A DIFFERENT KIND OF TOY STORY

Teddy is a kid who likes to play with all kinds of toys--trucks and hula hoops and puzzles and action figures and rockets--but his favorite toy of all is his doll, Bren-Da, Warrior Queen of Pacifica. After all she has the best manners, is the most versatile to style, and even has some pretty impressive fighting skills. But one day, during a really tough battle, Bren-Da breaks her leg. Teddy tries in vain to tend to her wounds using the latest surgical technology, bubble gum and lots of tape, but when he goes off to school the Warrior Queen of Pacifica gets mistaken for trash and hauled away. Will Teddy ever be able to see his favorite toy again? Only if his intrepid mom--with some pretty impressive style and warrior moves of her own--has anything to say about it. 

Teddy's Favorite Toy, by Christian Trimmer and illustrated by Madeline Valentine, makes for a delightful and lively read-aloud, and is sure to be embraced by preschoolers through second graders who understand the strong bond between a kid and their favorite toy--and their valiant parents alike. 

BADDEST OF THE BAD

This is a story about a bad seed. I mean really bad. The baddest of all the seeds, the absolute worst. All the other seeds know it, too--just ask them. They whisper when then see him coming, "there goes a baaaad seed." But how bad can he really be? Well, he never puts things back where they belong, cuts in line, never listens to anyone, and tells long jokes with no punch lines, and that's just for starters. Like I said, bad.

The seed in question wasn't always this way, so how did he get to be so bad in the first place? Read this clever, hilarious, and surprisingly heartfelt picture book to hear the origin tale of the bad seed--and find out if there's any chance of redemption for our self-proclaimed antihero. 

The Bad Seed, artfully written by Jory John and charmingly illustrated by Pete Oswald, is a natural born read-aloud, sure to entertain and delight preschoolers through second graders. Not half bad--on the contrary, all good! 

HOORAY FOR HAT!

“Hats: a cure for life’s grumpy days” should be the tagline for Brian Won’s picture book Hooray for Hat! On a morning when Elephant wakes up grumpy, a mysterious gift on his doorstep immediately lifts his spirits. With a cheer of “hooray for hat!” Elephant dashes off to share his amazing new five-tier hat with his friend Zebra. What follows is a growing parade of newly cheered friends spreading the joys of friendship and hats. 

It’s a simple storyline, not precisely original, but a charming one nonetheless. There’s something about the colorful exuberance of this animal troupe with its zany hats that brings a smile to the face. This is a lovely book to share with a group or one-on-one. Just be sure to have everyone join in on the refrain: “HOORAY FOR HAT!” 

For other light-hatted read alouds (terrible pun always intended) try I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, The Magic Hat by Mem Fox, Aunt Lucy Went to Buy a Hat by Alice Low, and the ever classic Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina. For readers of all ages.

THE BOOK WITH NO PICTURES

I can’t deny that I have a weakness for humorous, metafictional, crowd-pleasing read alouds with stunning illustrations. B.J. Novak’s The Book With No Pictures only meets 3 out of the 4 criteria, but what it does with those 3 is more than enough to compensate. Have you ever paused to consider: what is a picture book without pictures? 

This one, at least, is hilarious. Filled with hijinks, nonsensical words like BLORK and BLUURF, and declarations that the reader (that’s you, by the way) is a self-taught robot monkey reading in a robot monkey voice, this book presents itself as a gift to young children to savor the written word at the expense of its (often adult) readers. The premise that readers must say aloud every single word without exception is hardly unexplored territory, but this book is truly masterfully attuned to its young audience. By the time it finishes explaining “how books work” it is already eliciting giggles; the kids are in on the joke. 

Now imagine their reaction when you’re forced to admit that your only friend is a hippo named BooBooButt. 

Though there aren’t any pictures (see: book title) typography goes a long way to provide visual interest and subtext. It’s a great book both to teach print awareness (understanding that words have meanings) to pre-readers and to cultivate an appreciation for the written word, particularly in young readers who are transitioning to books without illustrations and possibly feeling daunted by the prospect.

For another book featuring the funny things readers can't help but say, see We Are In a Book! by Mo Willems.

THIS BOOK JUST ATE MY DOG!

It starts with a walk on an unexceptional day in a dusty gray city. Bella and her dog are ambling along when her dog mysteriously vanishes between the double-spread pages. Wait-- what just happened? Did this book just--? 
Yes, it did.

Subsequent rescue attempts lead to a chain of disappearances into the gutter of the very book you’re reading. Because, you’ll soon learn, this is no ordinary book. This is a book that eats pets. And people. And emergency response vehicles. Really, it’s not too picky as you can tell. Not all is lost, however. With a little guidance from our plucky heroine, you can help shake some sense into this book and save the day!

This Book Just Ate My Dog! by Richard Byrne is a perfect, humorous read aloud for preschoolers. With just a few words per page, it’s short and snappy, accompanied by adorable, emotive illustrations. It strolls into a genre of interactive metafictional books and dangerous-book books, and it finds a cozy seat (and a tasty snack). But compared to some of the more sinister anthropomorphized books out there, this Book is merely naughty: a mostly harmless, possibly petulant, jokester. Not to mention it also presents a superb opportunity to discuss the anatomy of a book.

For more dangerous picture book reads, try Open Very Carefully by Nick Bromley, Warning: Do Not Open This Book by Adam Lehrhaupt, or The Book That Eats People by John Perry. Fair warning, though, The Book That Eats People is especially devious, ravenous, and carnivorous; only the bravest (or most foolhardy) readers should attempt to subdue it.

READ TO FEED

THE GROWING MIND NEEDS TO BE FED.  

CHECKOUT BOOKS. 

LISTEN TO STORIES. 

HANG OUT WITH THE BOOKS AT THE LIBRARY.

 

FEED THE BRAIN!

Did you feed your baby's brain today? Just as children’s bodies need food, so too do their brains need “brain food”. And there is no better source of brain food - vocabulary, pre-literacy skills, knowledge-building, rich interactions - than reading aloud!

-From the Read Aloud Campaign

http://www.readaloud.org/15minutes.html

READ ALOUD! FEED THE BRAIN!

The amazing benefits 15 MINUTES of daily reading aloud will have your child's pre-literacy skills and lifelong learning success.

Sign up for the library's 1000 Books Before Kindergarten reading program to help your family get started.  Ask us about it.

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Apparently, moo is the word. In this hilarious book, the cow goes on to his amazing journey and gets in trouble and expresses his troubles and his sorrows in the most beautiful way possible.  He uses the word Moo, or Moo-Moo or Mooooooooo or Mooooooooooooooo.  

This very rhythmic and repetitive story allows the reader to see what with just one word, so many different emotions can be expressed, be it excitement, sadness or pure joy.  The cow, who we have established that loves the word Moo, is always in the center of the page, always doing or saying something to make us all laugh out loud.   Even though the book literally has the word Moo, the reader will feel as though a full story was developed and written for the little once.  Really fun read and highly recommended.  

Moo!  by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka

For Pre-k -1st

NEVER TIRE OF READING

FEWER THAN HALF OF CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES ARE READ TO DAILY.

IT'S ONLY 15 MINUTES A DAY. READ ALOUD!

Since early 2012, the Read Aloud 15 MINUTES National Campaign has brought together community leaders and the key groups who reach parents from birth to age 5 with messaging, materials, and parent engagement programs.

Read aloud to your child.  The books are free at the library!  

KEEP ON READING

Research shows that reading aloud is the single most important thing you can do to help prepare a child for  reading and learning.

MARCH TO THE LIBRARY

 "Catch the Read Aloud habit" 

Don't be a statistic, read aloud to your child every day.  

Read Aloud 15 MINUTES. Every child. Every parent. Every day.

READ ALOUD... TOGETHER

 



"Every time we read to a child, we're sending a 'pleasure' message to the child's brain,"  
Jim Trealease of author "The Read-Aloud Handbook." 

• Ribbit!  by Rodrigo Folguiera 
• Crankenstein by Samantha Berger 
• Tiptoe Joe by Ginger Fogelsong Gibson 
• Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

READY FOR SCHOOL

Together, we can ensure that 15 MINUTES of daily reading aloud goes from a recommendation to a parenting must.  

Why?  

Because,

• when more children are read aloud to daily, more children will be kindergarten ready;
• when more children are kindergarten ready, more children will succeed in school; and
• when more children succeed in school, we all succeed.

 "Foster school success" 

KEEP READING ALOUD TO YOUR CHILD

Develop Language: 

• ONLY 48% of young children in this country are read to each day.  
•  The number of words that a child knows on entering kindergarten is a key predictor of his or her future success.  
• Research shows that reading aloud is the single most important thing you can do to help a child prepare for reading and learning.  

http://www.readaloud.org/importance.html

WHY NOT READ ALOUD?

Read Aloud 15 MINUTES. Every child. Every parent. Every day.


From birth to age 3 are critical years in the development of a child's language skills. 

http://www.readaloud.org/15minutes.html 

GROW BRAINS GROW

Come in and check out some books to read aloud to your child this month.  If you don't have a lot of time, why not request them online and we will hold them for you so you can just zip in and zip out.  Our Central branch is open everyday of the week.
HAPPY READING! 

READ ALOUD 15 MINUTES

TOY STORIES

The Montrose branch library hosted a stuffed animal sleepover on January 26^th.  Children dropped off their favorite stuffed animals at the library and returned the following week to see pictures of the adventures their friend had while the library was closed. They were amazed to see pictures of their stuffed animals checking out books, hiding in the shelves, using computers, and even taking a field trip to Andersen’s Pet Store.

Toys (especially stuffed animals) are an important part of childhood. They inspire imagination, encourage creativity, and create memories. It’s not uncommon for children to come up with personalities for their stuffed animals and imagine what kind of adventures they must have when we are not watching.

In Hooray for Harry, written and illustrated by Kim Lewis, three stuffed animals have quite an adventure while their owner is not around. Wanting to take a nap, Harry the elephant, is distraught to discover that his favorite blanket is missing! Recruiting help from fellow stuffed animals, Ted the teddy bear and Lulu the lamb, they set off into the yard while retracing their steps from a very active afternoon. Will the blanket ever turn up so Harry can take his much needed nap?

Sometimes disaster can befall our beloved stuffed animals, as we see in Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale written and illustrated by Mo Willems. A routine trip to the Laundromat for Trixie and her stuffed rabbit quickly turns perilous when Knuffle Bunny is left behind. Readers will quickly figure out what is about to happen to Knuffle Bunny as the illustrations reveal Knuffle Bunny peeking out from the laundry basket as clothes are loaded into the washing machine and later peering out from behind the machine’s glass window. Poor Trixie quickly realizes her friend has been left behind, but like any frustrated pre-verbal toddler, can’t seem to make her daddy understand what has happened. Will Trixie and Knuffle Bunny ever be reunited?

What Does My Teddy Bear Do All Day?,  written by Bruno Hachler and illustrated by Birte Muller, follows a little girl who is determined to see her teddy bear’s antics for herself. She believes that by staying home for the day and spying on her bear, she will catch him in the act of jumping on her bed, painting pictures, dancing to the radio, or whatever it is that our stuffed animals do during their unobserved hours. She’s so focused on the teddy bear that she fails to notice what her other toys are getting up to behind her back. Just when it seems that the teddy bear is going to sit very still all day, something happens when the little girl’s back is turned while retrieving a jar of honey…

Ages 3 and up; Great for storytimes!