Holiday Fun Reads: Books at Holidays are fantastic gifts

Every holiday season I like to give my kids a new Christmas book.  They've collected quite a few over the years and I love pulling them out after Thanksgiving and enjoying them as a family.  This year my oldest was obsessed with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer after singing the song in school.  (Prior she had been at a Jewish preschool so no Christmas carols.)  These are some of a favorites that we've collected over the years and they do make FANTASTIC gifts.  I would highly recommend the original Rudolph which has no scary bits in it but really only makes the point about the beauty of individuality.

Title: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Author: Robert L. May
Illustrator: David Wenzel
Ages: 4 and up

This is the ORIGINAL Rudolph and a classic that belongs on any bookshelf.  It has a beautiful rhyme and rhythm in the reading aloud of it and the illustrations are beautiful.  The original Rudolph was written as part of an advertising campaign in the 1930's for Montgomery Ward.  Robert May asked for the rights back and then promoted his book.  This is NOT like the movie but is the original classic about a reindeer who is different but learns to overcome adversity and shine in his own unique way.  The illustrations are truly beautiful, soft and warm.  It's a great gift to give to your child. 


Title: How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Author and Illustrator: Dr. Seuss
Ages: 4-8

This is a classic book where a Grinch doesn't want Christmas because he hates the happy sounds of singing and rejoicing.  The Grinch attempts to eliminate Christmas by stealing all the gifts, decoration and essentially eliminating all the material goods around Christmas thinking that it is enough to stop Christmas.  He fails because Christmas comes anyway and he learns the true meaning of the celebration.


Title: Olivia Saves Christmas
Author and Illustrator: Ian Falcolner
Ages: 4-8

Olivia is always so fun to read because her approach to anything is always slightly a bit unconventional, spunky, and joyful.  In this book she is so eager for Christmas, for Santa, and for opening presents.  It is her story of surviving the few hours before Christmas and to the actual Christmas day of opening presents and enjoying the gifts.  It's a fun book for kids as Olivia so often reflects the hidden emotions of a child.


Title:  God Gave Us Christmas
Author: Lisa T. Bergren
Illustrator: David Hohn
Ages: 4-8

In this book, Little Cub wants to know what the meaning of Christmas is, so asks his mom to teach him.  The two of them go on a little expedition to seek out the meaning of Christmas, and discover that the BEST present is Christmas is Jesus Christ.



Title:  Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas
Author:  Jane O'Connor
Illustrator: Robin Preiss Glasser
Age: 4-8

Fancy Nancy during this Christmas purchases the most fantastic Christmas tree topper, true to her style, one of the FANCIEST things ever.  It is a beautiful piece to her and she loves it on the tree.  However, due to a fluke accident, the tree comes crashing to the ground and the topper is destroyed.  Through the help of her grandfather, she learns to improvise and enjoy the holidays with a special, beautiful, homemade star.


Title: Once There Was a Christmas Tree
Author: Jerry Smath
Ages: 1-6

This book is a wonderful book about sharing.  When Mr. and Mrs. Bear discover that their tree is just too big for them, they begin a chain of sharing that extends throughout the animal friends.  They share their tree with the foxes, the foxes share it with the next group and by the end of the book everyone has a little bit of Christmas, all through beautiful acts of sharing.

The Tiger Rising: What is left unsaid

Title: The Tiger Rising
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Age Range: 9-12
Genre: Realistic Fiction

One of the reasons I love this book is the restraint that Kate DicCamillo uses in the telling of it.  Rather than flooding the reader with tons of words, she chooses to use as few words as possible.  She exercises restraint and as a result, it is just as much what is unsaid that makes the language powerful.  The main character in the book, Rob Horton, is bullied at school, has no friends, and truly no hope for his life, following the death of his mother.  The book shows his transformation from that person to one at the end who is different and changed from how he has begun.  The book is beautifully written, with wonderful language and engaging characters such as Sistine, the girl who will become his friend, and Willie May, a wise woman with whom Rob discusses the more tricky points of his life.

There are many deep issues that are touched upon in the book.  One is the death of a parent, and how to recover from it.  Secondly is the issue of bullying and how to survive and possibly even avoid it.  Rob is bullied mercilessly and the taunts that he has to deal with are not easy ones. The book touches on loneliness, finding friends, being an outcast and the search for hope.  There theme of people and animals in cages, an idea that many students may not fully understand, but an important point of discussion nonetheless.  It is a book for your more mature reader, not because of the language, but because of some of the content.

Down By the Station: To assuage my guilt

Title: Down By the Station
Author and Illustrator: Will Hillenbrand
Age Range: 1-3
Genre: Picture Book

My son doesn't have the same attention span for books that his sisters did at the same age.  I don't know if it is because I didn't read to him enough when he was little, as I was too busy trying to keep the other two in line, but I have a certain measure of guilt about the fact that he just doesn't focus on books the same way his sisters did and still do.  I'm worried that my semi-lazy attitude about reading to him has profoundly affected his future as a reader.  Which is why I focus so much on it now.  At age 2 1/2. he just doesn't focus and get into books the way I think he should.

But he looks at pictures, and loves looking at pictures.  He's just not so into the words.  The story line itself, the story does not excite him.  But, I have found that books with rhymes and books that I can sing make a big difference in how he pays attention.  If I sing or "rap" a book, he'll listen with almost double the attention and double the focus as when I simply read a book.  So I try and find books that have this rhyming element or a song element.

This one is perfect as it is based on the song, "Down by the Station" and although my son was not familiar with this song prior to the book, the song was catchy enough for him to relax and listen to me sing it.  On top of that, the pictures of bears, tigers, flamingos and different animals on their way to the children's zoo also really appealed to him.  The train running through on every single page was also a plus and helped my son to really pay attention to the book.  In the book a bunch of animals are on their way to a children's zoo by train, and this amazingly cute train picks up different animals.  At the end of the book, a school bus filled with children run into the zoo, and the final picture is of baby animals and young children playing together.  On the last page, my son said, "They are all together." 

Paperback



Hardcover

Curious George Complete Adventures: Why Audiobooks are so great

Title: The Complete Adventures of Curious George with audio CD

Authors and Illustrators: Margret and H.A. Rey
Age Range: ages 4-9
Genre: Fiction, audio book

Over the weekend, my kids and I spent some time at our good friend's house.  While there, there was one point where the three older kids disappeared and became completely invisible for a very long stretch of time - almost two hours.  I became extremely suspicious, because quiet kids usually mean trouble so I tiptoed my way to the room where I thought they might be.  There, crowded around a book were two four year olds and a six year old, completely engrossed in a book and listening to a story.  At one point they looked up and realized that I could change the CD for them so they clamored for more.  I looked at them quizzically and said, "Umm...don't you guys want to do something ELSE?" to which they replied, "MORE BOOKS!  MORE BOOKS!  MORE BOOKS!"  I turned on the CD and bolted out the door as fast as my legs could go so that I too, could perhaps rest and read.  (It didn't happen as there are two younger children who love to bother their mommies.) 

Audio CD's are a wonderful way to encourage your child to read.  There has been research to support that kids who have fluency issues with reading benefit highly from following along in a book as it is read aloud to them.  This particular set offers a "with page turn signals" and "without page turn signals" and is extremely well-read by wonderful actors.  It also adds some fun and jazzy music, and elevates the reading experience to something a bit more rich than a harried mother or father trying to stay awake as she or he reads aloud to her children.  The selection of audio cds is slowly dwindling as most people use other websites like amazon.com to buy audible books. However your local public library should have a selection, (which I love getting because sometimes I don't want to read aloud to my kids) This particular Curious George Collection, I think is totally worth the money.

Seals on the Bus: Because I like to sing about the ridiculous

Title: The Seals on the Bus
Author: Lenny Hort
Illustrator: G. Brian Karas
Genre: Picture books, rhyme
Age Range: 2-4

My son's attention span with books is not the same as my daughters. He likes looking at books of cars, but isn't all that interested in hearing the words...unless I sing them and unless they rhyme. Suddenly he curls into my lap, sits patiently and wants me to read to him.  Therefore, this book was perfect for him, because it was a song he knew (Wheels on the bus) with fun pictures of animals invading a bus with an unsuspecting family of four on it.

The book invites you to sing the words like "The seals on the bus go ..." and then you make a series of animal sounds include sheep, geese, and tigers. (which is my son's favorite.)  It is a quick rollicking read with lots of opportunities to admire the animals as they take over the bus and the family inside is forced to make it with the animals.  The last verse is about helping the family who cry "Help help help" and get off the bus.


Paperback...amazon has paperback books on their 4 for 3 deal, so you could pick up a few and give them as gifts. :)

B is for Betsy: If you like things simple

Title: B is for Betsy
Author: Carolyn Haywood
Age Range: 5-10
Genre: Chapter books, realistic fiction

I remember reading B is for Betsy growing up. It was one of my favorite books as a child, and I read the books over and over to my mother's dismay.  She constantly told me to try something different, something more challenging, some different genre, but I was always drawn back to Betsy and her adventures in school and her town.

I just recently remembered this book and handed it to my six year old to read.  I can usually tell if she likes a book when she starts reading and is extremely quiet.  It means the book has transported her to a place she doesn't want to leave and she can't wait to see how it turns out.  This happened with this book as she disappeared behind the sofa for an hour and appeared later saying, "I finished it Mom!"  She was thrilled to be reading it as it did chronicle Betsy in her first grade year, just like my daughter.

One of the reasons I like this book is that it focuses on relationships, conversations, and the human side of life.  There is no technology (the book was published in 1939 after all), no phones, no emails, no iphones - nothing to detract from face to face conversations among children and their parents.  It is somewhat idyllic in its tone, but it does expose some common fears and problems for young kids.  For example, the first chapter focuses on the first day of first grade for Betsy, who has never been to school.  She has not attended preschool, daycare, or kindergarten, which are modern educational methods.  Up until now she has been at home with her mother enjoying, playing and having fun.  Suddenly it is the first day of first grade, and she has a brand new dress, brand new shoes, and brand new book book, but has dread and fear in her heart.  She has heard bad things about school from someone and it has completely colored her opinion about what her school will be like.  The chapter reveals Betsy fears, and also shows how all of those fears are unfounded.  Even at the end of the chapter,  she comes home to tell her mother that she made a friend.

It is a beautiful portrayal of childhood and a timeless read.  It is a must for any little girl to read.

The first (it's a series!  YAY!)


The second....just gave it to daughter and she devoured it.  Talks about losing teeth and other fun adventures of growing up.


The third


The fourth

Resources to help your child read: In addition to reading, other things you might try

All the research shows that your child will not learn to read passively, by simply watching TV or playing a video game.  Reading, the art of reading, and I do call it an art, comes from human interaction and practice.  I do not want anyone thinking that by simply using the resources below that their child will read.  It will not happen in this way. You must read to your child, first and foremost, and build that initial love and connection to books.  Computers, videos and electronic reading toys will not do this.  The connection must be with books.

That being said, there are some really great wonderful resources out there to go accompany the reading parent.  Again, I am not advising that you stick your  child in front of these games/videos/toys and leaving it up to your child to absorb it from these sources - rather, in conjunction with daily reading aloud from books, you can use this as additional teaching resources.  The BEST way to utilize these resources is not to stick your child in front of them and walk away, but rather enjoy the resources with your child and ask questions as things are going on, making it much more interactive and not passive.

Starfall
For all ages and FREE.
www.starfall.com

Starfall is a great website that offers some really fun animated videos to help teach a child his or her letters and even demonstrates sounding out letters as well as blending them together.  I've used it with all three of my children, and right now, my 4 year old daughter who is a very good reader is helping my 2 year old son with the website.  He cannot navigate it, but loves sitting on my lap as I help him review letters and let him tell me where to click the mouse next.  My 4 year old daughter can also do this if I am otherwise occupied.  She navigates the mouse for him, asks him "Which letter is that?" and asks him "What letter do you want next?" and encourages him and corrects him if necessary.  It is a very child friendly website and I like it because there are great activities for all ages -2 and up.  As the child grows older, he or she can move from the letter sounds and phonics pages to the reading pages, where there are short little books that he or she can read along with.

Meet the Sight Words
Ages 2-5ish....after that it can be a bit boring, although my five your old still enjoyed it
Three DVDs

This is a series of three DVD's that animate sight words so that your child will begin to recognize them.  Mastering sight words is important as it increases fluency of reading for your child.  Imagine a child having to sound out words like the, and, what, where, here, his, her, an, a - every single time he or she picked up a book.  Mastering the sight words means that those words are recognized on sight and no longer have to be sounded out in order to make meaning.  There are 220 Dolch Sight words, and you can easily find lists online such as these.   Some are divided into grade level, and others by frequency.  (The, and, one being big players in that list.)  By grade 3, most of the sight words need to be mastered in order for a child to be a good fluent reader.  Schools generally teach sight words from kindergarten until third grade with teachers posting them around the classroom and whatnot.  I think however, that readers benefit from learning more sight words earlier than later.  Having them under the belt just ensures that the child will have an easier time reading.

These DVD's animate words and make them memorable.  My three children all watched these and all mastered their words very quickly.  The older kids (girls ages 4 and 6) now utilize them all the time so they retain their knowledge of the sight words with no problem.  My son however (age 2.5 now) watched these from about 20 months to about 25 months old, but is NOT reading yet.  He quickly forgets them because they are really just pictures he remembers.  Once he starts reading, then I think the sight words will stick for him.

If you want to just get all three DVD's (all different with different sight words)


Try out just one volume at a time - #1


#2


#3


Leapfrog Letter Factory Series
Ages 2 and up
DVD

This is probably one of the more popular series of "teaching kids to read" out there.  The animation is great, the story line fun and it is really engaging and exciting to kids.  However, my children did not learn their letters from watching this DVD alone.  They got lots of reinforcement from me and lots of extra teaching and reading with me before they mastered their letters.  This is, however a great start and introduction that is fun and exciting.

Introduction of the letters


Learning to decode the words


Complex words (long vowel sounds with two vowels controlling the sound)


Storybook (the least effective in the series I think)