Tag: books

Book Busy Box

Leave a comment

Book Busy Box (3)

Yes, a book box can keep a toddler busy, even if he or she is not reading yet! To wit, we love taking books for “picture walks” in our household, and today I set up this little bin to keep Veronika occupied while I got a few things done.

I included some of big brother Travis’s early chapter books because she loves the pictures of Star Wars characters (she knows them all by name!) even if she doesn’t understand the story.

Book Busy Box (1)

I also included more age-appropriate favorites, like her Hello magazine and favorite board books. It’s a good idea to use books that you’ve read to your child many times so he or she is familiar with the story, even if you’re too busy to read it.

Finally, I included a set of magnet tiles that tell the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This was a nice way to give her something to manipulate with her hands, in addition to just books. Now I set out the bin on a comfy orange chair as a sort of invitation, and she jumped right in!

Book Busy Box (5)

The Star Wars books caught her eye right away.

Book Busy Box (4)

Soon she was leafing through a favorite board book, narrating the pictures and words to herself.

Book Busy Box (6)

This is the kind of bin you can leave out all day for your toddler to return to whenever the mood hits.

Book Busy Box (7)

What would be in your toddler’s book box? Please share in the comments!

Book Busy Box (2)

Ten Favorite Transportation Books

Leave a comment

Best Transportation Books (10)

Who says only boys like books about trucks and cars and things that go? We’ve been reading so many books about vehicles lately that I thought would share some of Veronika’s favorites, which hopefully can help fill your home library, too!

One: Baby’s Very First Truck Book, Usborne Books

This one is almost guaranteed to please because it’s not just a book about a truck… It drives!

Best Transportation Books (3)

We also love that the delivery truck drops off small vehicles (think scooters and bikes) at each stop it makes.

Best Transportation Books (4)

Two: Little Coloring: Things That Go, Usborne Books

Story time can still be hard for Veronika to sit through, which is why we love this coloring book with text. Each page has a short sentence about a vehicle that I can read as Veronika scribbles!

Best Transportation Books (2)

Three: Little Blue Truck, Alice Schertle

What’s not to love about this original book from what has gone on to became an equally lovable series? Animal noises, friends helping friends, fun rhyming words…. And every toddler wants to chime in on that little Beep Beep Beep!

Four: Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go

I honestly find this book overwhelming, but my kids love it so much we count it as a favorite. You can read pieces of it here and there, or settle in for a marathon session on days that deserve an extra-long story.

Five: The Little Engine That Could, Watty Piper

This classic features a fun variety of engines for any train lover, but at the heart it’s a story about perseverance and kindness. I still choke up reading the ending every time!

Six: The Big Book of Big Trucks, Usborne Books

If your kids love big trucks (and I mean big!) they’ll love the super-sized fold-out pages in this book about some of the biggest vehicles ever made on the planet.

Seven: Colorful World: Vehicles, Nastja Holtfreter

This book takes Veronika’s favorite theme of vehicles but poses questions that become increasingly tricky as the story goes on. She can readily identify which scooter is different, or which one is a tow truck,. But what about pinpointing a truck driving in a different direction? Or new vocabulary like which one is a convertible. High marks for the writing in this book!

Best Transportation Books (9)

Eight: Shine-a-Light at the Garage, Carron Brown and Charlie Davis

The Shine-a-Light series always makes books intriguing since kids shine a flashlight to uncover a mystery on each page. In this particular volume, kids learn all the goings-on inside a mechanic’s garage. We love the technical details!

Best Transportation Books (8)

Nine: Night, Night Busy Town, Usborne Books

You get multiple books for the price of one here. Each sleepy vehicle on the chunky board book pages has a favorite bedtime story to read.

Best Transportation Books (5)

These mini books pull out with a tab and are just the right size for toddler hands. Each one then features a different learning theme (numbers, shapes, opposites, etc.).

Best Transportation Books (7)

Ten: Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, Sherri Duskey Rinker

The rhymes are fantastic in this one and the construction trucks curl up to sleep with teddy bears. Enough said.

Okay, one last notable mention: We love Little Tug by Stephen Savage for a sweet bedtime read about a sometimes-neglected category of vehicles: boats!

What vehicle books are a must-have in your family? Please share in the comments!

Book Box

Leave a comment

Book Box (2)

Although I’m not on the hook to home school this fall (phew!), I do have to somehow occupy a toddler for 2 hours of remote Zoom learning each afternoon. To help out any parents in the same boat, I’ll be posting a few ideas each week that keep Veronika busy while big brother does his school work!

First up was today’s Book Box.

Book Box (1)

I filled a small basket with titles that are interactive, meaning that Veronika can easily go through them by herself. Although your exact titles might be different than the ones I used, here are some categories to think of.

Book Box (3)

Lift-the-flap books: We have some that are short and simple (Where is Baby’s Belly Button) and some that encompass whole towns. To wit, Playtown is great because we’ve read it together enough that she knows what to expect behind each flap, and can now go through the book solo.

Book Box (11)

Sound books. Books that make noises are always fun. Look for ones that are easy for kids to manipulate on their own.

Book Box (4)

I like the buttons on Usborne’s Poppy and Sam’s Animal Sounds, as well as Eric Carle’s The Very Quiet Cricket; the latter features a chirp as soon as she arrives at the last page, a delight each time!

Book Box (7)

Texture books. Toddlers are a bit advanced for baby favorites like Pat the Bunny. Look instead for books with cut-outs or layers. We love The Rainbow Book by Kate Ohrt, which has layers of cut-outs and colors for little fingers to dig down into.

Book Box (8)

Books with props: First up in her bin was All Better, which has band-aids that your toddler can affix to owie’s on adorably illustrated animals. Trust me, this one never gets old.

Book Box (9)

For something decidedly yuckier but that will make kids giggle, try Fingers for Lunch, with holes to wiggle your fingers through before a monster chomps them off.

Book Box (6)

Finally, consider books that use flashlights, like any in Usborne’s Shine-a-Light series. When Veronika spotted the flashlight in her bin, she used it on all the books, not just the Shine-a-Light!

Book Box (13)

If that’s not enough to keep your toddler happy, plop him or her right in a box to read instead!

What would you put in your toddler’s Book Box? Please share in the comments!

Book Box (14)

DIY Lift the Flap Book

Leave a comment

DIY Lift Flap (7)

If your toddler is at all like Veronika, then a) any lift-the-flap books you have in the house are dearly loved and b) the flaps have all been torn apart! Here’s a simple hack to make your own lift the flap book. All you need are post-its and board books.

Any kind of “First Words” book works particularly well for this game since there are lots of individual pictures to cover up. Technically, though, you could play it with any book on your child’s shelf!

DIY Lift Flap (1)

For variety, I left some of the post-it notes as full squares, and cut others into smaller squares or rectangles.

DIY Lift Flap (2)

Now simply let your child turn the pages (working those fine motor skills) and talk about the pictures he or she discovers as each post-it is ripped off (working those language skills)!

DIY Lift Flap (9)

A note of caution: You might want to avoid books that make noises. Veronika was so sidetracked by a cat meowing that she lost interest in the flaps for a while!

DIY Lift Flap (5)

But once she discovered the post-it notes could be pulled off, they were a hit.

DIY Lift Flap (3)

Plus she figured out they could double as “stickers“.

DIY Lift Flap (8)

This was a simple and novel way to engage a reluctant reader at storytime, and I highly recommend it.

DIY Lift Flap (6)

Vary Story Time

Leave a comment

Vary Storytime (7).jpg

Storytime with my eldest has always been about the story; even as a baby he sat and listened to a book. Veronika has been a delightful reminder of just how different all babies are, because she looks at a book and she wants… to eat it.

I still read to her every night, but I have to catch her attention! So today we played this little game, varying my voice in ways that made her sit up and focus a little more.

First, I did a silly read through of Goodnight Moon, reading the first half veryveryveryfast and the second half very…very…very…slow. This got looks of surprise and giggles!

Vary Storytime (5)

Next I read a favorite color book, but sang the words to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This didn’t line up quite right on every page, but she kept looking at me with interest. I sure had her attention!

Vary Storytime (6)

Finally, I read in a deep, silly voice for another favorite book; this got lots of looks of delight after every page, almost as if she was checking to make sure it was still me doing the reading.

Vary Storytime (2)

This game will work best with books you read often, where baby is already familiar with the rhymes and rhythms and will notice the differences.

Choose books that lend themselves to getting in on the action, too. When the quiet old lady whispers hush, I put my fingers to her lips. Other good actions to copy include: tickling toes, giving hugs and kisses, or waving hello and goodbye.

Vary Storytime (1)

One final way to vary your story time? Vary the location! We took our books to a coffee shop today, where the novel space made her pay more attention to sounds on the pages, and less attention to their taste.

Vary Storytime (8)

Introduce Books with Texture and Noise

Leave a comment

Books with Texture (2)

Veronika already has a few books in her library that feature texture and noise, but I gifted her with a few new ones because she can approach them in a different way these days: reading solo! Interactive touch and sound will keep a seven-month-old happily entertained, even if you’re busy getting things done around the house, or on the go.

But first we read them together, of course. She loved the bright pictures and her fingers immediately went for textural elements, like soft fur or shiny metal.

Books with Texture (1)

I pressed each sound button, which got a look of wonder from her each time, and described what she was hearing and seeing.

Books with Texture (4)

Pretty soon, she was flipping through the pages and narrating this book to herself – a sight that makes my heart stop every time!

Books with Texture (8)

I also bought a smaller book that’s perfect for car rides or stroller rides. The soft pages fit in her hands perfectly.

Books with Texture (5)

Some pages rattle and some crinkle.

Books with Texture (6)

The first time through, I described these sounds, and the textures she could feel like the soft fluffy cover. She will happily “read” this one to herself for ages.

Books with Texture (7)

What interactive books does your baby like? Please share in the comments!

Books with Texture (3)

Advent Christmas Books

Leave a comment

book-wrap-7

We didn’t have a proper advent calendar for Travis this year, but here’s a neat idea I nabbed from Parents magazine. Each night of December leading up to Christmas, set one holiday book under the tree for a special storytime.

The first night that Travis noticed a tissue-paper wrapped item under our tree, his eyes popped with delight. It soon became his favorite part of our bedtime ritual, rushing up after dessert to discover what awaited under the tree.

book-wrap-3

There’s no need to buy 25 holiday stories! You no doubt have a few at home, but supplement the list with picks from your local library.

Some of our books were hits and some were misses (the pickings grew a bit slim at the library towards mid-December), but that didn’t lessen Travis’ delight tearing through the tissue paper each evening.

book-wrap-4

Save favorites for the final week before Christmas. In our house that includes The Polar Express, Twas the Night Before Christmas, and The Snowman.

book-wrap-6

Other books, ranging from the silly to the sweet, included:

Little Blue’s Christmas

The Animal’s Santa

Where is Baby’s Christmas Present?

Gingerbread Christmas

Santa Shimmy

and Christmas Parade

What holiday books are favorites in your household? Please share in the comments!