gettingready2read

[gettingready2read]

Mara Plants a Seed by Robert Furrow and Donna Jo Napoli, illustrated by Melissa Bailey

Mara notices an empty lot in her neighborhood that looks sad, and she thinks some sunny flowers will make it better.

While reading this book with your child, ask them to identify any names of colors or animals they recognize on the pages. This is a great way to reinforce volcabulary while reading.

After reading the story ask about the order of events. First Mara cleared the space, then she planted the seeds, what did she do next? Reviewing the sequence of events helps children learn narrative skills that make them strong readers.

Plant Your Own Seed!

Supplies Needed:

seeds

dirt

small container

Try growing a plant, just like Mara in the story! You can use a small flower pot, recycled yogurt container or any small, clean container.

Add some dirt to your vessel before making a small hole, drop in your seeds, and cover them with more dirt.

Place your container on a window sill so your seed gets sunshine, and don't forget to water it!

Looking for seeds? Check out our branch locations with their own Seed Library; you can find them at Hobart, Lake Station, Cedar Lake, and Highland!

Check out Mara Plants a Seed

[gettingready2read]

Paint with Ploof by Ben Clanton & Andy Chou Musser

Ploof the cloud is going to paint a rainbow for the first time and needs some help!

Children will love this interactive book that explores shapes, colors, and handling disappointment. While reading the story, point out the different shapes and colors you see. Ask your child to name them to help practice their vocabulary.

Some pages of this book have sound effects and additional text on the page. Make sure you point these out to your child to help with print awareness, which means noticing the letters and words that are all around us.

Expand the Book with a Rainbow Fan Craft

Supplies Needed:

blank paper

coloring supplies such as crayons, markers, or paint

glue

paperclip (optional)

Use your coloring supplies to make rainbow stripes on each side of your paper, and accordion fold the whole piece.

Fold your accordion in half and glue the center together.

Use the paperclip to hold the fan's shape.

Grown ups may need to help small children working on their fine motor skills, but remember, even when we make mistakes like Ploof in the story, our artwork can still be special!

Check out Paint with Ploof

[gettingready2read]

LMNO Peas by Keith Baker

Read this book with your child and help them build their print awareness, letter knowledge, and vocabulary!

If they love the book, they'll also love this match the letter game. The book and this fun activity will help them practice reading, writing, and talking.

You'll need:

Index cards (any color)

A pen or marker

Scissors

How to play:

Look though the book and write the first letter of a word and then the full word with room to cut the index card apart. Do this for at least half of the alphabet.

Mix the letters and words around.

Have the child find the letter and put it with the word that it is supposed to go with. Ask them if they know what that word is or means and talk about it. This helps children learn what letter words start with and increases their vocabulary!

Check out LMNO Peas by Keith Baker

[gettingready2read]

I am a potato! by Ziggy Hanaor

I am a potato is a cute book about a mouse that thinks it is a potato. Kids will have fun reading this silly story - and it'll help them build up their vocabulary, print awareness, and background knowledge skills.

Read the book together and play the game to help them practice reading, talking, and playing. All of these things will get them ready to read on their own!

Play the Is This a Potato? game!

You will need:

A potato (or a picture of a potato)

Random things such as other fruits and vegetables, toys, or household items (or pictures of these things)

Pick up the potato and ask your child “Is this a potato?” Talk about what a potato is and how it's made.

Then pick up another item such as a toy or another food and ask “Is this a potato?” When they answer, ask questions about the item and what they think it is and what it could be. For example, "Is it an animal? No? Okay, then is it a food?"

This helps your child understand what the items around them are and helps with background knowledge - an important early literacy skill!

Check out Is this a potato? by Ziggy Hanaor

[gettingready2read]

Thank You by Jarvis

There is nothing too big or too small to be thankful for, and this book celebrates an attitude of gratitude.

This book helps to build and practice:

Print Awareness

Phonological Awareness

Vocabulary

Children practice:

Talking

Playing

Extend the book with a Gratitude Mini-Journal!

We created a template you can print and fill in [PDF], but you can also create your own with paper and crayons or markers.

Write and color what you are thankful for!

Check out Thank You by Jarvis

[gettingready2read]

Doris by Lo Cole

Doris is a story about fitting in and gaining the courage to stand out.

This book helps to build:

Vocabulary

Narrative skills

Background Knowledge

Children practice:

Talking

Reading

Extend the book with a flower collage art piece!

You will need:

Colorful tissue paper

A sheet of white paper

Scissors

Glue

This flower template (This PDF is a sheet of 9 differently shaped flower outlines in black and white, intended to be printed, cut out, and used as stencils) You can also freehand your tissue paper flowers!

Cut out flowers from the tissue paper.

Layer the different color tissue paper flowers on your sheet of white paper to make beautiful art. Notice how the layered paper creates new colors!

You can also use the flowers as a border around a central picture. We drew a picture of Doris!

Check out Doris by Lo Cole!

[gettingready2read]

Finnegan Fox by Katie Gilstrap

Illustrated by Lori Nichols

An adorable story about a baby fox finding the courage to start to wander outside the den. He is curious to see what his siblings are doing. Finnegan wants to find out what fun the world has to offer. What will he discover?

The back of the book features background knowledge about red foxes.

The rhymes throughout the book help children develop phonological awareness.

You and your child can read the rhymes together. Acting out what happens first, next, and last through playing can help your child develop their own curiosity and courage.

Expand the book:

We loved this paper bag fox puppet from Glued to my Crafts! You'll need construction paper, glue, a paper bag, and markers.

Use your fox puppet to act out the story or repeat the rhymes!

Check out Finnegan Fox

[gettingready2read]

Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party

by Kimberly and James Dean

A fun story about Pete, his friends, and all the fun foods they add to the pizza. What would you add to the pizza to make the pizza party even more perfect?

This book will help children with print awareness. They will notice print all throughout the book as a lot of the pictures include packages with labels.

Children can also work on letter knowledge by naming the recurring letters that they see in the book.

Children can practice playing by pretending to create their own pizza.

Children can talk about and make a list of what ingredients to add to their pretend pizza.

Extend the book:

Work on problem solving and visual recognition by playing a pizza memory game!

You can create your own or print one of our templates:

blank circles

pre-colored pizzas

Color pairs of circles with matching toppings, then cut them out and turn them over to play the memory game.

Let's see who finds the stinky sock pizza first!

Check out Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party

[gettingready2read]

Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton

This Valentine's Day, sing Snuggle Puppy: A Little Love Song by Sandra Boynton.

Your little snuggle puppies will want to sing along to this sweet love song. It's a perfect bedtime book that ends with a goodnight kiss.

This book will help kids practice singing and playing while they build print awareness and background knowledge. These skills will help them get ready to read on their own!

Extend the book with a Peekaboo Valentine

Make this peekaboo Valentine's Day card for someone you love! You will need a photo, construction paper, markers, glue, and any other decorations you would like to add.

Fold your construction paper in half, then cut a heart out of the top half.

Glue your photo inside so you can see it through the heart.

Decorate the front and inside of your card.

Check out Snuggle Puppy!

[gettingready2read]

A Dog is a Dog by Stephen Shaskan

This silly story is a great readaloud for groups or one-on-one. As your kids catch on to the pattern of the story they will have fun guessing which animal pops up next based on the rhyming words. The bold illustrations make this book lots of fun for all ages.

This book will help kids practice singing, reading, and playing. It'll help them build phonological awareness and vocabulary. All of these are important for getting ready to read on their own.

Extend the Book with an Animal Reveal Craft

Make this craft with your kids, then have fun revealing each animal as you read the story!

You will need 4 white paper or styrofoam cups, and permanent markers or pens.

Draw each of the animals from the story onto a cup: dog, cat, squid, and moose

Stack the cups up, then as you read the story you can reveal each animal by removing the top cup.

Check out A Dog is a Dog

[gettingready2read]

Pitter Pattern by Joyce Hesselberth

Lu notices a pattern while playing with her friends, then she notices another and another and quickly learns: patterns are everywhere!

This book helps build:

Vocabulary and Background knowledge: Lu names everyday objects as she describes the patterns she sees.

Phonological Awareness: the sound patterns Lu notices are broken down into their individual syllables.

Letter Knowledge: Lu sees patterns through out her normal day to day activities. Recognizing the a pattern of shapes leads to learning letters.

This book helps kids practice:

Reading: Pattern recognition is a foundational literacy skill, it lays the groundwork for recognizing patterns in word and sentence structures when learning to read.

Playing: See how many patterns your child can spot as you go through the story. Can they repeat them or make up their own?

Talking: Ask questions about the patterns Lu sees and compare them to what is around you.

Extend the book by making some art along with the author!

You'll need:

a piece of cotton fabric or a coffee filter

a small container and rubber bands that fit around the container

markers, either permanent or washable

rubbing alcohol for permanent or water for washable

a dropper or spray bottle

1. Using the markers, create a design.

2. Place the fabric over the container and secure with rubber bands.

3. Drop or spray liquid to make the colors run.

4. Remove from container and let dry.

Check out Pitter Pattern!

[gettingready2read]

Bunny Slopes by Claudia Rueda

Bunny needs help down the ski slope, so readers will need to shake, tap, tilt and turn their way through the story to help them get to the end!

Readers will notice the colorful font of the action words, which promotes print awareness, as they follow bunny's movements. Having fun while reading is the definition of print motivation.

This book helps build:

Print awareness: Pointing out the action words as you do them enforces the fact that words have meaning.

Print Motivation: Having fun while reading will encourage more reading experiences.

This book helps kids practice:

Reading: Following the action words and answering the questions Bunny asks is practicing reading comprehension.

Narrative Skills: If they understand what Bunny is asking and follow along with what is happening in the story, they can retell the story.

Playing: Having fun moving along with Bunny promotes creativity and the confidence to try new things.

Extend the book by making your own ski maze!

Using a baking pan and straws, or rolled paper, build your own maze to "tilt and turn" a skier through. This activity practices finger dexterity which is needed to learn to write.

You'll need:

a baking pan or flat surface like a box

straws or rolled paper to make the maze

tape

marbles or anything that rolls to be your skier.

After building your maze, practice rolling your "skier" through.

Check out Bunny Slopes by Claudia Rueda!

[gettingready2read]

Feelings are Wild by Sophy Williams

Join the counting adventure as adorable little animals navigate their feelings. They’ll count up to ten and then back down again! Emotions can be tricky, but this charming story helps little ones understand them better.

Reading Tips:

Help your little one grow their vocabulary of emotions as you read the highlighted words.

Counting up with the emotions and down with a resolution helps your little one gain narrative skills or understand how a story works.

Point out the numbers you count to increase print awareness skills, or help them notice that print on the page has meaning.

This book will help your little one learn build important reading skills as you share the story together. It will also help them practice talking as you discuss emotions.

Extend the book: Help your little one track their moods!

You will need:

Paper plate

Clothes pins

Markers or crayons

Draw different colored sections on the plate; a different color for each mood. Use the clothespins to mark your current mood!

Check out Feelings are Wild

[gettingready2read]

Cocoa's Cranky Christmas by Jodie Shepherd

Get ready for a fun and playful story! This festive and interactive tale follows Cocoa the cranky pup, who isn't too excited about Christmas. Readers will get to use their imaginations to help bring back Cocoa's Christmas cheer!

Your little one is sure to develop print motivation while having a great time following the silly instructions in the story and eagerly wanting to turn the page for more excitement!

They'll notice festive text all around the page and might even twist the book upside down just to see it from a different angle. This is a wonderful way for them to build print awareness, understanding that print has meaning behind it.

Plus, your little one will showcase their narrative skills by making guesses about what might get Cocoa in the Christmas spirit and what didn’t quite do the trick!

This book will help your little one practice:

Reading - Sharing the story together

Playing - Acting out each instruction to cheer up Cocoa

Talking - Talking about the solutions for different ways to cheer someone up

Extend the book:

Nothing brings in holiday cheer like snow! Here's how to make some (non-edible) play snow!

You will need:

White conditioner

Baking soda

½ cup measuring cup

1 cup measuring cup

A bowl

Directions:

Mix ½ cup of white conditioner and 3 cups of baking soda

Mix until the mixture is a dough

Enjoy!

Check out Cocoa's Cranky Christmas

[gettingready2read]

The Thankful Book by Todd Parr

The Thankful Book is perfect for Thanksgiving or any time of year that we want to be reminded to be grateful. From music to friends to our own two feet, there is always something to be thankful for.

This book helps kids build:

Vocabulary

Print Motivation

And will help kids practice:

Talking

Reading

Extend the book by listening to a song!

Listen and sing along to the wonderful children's musician Jim Gill and his version of the song “May There Always Be Sunshine.” This song is about all the things we hope to never lose.

You can then talk with your little one about the things they love the most in this world.

Check out The Thankful Book

[gettingready2read]

Hi, Pizza Man! by Virginia Walter

Hi, Pizza Man is a quick, fun book about a little girl who imagines what she will say to the different creatures (from cats to snakes to dinosaurs) that deliver pizza to her door.

This book helps kids build:

Vocabulary

Phonological Awareness

Print Motivation

And will help kids practice:

Talking

Reading

Playing

Extend the book by making a paper pizza!

Take a plain, white paper plate and color or paint it red (for the sauce).

Glue on small strips of yellow paper for the cheese. Then find different color paper for all the toppings.

You can cut out pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, or even something silly to add to your pizza.

Check out Hi, Pizza Man!

[gettingready2read]

Boo the Library Ghost by Becky Paige

Boo the Library Ghost is an inspiring story about managing emotions and learning new things.

This book helps kids build:

Vocabulary

Narrative skills

Background knowledge

And will help kids practice:

Talking

Reading

Extend the book by making leaf ghosts!

Find some nice fallen leaves and use poster paint to paint them white. Then use black paint to draw on eyes and a mouth.

Different leaf shapes and sizes create unique little ghosties!

Check out Book the Library Ghost