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Practical Tips: Reading with Big Kids

3/31/2016

 
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As a teacher, I always wanted my students' parents to read out loud with their kids. And, keep in mind - I taught 3rd grade on up. So, I was asking parents to read out loud with their kids after​ their kids mostly knew how to read on their own.

On the other side, as a parent, I need to actually carve that time out. Pile on making sure we actually have a good book to read that we both want to read, be a good reader to my kid, not be stressed while we're doing it and spend potentially a good portion of time seems like a lot.

​And then - It's more if you have more than one kid in your household! ​

Here are a few practical parenting tips to help you read out loud with your older kid. 
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1. Don't do it everyday. But do it more than once per week.

When you first get back to reading with your bigger kid, do it more than once per week. You'll obviously work around your schedule and your child's schedule, but start with 15-20 minutes twice per week. 

Do it early in the morning or during downtime in the afternoon. Before bedtime might seem rushed or more stressful than other parts of the day. Try it early on a Saturday morning at breakfast to start the day or late Sunday afternoon to wrap up a busy weekend. Just try it! 
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2. Share the responsibility.

Moms do the bulk of reading with kids at home. Especially if you have boys, consider having Dad read out loud with your kids. Reading Dads are fantastic.

But also, consider other adults. Grandparents, babysitters, aunts and uncles can all be looped in here. They can read a whole book with your child or a chapter here and there. One caveat - someone needs to know the entire book so your kid can discuss consistently with the same person.
​

3. Audiobooks are your friends.

Audiobooks are a fantastic option, especially if you want to read with your child, but aren't yourself a great reader. Or you're tired. 

A few tips with this one - still have the hard copy book so you can follow along. Listening to a book and also tracking the words has been shown to help with comprehension. Listen to the audiobook together so you can debrief together or you can stop and chat about something as you listen. 
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4. Make a homemade audiobook. Record yourself.

This is a more upfront time intensive option. In case you don't have time or your schedules don't line up at all, you can record yourself reading chapters of a book. Then, have your child listen to you reading the book, without you being there. You can set up each chapter like a track of music to listen to. 

You're still reading the book so you can still discuss it later. And, when you record, you should still stop and ask questions (just pause after you do). It might feel weird at first, but it's a great feeling to know that you are still reading to your child even if you can't be there to do it in real-time. 

​You can record yourself on your phone or use a voice recorder. We use this one in our house. For more details on recording your own audiobooks and benefits, read through this literacy quick tip. ​
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5. Present choices you like too.

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This is where reading joyfully comes into play. You might think you should only include your child's viewpoint when selecting a book to read together. But, if you're doing the reading, you want to read something you like or are at least interested in.

Pick a few choices that you like from your own childhood, some from the bookstore that look interesting on the cover or the plot seems interesting. Then offer a few choices. Let your child pick one from a set of curated options.
For less pressure, pick a collection of short stories to read. This is a really great collection from Louis Sachar - Sideways Stories from Wayside School. It will be quick and is appropriate for end of 2nd-early 5th grade students.

If you both don't like the book or someone is really bored, abandon the book and choose another. It's okay and a good exercise in why you don't like a book or why you don't think it will get any better. If it's not worth your time and you're not enjoying it, don't read that book. Read one you like. ​


Enjoy!

P.S. The companion post to this is What to Do with Big Kid Readers.

Award Winning Beverly Cleary

3/30/2016

 
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I remember devouring the entire Mouse series in a weekend. That's how good they were. The only other books to come close were Nancy Drew and Harry Potter. That might say something about my reading taste, but as a kid, Beverly Cleary was it. 

In about 2 weeks, she will turn 100. So, let's celebrate her birthday by consuming her books and the movies that go with them.

If you wanted to get a jumpstart on her birthday, you could get one of her books and read it by April 12. You could do what I did as a kid and start with Ralph S. Mouse.

She's won the Newbery Award outright  and has honorable mentions in the category for a couple of her Ramona books.

But, one of the movie adaptations also won an award - the Carnegie Medal of Excellence. And you guessed it, it was a mouse movie. Ralph S. Mouse.

​Having a movie night - what a great way to celebrate a birthday.

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This is the cover of the original award-winning movie adaptation by Churchill Films.

It can be hard to come by, but it's a great movie. It's 120 minutes in length.

​You can buy it as a DVD on Amazon.
Ralph S Mouse MoviesPicture
This is the newer, easier to come by adaptation of the Mouse collection. The best part here is, you get all of the mouse stories in one package.

​Run time is 195 minutes for all 3 Mouse stories, plus 4 bonus stories.
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Here's the book! A fun story about a little mouse who can no longer stay at the Inn.

Guided Reading Level: 0
176 Pages


Enjoy!

Quick Literacy Tip: Postcards

3/30/2016

 
Please share!
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Remember sending postcards as a kid? I used to love sending postcards when we went on vacations or even better, receiving them in the mail. Who doesn't love getting mail?!

Liliana and I were in Dallas this past weekend and we visited the zoo. As souvenirs, I put pictures up from the trip in her picture frames instead of getting tchotchkes. And as something fun to do, we always get postcards to send. Liliana has a lot to say (always) so she thought it was great when I told her postcards are a way of "telling stories" to other people who live far away.  

​Plus, writing postcards is a quick way to get literacy into your day and works for little kids all the way up to big kids! 


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A Note on Award Winning Books

3/29/2016

 
Award Winning Books
You can buy this poster too from the ALA!
Click the image to get to the link.
Most of us have seen the stickers on newly-minted, award-winning books. There is usually a gold or silver sticker on the front used to show us how great the book is. But, what is that award?

Let's break it down.
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Newbery Award
Award for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. It has been awarded since 1922 and includes books like Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and most recently, Last Stop on Market Street.
Caldecott Award
Award for the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The text could still be complex, even though it is a picture book. It has been awarded since 1938 and includes A Sick Day for Amos McGee, The Invention of Hugo Cabret and most recently, Finding Winnie.
Odyssey Award - New Award
Award goes to the producer of the best audiobook produced for juveniles in English, in the United States. It has been awarded since 2008 and includes The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and most recently, H.O.R.S.E. A Game of Basketball and Imagination.
Schneider Family Book Award
This award honors authors who impact children with disabilities. The award has been given since 2004. Titles include The Deaf Musicians, Five Flavors of Dumb, Becoming Naomi Leon and most recently, Fish in a Tree.
Pura Belpre Award
This award is given to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work affirms the Latino cultural experience. There are two separate awards - one for a written work and one for the illustrations. They have always been two different books, each year. This award has been given since 1996 and works include Magic Windows, Esperanza Rising and most recently, I Lived on Butterfly Hill.
Coretta Scott King Award
This is awarded to authors and illustrators who make an impactful difference in African American books. It is awarded in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King. It has been awarded since 1970. Past winners include Escape to Freedom, Bud Not Buddy, and most recently Gone Crazy in Alabama.
Stonewall Book Award
This is awarded to authors who greatly impact the LGBT community. It has been awarded since 1971 and titles include And the Band Played On, The Laramie Project and most recently The Gods of Tango.
Laura Ingalls Wilder Award
This award is given to authors and illustrators who have made a substantial impact in children's literature over a period of time. This award is not awarded every year. The first award was in 1954 to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Past winners include E.B. White, Maurice Sendak, Donald Crews and most recently Jerry Pinkney.
Batchelder Award
This is awarded to the best children's book published in another language and country and then translated into English for distribution in the United States. It has been awarded since 1968 and includes The Island on Bird Street and The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy.
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
This is given to the authors of beginning readers in the United States, published in English. It has been awarded since 2006 and includes Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas, The Watermelon Seed and most recently, Don't Throw It to Mo!
Sibert Informational Book Medal
This is awarded to authors and illustrators for informational books published in the United States. It has been awarded since 2001 and includes The Voice that Challenged a Nation, We Are the Ship, Almost Astronauts and most recently, Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras.
Carnegie Medal
This award is given to the most awesome (just checking if you're reading) video production for children. It has been awarded since 1991 and winners include Ralph S. Mouse, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, and most recently, This is NOT a Good Idea!

​The more you know...Enjoy!

Complex Storybooks for Little Readers

3/28/2016

 
Winnie the Pooh
Once we get past the board-book and very simple storybook phase with kids, we really want to dig in with thoughtful stories. Trouble is, not all storybooks are useful for teaching critical thinking skills. Many of our old favorites like The Very Hungry Caterpillar are too simple to teach critical thinking. There isn't much of a plot, there isn't much to discuss and there aren't many characters.

As children get older and school-aged, we want to captivate their attention and dazzle them with what the world could be. Through books. We want reading to be magical.
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If we want our children to turn into imaginative, critical-thinking grown-ups, we must expose them to complex storybooks - books that require the reader to infer character thoughts and motivation. And then, the reader needs to connect those thoughts to why a character acts.

The books listed below are some of the best complex storybooks for little readers. The reading levels exceed our youngest readers, but when read aloud or read together, these books are appropriate for young children. In no small part, because the illustrations in all of these books are compelling and aid in comprehension. They are all Caldecott Award winning books.
Without further ado, here are some of the best complex storybooks for little readers:
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
1. Owl Moon
This is a perennial favorite for a reason. It is beautifully illustrated but also has an elegant story to go with it.

It's a heartwarming tale of going owling. The child's father takes his child owling at night, where he must be quiet and brave. 

But it's worth it in the end, when they see an owl fly overhead, land on a tree branch and look directly at them. 

​It's a nice way to talk about things that are calming, nature and things we love. Also, there is running thought commentary on the part of the child in the book.
Guided Reading Level O
2. Finding Winnie
This is the true story of how Winnie-the-Pooh came to be. It's heartwarming and includes complex text.

There are photos at the end of the book of the real life Winnie and her first owner (the author's great-grandfather). It's a fun way to introduce Winnie-the-Pooh or expand on an old favorite.
Guided Reading Level: M
Bonus! A good companion text to this is...
Now We Are Six
While this hasn't been put on a Guided Reading level scale, the writing puts the text at partway through 3rd grade level difficulty.
Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick
Locomotive by Brian Floca
3. Locomotive
This book also won the Robert F. Sibert award for informational texts for children.

This would make a great read-aloud with your child who is younger. It's also a long enough book, that this could take you more than one reading to finish, maybe even 3 readings all put together.

It's a higher reading level, but appropriate for younger readers, type of book. It is a beautiful non-fiction book for young kids, which can be hard to come by. It will be especially good for train lovers.
Guided Reading Level: O
You may also want to check out his other titles Moonshot about Apollo 11 (Level N) and Lightship (Level O) about anchored boat lighthouses.
4. Snowflake Bentley
Snowflakes are miracles to little Wilson Bentley. He loved them so much, he wanted to capture them - in pictures. If he could do so, he would be the first one.

His endeavor to capture snowflakes via photography led us to two discoveries - all snowflakes are unique and each one is naturally beautiful.

The woodblock cut prints in this book especially add to the story in this book. That this story combines reading with a scientific endeavor makes it all the more worthwhile. It is a non-fiction book appropriate for little readers, with a more complex reading level.
Guided Reading Level: N
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Wilson Bentley's website
The Man Who Walked Between The Towers by Moridcai Gerstein
Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
Mirette on the High Wire
This is an awesome, true story of a tightrope walker who put a cable between the World Trade Center towers in 1974. He tightrope walked across the two towers and then some.

The story would come across as almost fantastical to young children, but it really did happen - which makes it all the more awesome.
Guided Reading Level: Q
Mirette meets a famous tightrope walker who has been sidelined because of fear. Of course, once she knows what he used to do, she wants to learn to tightrope walk too. And she does.

Once she learns, she encourages The Great Bellini to abandon fear and try again too. Youthful spirit shines through in this book.

While The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is non-fiction, this book is fiction and would make a nice comparative study.
Guided Reading Level: P
Complex Multi-Cultural Books for Little Readers
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
This is a fun story and an interesting way to explain why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears. There are animals who talk, explanations given, and different-than-the-rest kinds of illustrations.

It is a beautiful and entertaining folktale.
Guided Reading Level: N
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
This is a straight-forward rendering of The Little Red Riding Hood, except the wolf comes to the children.

Once the children realize it is a wolf who has come to visit, instead of grandma, they trick the wolf into leaving them alone.

It has a bit of an abrupt ending, so be prepared for that. 
Guided Reading Level: S
This would make a great read-aloud, especially in a fairytale unit and with children who know the western version.
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Bonus! This is another spin on a classic fairytale that will satisfy more sophisticated readers.
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
Guided Reading Level: Q
Lon Po Po by Ed Young
A Story, A Story
This is the folktale about how it all began - how we got all of our stories.

Ananse must complete 3 arduous tasks in order to receive the box full of stories from Nyame, the Sky God.

Ananse completes the tasks and releases the stories to the world.

Guided Reading Level: O
A Story, A Story by Gail E Haley
Always Room for One More
Always Room for One More
This is a Scottish folk song that is put down in book format, so there are some unfamiliar words. There is a glossary at the back to help the reader (as well as the tune to the song, if you'd like).

The story is a good behavior lesson - do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It's about a Scotsman who invites every passerby into his house - until, it explodes! 

They gather all the pieces and build a larger house to fit the family, new guests and friends.

This would make a good read aloud book with your child, so you can help with some foreign pronunciations.
Guided Reading Level: P

​Enjoy!

Reading Dads are Special

3/28/2016

 
Dads Who Read Are Awesome
One of my favorite pictures of a reading Dad and a kid. It helps that they are mine!

Dads are awesome in all sorts of ways. 

Now that that's out of the way...

​Dads who read are more awesome. 

​Reading aloud to your kids is a great skill to have. As we discussed last week, reading aloud to your kids is important and there are ways to make it fun at home and reachable. You can read stories over and over and over again. Day after day. You can focus on the art one day, words another day, story the next. For bigger kids, you can practice your inflection while reading. You can choral read. You can do it at the library. You can can do it in a new place altogether. There are lots of possibilities - and we'll get to them. But one of the best is, handing reading aloud to your kid off to your partner.

I love reading. And, I love reading to Liliana. I love getting lost in the story - getting loud, whispering, pointing out pictures, catching funny words in a story and seeing the bigger picture. I love listening to her say, out loud, the parts of stories that she knows - showing me that she's latched on to a story. I used to love reading to bigger kids and middle school kids because they get so into a story. You can see them analyzing its believability as you read it. You can see the wheels turning.

And sometimes, Dads are the best to get those wheels turning.

By second grade, most students start to identify reading as a feminine activity. Moms do the bulk of the reading aloud at home and many elementary school teachers are women. Boys see girls reading more at school and this contributes to the cycle. 

And it follows, fathers only read to their children an average of 15% of the time. Jim Trelease, in The Read Aloud Handbook, posits that boys who are read to by their fathers enjoy higher reading achievement scores. And sons who see their fathers read recreationally, read more themselves. Makes a lot of sense.

So, what's the big deal? This is not new, but girls are outperforming boys in overall reading achievement. Anecdotally, I always had a harder time getting my middle school boys to read for fun. And, I'm not the only one - engaging boys in the classroom is a topic of discussion for many teachers.

Much of this is due to the differences in motivation to read, having good reading choices and having good reading role models. Studies show girls are more intrinsically motivated to read and have an easier time finding books to read. Boys have a harder time and start to shy away from reading in the classroom (and at home). A lot of my boy students wanted to read about dinosaurs and sports and that starts to wear thin after awhile.

Boys also perceive themselves to have a lower ability to read than girls. This perception of lower ability starts early in elementary school and persists through to high school and you guessed it - this perception concurs in timing. It's right when reading is identified as a girls' activity. 

Let's make it an everybody activity. And, let me amend my earlier statement.

​Mom, hand off the reading aloud time every once in awhile because Dads who read to their kids and read recreationally in front of their kids are the most awesome. Dads who read to their boys have an extra level of awesome added on.

Enjoy!

And, in case you're wondering, it's Judy Blume's, Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing, that's getting those two reading goofballs laughing. And, Joe will read it to Liliana for real one day. 

Surround Yourself with Books You Love

3/25/2016

 
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Having physical books at home allows children to become familiar with books. Reading books you find joyful to your kids, will make reading joyful.

It sounds so simple. 

Growing up, there was a wall of books when I walked in our front door. I rarely went into this wall of books, but it was there. It was a floor to ceiling wall with books two rows deep on each shelf. That wall, in its existence, sent the message loud and clear, "Books are important to us. We take care of them and we show them proudly. We enjoy books."

Just reading any book aloud to your kids won't make them love to read. Or make them good readers.

Consider this scenario. Your child really wants to read a Dr. Seuss book before bedtime - but you hate reading through them. Do you think you're going to read it enthusiastically? Or impart a love of reading? Probably not.

​So, don't read them. 

Years ago, in the monumental report, Becoming a Nation of Readers, reading aloud took centerstage. Reading aloud was called the single most important activity for eventual success in reading. Children learn to listen and comprehend and they pick up uncommon vocabulary words. They hear the musicality and fluency of language. They learn to make connections and critically think.

So, read books that you're interested in. Be picky. You will encourage better reading habits. You will leave time for your kids to point at the pictures they like, or ask questions about the story. You will naturally make connections between the book you're reading and events in your lives instead of rushing through a book you disdain just to get to the end. You will ask what your kids think about the story and look back at beautiful illustrations. You will, because you will genuinely want to know. Read books you like to your kids.

Read joyfully and your kids will find reading joyful. 
 
​Enjoy!

​
P.S. In case you'd like to peruse the 155 page report referenced, please feel free.
Becoming a Nation of Readers
File Size: 3870 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Reading and Science: Butterflies

3/24/2016

 
I did not start as an education major way back when. I started as a science major and my love for science still runs deep. When I switched gears into education, I looked for every way I could bring science and reading together.

​Let's take a commonly used activity to teach life cycles and marry it with some quality children's literature. Here's how you can easily put butterflies, outside and reading together.
Butterfly Release Party
"Release the Butterflies" party day
There can be different goals for your kids here, depending on their ages. If you have specific questions about this, feel free to email me.

For toddlers, you want them to experience life and see systems as inter-connected (flowers, butterflies, outside).

For older kids, you want them to understand the life cycle and the role butterflies play as pollenators in our environment. 

Either way, you can make this science and reading intersection as in-depth as you want and as fun as you want! 
1. You will need a butterfly kit.
We used the butterfly kit from Insect Lore, which you can purchase here. Everything came intact and we had no problems with the kit itself.
2. You will need some butterfly books!
There are some well-known fan favorite books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar that are good to have on hand, but we can get more specifically into the science of butterflies too. The books below are a good starter pack for understanding butterflies from toddlers, on up.
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Caterpillars, Bugs and Butterflies
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​The Thomas Marent Butterfly book is filled with photography that is detailed and very engaging to look at. Liliana loved looking at this book over and over again. Gail Gibbons' book does a great job diving in to the butterfly life and is migration patterns. 
3. Make Observations about your butterflies.
This takes 5 minutes of your day. If you have a toddler, you will be making the observations and leading the conversation. If you have an elementary aged student, they can make the observations. 
Most importantly, you are looking for metamorphosis with the butterflies. 

Keep track of your observations, just like scientists would! You are running a butterfly experiment. Some observations you might want to watch are, how quickly it takes the caterpillars to cocoon themselves, how long they are cocooned and what they eat once they've emerged as butterflies.
4. Release your butterflies!
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When our butterflies were ready to be released, we went to our garden for our release party. We had lunch outside, brought flowers (for fun) and colored in paper butterflies. We made it an event!

​When you release your butterflies, just know that there might be one or two stragglers and that's okay. They won't all immediately leave the netted area. For us, it took just about 45 minutes for all of the butterflies to leave the "nest". 
5. Keep reading about butterflies and making observations.
Keep your butterfly books out for your child to continue reading. Often times, kids want to relive fun memories through books. They will connect their experience with the books you used while you had your butterfly kit. Leave them out and let your kids peruse. 

And, keep making observations for conversation. When you see butterflies out and about, point them out excitedly. If you are excited, your kid will be too. 
We are looking forward to doing another round of butterflies this year and will add to our butterfly book arsenal.

If you have any specific questions about doing a butterfly kit or have questions on books that go well for a certain age, or your child specifically, please reach out. I'm happy to answer specific questions!

​Enjoy!

Quick Literacy Tip: A Poem for Snack, A Poem for Lunch

3/23/2016

 
Please share!
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​A few weeks ago, I wrote a reflection on how I felt about poetry. In it, I intimated that I don't always love poetry. In fact, most of the time it's a genre I have to force myself into. And, I'm finding in my own teaching career, in training teachers and conversations with parents, most people are a little more intimidated by poetry than any other genre. So, at least I'm not alone.

But. 

Once I get into some poetry, I do really like it. Not all of it - you have to find the right kind of poetry. Right now I'm reading Booked, which is an entire story told in verse (a follow-up on Newbery award winner The Crossover). I do like whole stories in verse. So, I'm trying to seek more of them out.

Also, I don't want my daughter (or my students previously) to be scared of poetry. I want her to jump right in. In fact, I usually found kids were really good at writing poetry, partially because I think they are better at experiencing life. They feel highs and lows and intense things. 

So, I thought about how to incorporate poetry more regularly. I used to do one poem per week with kids. I didn't always teach it, but I'd put one up on part of the board and leave it there all week. Sometimes we talked about it, sometimes we didn't. I only put up poems I was willing to talk about. 

Here's the super simple tip and I'm going to do it, right along with you.
​

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Gift Giving Guide: Books for the Artist

3/23/2016

 
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I bought a new book the other day. It had a beautiful cover and I liked the colors. I knew my art-loving daughter would love it too. Even though she's small, she is fascinated with paints and colors and what she can do with them. Painting and coloring are tactile experiences that feel good to her. Reading about them, by extension, feels good for her too. 
On this particular afternoon though, Liliana was itching to play with her farm animals and I was itching to do anything else. So, I grabbed a stack of books and started by reading the new art book to myself (out loud) on the couch.
She kept playing, but slowly made her way to me on the couch. And, by mid-book, she was sitting right on top of me smashing her face into the book looking at the beautiful illustrations. By the time I was finished, she wanted me to read it again. And again.
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​​If you have an artist in your life, this book guide is for you!
For your young artist:
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Swatch: The Girl Who Loved Color
 1. Swatch: The Girl Who Loved Color

This book is already well-read and loved in the 3 days that we've had it. 

The illustrations are beautiful, the writing flows but doesn't rhyme. It is poetry. 

Little kids will gravitate toward the pictures and remember the story. 

​The author uses some really great vocabulary (whirling and masterpiece!) and you can talk about your kids' masterpieces afterward.
2. Hands: Growing Up to Be An Artist
This book does something other picture books don't - it combines memoir and art for kids.

Lois Ehlert writes about her childhood and how she watched her parents work with their hands to make art.

This is one of my favorites to read to my young artist, especially since Ms. Ehlert talks about more than just painting.
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3. I'm The Best Artist in the Ocean
This is an adorable story about a squid who can paint! He paints in different styles and on different canvases, in the ocean.

It's a bigger book, so easy to see the pictures and words. This book is a sequel to I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean and if you explain the word masterpiece to your kids before reading, then this book is one big joke at the end. 

​For your elementary aged artist:
​

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1. Artist to artist
If I had to pick just one book to get a budding artist, it would be this one. 

Twenty-three illustrators write letters to the reader. The letters are personal and accompanied by the artist's work. There are also pictures of the artists at work. It's a rare look into an illustrator's life. But, it's also conversational, intimate and pretty cool to read.

I can't say enough good things about this book. It really is a great book to have in your arsenal if you've got an artist on your hands.
2. The Noisy Paint Box
As kids get older, they can start reading about specific artists. This book delves into Vasily Kandinsky's artwork. 

Young Vasily is amazed when he can hear the colors as music while he paints and he never forgets that feeling.

After studying with others, he can't forget his own ability to hear the colors and always returns to his own style of abstract art. 

Making a great companion to this book are Kandinsky postcards to send. Quick tip - Send a postcard! 
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3. ish
At some point, we have all experienced embarrassment about our art. The little boy in this book is no different. When his older brother teases him about his drawing, he doesn't want to do it anymore.

It takes Ramon's sister, Marisol, to show him how to cradle his creativity and let it grow. 

This book might re-kindle a love of art or start one anew. It's certainly a confidence builder.

​For your older artist:
​
1. Inside the Painter's Studio
Joe Fig takes you inside various artist's studios so you can take a real-life peek at what a studio looks like.

There is a conversational tone to this book as he asks the different artists about their process. They share their work, their process and their art. 

This book is wonderful for an artist who wants to see what it's really like to be an artist everyday.

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2. Art that Changed the World
As kids get older, art becomes more of a living, breathing, conversation piece. They might start asking questions that you don't know the answers to - that's great! That's where critical thinking is showing its face. 

This book discusses what happened when a piece of art was created or found. How did it affect the world? Or the people viewing it? 

This book marries critical thinking, art and reading. 
3. Painting and Sculpture at the MoMA
For a bigger kid, it is worth it to have a book of just artwork from a major museum.

This book presents the entirety of the MoMA's collection - paintings, sculptures and installations - page by page. Some of the most famous and recognizable paintings are in this book including Starry Night, Dance I, The Persistence of Memory and other famous paintings.
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​And lastly, if you have or know a kid who loves art, make sure to check out the very helpful blog, The Artful Parent. 

​Go inspire Reading and Art together!
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    Land Of Nod: Design for Kids and People That Used to be Kids


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