Our top 5 children's books are:
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
Check out my reviews over the next coming Thursday's in my 'Books are Brilliant' feature.
You can read the posts so far;
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Sunday, 23 February 2014
Top 5 Children's Books
I have started my 'Books are Brilliant' feature this week and as luck may have it, the Share It Sundays link theme over at Oh So Amelia is 'Top 5 Children's Books.'
Our top 5 children's books are:
Our top 5 children's books are:
Thursday, 20 February 2014
Books are Brilliant: First 100 Words
Hiya! It’s Amy from 2boys1mum. Here's my post for your reading series. It’s called “First 100 Words”.
My little boy is 20 months. He's a whirlwind of new words and sounds and even sentences. We read together every day. Not because I think it's important (I do but I also think a balanced diet is important as I open yet another tin of beans when I'm in a hurry!). We read because he says "books" and pulls me to the bookshelf or brings me a book and climbs into my lap. He loves books and I'm so pleased because I love them too.
The first book I bought for him was about a week before he was born in a "pregnant and bored" shopping spree. It's called "First 100 Numbers" by Bright Baby. It is a really simple book with pictures of everyday objects and questions to inspire counting. Even though there's no story, no funny characters, no lovely moral message, it is probably the book we have read the most throughout his life.
At first we just used it for making comedy baby photos and as something for him to look at because it's nice to look at.
As he got older (but still a tiny baby) we'd "read" it to him. There is no story to read. in fact there are hardly any words at all. It's just page after page of pictures of things but babies don't care what you're saying as long as you're talking to them so I think we just used to talk about the pictures. "Ooh, look at the horse, he's got ears and a nose. There's his tail, doesn't he look friendly" ... And other whitterings of a doting mother.
After a while he became really engaged in the book and there were a few pictures he could point to if you asked. The first ones were banana and tractor (both objects which are still big favourites in our lives!). It was so exciting asking him "where's the banana" and seeing his little chubby hand point to the right picture! I wish I knew how old he was at this stage but its not the sort of milestone you write down.
We have played "where's the..." with this book ever since. He knew the basics quite quickly and then suddenly (it felt like overnight) he knew every single thing in the book. I remember asking him where the clock was, thinking "I've never talked about that clock before, I don't think I ever say the word clock. He won't know what one is.." I was amazed that he was picking up words without being 'taught' them.
Now he is starting to talk we can play "what's this" as well as "where's the...". He still surprises us by coming out with words he's never said before and now with his attention to detail. He is looking at the pictures in a new way now, finding tiny details we've never noticed.
Now our love of this book has gone global now as Granny and Grandpa read it with him all the way from Florida via the magic of the iPad. It gave him a way of interacting with them and "chatting" that he couldn't quite manage with adult small talk.
Even though there is no story, this book has provided us with hours of conversation and entertainment and taught my baby way more than his first 100 words!
It has been a constant favourite throughout his life and I reckon we'll still be reading it in another 20 months! After all, we're nowhere near counting all these chicks!!...
With many thanks to Amy who writes over at 2Boys1Mum. This is a wonderful post that shows just how valuable books can be. I have ordered this book for our own collection and can't wait to read it. Amy is one of my favourite bloggers so go take a look at her blog. It's fab!
My little boy is 20 months. He's a whirlwind of new words and sounds and even sentences. We read together every day. Not because I think it's important (I do but I also think a balanced diet is important as I open yet another tin of beans when I'm in a hurry!). We read because he says "books" and pulls me to the bookshelf or brings me a book and climbs into my lap. He loves books and I'm so pleased because I love them too.
The first book I bought for him was about a week before he was born in a "pregnant and bored" shopping spree. It's called "First 100 Numbers" by Bright Baby. It is a really simple book with pictures of everyday objects and questions to inspire counting. Even though there's no story, no funny characters, no lovely moral message, it is probably the book we have read the most throughout his life.
At first we just used it for making comedy baby photos and as something for him to look at because it's nice to look at.
As he got older (but still a tiny baby) we'd "read" it to him. There is no story to read. in fact there are hardly any words at all. It's just page after page of pictures of things but babies don't care what you're saying as long as you're talking to them so I think we just used to talk about the pictures. "Ooh, look at the horse, he's got ears and a nose. There's his tail, doesn't he look friendly" ... And other whitterings of a doting mother.
After a while he became really engaged in the book and there were a few pictures he could point to if you asked. The first ones were banana and tractor (both objects which are still big favourites in our lives!). It was so exciting asking him "where's the banana" and seeing his little chubby hand point to the right picture! I wish I knew how old he was at this stage but its not the sort of milestone you write down.
We have played "where's the..." with this book ever since. He knew the basics quite quickly and then suddenly (it felt like overnight) he knew every single thing in the book. I remember asking him where the clock was, thinking "I've never talked about that clock before, I don't think I ever say the word clock. He won't know what one is.." I was amazed that he was picking up words without being 'taught' them.
Now he is starting to talk we can play "what's this" as well as "where's the...". He still surprises us by coming out with words he's never said before and now with his attention to detail. He is looking at the pictures in a new way now, finding tiny details we've never noticed.
Now our love of this book has gone global now as Granny and Grandpa read it with him all the way from Florida via the magic of the iPad. It gave him a way of interacting with them and "chatting" that he couldn't quite manage with adult small talk.
Even though there is no story, this book has provided us with hours of conversation and entertainment and taught my baby way more than his first 100 words!
It has been a constant favourite throughout his life and I reckon we'll still be reading it in another 20 months! After all, we're nowhere near counting all these chicks!!...
With many thanks to Amy who writes over at 2Boys1Mum. This is a wonderful post that shows just how valuable books can be. I have ordered this book for our own collection and can't wait to read it. Amy is one of my favourite bloggers so go take a look at her blog. It's fab!
Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Guest Post: The Swan Project
Today, as part of my Books are Brilliant feature, I have a guest post from The Swan Project discussing reading in her household. Her blog is wonderful so please do go over and take a look after you've read her post.
A love of reading is something my husband and I really wanted to pass onto our children, although in all honesty I haven’t read a “proper” book since they were born. Although I’ve always known that books are a learning tool I didn’t anticipate how much they help toddlers learn and develop.
There is a 15 month age gap between my children and prior to my son being born we didn’t have a regular reading time for my daughter. We read to her every now and then and she had access to books at nursery but we never really made a special time for it. Bedtime then was bath then bottle whilst we changed her (to keep her still), brush teeth then into her cot. Post number 2 coming along it all changed and without a doubt it changed for the better. Obviously at the end of the day they were both tired and both wanted attention to I switched to feeding the baby on our bed and reading books to my toddler at the same time, once he was old enough to bath with her we then all sat on the bed after bath time and read together. I have previously blogged about how this is without a doubt my favourite time of the day as we’re together as a family and teaching things to our children.
Most of our bedtime books come from the library although we do have a vast collection of books at home. I think for sanity’s sake it’s nice to have a change! When we first started this routine we found books like “That's not my... car, tiger, fairy etc” were brilliant for her age (around 18 months), there were things to touch, point at, find (the mouse that is hiding on each page) and suddenly you find yourself going from just reading a book to asking questions about the book and this is where I was surprised about how much they learn. We went from just reading a book to asking our daughter lots of questions such as pointing to where certain animals were, then getting her to repeat their name, then what sounds they make etc, I really didn’t expect her language skills to improve so much from our bedtime reading! One of my favourite times was when my husband taught her what crocodiles do; “snap, snap, snap” along with hand actions! Seeing them do this together was so sweet and I could also see the immense pride that my husband felt knowing he had taught her something that night. It’s so good for their bond having these moments where you know that they have just learnt something.
As the children get older the books that are appropriate for them are changing. My son is now 9 months so we get some touchy feely books for him and tell him what animals there are on the page etc and my daughter, now 2, has some books with a bit more of a story in them although sometimes picking these up from the library can be hit and miss as sometimes they are too advance / too long and sometimes the books are too young! But we still read them and ask questions etc and she’s still learning from them all the time. Over the past few months I would say our favourite books have been the “That's not my...” series, Dear Zoo, Spot and Maisie books and I have to confess to immense pride when we go into the library and she shouts “Spot Mummy!”, “Mummy, Mummy, it’s Maisie!”. We also have some Julia Donaldson books in the house and of course the Gruffalo is read but my favourites are actually Monkey Puzzle and Tiddler as they are brilliant stories, we read these ones again and again! We have also found some Julia Donaldson sound books which are really good for 2 year olds as they recognise the symbols and press the correct buttons, I love books where they can interact like this and find that it keeps their attention a lot longer.
It does feel like we’re passing on a love of books to our children which hopefully will continue for many years. Having the bedtime routine we have has been really rewarding for all of us and our family bond as well as having the benefit of teaching new things which I think is something we can be proud of. As parents you learn that nothing stays the same for long but hopefully we can keep this routine going for many years.... Here’s hoping anyway!!
A love of reading is something my husband and I really wanted to pass onto our children, although in all honesty I haven’t read a “proper” book since they were born. Although I’ve always known that books are a learning tool I didn’t anticipate how much they help toddlers learn and develop.
There is a 15 month age gap between my children and prior to my son being born we didn’t have a regular reading time for my daughter. We read to her every now and then and she had access to books at nursery but we never really made a special time for it. Bedtime then was bath then bottle whilst we changed her (to keep her still), brush teeth then into her cot. Post number 2 coming along it all changed and without a doubt it changed for the better. Obviously at the end of the day they were both tired and both wanted attention to I switched to feeding the baby on our bed and reading books to my toddler at the same time, once he was old enough to bath with her we then all sat on the bed after bath time and read together. I have previously blogged about how this is without a doubt my favourite time of the day as we’re together as a family and teaching things to our children.
Most of our bedtime books come from the library although we do have a vast collection of books at home. I think for sanity’s sake it’s nice to have a change! When we first started this routine we found books like “That's not my... car, tiger, fairy etc” were brilliant for her age (around 18 months), there were things to touch, point at, find (the mouse that is hiding on each page) and suddenly you find yourself going from just reading a book to asking questions about the book and this is where I was surprised about how much they learn. We went from just reading a book to asking our daughter lots of questions such as pointing to where certain animals were, then getting her to repeat their name, then what sounds they make etc, I really didn’t expect her language skills to improve so much from our bedtime reading! One of my favourite times was when my husband taught her what crocodiles do; “snap, snap, snap” along with hand actions! Seeing them do this together was so sweet and I could also see the immense pride that my husband felt knowing he had taught her something that night. It’s so good for their bond having these moments where you know that they have just learnt something.
As the children get older the books that are appropriate for them are changing. My son is now 9 months so we get some touchy feely books for him and tell him what animals there are on the page etc and my daughter, now 2, has some books with a bit more of a story in them although sometimes picking these up from the library can be hit and miss as sometimes they are too advance / too long and sometimes the books are too young! But we still read them and ask questions etc and she’s still learning from them all the time. Over the past few months I would say our favourite books have been the “That's not my...” series, Dear Zoo, Spot and Maisie books and I have to confess to immense pride when we go into the library and she shouts “Spot Mummy!”, “Mummy, Mummy, it’s Maisie!”. We also have some Julia Donaldson books in the house and of course the Gruffalo is read but my favourites are actually Monkey Puzzle and Tiddler as they are brilliant stories, we read these ones again and again! We have also found some Julia Donaldson sound books which are really good for 2 year olds as they recognise the symbols and press the correct buttons, I love books where they can interact like this and find that it keeps their attention a lot longer.
It does feel like we’re passing on a love of books to our children which hopefully will continue for many years. Having the bedtime routine we have has been really rewarding for all of us and our family bond as well as having the benefit of teaching new things which I think is something we can be proud of. As parents you learn that nothing stays the same for long but hopefully we can keep this routine going for many years.... Here’s hoping anyway!!
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Blog Challenge (24): Your Favourite Childhood Book
I have a vivid childhood memory of been sat in the doctors surgery when I was little and everytime I went I read 'A tiger who came to tea.' I must have been an accident prone child as I remember reading it loads!
I still love reading childhood books which probably stems from my teacher training and we have already bought lots of books for when Baby C arrives. I think that reading to and with your children is a massive thing which helps with all areas of development and creates lots of memories. I still remember my dad reading to me when I was a little girl. My current favourite is 'Guess How Much I Love You' and I will make sure that it is one of Baby C's favourite's too!
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