The Reading Chair
Below are some suggested books for our students.
New Baby Train by Woody Guthrie
A stork delivery is outdated but where do babies come from?
In this imaginative explanation (which children will understand is not to be taken literally) an older boy takes care of all the babies on the Baby Train. They journey across the country, each baby waiting to be linked with the right family for him or her. One baby reads the newspaper while others sleep or read a book.
Children will be delighted by the books rhythm, the babies playful journey and the sense of security the book provides as each baby is welcomed by loving parents.
First The Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
A deceptively simple, playful sequence of statements invites readers to ponder: what comes first; the chicken or the egg? Carefully, choreographed page turns and die cuts focus on the process of change and becoming.
Ain’t Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont
When Mama catches her son “paintin” pictures on the floor land the ceiling and the curtains and the door, she sticks him in the tub and declares, “ya ain’t a-gonna paint no more!” Fresh from his bath the child rescues hidden supplies and says, “so I take some red and I paint my…HEAD!” Subsequent rhymes move from neck down to feet as he adds gobs of color to different areas. Since the last word on each verse comes on the following page, readers get the satisfaction of completing the anticipated rhyme. Wait for the mischievous conclusion!
Kittens First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Kevin Henkes has won a Caldecott Award for this beautiful new book. With simple clarity, he writes about a kitten that just cannot reach the big bowl of milk in the sky, the moon.
Kitten, similar to a typical preschool child is inquisitive, brave, persistent and sometimes unlucky. The rhythm, rhyme and alliteration are contagious and the messages about the importance of nurturing and following doctors orders are clear.
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
Mem’s rhyme and Oxenburg’s illustrations pair perfectly to create this magical book about the delicious “ten little fingers and ten little toes” that babies have in common no matter where in the world they are born.
