Preschool picture books, books of animals, rocks, and minerals (August favorites)

We read several times a day. First thing in the morning, throughout the day, right after lunch and before rest time. During rest time I turn on a longer "chapter book" on CD for him to listen to quietly while sitting on his bed. I've noticed he can listen to larger chunks when a chapter book is read on tape than any other time. Over the month of August we had fun with picture books like Caps for Sale, and enjoyed books on animals, rocks, and minerals.

I absolutely love "If You Find a Rock". My son was riveted. Each page has a photograph of children playing with rocks: climbing, skipping, and more. The text on the opposite page describes in clear, flowing language something you can do with a rock you find. It brought me back to my own childhood.

 

T loves this anthology from Little Golden Books. It has A Home for A Bunny and other fine stories, which were perfect for our theme this month. 

These two books (DK Eyewitness Mammal & Usborne First Encyclopedia of Animals) were not books read from cover to cover. Yet T really enjoyed leafing through the pages, looking at pictures. Occasionally he'd stop and ask me to read about a particular picture.

When we explored a honeycomb purchased at a local farmer's market we also read about bees & honey in a Magic School Bus book. I've enjoyed The Magic School Bus series for years. Yet this is the first time I've read this particular book. It's now a favorite part of our Magic School Bus book collection.

There are some chipmunks who cluster around the bird feeders at the local nature center. T just loves watching them scurry about. He also enjoyed this book from the Smithsonian Institution called Chipmunk at Hollow Tree Lane. It is a little wordy for a 3 year old, yet somehow kept his attention quite well. Follow along with a chipmunk as it spends a day gathering food for the upcoming winter.

 A Bed For Winter is a very informative book about animals preparing for hibernation. You follow along with one particular animal as it searches for the perfect place to stay. Along the way it meets several other creatures and sees where they are planning to winter.

Have you read Sylvester and the Magic Pebble? If not, you really should. It's a charming tale. Tells the story of a donkey who loves collecting rocks. One day he finds a magic pebble, and makes a rather rash wish...This book made for a perfect transition from the animals theme to the rocks & minerals theme.

This must be T's favorite book from the entire month. And would you believe it's the longest? Yes, the chapter book modern classic A Bear Called Paddington is heard almost daily in our house. Even now that it's September and we've moved on to yet another story he'll often turn on our Paddington CD. I discovered a little while back that if I play a nice, long story on his CD player during quiet time he happily settles in. Sometimes he falls asleep listening, other times it only seems to keep him awake. But he's relaxed. He rests and listens. The particular recording I bought is performed by actor Stephen Fry. He does a marvelous job bringing the story to life!

What have been some of your child(ren)'s favorite books lately?