Thursday, April 16, 2009

What's in Your Book Basket?

I am so excited to be taking part in this meme over at The Happy Housewife.  It is just my sort of thing!  
The idea is to post a review of what you have checked out from the library this week, to give others ideas about what they might (or might not) want to borrow on their next visit.

Since the library and books in general are such a huge part of our daily life and homeschool, I am more than happy to participate and look forward to going
here and reading the other participants' entries.  

And how appropriate?  We really do use a basket as a central location for our library and school books each week.  :)


Zooming in on a few specifics...
We are doing our version of Five-in-a-Row this week with...

Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf - Captivating story and illustrations.  But how can you go wrong with Munro Leaf & illustrator Robert Lawson?  They are a hit every time around here.  This book is great as a read-aloud or a read-on-your-own for a younger reader.  

To go with Ferdinand, we have...
 - How Castles Were Built, by Peter Hicks.  Filled with color pictures and illustrations.  The text is broken into short bits and captions, which lets it get into a few nitty-gritty details without getting boring.  Even for a 5 year old.  :)

 - The Spanish Armada, C. Walter Hodges.  We will probably be just looking at the pictures in this one.  Lots of text, about 1 full page drawing for every 2-3 pages of text.

 - How Tall, How Short, How Faraway, David A. Adler.  I can't do a kid-tested review on this one yet, because i haven't read it with my kid.  But after previewing it, my guess is the simple explanations and bright illustrations will have my science-loving kindergartner measuring everything he can get his hands on!

 - Bill in a China Shop, Katie McAllaster Weaver.  This is a fun, rhyming story-book.  Who knew a bull could be so endearing?  :)

Other books in this week's basket:
 - We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Michael Rosen.  Both boys have been having fun with the sing-song rhyme (from Alan's new favorite website) (wait a minute... did I just say my 2 year old has a favorite website?  Whoa.)  
Anyway.... we have sometimes heard the boys in bed at night just after bed-time going through the rhyme together, so they have been enjoying it in book form.  

 - Skippyjon Jones in the Dog House, Judy Schacner.  Dale started the Skippyjon Jones series because his blog friend Christian liked them so much.  They are extremely silly, but there is just something about that little Siamese cat you want to love.  :)

 - Oh Say Can You Say?, Dr. Seuss.  This book is great to read out loud together with a young reader who leans more on context clues than the actual words on a page.  Or maybe that's just my young reader?  It is also good to work on oral reading skills, articulation, etc.  Plus it's just plain fun.  :)

 - A Dollar for Penny (A Math Reader), Dr. Julie Glass.  Another review I can't give kid approval on, but again my guess is Dale will love this easy reader all about pennies, nickels, dimes & quarters and what they add up to for the little girl with her lemonade stand.  Just right for K-1st grade.

 - The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick.  You must go get this book.  It is the 2008 Caldecott Medal (the one for illustrations).  500+ pages long, and 284 of those are drawings!  Would make a great read-aloud for the whole family, or imagine the accomplishment your middle-grades reader would get from finishing a 500 page book!  Full of mystery and suspense, but in a good way.  ;)


9 comments:

Tracey said...

Love your list! I want to see if I can find that last one at our library for a family read-aloud.

Jennifer said...

What a fun post...I love books!

Laura Lee said...

I love that you customize FIAR for your family--we did that, too, and will do it again this fall for the next pair of littles!!

Amanda said...

Bear Hunt and Oh Say Can You Say are two of our favorites. I need help with boy books, I am used to a girl. I will keep looking at your lists.

The Happy Housewife said...

I have The Invention of Hugo Cabret on hold at our library, I can't wait until it comes in, I have heard so much about it! Thanks for sharing your list!
Toni

fairenuff said...

Oh my goodness, my girls love We're Going On A Bear Hunt! We read it over and over (along with Guess How Much I Love You?). For her birthday Eloise got a the book, DVD and a board game special edition set. Can you imagine if out four kiddlies got together?!

Tori said...

Looks like a great list. I only recognize the Dr. Seuss, so I now have some to look for. :)

Wendi said...

Great list! I'll have to check into getting that last one from our library - sounds like it would be a great one to read aloud.

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...

I haven't heard of some of these. We love to read though so I'll have to check some of these out. :D