Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Endowing - Non Fiction

Milena is constantly endowing us as someone other than ourselves. So often, in fact, that last week when she said that I was mama, Jess was daddy, and she was Milena, I found myself a little confused about which game we were playing (and then realized we weren't playing a game! oh yes. I am mama!).

This is a fun (though sometimes tiring) way to play through Milena's favorite stories and bring her favorite characters to life. But I recently realized that basically everyone we "are" is someone fictitious. 


One of  my favorite children's lit finds from this past holiday season was the book "My Name Is Not Isabella" by Jennifer Fosberry (there is another version for boys titled, "My Name Is Not Alexander. In "My Name Is Not Isabella," a little girl goes through her day pretending to be great women from history (e.g. Rosa Parks, Elizabeth Blackwell, Sally Ride). 

This is what I want for Milena! I would love for these women (and men) to be as natural a part of her play as Disney princesses and the Octonauts (our current favorite TV show). So now when we visit the library, we make sure to check out biographies along with our picture books and chapter books. 


 We enjoy the "My First Biography" and "Rookie Biographies" series the most. Today we read the Rookie Biography of Dr. Seuss. Milena was so excited to see pictures of him alongside some of her favorite books, and it was great to finally give her an idea of who Dr. Seuss is, since she's always hearing his name. (I always try to mention the author's name when reading the title of a book; I love when books include pictures of the author (and illustrator)! )
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And while visiting Amazon to grab the links for these books, I discovered a new Isabella book being released in February! "Isabella: Girl on the Go"

Also, Barnes & Noble sells an Isabella paper doll set, and I desperately want to buy it for Milena! But I think she's a bit too young for them right now ... (but I'm not!).


Saturday, January 28, 2012

Bookless


 "Say goodbye to the old Central Library at 'Bookless,' a community celebration in the empty building featuring a one-day only art show by 100 local artists. Pieces inspired by library space and materials range from paintings to oversize installations to live performances. Hands on activities like a public painting wall let you transform the 45-year old library into a work of art."

Bookless! The tiled areas mark where the stacks used to be.
     
What a fantastic event! "Bookless" was such an exciting and unique way to experience our local library. The artwork - much of it created from old library materials like ceiling tiles or old index cards - transformed the space and caused you to look at the medium in a whole new way. And the hands-on portions did the same (though I did feel a bit guilty allowing Milena to cut and glue books!).
 
 
Peering into the old children's area.

The designs for the new library look great (especially the children's area), but I almost wish they'd just leave the space open for us just a bit longer ...


  

Friday, January 27, 2012

Early Readers

Research shows that it is not until eighth grade that a student's reading level catches up to his or her listening level. Until that time, most students are capable of hearing, understanding, and enjoying material that is more complicated than what they could read.” (Jim Trelease) (via Reading with Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers) It really makes sense once you think about it (my 3 year old still can't read, but she has spent the past 3 years willingly listening to me read books!), but I think we, as parents, often forget this fact - or at least don't take it quite far enough and, instead, stick mainly to board books and shorter picture books.

When Milena was 2.5, we started reading some early readers to her at bedtime like Frog & Toad and Little Bear. These are great because each chapter is a separate story. As her third birthday approached, she began to pull out her Beatrix Potter collection more and more often (which I loved, as I'm a big Beatrix Potter fan!).

Recently, the mama behind In Lieu of Preschool began talking about the chapter books she was reading with her (nearly) 4 year old. They were currently reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle, but had started with The Magic Tree House series. I think I picked our first Magic Tree House book up from the library that same day!


We started with Pirates Past Noon (#4), because that was the earliest book of the series the library had, and I was too excited to wait for #1! My plan was to read one chapter each day before nap time (and possibly another before bed), but one chapter quickly turned into two or three (before nap AND bed), and we finished the book in just two or three days. Luckily, I came across Dinosaurs Before Dark (#1) at the thrift store yesterday (along with four more Magic Tree House books), so we're set for awhile (although we already read three chapters today ..).


The books are simple enough (and the chapters are short enough) that Milena doesn't seem to have trouble following the story. I make sure to stop every so often to help her picture what's happening, and we always talk about what we read the previous day before reading more.


I love this series because it covers so many different topics (dinosaurs, knights, space, weather) that there's a little something for everyone. And it's exciting to think that someday soon Milena will be able to pick these off her shelf and start reading them all by herself!

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Which books are current bedtime favorites at your house?



Thursday, January 26, 2012

Hello. Welcome.

Hi! I'm Kat - a bug-catching, princess-playing, puddle-jumping, book-reading mama. I'm lucky enough to stay home with my 3-year-old daughter, Milena. When I'm not busy playing with her, I'm probably either in my craft corner making something for my Etsy store (underduck) or promoting my Barefoot Books business (Kids Read Barefoot). I have always had a passion for children's literature, and Milena just devours books (as you can see from the picture below), so when the opportunity arose for me to become a Barefoot Books Ambassador, I jumped at the chance. I'm really excited to share our favorite books (Barefoot & others) with you along with some handy tips for reading with little ones!