My First ABC The Metropolitan Museum of Art

My First ABC The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This book is a wonderful introduction to different artwork, each piece featuring something that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Letters are large print for new readers, upper and lowercase letters are featured, and the beauty of the art could draw you in for quite some time. My sons seem to find something new each time. The back of the book lists each artwork, shows it in its entirety, tells you the media, the size, the year it was created, and who is the owner. Even when we have mastered our alphabet and reading, I think this book will stay around, it’s just so beautiful to browse.

 

Montessori Read & Write A Parents’ Guide to Literacy for Children by Lynne Lawrence

Montessori Read & Write A Parents’ Guide to Literacy for Children by Lynne Lawrence

This book is all about how to teach your child to read and to write and then how to merge these two together. The first half of the book is dedicated to explaining the Montessori approach and why it works. For reading it starts with games as early as two years old that increase language skills and vocabulary. It progresses through the Montessori I Spy games. These are indeed how my son has learned letter sounds along with sandpaper letters. For writing it has many suggestions that are easy as well and includes the moveable alphabet. It also includes patterns in the back. We LOVE this book. If you are teaching your child to read – this book is invaluable!

I wanted to make one point here. A lot of pink, blue, and green level Montessori items are a bit boring for my son, I do the presentations (not from this book) but frankly he’s not very excited about matching up cards. He much prefers the games in THIS book. I believe that is because we use REAL items. We also read REAL signs, grocery store signs, etc. When we play I spy, we look for REAL items on the road. He loves this. I know this book is helping him, I see the progression, and we will use if for our second son as well!

 

Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino. Illustrated by Steven Kellogg.

This book is not loved by my preschooler but my toddler thoroughly enjoys it. The rhymes and rhythm are so nice and the book cleverly sets you up to guess what animal they are alluding to. This is a nice book to introduce animal traits to toddlers.

 

Wheel Away by Dayle Ann Dodds. Illustrated by Thacher Hurd.

Wheel Away by Dayle Ann Dodds. Illustrated by Thacher Hurd.

This is a short, rhythmic book that is so beautifully illustrated. Follow the wheel across town and back, and hear all the sounds of the town on the way. My toddler and preschooler both enjoyed this one.

 

There Once Was a Man Named Michael Finnegan adapted by Mary Ann Hoberman. Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott.

There Once Was a Man Named Michael Finnegan adapted by Mary Ann Hoberman. Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott.

My preschooler learned the first verse to this story after two or three readings. We sang it in the car the entire day and then purchased the song off of itunes performed by Sam Hinton. His lyrics are different from the song, but the point is that this book is addictive. My toddler had me sing the whole book twice in a row. My preschooler was a bit sad for Michael Finnegan because no one likes his violin-agin, but we talked through it. (Michael plays anyways and finds a dog who DOES appreciate his violin-agin.) This book is just plain fun and a good way to introduce rhymes to a preschooler.

 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle.

Eric Carle has illustrated so many wonderful books and this is no exception. Bold and colorful animals cover the two entire pages, and the rhyming text carries you from animal to animal. What a great introduction to colors and animals. We enjoy reading this short story over and over several times in a row. We also enjoy the similar titles: Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? and the Spanish Oso polar, Oso polar, qué es ese ruido? (Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?) These books are interesting to both my toddler and preschooler, they have a long term appeal. It’s sort of like a preschool nursery rhyme.

 

Good Dog Carl by Alexandra Day.

Good Dog Carl by Alexandra Day. Other Carl titles include photographed Carl’s Masquerade and Carl’s Afternoon in the Park.

These are just three of the many books available by Alexandra Day. These books feature one or two sentences per book, and beautiful illustrations that carry the story instead. We have Good Dog Carl as a board book and so enjoy making up the story as we go along. Alexandra Day’s Website features information about the auth0r, activities, a complete book list and more.

 

Dinner at the Panda Palace by Stephanie Calmenson. Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott.

Dinner at the Panda Palace by Stephanie Calmenson. Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott.

This book is a rhyming book that introduces larger and larger numbers of guests to the Panda Palace for dinner. They always make room for more, and the place is soon buzzing. It has two to four sentences per page.

 

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw. Illustrated by Margot Apple.

I remember a day when I read this at least seven times in a row to my toddler. I don’t know if it’s the rhythm, the rhyming, the silliness, the illustrations, or most likely the combination, that we enjoy. This is a fun story, with a funny ending, and it’s rhymes make it fun to read….over and over…which is what you’ll do.

 

The Amazing I SPY ABC by Ken Laidlaw

The Amazing I SPY ABC by Ken Laidlaw.

This book is amazing fun for alphabet learning. It is spiral bound so it will lay flat on the table, each page focuses on at least three letters and shows both upper and lowercase letters. The bonus is that letter sounds are explored while searching through photos. This is a very useful resource and probably our favorite ABC book. Includes a bonus fold out of the alphabet.