How can you read a book with no words? You read the pictures! Even kids who aren't reading words yet can read pictures - especially if it's a story they've seen before. Understanding story structures - that stories have a beginning, middle, and end - is a part of early literacy skills development. Telling the story of a wordless book is a great way to develop that skill. Pro tip: Reading the pictures (even if the book has text) is also a way to share that one current favorite

Singing with children seems to be a no-brainer. It's fun, and if you sing a soft lullaby at bedtime, it lulls them to sleep. But singing together has even more great benefits! Singing songs helps children train their ear to hear the many parts that make up words, including rhymes, letter sounds, and syllables. From songs they learn new vocabulary (does anyone talk about their water spout in regular conversation?) and gain background knowledge. It helps with memory, motor coor

Last November, I wrote about why humor is important in children's books, and I promised a post about my favorite titles. Finally, FINALLY, here it is. This is by no means an exhaustive list, because I love SO MANY books that I'm sure I'll leave some out. Also, a caveat: Some of these only kids will find funny. Some of these will make you both laugh. But since kids ARE the target audience here, I'm less worried about you. Sorry, not sorry. I will try to update this periodicall

“Play is often talked about as if it were a serious relief from learning. But for children, play is learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” - Fred Rogers Mr. Rogers knew what he was talking about. Play is how children learn! Through play, they are experimenting, pretending, imagining, using their bodies, practicing interpersonal skills, trying new things, exploring, and so much more. Here are some great picture books that celebrate the work of childhood, WE ALL PLAY

Before children learn to read on their own, the are building the foundation they will need TO learn to read. One of the things they're developing is their print awareness . Children are beginning to notice words all around them - on signs, in books, on boxes, - and that words have meaning. They're learning, too, how books and print work. There are lots of ways to help your child develop this skill. You can point out words and say what they mean. You can look for signs and ex

Look, it's well into February and I'm finally getting around to writing about my favorite books of the previous year! Let's just say that...

Oh, preschoolers are fun. They've got OPINIONS and FACTS (about dinosaurs and firetrucks and Disney characters) and THINGS TO TELL YOU. They can handle more complicated storylines, where the action doesn't all happen on the page or in the words. Stories can be more nuanced, the jokes less obvious. But still, they're young, so attention spans are short. We don't need paragraphs of text - 3 or 4 sentences a page, max. But their eyes can find more details in illustrations and so

In my monthly library program, I choose an early literacy theme on which to focus. In November it was vocabulary - or, more specifically,...

Did you know that learning about shapes helps with learning letters and numbers? It does! Being able to recognize shapes helps with...

Every month I share a booklist to go along with the theme of the program I'm doing at my library that month. This month we're exploring...