Rhyming

A collection of 29 posts

Biography

I Am Odd, I Am New

“I Am Odd, I Am New” written by Benjamin Giroux and illustrated by Roz MacLean. When Benjamin was ten years old, he wrote a poem about what it’s like for him to live with autism and be surrounded by kids who don’t always understand. This book is his

Early Learning

September Bonus List of Books and Activities!

Because I gave a presentation to awesome librarians this month and I couldn’t resist sharing all the great ideas we came up with, you get a bonus post this month! And because you’re getting a bonus post, I hope you’ll allow me to indulge in a bit

Counting Book

27 Books You Can Use This Year

During the “Moving Beyond the Basics… Reaching for More” conference on Aug. 11 at the Byron Center High School in Michigan, a roomful of teachers and I read through boxes of books. (Thank you, Annemarie Johnson and Kate DiMeo, for inviting me to share informational picture books and to talk

Early Learning

Dig in to fun summer books!

These books are so much fun I couldn’t choose just one! Now that summer is here, I’m looking for books that encourage outdoor play. Here are two books that will have kids scurrying to the sandbox: Digger, Dozer, Dumper written by Hope Vestergaard and illustrated by David Slonim

Body Smart

Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance

Here’s a treat for you this Halloween: a rhyming picture book that will delight your little monsters while you hit the CCSS of Fluency and Phonics & Word Recognition. Frank was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance by Keith Graves is simple, spooky, silly fun. Frank’s dancing delights

Art

Rosie Revere, Engineer

I have the best of reasons for posting late this week: I’ve been on Mackinac Island at the Michigan Reading Association conference, being inspired by dedicated educators and loving the slower pace of an island with no automobiles. Now I’m sitting in a white wicker rocking chair with

Early Learning

Farmers' Market Day

I am counting the days until my local farmers’ market opens. Until then, I’m glad I found this perfect pick: Farmers’ Market Day written by debut picture-book author Shanda Trent and illustrated by Jane Dippold. This rhyming book is a quick read that can easily be turned into an

Art

Iggy Peck, Architect

Long have I loved Andrea Beaty’s picture book series about a bear named Ted (grab Doctor Ted, Firefighter Ted, and Artist Ted from your local library and prepare to be charmed.) Then, I saw sitting on the shelf by the Ted books this gem, just waiting to tie in

Early Learning

Oh, No! Where Are My Pants? and Other Disasters: Poems

Poetry doesn’t have to be “roses are red, violets are blue…” As David Lubar wrote in his young adult novel, Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, “There are as many types of poems as there are types of food. As many flavors, you might say. To claim you don’t like

Craft and Structure

Doggone Feet is Doggone Fun!

There are many perks to being a children’s librarian (no overdue fines has saved me a bundle over the years) but one of the best parts of my job is getting to know supah-cool authors and illustrators like Leslie Helakoski. Leslie is a Michigan treasure I’ve had the

Body Smart

Go, Go, Grapes!

Hip, hip, hooray for April Pulley Sayre and Go, Go, Grapes! A Fruit Chant! How do you make healthy eating fun? With Sayre’s vibrant photos of fruits taken at her local farmer’s market paired with her contagious rhymes: “Nectarines, tangerines, hit the spot. Glum? Go plum. Or apricot!

Early Learning

Make Poetry Delicious with "Toasting Marshmallows"

I’ve had the pleasure of teaching poetry lessons to more than 175 students this week, and one sure-fire hit book I shared was Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems written by Kristine O’Connell George and illustrated by Kate Kiesler. Before I shared the title poem with the students, I told

Color Knowledge

Rah, Rah, Radishes!

Three cheers for April Pulley Sayre and Rah, Rah, Radishes! A Vegetable Chant! How do you make healthy eating fun? With Sayre’s vibrant photos of vegetables taken at her local farmer’s market paired with her contagious rhymes: “Oh boy, bok choy! Brussels sprout. Broccoli. Cauliflower. Shout it out!

Body Smart

The Piggy in the Puddle

“See the piggy, see the puddle, see the muddy little puddle. See the piggy in the middle of the muddy little puddle.” This classic tongue-twisting pig tale, The Piggy in the Puddle, by Charlotte Pomerantz and James Marshall is almost 40 years old, and it is still pure fun to

Body Smart

The Ballad of Valentine

“Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling Valentine, I have written forty letters, but you’ve never read a line.” Alison Jackson and Tricia Tusa have me singing this Valentine’s Day. In their book, The Ballad of Valentine, a narrator tries most every way he can to

Body Smart

Frosty the Snowman!

When I sing to my own ‘tweenage kids, they roll their eyes and beg me to stop. But when I sing to preschoolers and kindergartners, I get instant engagement. That’s why I love books that can be sung, like Frosty the Snowman written by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins

Body Smart

I'm a Turkey!

When I was little, I had a book with a 45 rpm record (yep, I’m that old) that I loved. It was “A Lot of Hot Water” read by Gordon from Sesame Street. Audio recordings of books have gone through a media transition or two, but it’s still

Early Learning

Retelling with file folder puppet theaters

Kids retell stories all the time: they tell what they did over the weekend, what happened on the playground, who really put the building blocks in the fish tank, etc. Retelling is an important skill, and one fun way to retell a story is with puppets. I snagged this idea

Early Learning

Bubble Trouble

“Little Mabel blew a bubble, and it caused a lot of trouble… such a lot of bubble trouble in a bibble-bobble way. For it broke away from Mabel as it bobbed across the table, where it bobbled over Baby, and it wafted him away.” I double-dog dare you to pick

Early Learning

Chew on these great books

In a recent Remenar Seminar, a principal pointed out that I share lots of stories, but not a lot of non-fiction. That’s something I’m working on – I love fiction, but I know many learners really respond to informational text. So, I’m trying to pair up books on

Body Smart

Why Nursery Rhymes Work

I had the pleasure of attending a kindergarten “family night” at an elementary school. The theme was nursery rhymes, and once again I was reminded why these rhymes are so powerful. I could (and often do) go on for days about the phonological awareness that rhyme builds, how children who

Early Learning

Potty Animals!

It’s time to potty! If you work with or have young children, you need Hope Vestergaard’s book “Potty Animals: What to Know When You’ve Gotta Go!”, illustrated by Valeria Petrone. One of the essential literacy skills kids need to become readers is “print motivation”. There has to

Body Smart

Cool "Jazz Baby"

“Brother’s hands tap. Sister’s hands snap. Itty-bitty Baby’s hands clap-clap-clap!” I don’t think it’s possible to read Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie  aloud without bouncing a bit. This book, which earned the Geisel Honor Award, works on so many levels.  Your

Early Learning

"The Pout-Pout Fish"

I can’t help but smile whenever I read the New York Times Bestseller “The Pout-Pout Fish” written by Deborah Diesen and illustrated by Dan Hanna. I can’t keep my listeners from grinning, either, or from chiming in on the refrain with this dreary-weary, permanently-pouting fish: “Blub. Blub. Blub.

Body Smart

Shoo, "Old Black Fly"!

Old Black Fly gets into everything in this bouncy, rhyming alphabet book written by Jim Aylesworth and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. He nibbles on noodles, pesters the parrot, sniffs the salami, until the end – swat! The refrain of “Shoo fly, shoo fly, shoo!” (repeated on almost every page) is perfect