Interesting Fiction Picture Book Authors to Include in Your Homeschool Library
In my previous posts about building a homeschool library, I wrote about including nonfiction and poetry. Today I am going to focus on interesting fiction picture book authors to include in your homeschool library. I always like it when I find a really good picture book, only to discover that the author has written even more books! I am going to assume that most of you have heard of authors like Robert McCloskey (Make Way for Duckings) and Don Freeman (Corduroy). This booklist is meant to highlight other well-known and maybe lesser well-known authors. Here are some of my favorite interesting fiction picture book authors that I am sure you and your kids will also enjoy. Jan Brett Jan Brett is an author and illustrator. She’s one of my favorites. When one of my boys was five years old, he always went straight to the section in the library with her books. He loved them all. Her most popular books are The Mitten, The Hat, and The Gingerbread Baby. She lives in Massachusetts (I always like to know where an author lives). Karma Wilson I wish I was Karma Wilson. She’s an interesting picture book author because she can write a book in a month. Her books are funny, well-written, and full of rhymes. Some of her books that we have enjoyed are Bear Snores On and Bear Says Thanks. These books are great for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Jane Chapman is the illustrator (I always enjoy her illustrations). Karma Wilson lives in Montana. Valeri Gorbachev I never see his name on booklists, so I am adding him to mine. First of all, he’s Russian and he’s a he. Before moving to the US, he was one of the most popular Russian illustrators. One of my boys loved Nikki and the Big, Bad Wolves. I enjoyed The Lost and Found Ducklings and Red, Red, Red. His stories are short, simple, and charming. I discovered him at the library. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Katy Hudson Katy Hudson is also an author and illustrator. I love her simple plots and cozy illustrations. My kids have read her books many times. Some of our favorites are Too Many Carrots and A Winter’s Nap. She lives in England. Karel Hayes Karel Hayes writes what I call “The bear books.” She has a series of books about a bear family that lives in family’s cabin when the family is not there. The bear family and the human family was identical in many ways (mom, dad, son, daughter). Karel is also the illustrator, and she’s super attentive to detail in her illustrations. There’s a lot of consistency between her books (For example, trees being in the same spot in each book).My family has enjoyed all of her books, but my favorite is The Christmas Visitors. There are about five or six sentences in each book. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but so much of the time is spent looking at the illustrations and noticing the details. I have a lot of fun reading her books, and I am sure you will too. Karel Hayes lives in New Hampshire. Gene Zion Gene Zion is known for the Harry the Dog books. His wife, Margaret Bloy Graham, was the illustrator for his books. An interesting fact about them is that they were friends with Hans and Margaret Rey, the author and illustrator of Curious George. Gene and his wife wrote and illustrated many picture books, but I have only read the ones of about Harry. There are four: Harry the Dirty Dog, Harry by the Sea, No Roses for Harry, and Harry and The Lady Next Door. The books are set in the 1950s and have a simple, old-fashioned style. All my kids have enjoyed these stories. Gene Zion lived in New York City. Paul Galdone Paul Galdone wrote and illustrated classic folk tales. If you want a good collections of picture books like The Little Red Hen or Little Red Riding Hood, then these books would make a great addition to your homeschool library. He is also known for Anatole, the French mouse who gets a job tasting cheese. He was born in Austria-Hungary, and later lived in New York City. Jane Yolan Jane Yolan is well-known for Owl Moon, but she has also written a really funny series about dinosaurs. The illustrations, by Mark Teague, make her dinosaur books a fun read aloud. Some of her titles are How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and How Do Dinosaurs Say I am Mad? They feature human parents with dinosaur children. One of my kids was into dinosaurs for a few years, so we read these books over and over again. Jane Yolan currently lives in Massachusetts. I hope this list helps. Knowing what interesting fiction picture books to include in your homeschool library can be hard if you are not familiar with the world of picture books. Building a homeschool library is one of the many exciting jobs that come with homeschooling. Finding good fiction picture books is hard work, but it’s rewarding when you have a bookshelf full of books your children (and you!) will enjoy. Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com
Interesting Poetry Books to Include in Your Homeschool Library
Over the past few years I have been slowly adding poetry books for reading aloud to our homeschool library. I read quite a bit of poetry to my children, but I actually am not crazy about poetry myself. I can appreciate Christina Rossetti and Emily Dickinson. However, when I have free time, I don’t sit down and read a poem. None of this means I dislike poetry, but it does mean that I am not naturally drawn to it. Despite that, I still think it’s good to ask yourself what interesting poetry books to include in your homeschool library. After all, you don’t want a book of poetry your children will dislike. Every two weeks I have my children memorize a poem. Currently, the poems are from the Sonoran Desert Nature Study I am making, but in the past, I pulled poems from children’s poetry books. I put them in a binder and we reviewed them every day. I should go back and get that binder out and reform that habit that I lost. Isn’t that annoying? Forgetting about a really good habit? Why Include Poetry? I used to teach elementary school, so I know how important poetry is for kids. It helps language development because children can hear the differences in the rhyming words. Children also hear rich vocabulary and the cadence and rhythm of poetry. I like to reread poetry to my kids because it slowly helps them memorize the poem, and memorizing poetry improves memory. There are all these reasons to teach poetry, and sometimes reasons like that can motivate us. However, what I have found to be more motivating than a list of reasons is when you find a poet that you like, and you kind of start to enjoy poetry. Isn’t that movitating? I have found that over time, as I read more poetry aloud to my children, I enjoy it more. Christina Rossetti’s poems always please me. They are short and simple, but yet beautiful in its simplicity. She was able to observe her world around her and paint with words. Rossetti was also homeschooled, had a bad temper as a child, and loved nature. My children also like her poems because they are easy to read and memorize. So why include poetry? You should include it because you want to enjoy reading poetry aloud with your kids. Tips and Tricks for Reading Poetry One of my best tricks is to read a few poems aloud from a poetry book and then leave it lying around. I prefer things to be cleaned up, but when I leave books lying around, I notice that my kids tend to be curious to read a few more poems when I am not looking. In fact, I sometimes purposely leave picture books in the car or lying around on the living room floor. My goal is to make it normal and easy to sit and enjoy poetry. Good Poetry Books for Reading Aloud Maybe you’re like me and you’re not crazy about poetry, but you want your kids to enjoy poetry because it’s good for them. I want my kids to be well-rounded. The good news is that you can do a great job of helping your kids love poetry by simply reading poems out loud to them and talking about them. It’s so simple. I don’t think I am great at talking about poetry, but reading it aloud is better than not reading it, right? Here are some interesting poetry books to include in your homeschool library that may be helpful and fun to read aloud to your children. have enjoyed all of these books with my kids, and some of them we have memorized. Sing a Song of Seasons National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry The Golden Books Family Treasury of Poetry 104 Poems of Whimsy and Delight A Zoo Full of Rhymes Poetry for the Babies and Toddlers Reading poetry aloud to kids is important, but when children are small, nursery rhymes are a great place to start. Mem Fox is known for this quote: “Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old, they’re usually among the best readers by the time they’re eight.” Basically, children who memorize nursery rhymes have a better shot at being a good reader when they are older. Mem Fox talks all about these ideas in her book Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. It’s been a while since I read Fox’s book, but I remember enjoying it. I read nursery rhymes to my three-year old. Sometimes my one-year old is nearby listening. Otherwise, I sing nursery rhymes to him when I change his diaper. I have done this with all my babies. My daughter loves the illustration in this copy of Mother Goose illustrated by Scott Gustafson Final Thoughts Can you still do something you’re not good at when you are a homeschooling mom? Of course! A lot of what I am doing now I wasn’t good at in the beginning, but I have gotten better by being disciplined. I find that discipline is the key for improving at teaching my children. Over the past few years, I have found more and more poetry books to include in my homeschool library. The more I read aloud poetry, the more we enjoy it and the more it becomes a normal part of our day. I hope you enjoy some of the poetry books! don’t forget to read my post about including nonfiction picture books in your homeschool library. Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com
Interesting Nonfiction Picture Book Authors to Include in Your Homeschool Library
One of the best parts of homeschooling is building a homeschool library. It sounds intimidating, but it’s actually a whole lot of fun, especially if you’re into children’s literature. I have small children, so this post is going to focus on nonfiction authors, primarily picture books about nature. My two boys can read chapter books, and I read chapter books and picture books aloud to them, but I am far more familiar with picture books than chapter books at this point in my life. I am going to share with you some of my favorite interesting nonfiction picture book authors to include in your homeschool library. Tell Yourself that You Have a Library The first step to building a homeschool library is to tell yourself that you have a library. Most people own a handful of picture books before homeschooling. Even if you have a small amount of good picture books for your kids, you in fact do have a library. It’s just really small, and may need some improvement. When I was first homeschooling, I didn’t think I had a library because I thought I needed all the picture books I saw on social media (I have social media so I can see what other people read). It’s helpful to remember that a home library is your collection of books (whatever the number of books that may be), and it takes a long time to build a good collection. I am talking years. You also don’t have to have all your books in one room and call it, “The library.” We have children’s books in almost every room of the house. It’s a good rule to have books in every room. Include a Variety of Books in Your Library If all you have are Little Critter books (probably my favorite twaddle), then it’s good to think about getting other genres such as poetry, nonfiction, and better fiction books. One purpose for building a homeschool library is to enjoy a wide variety of books with your children. Think about what kind of books you want to see lying around your house. You want bookshelves too, but it’s also about having books out and about – poetry books, picture books about nature, picture books about historical figures, books that make you laugh, classics. I think you get my point. All of those thoughts have helped me search out interesting nonfiction picture book authors to include in my homeschool library. How to Start Building a Homeschool Library The best way to begin building a homeschool library is to go slow. Don’t buy a ton of picture books by authors with whom you aren’t familiar. Go to the library and find the books you like. When you find the books you like, then purchase those books. You will slowly find the authors you enjoy reading and want to include in your homeschool library. Using booklists can speed up the process. My library has a small rack with used library books you can buy. I have been able to find a number of good books there. Thrift stores are also great places to find books. If you are curious about a book, YouTube has channels where picture books are read aloud. I have listened to people read picture books aloud so I can determine if it’s a book I want to purchase. What’s even better is to find an older homeschool mom who has good taste in picture books and ask for recommendations. Good Nonfiction Picture Book Authors I use Charlotte Mason inspired nature studies with my kids. That means we use lots of picture books to learn about science and nature. Over the past three years of reading lots of nonfiction picture books, I have come to really enjoy certain authors. Here are a few favorites! Jim Arnosky Cathryn Sill Gail Gibbons Yuval Zimmer Diane L. Burns Anne Rockwell Dianna Hutts Ashton Julia Rothman Kate Messner I hope some of these suggestions were helpful for you as you begin to find interesting nonfiction picture book authors to include in your homeschool library. Comment below if there are any books or authors you would add to the list. Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com
Sonoran Desert Nature Study: Picture Books about Desert Plants
We have spent the past two weeks learning about desert plants here in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. I am not embarrassed to say that I didn’t know many of the names of some plants, like the century plant, ironwood, the organ pipe cactus, and the hedgehog cactus, because some of my friends and family who have lived here for years don’t know the names of specific plants. Isn’t it easy to not notice the plants around you and wonder what they are called? I saw them, but I thought they were some type of cactus…all of them. I did that for about ten years. How did I learn the names of desert plants? I did what any homeschool mom would do. I read a bunch of picture books about desert plants. Picture Books We read a handful of picture books about desert plants that contained interesting information. Some of them also included information about the desert animals. It was kind of hard to find good picture books just about the plants, but the ones I did find share information about various plants such as prickly pears, barrel cactus, and the brittlebush. I will start with my favorite first, Roxaboxen, which is not a nonfiction text filled with information about desert plants, but rather tells a charming story of kids and their imaginative play in the Sonoran Desert. The illustrations contain desert plants. We had fun identifying prickly pear and the ocotillo. Personally, I wondered how they played with the ocotillo branches, but nevertheless, it’s a great book to read. It’s also illustrated by Barbara Cooney. That alone should make you want to buy it right now! Roxaboxen by Alice McLearran, illustrated by Barbara Cooney A Walk in the Desert by Rebecca L. Johnson Tumble by Adriana Hernandez Bergstrom A Desert Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk in the Sonoran Desert by Virginia Wright-Frierson Welcome to the Sea of Sand by Jane Nolan Tree Identification and Nature Walk We walked down our street with our clipboards and pencils and identified the trees as went along. Once we found a mesquite on the edge of our subdivision neighborhood, we went up and touched the bark, examined the leaves, and looked at the flowers, which apparently become the seedpods. Did you know that the seedpods can be ground into fine flour used for baking? More on that later. My kids described the bark and then did leaf rubbings with the leaves. We did the same with a palo verde tree except that the leaf rubbing didn’t work great since the palo verde is flowering right now. Unfortunately, we have neither of those trees in our backyard. If you are not in Phoenix, the palo verde trees bloom with bright yellow flowers in April. They are so pretty and springy feeling. The flowers get everywhere though. The Ironwood bloom purple flowers later in April. I never really noticed them in the past, but I will this spring. Artwork I ordered charcoal paints and for drawing plants. We opened some picture books about desert plants and drew pictures of all the plants we had learned about – Joshua trees, yuccas, prickly pears, boojums, and mesquite trees. I love it when something simple is very educational. Also, isn’t it fun when your kids get to that age when you can display cool things that they make? Whatever my kids make I think is amazing no matter their age, but it’s great to see them draw pictures that are full of color and look like the object they say it is. Later, they wrote in their nature journals about what they learned this week. My six-year old still needs me to help him write. He tells me what to write, and then I write it down for him. Then, if he’s up for it, he adds a few sentences himself. Mesquite Muffins Like I said earlier, the seedpods from the mesquite trees can be ground into a very fine flour called mesquite powder. I bought some from Amazon. It wasn’t cheap, but I was curious to know what this mesquite powder was all about. It turns out that the mesquite powder is a superfood (so says the label). I don’t know if that’s true, but it definitely gave the muffins a different sweet taste. I found an apple mesquite muffin recipe from the Los Angeles Times, but of course, I adapted it because after I got some of the ingredients mixed up, I realized that I didn’t have an apple. I normally have lots of apples! I used applesauce instead, and they tasted delicious! I will write a post about my altered mesquite muffin recipe soon. This was a fun unit – learning about life in the Sonoran Desert and reading picture books about desert plants. Before this, I was using a different science curriculum, and my kids haven’t even noticed that I ditched it. They like this a lot better. Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com
Homeschooling Young Children – Accepting Messes
Have you ever met someone who instantly liked? I certainly have. How about a character in a book? Or what about a picture book? One of my kids read The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman aloud to me for his reading time, and I instantly loved the mom, Mrs. Peters. The book is about a family with seven kids who all insist on eating one particular food all the time, and it must be homemade. The book doesn’t say whether the family homeschools, but they sure look like homeschoolers to me – messy house, seven kids, and they live out in the middle of nowhere. Whatever their schooling choice is, it reminded me of homeschooling young children and all the messes that it brings. Accepting a Messy House When I had my first baby, my house was always clean. Always. These days….ummm…I really try my best. We clean the house once a week – vacuum, dust, mop, organize misplaced things, but it still looks messy to some degree most of the time. We also pick up at the end of the day, but by 8:30 am the next morning, it’s a mess again. In the book The Seven Silly Eaters, the house is a mess on almost every single page. The only page where it isn’t a mess is when they have their first child. As more children are added to the family, the house gets messier. For some reason the messy house made me like the Peter’s family even more because you could tell that they lived there. There’s life in their small home with their seven children, and you can tell by all the toys that are on the floor, the mess from baking, and the piles of laundry. Often times, I think my house shouldn’t be a mess. However, the reality is that a family that spends a large portion of the day at their house will inevitably have a messy, or lived-in, home. I’m not saying toss out the cleaning routines and begin living as a hoarder. What I am saying is that it’s good to relax a little bit when it comes to having a clean house, especially if you’re homeschooling young children. Otherwise, I find it hard to enjoy my time with my children. Some people don’t see messes, or the messes simply don’t bother them, so nothing really gets cleaned up. I am the opposite. I see every mess. There’s something inside of me that compels me to clean it up. In fact, it seems wrong to not clean up a mess. That leads me to my next point. Relaxing in The Mess In the beginning of the book, Mrs. Peters is playing her cello, something she clearly enjoys doing. Later on, Mrs. Peters is playing her cello right beside a basket of laundry. If I had to take a lesson from Mrs. Peters, it’s to do something enjoyable even if the area around me is messy and slightly chaotic. I have to discipline myself to leave the mess alone and do something like read a book or write for a few minutes. Otherwise, I never get around to doing to reading because I am tried by the end of the day. Moms do a lot for their kids – working moms and moms homeschooling young children. I said earlier that it seems wrong to leave a mess alone. I would also argue that it seems wrong to never do anything that is relaxing. Moms need a break too. Playing the cello is how Mrs. Peter’s relaxes, and she does it with all her kids around her. I used to think I can only relax when it’s quiet and peaceful, but I have learned how to relax for a few minutes in a messy home with my kids all around me. Relaxing doesn’t always mean lying down. I find it relaxing to be out in my garden with my kids. Also, I can read a book and write with my kids around (there are quite a few interruptions though). It’s relaxing to take a walk with my kids. I hope I am making sense. You can find moments to recharge (in whatever way you like) even if you have a lot of kids right next to you. Of course, peace and quiet is also nice. I think moms who are introverted like me have to be aware of their limitations. I get tired if people talk to me all day long. And guess what little kids do? They talk all day long! Sometimes it’s the same conversation over and over again. Over the years I have gotten a lot better at being patient with the constant chatter. It doesn’t wear me out so much now. My mother-in-law watches my kids often. Sometimes she takes them for a walk, and when I come back home, the house is filled with daylight, empty, and quiet (I am used to the quiet at night). I enjoy it for a while, but at the same time, it also doesn’t feel natural. Don’t worry. My kids come tumbling in soon enough. And Mrs. Peters…. The book ends with the family finding a recipe that works for everyone. That must have been a relief to Mrs. Peters!. I really like one of the last pictures. Everyone is making the cake, and there’s Mrs. Peters,, relaxing and playing her cello with her favorite people all around her. You can tell that she’s a happy mom. I think that’s why I like her: She’s got a lot of kids, her house is a mess, and she’s happy. So, whether you have a lot of kids, or are homeschooling young children, enjoy the mess because years from now your house will be very clean….so hard to imagine. You might find yourself missing the messes. Speaking of messes, I have three laundry baskets waiting for me, a book to read aloud to my kids, and markers all over the floor (with the caps on). Off I
Learning about Birds in Arizona: Part 2
We are just about finished learning about birds in Arizona. For the past few weeks, we have been learning about birds such as cactus wrens, roadrunners, quail, and hummingbirds. Birds of prey will be later this spring. We read a lot of books, memorized a poem, learned a song, watched birds in the backyard and we even made a paper mache saguaro boot. Picture Books about Birds in Arizona Unfortunately, there are very few picture books specifically written about birds that live in Arizona. There are lots of picture books about quail, but I wasn’t thrilled with any of them. The next best thing was to read picture books that either include some birds that live in Arizona or cover a broad species of a bird (like a wren). I supplemented with videos on YouTube to learn more about the specific birds in Arizona. Here are some of the books we enjoyed. About Woodpeckers by Cathryn Sill A Nest is Noisy by Dianna Hurts Ashton Lizards for Lunch by Conrad J. Storad In the Desert by Ann Cooper The Boy Who Drew Birds by Jacqueline Davies The Nest That Wren Built by Randi Sonenshine The Big Books of Birds by Yuval Zommer Feathers, Not Just For Flying by Melissa Stewart Features a red-tailed hawk. Observing Birds in Arizona I planned to go birding last week, but we all got nasty colds. That’s how life goes sometimes. We had to be content to watch what was in our backyard. Over the course of two weeks, we saw a roadrunner, a crow, a cactus wren, a curved-billed thrasher (one of them enjoys flying in our house every now and then), mourning doves, quail, hummingbirds, a cowbird, and a house finch. We use our Kid’s Guide to Birds of Arizona to help us identify birds, but we also enjoy using our smart bird feeder. It has a camera on the feeder and identifies the bird and records them as they eat. It’s very cool! During the weekend, we went to a park where we found what seemed to be three cactus wren nests. Unfortunately, my kids didn’t care too much about the nests. Me, however, I thought they were so neat! Is it me, or do homeschool moms sometimes get way more into their children’s learning than their kids? Anyway, cactus wrens build multiple nests to confuse predators. They are about the size of a football and have a small circular opening. Late February and early March as a great time to hunt for nests because the branches are still bare. Making a Saguaro Boot Birds love to make their nests in giant saguaros. Instead of making a nest, which is what we did in Ninos and Nature Nature Study (a nature study in Spanish), we made a saguaro boot. A saguaro boot is the hard lining of the hole that a bird carves out in a saguaro to use as their home. We blew up a balloon about the size of a grapefruit and covered it with strips of paper mache. We made sure to make an opening towards the side. Then they dried. Afterwards, we popped the balloons. I made one as a trial, and it turned out great. My kids made theirs on a cloudy day, and it took so long to dry. Some of balloons deflated due too much glue on the paper mache. This craft is only good for sunny days since it needs to dry fast. Final Thoughts Yesterday, one of my kids was in tears because his brother and I saw a cactus wren, but he didn’t. It was a hard moment for him. Whether you homeschool or not, it’s fun to get excited about the same thing together. Yes, there’s designate time for lessons, but sometimes the best learning happens on walks or playing outside. What I like is that learning is low-key and not stressful, and that makes life more enjoyable, doesn’t it? Be sure to read my previous post about learning about birds in Arizona. Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays
Picture Books about Nocturnal Animals in the Sonoran Desert
For the past two weeks we have been learning about nocturnal animals in the Sonoran Desert – pack rats, javelinas, bats, and coyotes. We will be learning about other nocturnal animals such as scorpions and owls later, but those animals fit better into other categories. I have sifted through quite a few picture books. Some I love, some I like, and some were okay. One thing that surprised me was how often picture books about the Sonoran Desert also include the Native Americans’ beliefs. Sometimes there are subtle comments like, the wind is my brother, or something goofy like that. Some books really celebrate their beliefs. One book I really liked does have a reference to their religion (Coyote and Badger). When I read the book to my kids, I stopped and explained what it meant and why we have different beliefs. Below are the books that we enjoyed reading together. Desert Night, Desert Day by Anthony D. Fredericks I used this picture book to introduce nocturnal and diurnal animals. It’s a rhyming story that great for ages 2-8. The story begins in the night and shows all the animals that are awake at night. It switches to the daytime and shows all the animals awake during the day. All my kids really liked this book. Don’t Call Me Pig: A Javelina Story by Conrad J. Storad This book is great because it’s short and to the point. It’s written in rhyme, which means your younger kids will enjoy it. It gives good information about Javelina such as their diet, where they live, and their physical features. Best of all, it’s got some humor. Desert Night Shift: A Pack Rat Story by Conrad J. Storad This is the same author as the javelina book. It’s also a rhyming story that contains facts about pack rats. Penny Pack Rat goes out at night to find a spoon. Other nocturnal animals are present. My kids didn’t know much about pack rats, which means we learned a lot from this book. Bats by Gail Gibbons This book is not specifically about bats that live in the Sonoran Desert. I couldn’t find a good picture book about bats in the Sonoran Desert. This book does however have a page with the Mexican Free-Tailed bats. They pass through Phoenix from May to October while they migrate south to Mexico. You can see these bats in the evening as they exit a storm drain here in Phoenix. I hope to go see them when May comes. The book explains what bats eat, where they live, and various types of bats. There are also some great diagrams of bats. Unfortunately, if you’re familiar with Gail Gibbons, she does include “facts” about evolution. She states that the oldest bat fossil is 50 million years old. When my kids were little, I would skip over that information as I was reading aloud. They didn’t know. Now, I stop and explain how evolution is wrong. Nevertheless, we still enjoy her books. Borreguita and the Coyote by Verna Aardena Borreguita is Spanish for “little lamb.” The story centers around a lamb who fools a gullible coyote so that she can avoid being eaten. In the end, the lamb is able to hurt the wolf. He then stays away from the little lamb. The two pages in the beginning have Native American artwork. I’m not familiar with Native American artwork, so I’m not sure what the illustrations mean. Coyote and Badger by Bruce Hiscock What I liked about this book were the illustrations. Apparently, coyotes and badger will actually hunt together. One page showed the underground tunnels of prairie dogs. The badger goes underground to scare the prairie dog and catch his prey. Meanwhile, the coyote waits at the opening of a hole for the scared prairie dogs to run out. The book shows how they help each other survive during a drought. The part of the book that I don’t like as much is at the end. The coyote howls near an ancient Native American called a kiva (a place site of worship) and howls to the stars. Later, it rains. I think the author is showing how the coyote is desperate for rain. So he prays, or howls to the same god of the Native Americans. It’s easy to see Arizona as place of dirt and dust. I grew up in Rhode Island where I was surrounded by a plethora of greenery. However, I find more beauty and appreciation as I learn more about the Sonoran Desert. I’m not a Sonoran Desert expert, but that also makes it more exciting as I learn with my kids about the nocturnal animals here. Happy reading! Until next time! Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com
Picture Books about the Saguaro Cactus
I pass by saguaros every day when I go for a walk or run, but I usually don’t think about them. They’re just there. However, recently I have been reading picture books about the saguaro cactus with my kids, and I have been reminded of how interesting saguaros actually are. Wherever you happen to live, it’s good to appreciate the beauty around you. I have a huge stack of books about the Sonoran Desert that I am using for our nature study. Slowly, I am reading them with my kids and picking out our favorites. At first, a lot of the picture books about the saguaro cactus all seemed similar, but as we read through them, I noticed some differences. Some were better for older kids because there was more information and longer text. And some were better for younger kids because the text was simpler and more repetitive. Here’s a list of my favorite picture books about the saguaro cactus. Desert Giant by Barbara Bash This one is my favorite! It contains a lot of information about the life cycle of the saguaro cactus. It includes birds that build nests in the saguaro, the flowers that bloom in May, the animals that eat the fruit, and how natives used the saguaro fruit. It also shares how the saguaro dies and the animals that move into the rotting cactus. The illustrations are beautiful. There are also a few diagrams. Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson I found this book to be very similar to Desert Giant, but it’s a bit shorter and contains less information. It explains the life cycle of a saguaro cactus – how it grows, the animals that live inside it, the fruit ripening, how it dies, and the animals that move in while it’s rotting. The Night Flower by Lara Hawthorne This book describes the night coming, the animals waking up, and the saguaro’s flowers blooming in the night. The back of the book includes a diagram of a saguaro and its life cycle. There’s also a page with all the desert animals. You can go back and find them in the story. Lastly, there is a glossary with helpful terms. The Seed and the Giant Saguaro by Jennifer Ward This book starts with a pack rat running off with the fruit from the saguaro. Then other animals follow after him. Each sentence is repeated as another one is added. Children 3-8 years old will enjoy this book the most since it’s repetitive (older children may enjoy it as well). Around One Cactus by Anthony D. Fredericks Around One Cactus is about all the animals that live around and near a saguaro cactus. Each sentence adds on and is repeated each time. I like that each page features a different animal, and only that animal. My younger kids liked this one because it’s simple, repetitive and fun to read. Nobody Hugs a Cactus by Carter Goodrich My favorite part about this book are the illustrations, especially the grouchy face on the cactus. Also, the way the spines make the cactus look like a punk are humorous too. At first no one wants to hug this cranky cactus. By the end, someone does hug him….and gets stuck. Don’t worry. It’s a funny, happy ending. The Giving Tree of the Desert: The Tale of a Saguaro Cactus and its Nurse Tree by Danielle Fradette This book was self-published by Danielle Fradette, and I really enjoyed reading it with my kids. It mimics the style of The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein in that the palo verde, the nurse tree, gives all he has to help the saguaro grow to maturity. I have always wondered why saguaros usually grew next to a shady tree. It turns out there’s a reason. I will warn you that if you live here in Arizona and read this book, you will probably start noticing nurse trees everywhere you go. I hope you are able to read some of these books with your kids. Be sure to read my post about our saguaro cactus nature study. While the Sonoran Desert can look like a bunch of rocks and ugly bushes, there really are some pretty cool plants here. The saguaro is one of them. Happy reading! Carly from Deserthomeschooldays.com
Reading Picture Books in Spanish
Everyone knows that it’s good to read books to children. The benefits of reading aloud are numerous. But what people might not know, or maybe think about, is that it’s also good to read books to children in another language. It sounds kind of hard and scary, right? I have been trying to be better about reading picture books in Spanish to my children. I have found what works, and I have found what doesn’t work. Maybe you have studied Spanish some, or have picked up bits and pieces of a second language. Either way, whether you speak it well or falter at times, it’s still worth the effort to read aloud in another language. The question is, “How do you read aloud a picture book in Spanish?” Problems Recently I started noticing some problems with my read alouds in Spanish. I needed to fix something. Repeated Readings Repeated readings were the biggest difference that fixed a lot of my problems. In the past, I would pick a book, an easy book, and read it aloud once. After a while, I ran out of easy picture books. What I decided to do was choose one picture book to reread every day for a week. It took the load off of hunting for good books, and immediately, I had less work to do. Secondly, repeated readings were helpful because I could pick a more advanced book. The text was more complex, but since we were going to be rereading it multiple times, it was doable. The babyish books were at my kids’ comprehension level, but not at their interest level. I think that was one reason why they didn’t always enjoy the read alouds. They could only understand the books that their three-year old sister would enjoy in English. They wanted to understand the more difficult ones, but they were too hard. Lastly, telling myself that I am going to read a picture book aloud every day for a week made me more consistent. The more consistent I was, the less arguing I saw. Reading a picture book aloud takes about five minutes. That’s really not a huge amount of time. How to Read Aloud Picture Books in Spanish Introduce New Words I start with talking about some of the words they we will hear in the story. Honestly, I don’t really plan this a whole lot. I just skim the book and find the most repeated words that my kids don’t know. Next, we talk about the words. I tell them to keep their ears open for the words as I read. My type A child writes all the new words down on notecards. My type B child eats a bowl of nuts and nods his head. Read Slow The first reading is really sloooooww. We stop and pause and talk about what’s happening. My kids still respond in English, but I encourage them to respond in Spanish. I assume it’s all a process. They chime in when they hear one of their new words. The next day I read the book a little bit faster. We still talk about the words and what’s happening. Each day I read faster and faster. If the book is on audio (Audible or Hoopla), then I will use that towards the end of the week because the narrators tend to read quickly. It’s also a good opportunity to pull away from the picture book and let my kids just listen to the story. Goals This is something I am still working on getting better at. Some goals I have are: Read Alouds That Have Worked My rule is that it needs to be a physical picture book. I have had my children listen to audiobooks in Spanish online without the aid of pictures, and I find that their reading comprehension tanks. Someday we will do just audiobooks in Spanish, but for now we need the pictures. Here are some books that were easy and enjoyable. These books are good if you kids know basic Spanish vocabulary (colors, food, animals, etc…) Learning With Your Kids This idea isn’t all that popular, but I think it’s possible, and also fun, to learn a second language along-side your children. Not many people have time to do that, but a homeschooling family might be able to squeeze that time in. We are currently using Flip Flop Spanish. Reading picture books in Spanish works really well with this curriculum. I will keep hunting for good picture books in Spanish and share them with you all. Leave a comment about your experience reading picture books in Spanish. Carly from deserthomeschooldays.com
Bible Picture Books Without Images of Jesus
Finding a good Bible picture book can be hard, but it’s even harder if you’re looking for one without images of Jesus – one that doesn’t break the second commandment. I have spent a good amount of time trying to find such Bible picture books. Below is a list of all my favorite Bible picture books without images of Jesus, plus a brief description. Follow Me: Bible Stories for Young Children by Liesbeth van Binsbergen This one is my favorite! Each story is between three to four pages long, and has a full-page illustration. I would recommend this for children four and up. There are 116 stories, and each story has a couple of discussion questions. My only complaint about this book is the story of Daniel and King Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar claims he forgot his dream, but the Bible didn’t say he forgot his dream. Read-Aloud Bible Stories by Ella K.Lindvall Technically these books walk the line with showing pictures of Jesus. There are pictures of Jesus where he is far away with his disciples, but his face is never drawn. Also, some pictures feature the back of his head as he speaks to people. Volume three features baby Jesus with his head tilted to the side. Despite that, we still use these books. These books are great for two and three-year olds. Lindvall has written a number of volumes, and each volume has five stories. The grammatical syntax is very simple, and every other page has about two of three sentences. The word choice is appropriate and engaging for small children. There’s also a summary and an application at the end of each story. My boys really liked these books when they were younger. Currently, my three-year old daughter loves these books and asks for them every morning. The Christian Focus Story Bible by Carine MacKenzie What I like about this Bible storybook is the format. One page has a story that is between three to four paragraphs, while the other page has an illustration of the story, a sentence that tells the main idea, and an application that is at a child’s level. The application portion is simple enough for an early reader to read aloud. This Bible storybook is great for ages 4 and up, and contains 75 Bible stories. 365 Great Bible Stories by Carine MacKenzie I am currently reading this book to my children each morning at breakfast, and I haven’t finished it yet. What I like about this book is that it includes more obscure Bible stories, such as Sisera and Jael. Since this book is designed to last a year, some of the stories are broken up and last a few days. Each story is on one page and contains about three-seven paragraphs. There’s a short application after each Bible story. You can read straight through, or you can read by topics. There are pictures to indicate the theme. For example, a story with a picture of a dove indicates that the story is about the Holy Spirit. I appreciate that the stories are manageable to do in a short amount of time, and that the book lasts a year (even a leap year). The illustrations are not my favorite because they don’t always illustrate the specific story. Little Hands Story Bible by Carine Mackenzie This book has short Bible stories along with full-page illustrations. It contains 142 stories. There’s also the option to read Scripture aloud. Some of the suggested Scripture passages are long, but I think the reader can figure out what amount of Scripture is appropriate for their child. There questions at the end – one that goes back to the main idea of the Bible story and one that refers back to the illustration. Lastly, there’s a short application. What I like about this book is that it’s geared for different ages. You can read the short Bible story for a younger child, but you could read the Scripture aloud for an older child. Originally, I had another children’s Bible listed here, but after reading it, I took it down. I was The New Children’s Bible by Anne de Vries. It had a number of small errors, such as Hannah going to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices (the tabernacle was in Shiloh). There were also liberal inferences that seemed to be more imagined than real, such as Jonah realizing how kind and merciful God was to save Nineveh (The book of Jonah doesn’t give us Jonah’s final thought. I ends with God speaking.) I am currently reading The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos. I will let you know what I think! I hope this list is helpful for choosing a Bible picture books that is right for your children. Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays.com