Best Reading Practices for Parents

And...Lily's Ideal Bookshelf

6/26/2016

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And, what would the Ideal bookshelf posts be without Liliana's ideal bookshelf list. Here is her list at the moment. Remember, she's three so she revisits this list often. Every few weeks we talk about this bookshelf and if anything needs to be added to it or removed from it.

Without further adieu...

1. Puff, the Magic Dragon

Hands down her favorite. Liliana loves the song, she loves the pictures, she loves Peter Yarrow.

She recognizes when it becomes the sad part of the book and then reminds herself that she's had friends move away and it all ends up okay.

I think she personally identifies with Puff and uses the book as an emotional tool.

Books can do that for you - give you language and help you feel better about being lonesome sometimes.

2. Chester's Way

Let's be honest, Lily likes this book because there is a wackadoodle character named Lilly in the book.

She loves this book which makes my heart smile because I LOVE Kevin Henkes.

This book is about a duo who does everything together and are not very nice to new girl, Lilly. But when Lilly saves the day, they all become fast friends.

Kevin Henkes does a great job showing how to positively change a situation and even has a bullying episode in the book without giving away language that the bully would use (we don't need to model that in our reading with kids).

3. The Kissing Hand

This is such a sweet tale and I have a hunch Liliana likes this book because it makes me melt.

Little Chester raccoon (no relationship to the above book) is going to school and is nervous. I used to read this book to little kids on the first day of school so they were reminded that their parents loved them, even though they were in class with me.

Chester raccoon even has a sweet surprise for his mother.

4. Swatch

I've written about this book before. So what else is there to say?

Strong female character, beautiful use of color, great vocabulary in the book.

Lily seems to know the book by heart. We read it every week consistently.

5. Knuffle Bunny

Liliana likes this book because it's something she can relate to. We live in Brooklyn which is where this book is set. We do our laundry in a laundry room and she helps out. She's even had to wash her favorite stuffed animals before (although never lost them like Trixie does).

I love the illustrations meshing with real life photography work and the story is sweet.

6. Corduroy

This one came out of left-field. I did not hype this book at all. But here it is (and for the record, I do like Don Freeman books, especially Dandelion).

Secretly, I think she wishes she could go to the store and buy her very own stuffed animal too!

7. The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts

This book has it all - animals, peeing, pooping and real learning.

Liliana's favorite fact?

Flamingoes pee on themselves to cool themselves off.

Who knew?!

Even better, the author is releasing a pack of postcards in the Fall. Goes great with the tip on writing postcards!

Enjoy!

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Quick Literacy Tip: Make a Favorites Bookshelf

6/22/2016

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This post is part of a series.

It's no secret...

I love books.

And we...

Gather favorite books.

One of the best ways to use your physical space is to gather favorite books. It's calming to have favorite books in one spot. You'll always know where to find them. If you're still reading bedtime stories, that's a great place to pick one or two or eight.

Plus! There is research to support having physical books around in your house - and their outcomes on increasing reading comprehension later for kids.

Tips for setting up your kids' ideal bookshelf:

Ask your kids what their favorite books right now. They can change over time, so emphasize the here and now.
First, let them bring as many as they will call favorite. If you start to notice that they have brought you half their bookcase or are talking about 25 books, start explaining what favorite means. The best of the best. Requiring a curated list makes them think about why the books are the best for them.
Have them gather the books, if they have them. If they don't, go to the library or bookstore and collect them.
For each book they talk about, ask why it's a favorite book. Don't judge their answers. Just let them be, but still have the conversation and be encouraging. Fake smile if you have to.
Favorite books are special books so decide on a physical space to put their favorite books all in one place.

We put Liliana's books in a basket on the wall. They are easy for her to pull out and put back in. A basket like this would work.

Allow favorite books to change every once in awhile.

Always ask why a book has changed - either fell out of favor or why a new one is a added to the favorites. After that, add/remove from the shelf.

Have so much fun with this!

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My Ideal Bookshelf

6/20/2016

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Joe and I had a discussion about our ideal books awhile ago. His list was very different than mine and he picked his books for different reasons than I picked mine. The important thing is that your ideal books mean something special to you.

Here are mine:

1. A Wrinkle in Time

I collect good storytellers. I like finding stories and analyzing whether it was the best version it could have been.

A Wrinkle in Time is that for me. A story of love, a story of family and a story of personalities. I loved it.

And, my copy is signed. Even better.

2. The Shining

I went back and forth on this title. In my mind, it's kind of an odd title. But, it was also a first foray into scary fantasy.

I've read more books by Stephen King because this one was so well-written. There are parts in the book that are totally unbelievable in the movie (moving hedge animals) that are so believable in the book, it's...well, scary.

It is so well-written.

Stephen King is a phenomenal writer.

3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I don't love poetry, but I love Maya Angelou. She is lyrical, she speaks from the heart. She tugs at your heart.

Maya Angelou writes from her own life and tells her own painful story in such a connected way, it makes it hard to not feel human.

As far as I've read, she is the best at writing about humanity overcoming humanity.

4. Where the Red Fern Grows

I remember reading this book when I was 9.

It was the first book that showed me you could feel empathy and strong emotions through reading about a subject that I knew nothing about.

To me, it's timeless. I still feel strong emotions when I think about this book.

5. The Handmaid's Tale

Dystopias are a favorite genre of mine. I read almost all of them - even ones that are on the edge of being defined as dystopias.

This was the first one that I read which married my own feminist viewpoints and a genre which I love. And, I found Margaret Atwood, a supremely talented multi-genre author.

6. How Little Lori Visited Times Square

This book is a must for any New Yorker. It's a whimsical picture book full of possibilities with illustrations by Maurice Sendak.

I love this book because it gives me a great shared experience with my daughter. She loves this book, I love this book and we can go to Times Square and see if Little Lori made it.

7. Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind

This is one of the only books I've read that speak to my own culture. Cultural experiences through reading are a little surreal, but also very engaging.

I read this book when I was in middle school and roughly the same age as Shabanu.

I loved reading about Shabanu, how she made very important choices in her life and became an adult. I loved that it gave me insight to my own culture.

And, I prefer books in paperback. Unless they are signed, then I'll take them in whatever form you want to give them to me.

What's on your ideal bookshelf?

Enjoy!

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Quick Literacy Tip: Ideal Bookshelf, Part 1

6/2/2016

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This post piggybacks on other posts including using your local library system and setting up reading spaces in your home.

The first book that Liliana said she'd want on her favorites bookshelf is Puff the Magic Dragon.

Liliana, Miriam and Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary) after his concert in which he sang, "Puff the Magic Dragon". Liliana was thrilled.

One of my friends mentioned to me awhile ago that she bought her sister a poster from Ideal Bookshelf. She had the artist create a custom poster based on favorite books. And I thought, cool!

I want one.

Except, I never got one. Because some thought was nagging at me.

It wasn't until a few weeks ago while I was perusing through articles, that the thought struck me. I love art, I love watercolor, I think the artist is really cool, and I love books. So, what's the problem?!

I realized, what I yearned for was the the real, physical books to be represented in my home. I wanted to pick the book up and feel its heft. Feel the memories in reading it.

And, this makes sense. We all know reading is necessary to our everyday lives. We want our kids to read, we want to read more as adults. The first goal I hear from parents about their kid's reading is that they want their kids to be reading for enjoyment - to be transformed, to draw back the curtain and see the magic. And, to want to continue doing it on their own without prodding.

Having my favorite books on one shelf does this. It's all of my magic in one place.

These books are thoughtful pieces of my life. They weave my life together.

They make me reflect. They make me wonder. And, they make me happy when they are altogether. They make me want to read more.

For those of you wondering, one of these days I probably will get a poster made and I will definitely be getting some of those awesome book pins that Jane makes.

This week's tip is a thought exercise (and I will share my list tomorrow).

If you were to have an ideal bookshelf, what would be on it?

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And...Lily's Ideal Bookshelf

Quick Literacy Tip: Make a Favorites Bookshelf

Tips for setting up your kids' ideal bookshelf:

Allow favorite books to change every once in awhile.

Always ask why a book has changed - either fell out of favor or why a new one is a added to the favorites. After that, add/remove from the shelf.

My Ideal Bookshelf

Quick Literacy Tip: Ideal Bookshelf, Part 1

If you were to have an ideal bookshelf, what would be on it?

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And...Lily's Ideal Bookshelf

Quick Literacy Tip: Make a Favorites Bookshelf

Tips for setting up your kids' ideal bookshelf:

​Allow favorite books to change every once in awhile. ​Always ask why a book has changed - either fell out of favor or why a new one is a added to the favorites. After that, add/remove from the shelf.

My Ideal Bookshelf

Quick Literacy Tip: Ideal Bookshelf, Part 1

If you were to have an ideal bookshelf, what would be on it? ​

Sign up for the Reading Newsletter

​Categories

Archives

Allow favorite books to change every once in awhile.

Always ask why a book has changed - either fell out of favor or why a new one is a added to the favorites. After that, add/remove from the shelf.

If you were to have an ideal bookshelf, what would be on it?

Categories