Last year we went through the alphabet choosing a different theme for each letter, reading books and doing other fun crafts and activities based on that letter. For A, our theme was Apple and now that Charlotte’s in Kindergarten…what do you know, Apple is the word for the letter “A” again. So I checked out some of our favorites from last year, and found a new favorite as well…
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman. I loved this book! When the market is closed the only thing left to do is go around the world to gather all the ingredients needed to make an apple pie–all the way from Sri Lanka to get cinnamon from the bark of the native kurundu tree, to Vermont for apples. There’s also a recipe for apple pie at the end of the book.
And of course, we made an apple pie too! I think it has to be the ugliest apple pie I’ve ever seen…but it was yummy! My super secret apple pie recipe can be found…on the back of the Trader Joe’s Pie Crust box.
Enjoy!
by Anna Dewdney. I think the Llama Llama books are so cute. In this one Baby Llama goes to school for the first time and although he is determined to hate everything about it, he ends up having a great time.
by Eric Carle. This colorful, fun book begins with Mrs. Seahorse laying her eggs into a pouch on Mr. Seahorse’s belly. Mr. Seahorse roams around the ocean meeting a variety of other ocean animals caring for their eggs. This book is a fun way to learn about different sea animals and to learn how a variety of sea animals are born.
. Charlotte loved blueberry picking much more than I had anticipated. I think she said something like, “Mom, this is a fantastic idea. How did you think of planning this?” Music to my ears. I think. I plan. And I plan some more. And my daughter appreciates it!
. This book features children from all different countries and tells a little bit about where they live, what school is like for them, their families, what they like to do, what they eat, and basically just how they live.
This book features holidays from different countries around the world.
. This book has a word for each letter of the alphabet, such as H is for helping, K is for kindness, and P is for polite. There are questions to discuss for each concept as well as Bible verses.
by Catherine Ipcizade. This is an informative book about zebras, and perfect for preschoolers. I’ve found that many of the more informative books are little too advanced (and boring) for preschoolers, but this one was perfect. Also full of great photographs.
by Melissa Stewart. Another informative book about zebras…a little more advanced than the first. I enjoyed learning some new things…did you know no two zebras have the same stripe pattern?
by Sarah L. Schuette. This book is written in both Spanish and English and is filled with descriptions of yellow things all around us. It’s a simple, fun book and great for learning all about the color yellow!
by Leo Lionni. Little Blue and Little Yellow are best friends and have all kinds of fun together. One day when they hug each other they turn into green! This is a good book to teach about mixing colors.
by Carin Berger. I really enjoyed this story of the little yellow leaf who just wasn’t ready to let go yet, despite the fact that all the other leaves had fallen from the tree. When the little yellow leaf realizes there’s one other leaf that hasn’t yet made the leap yet, they decide to do it together. A sweet story. This book would also be great for learning about Fall.
by Donna Otto. It was 24 chapters so I tried to read a chapter each night, and it worked out well. Most of the chapters were fairly short and easy to read.
by John and Stasi Eldredge.
by Eve Bunting. In this story a boy and his father stand on a cliff watching whales go by and wondering all about them and imagining what the whales are saying as they swim by. We enjoyed this book with fun pictures of orcas and a good mix of story and information.
by David Lucas. This is a fun book about a whale that washes up on top of a young boy’s town! The whale thinks he’s done for but the town bands together to figure out how to get him back in the ocean, and then the whale enlists the help of his ocean friends to help repair the town.
by Jonathan London. This book tells the story of a baby sperm whale’s birth and young life. It has wonderful illustrations and lots of information presented in a poetic way. There’s also a reader’s guide at the end of the book with great before, during, and after discussion questions.
by Lloyd Moss. This book wasn’t necessarily just about violins, but more about all the instruments in an orchestra. We enjoyed this book, and it would also be great to use when learning about music or musical instruments. It’s also a Caldecott Honor Book.
by David McPhail. We really loved this story of mole, who hears someone playing the violin and decides he wants to make beautiful music too. He practices and practices in his underground home, all the while never knowing the effect his beautiful music is having on others.
by Gail Gibbons. This was a great book that teaches all about the different types of vegetables as well as how to grow them, and the different ways they make their way to our table.
by Fay Robinson. Another informative book all about different types of vegetables and the different ways to eat them. I learned some new things too!
by Lois Ehlert is another fun book we’ve enjoyed in the past, although our library didn’t have it in this week. But, it goes from A-Z with all different fruits and vegetables.
