Read Aloud Thursday

This is my first post for Read Aloud Thursdays, found at Hope is the Word.

We read a lot each week, but I want to just highlight the recent favorites, including a chapter book!

My daughter was given two Ladybug Girl books by Jacky Davis for Christmas.  I think every day this week, before naptime, she has requested Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy!    This is a sweet book about Lulu, who likes to dress up as Ladybug Girl.  She and her mother go to the local playground and she sees her friend, Sam, there.  They can't agree on anything to play together.  Then Lulu remembers the fun that she had on the way to the park when she was Ladybug Girl.  Sam quickly agrees to be Bumblebee Boy...and the adventure begins!  I liked that when two more friends asked to play, they quickly became the Bug Squad.  It's just a cute, fun book.

We are now on to our second copy of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr.  The old copy without the cover, has remained in M's room.  For Christmas I made the children name bean bags and gave them a new copy of Chicka Chicka.  My two year old son has really enjoyed this "new" book (since the other copy rarely leaves his sister's room).  Unfortunately, he likes to hit the book with every boom.  Hmm.  Maybe I will have him start clapping with the booms.  Though he really likes the book, I think I will wait a couple more months before making the Chicka Chicka Footprint Tree that I made with M.  He'll get more out of it then, in my opinion.

Another favorite book has been Martha Doesn't Share by Samantha Berger.  I wasn't sure how M would respond to this book since she has many issues with sharing.  (I was remembering how she was not patient enough to finish Remy the Rhino Learns Patience on our first try.  Linked to my review.)  M loves this book though!  Martha, an otter, (I believe, though M thinks she is a kangaroo) has recently learned a new word-MINE.  Yep.  That selfish word.  She claims everything as her own.  Even pancakes.  Her poor, diaper wearing, pacifier sucking brother can't even consider anything for himself since everything has been claimed by Martha.  She continues on, with her parents just letting it run its course.  Then she realizes that "it's hard to ping when you don't have a pong."  She seeks out her family with a wagon load of toys to share.  She learns that it really is more fun to share.  Now if only my little girl would do the same!  One day at a time, right?

One thing to be aware of with this book is that it is very feminine with the lavender cover and lavender plaid on the inside covers.  It might turn some boys off who also need to share.  But really, sometimes it's nice to have a book geared toward a girl, too. (Thank you, Little Brown Books for the review copy of Martha Doesn't Share.)

I had been wanting to give chapter books another try, this time focusing on short chapter books.  I placed several on hold at the library, and I was so excited!  The evening we came home with our bag of books, I wanted to read one "chapter" from Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel.  (You might recognize the name as the author of the Frog and Toad books.  We borrowed one of those, too!)    I was fully prepared to read just one of the stories and save the rest for another day.  However, we read the whole book in one sitting!  M kept asking for more!  Really, it was a very short and simple book, possibly even shorter than the Frog and Toad books.  Owl at Home is a group of stories in one book.  Each "chapter" or story stands alone perfectly well, and really, this could have been turned into several picture books.  I, personally, like it the way it is!


On a side note, when I was teaching first grade, the story "Strange Bumps" from Owl at Home was included in our reading book.  It was definitely one of the children's favorite stories of the year...and mine!  Owl cannot go to sleep because he sees bumps under his blanket.  He takes off all the blankets, but just cannot figure out where those bumps are or where they came from.  He actually ends up sleeping in the chair by his fireplace!  One of the things I love about the story is that it never says what the bumps are...the children need to figure it out!  (M guessed "knees" at the beginning of the story, but it was a mystery to her, like Owl, by the end of the story.)


To see what others are reading aloud to their kids, head over to Read Aloud Thursday!