Book Review Tuesday!

Recently I noticed that Thomas had a few new books added to his library shelf! Thomas is always getting hooked onto new and great children's books thanks to his awesome mama and my boss Rosie!

Last week Thomas had me pull a "bus book" off of his book shelf to read to him during lunch time. He loves buses, trucks and construction everything! Thomas is also a HUGE fan of, "The Wheels on the Bus." The board book I am about to introduce is not exactly the same thing however it teaches a wonder of fun math skills! 

This book for me is a new favorite! It really is addition and subtracting lessons in disguise. There are groups of dogs and cats that board the bus. Then, at different stops along the way groups of cats and dogs get off the bus in different numbers. For example, two dogs get dropped off at the boat, three cats board the airplane, two cats and two dogs get on the train, etc. The final passenger is a dog who ends up being the bus driver's pet. The awesome part about this book is if you want to begin to teach your toddler simple adding and subtracting lessons you can take cheerio's, puff's or whatever you would like to show them when one, two, three, or four animals board and leave the bus. They can count with you to see how many animals are left still sitting on the bus. 

As said above, Thomas loves his wheels on the bus song. So I take the opportunity to sing the song with him and go through all of his favorite motions! Since Byron Barton uses cats and dogs for his story you can include doing different animal noises in your wheels on the bus version to go with the theme of the book. It makes meal time more fun and relaxing for him, for sure! 

What stories and children's books would you love to see featured here on Play Dates & Sippy Cups? Comment below and let us know!

XOXO,

-D

Llama Llama Time to Share...

Welcome to another Book Review Tuesday! Tuesday is beginning to become my favorite day of the week! I really look forward to picking out books that Thomas and I get really excited about. This week, "Llama Llama Time to Share" by, Anna Dewdney takes the cake!

Image found from Amazon.

It is a great story about sharing your toys with your friends. The one thing I love about it, is that it does not come across preachy or repetitive. The rhymes are phenomenal and like always with any Anna Dewdney books the illustrations are AWESOME! Baby Llama has a very hard time sharing his Fuzzy Llama doll with his new friend. Fuzzy Llama's arm gets ripped off when he tries to snatch it back from his new friend. They work through the problem and in the end Baby Llama can't wait to share his toy with his new friend.

This book is perfect for children eighteen months plus who are just learning how to share. Especially if your child is in a daycare or a school setting. When children get to school sharing is most definitely encouraged. They share crayons, paper, books, markers, crafts, and much more! This book comes in handy when teaching the importance of sharing your things with others and showcases sharing from an extremely positive viewpoint!

XOXO,
-D

Book Review Tuesday!

Image found from Amazon.

Have You Seen My New Blue Socks? written by Eve Bunting & Sergio Ruzzier is just adorable! Thomas is currently in LOVE with this children's story. He always asks to read the duck book and quickly follows up with a loud, "Quaaaackkkk!" Duck has lost his new blue socks. He searches in his box, asks his friend the fox, and the ox but still he can't find his new blue socks! The rhyming in this book is done in a humorous and in a light hearted way. Eve bunting did an amazing job keeping the rhymes simple. They are simple enough for first time readers attempt to tackle. 

Sergio Ruzzier did a phenomenal job on the illustrations. The lost blue socks are slowly revealed as the story goes on. He makes it fun and easy for the kids to spot on their own! The illustrations in this story are done in water color and ink and the colors are nice and bright. Yet again, just the right amount to keep your child engaged and asking to read this story over and over again!

Both images found from Sergio Ruzzier

From all of the rhythms and rhymes and delightful illustrations this book is sure to make its way onto your child's book shelf! Also, a great gift to bring along to a baby shower! Perfect for ages 2-5 years old! I hope you and your family enjoy this read as much as Thomas and I do!

XOXO,

-D

Book Review Tuesday!

For today's book review I wanted to scale back a bit and focus on the babies. I feel that since Thomas has grown up so much lately we have entered a different tier of books. Every once and awhile we break out one of his baby books but he usually shakes his head "NO" when I pull an "immature" book off of his shelf! Sheesh! ;)

In this summer's theme of KEEPING THINGS SIMPLE, I decided to go with ..... 

Image found off of Amazon

This is one of my favorite books and authors for my really little ones!! Sandra Boynton does a wonderful job in her writing and rhyming. This is such a simple board book. The illustrations are colorful, fun and a great size! Always enough to capture the attention of your baby! There is a great connection to the six early literacy skills. Phonological awareness, narrative skills and vocabulary to name a few. The rhyming is SO MUCH FUN! "A cow says, MOOOOO!, a sheep says, BAAAAA!, three little pigs say, LA LA LAAA!" This book is just filled with serious amounts of silliness! The animals are all whimsical. If you choose to introduce this book to your baby they will know all of their farm animals very quickly! I know this is what helped Thomas to learn at a fast pace!

Both images found from apple.

As mentioned above, I HIGHLY recommend this book for its phonological awareness! Its ability to help your child start and build up their vocabulary skills and help to develop some interpersonal skills as well! 

Please feel free to share some of your favorite board books and reading moments below! Whether you are a Mommy, Daddy, Caregiver, Teacher or friend we love to hear from you!

XOXO,

-D

Book Review Tuesday!

YAYYY! I always get so excited when Tuesday rolls around. Keri and I have received so much wonderful and positive feedback about our book reviews. Without further a due here is my favorite book of choice for this week....

This children's book is amazing for so many reasons. The moral behind Pete the Cat's story is, "No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song... because it's all good." I love how Pete the Cat finds a fun way to say don't sweat the small stuff! Throughout the entire book Pete showcases such a positive attitude. The illustrations are fun, colorful and rustic. Pete the Cat undergoes a couple of shoe transformations. Whether he stepped in mud, strawberries or blueberries Pete keeps the same casual face and just keeps strolling all and singing his song. This book teaches children the art of just being able to chill out. Whether that means that mommy won't be able to refill your sippy cup right away, or you spilled something on your new shirt. No worries, it will all be okay.  

I truly do not want to ruin the book for anyone however this story comes with a CD where all the kids are able to sing along with Pete the Cat. This book is perfect for a story time or circle time. I have talked to teachers who have used this book and they all said it was a winner in their eyes. You can find it in your local library minus the fun CD or you can order it offline CD and all! 

I hope you all enjoy it! 

XOXO,

-D

Book Review Tuesday!

I am a huge fan of books that help to teach children manners and proper behavior. I especially love to read them the stories when it pertains to them and the different feelings, emotions and stages that they go through. Even though most of my little ones are toddlers they understand everything that is going on around them. They have the ability to identify with the books even when they can't fully communicate with us. I know every child goes through this stage and sometimes Thomas still struggles with this just a little bit ;) ... you know that moment when they look at you and drop their food all over themselves and the floor! WAIT, DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT... NOOOOO! Haha you know we all think it in that moment and most of us even voice it. Thank goodness for the awesome book, "How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?" by, Jane Yolen.

Image found from slcbookboy.

Image found from scholastic.

Image found from Google.

"How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?" just happens to be apart of an amazing series! At the end of this post I will mention some of the other stories in this series. For now, let me rave about this one! When Thomas was heavy into the screaming stage at mealtime and throwing everything you placed in front of him this book was the best thing that ever happened to us. Not only did it keep his attention but all he wanted to do was read it over and over again. The author, Jane Yolen does a wonderful job of starting out this book by teaching proper table manners. In the first half of this book she states all of the things that should NOT be happening at the dinner table. The second half of this story showcases what great table manners should be! One of the best idea's the author had was using Dinosaurs to help get her point and her themes across to children. By using Dinosaurs instead of humans you get these hilarious pictures. They have human parents and bystanders that watch with these horrid looks on their faces. All of the pictures are awesome! It beautifully captures the awful behavior of the dinosaurs and the funny and shocking disapproving looks from their parents. It is honestly hilarious. The book is filled with tons of fun rhymes. "Does he belch, does he burp, or make noises quite rude?" When I read it to Thomas during meal time I usually say all of these rhymes in a funny and quite annoying high pitched voice. I also act some stuff out. He absolutely loves it. I am sure its a scene but anything for the little man ;) Another fun perk of this book is that somewhere on each page the Dinosaurs full name can be found. So if you have an older child you can make a game out of it. More or less an I spy... I spy a name that starts with the letter, "T." If they find it you can proceed to tell them the name and try to have them pronounce it. Your older child can even try to do some research on each Dinosaur to find out what they ate and how they lived. There are so many things you can do to make this book more fun and educational then it already is!

"How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food," is beyond comical and so simple in its approach to teaching children table manners. For Thomas this book was an absolute home run! It never gets old to him and he now loves Dinosaurs. It really has helped him to grow and understand what should and should not be done during mealtime. 

Some of the other awesome books from this series is:

• "How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Room?" 
• "How Do Dinosaurs Say I love You?" 
• "How Do Dinosaurs Go To School?"
• "How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends?"

You can see exactly where the author Jane Yolen has gone with this series. Absolutely GENIUS!! Like I said above, this series is a HOME RUN in Thomas's house!

What are some books that have helped to teach your child some important lessons? Have any suggestions as to what books you would like to see showcased for Book Review Tuesday? Comment below to let us know! 

XOXO,

-D

Book Review Tuesday!

It is always such a hard decision for me to choose the children's book that I want to showcase for Book Review Tuesday. Since my little guy Thomas has been working hard on using his words I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the wonderful book entitled, "Go! Go! Go! Stop!" by Charise Mericle Harper.

Image found off of Google.

This story is adorable! It is about a cute little guy named Go! He rolls into town one day and yells the only word he knows. GOOOOOO! It helps to give the town order and speed. "Go!" allows for all the construction trucks and cars to move about town. However, "Go!" gives the town a little too much speed. How will they ever be able to stop?! That is when a cute little red circle rolls into town. The red circle goes by the name, "Stop!"

This book is so much fun, especially for little boys. It is filled with so many bright colors. It showcases all of the construction sites including all the trucks and tractors that capture the attention of your little ones. The underlying theme of this story is teamwork. "Go!" learns how to work together with "Slow!" and "Stop!" in order for the town to run at a normal pace. The language in this book is perfect for ECRR (Every child ready to read) talk. The labeling that is used for lifting, mixing and carrying is great! As well as the catchy vocabulary! "Tow truck towed terrifically," "carried carefully," "dumped dependably," etc. After a few times of reading it to Thomas he began to yell the word, "GO!" as well as whisper it too. It is filled with so many shapes. Instead of calling the green dot well, a green dot... you can refer to it as a green circle. That way you can work on colors and shapes with your toddler! There are so many fun options when reading this story. "Go! Go! Go! Stop!" is truly wonderful and jam packed with skills to work on with your children. Another sure fire hit to add to your child's library! You can order it offline or go check it out at your local library. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed showcasing it for you! 

-D

Book Review Tuesday!

Running a parent-child blog can get to be a little hectic at times. You want to make sure you incorporate a little bit of everything for everyone. You want to capture the attention of Parents, Grandparents, Caregivers and Friends. That is why we aim to be all around worldly and different.

We like to bring you new ideas for recipes, crafts and overall advice and guidance and of course our own self experience as a mommy and a caregiver. However, beginning today we are trying something a little different. We welcome with open arms, Book Review Tuesday! Every tuesday we will showcase a new children's book and explain not only why it is a great story to read to your child but the benefits and lessons it will provide and show your child. Book Review Tuesday will run through the entire summer and may change course for a bit. But, as of today, it is here to stay.

I pondered different books to showcase as the very first book we bring to you. There are so many amazing children's stories out there. They all have great lessons and illustrations. For today, I thought I would start out with, "Little Blue Truck" written by, Alice Schertle. I am sure many of you have heard and read this children's book. It is just fabulous! 

Little Blue Truck is a story about a small friendly blue pickup truck. Little Blue is friends with all of the barnyard animals. He is always lending a helping hand to anyone in need. Every time he passes by all of his friends he lets out a cute, "beep, beep, beep!" The illustrations in this book are colorful, bold and big. It is just the right amount of color to capture the attention of your little one without being overbearing. The story has a steady and catchy rhythm. "His heavy duty dump truck tires, were sunk deep down in muck and mire." Thomas LOVES this story. He even knows what line to say next and always gets super excited when I take it off of his book shelf! This book is also filled with tons of animals. While reading the story you say all of the animal sounds so your little one learns. Before you know it they will be a professional cow caller! 

Little Blue Truck leaves your child with a few very important life lessons. Always lend your hand to a few good friends! It showcases teamwork, compassion, humility, what happens when everyone pitches in and works together and, staying true to yourself. From all of the wonderful illustrations, different vehicles, animal noises and many lessons that fill this book, this is a sure fire hit to add to your child's library! You can order it offline or just go take it out at your local library. 

What are some of your child's favorite story books that you would love to see showcased on Play Dates & Sippy Cups? Comment below and let us know! 

XOXO,

-D