. She’ll get to put a sticker in the square once she’s read the book.

There’s one catch. It must be a book we’ve never read before! Once she’s filled in the entire board, we’ll go shopping and let her pick out a new book.  I’m hoping this motivates her to try something new.

I do have one more goal in mind with this game.I’d like her to start helping me pick out books at the library. Usually, when we go, the girls will go off and play with all the different toys (or in Lizzie’s case, computers) while I pick out books.

She’ll then grab a Dora book on the way out the door. I really want her to discover the thrill of searching through the shelves for just the right book. I’m hoping that a whole new world will open up to her while she’s looking for a book about space!

Do you have a hard time getting your kids to try new things? If so, do you have any tips you could share?

Story Time: Books About Japan

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When I first came up with my “Around the World” scheme, I did worry about finding all the resources I would need.

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Luckily, I found a wealth of information for our first stop, Japan. Most of my ideas for the projects and information we’re learning about this week, came from these three books: Japan: Things to Make, Activities, and Facts by Richard Tames, Welcome to Japan by Elma Schemenauer and Japan ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Japan (Country ABCs) by Sarah Heiman.

I had my ideas, then I hit the fiction section. Oh my goodness, I found some beauties! We’ve been enjoying the incredible artwork and learning a bit about Japanese folklore and culture. Yay for public libraries!

Here are the rest of the books we found:

Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein
Yoshi’s Feast by Kimiko Kajikawa
A Carp for Kimiko by Virginia Kroll
Yoko’s Paper Cranes by Rosemary Wells
One Leaf Rides the Wind by Celeste Mannis
The Boy in the Garden by Allen Say

Story Time: Books About Pond Life

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We’re finishing up our pond theme and reading the rest of the books in our book basket. These three have been particular favorites. They fit in with the relaxed week we’ve been having. (Can you see our overall theme here? Yep, we’re relaxing and enjoying the end of summer.)

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Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel, fit in perfectly with our days.These classic characters are wonderful examples of how to enjoy your day. Any of the Frog and Toad books are great read-aloud choices; this just happened to be the only one on the library shelf!

I discovered The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent purely by accident. But, I’m very glad I did. It’s a sweet story about a caterpillar who meets a polliwog one day. The caterpillar had been talking about how she was going to change into a butterfly. The polliwog is convinced that he is going to change into a butterfly as well and spends so much time wondering when that is going to happen that doesn’t even notice he’s changing into a frog. At the end, instead of being disappointed that he is not a butterfly, he finds delight in being a frog.

In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Flemingis a must for any pond theme. This one was much more appealing to my 2-year-old than the other books with it’s big bright illustrations and close-up view of the many animals you can find around a pond.

Some of the other books in our basket were:

Emma’s Turtle by Eve Bunting

Little Quack by Lauren Thompson

Little Quack Loves Colors by Lauren Thompson

Tadpole to Frog (LifeCycles) by Camilla De Bedoyere