A look at a book for all seasons
Gift giving season is a great time to buy and give books to a child. Most children and toddlers will watch all the adverts and see all the toy catalogs; and pick out all their favorite games, doll, plush, trains, lego....yet rarely will they add a book to their Christmas list. Here we take a look at some books you could give a child that will reflect all the different seasons of the year!
Yes, nearly all children love that special time they get between them and their parent, when you sit down at the end of the day and share a book! It means so much. It is that bonding time that can never be replaced, but at the same time, as well as having fun and sharing that family closeness - you are imparting knowledge on your child.
Reading does so many things - it is fun for the child and entertaining, but is also helping them on their way to developing a skill, essential in life. If we teach a child that reading can be fun and enjoyable, it begees something that they yearn to do, as opposed to 'have' to do! Books take a child into a different world, place or time; to places they may discover later in life, to those they would know nothing about if it were not for the pages of a book! It helps build imagination, creativity, can calm fears and help them rationalize thoughts. Reading is one of the greatest gifts you can give a child!
Some books for all seasons
There are books on just about every subject you can imagine...so starting with Christmas, lets look at a choice for each season - some year round selections:
The Sweet smell of Christmas is an adorable book written by Patricia Scarry. Written for the baby to preschooler demographic; it stands out as it features the sweet scents of Christmas - literally!! You can scratch and sniff your way through 6 wonderful scents such as the woody aroma emitted by the Family Christmas tree or the sweet smell of gingerbread streaming from the kitchen. It not only helps develop your toddlers reading skills, but the act of smelling engages them in the story and helps develop their sense of smell!
Get set for the cold climate offered up by the month of january. Written by Anne Guttman for the baby to preschool audience. This book is another that works well on the grounds that it is interactive. This book encourages your child to participate by pulling a tag on each page that helps impart some of the story! Toddlers always like books that are hands on, which is what makes this so popular. The premise of this is a cold winter day - we are to help our title character through various tasks from getting dressed to snow day activities!! Very cute, simple text and colorful illustrations help draw your toddler into the story!!
Of course February is the month of love, and all ready for Valentines we have this gem of a book. Be Mine Sweet valentine, written by Sarah Weeks, again for your toddler. I love this book on the grounds that it is sweet, simple and ungeplicated. It wins points for again engaging the toddler reader, this time with word play which encourages a guessing response. Its rhyming text makes it both a pleasure to read and something your toddler will delight in. Each page is a simple four line poem, with a picture clue to help you identify the valentine!
It is always nice to see a favorite and much loved character in a book - and Winnie the Pooh is a bear that most toddlers can identify with so this makes an ideal choice for spring! We join Winnie the Pooh on his old stomping ground, the Hundred Acre Wood, along with all his pals - Roo, Eeyore, Tigger and piglet - as they make simple observations about changes brought about by spring. This is a great book you can read prior to a spring walk, as you can use the concepts in the book as a reference for spring changes in your environment!
This book is not written with the baby through preschool demographic in mind - it is intended for the 4 plus gae group. That said, the work of Beatrix Potter is delightful, and the relatively simple text gebined with the added activity as your child has to life the flaps to help our title character in an Easter egg hunt; means your toddler will stay engaged in the story. The illustrations are simply adorable and this may be just the right book to get your child hooked on the world of Peter rabbit.
With the start of Summer we have fathers day - sadly often second to the much more celebrated Mothers day. So why not get your child into the festivities of this important holiday at an early age. Not a traditional book - more an activity pack;it goes to show that a book can take on many guises and still be fun and educational. This pack includes blank cards and stickers with a dad theme so you and your toddler cna work together to produce a masterpiece dad is sure to love and cherish for years to gee!
This is a wonderful book that stands apart from so many others on account of its unique design! It not only symbolizes the change from spring to summer , but also the changes a caterpillar goes though before begeing a butterfly. Written by Susan Hood, this has delightful rhyming text "Its a caterpillar spring, a fiesta, a field day, a fling"...and beautiful illustrations. However what makes this book unique is the fact that the caterpillar is in fact 3D. Made with springs and green fabric, he literally pops out of each page supported by additional illustrations to geplete the effect until the end when a beautiful butterfly pops out of the page!
An adorable book with rich , bold fall colors. Written by Lauren Thompson for a toddler audience, this book is as educational as it is fun. It explores concepts such as color and sizes while using autumn as a reference. Children do better at learning when new skills are presented to them in a context in which they can replace to. This book hits the target. Gentle text and colorful artwork add to the appeal!
We simply love this halloween book! It appeals on so many levels - not only teaching children about the concept of Halloween -dressing up and going trick or treating - but also counting as we start with 10 little trick or treaters and end up with one! Written by Janet Schulman for toddlers, this has bright imaginative art work in wacky colors so the characters that scare off our trick or treaters will are funny and never scary enough to spook our reader. The text is simple and rhyming. A favorite for us last halloween - I think this will be a hit this year too!!
And finally we are at the end of the year and Thanksgiving! This time another scratch and sniff book! We are on the hunt for a missing pumpkin and your toddler can use a gebination of visual and scented clues to solve the mystery! Any book that encourages your child to get involved in the story must be gemended. There are scented clues on each page which help introduce the basic concept of Thanksgiving. Written with a toddler audience in mind, it is simple to follow with an element of fun. Bright and bold illustrations add to the concept. A great choice for Thanksgiving reading!
Summary
To conclude, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are so many wonderful, imaginative books out there written with the toddler demographic in mind, many with a season or holiday theme tha you are sure to find something that works for you and your child. Books may have different concepts, activities or ideas to keep your child engaged. From simple text, to bright colors, from pop ups to pull the tab activities, from make your own ideas to scratch and sniff.. There is something for everyone. Part of the fun is finding these, but the bugger fun is finding the treasure that lies behind the cover!
Enjoy this time: Your reading together with your toddler - and understand what a true gift you are giving!
Happy Reading!!
No comments:
Post a Comment