Feed Me Books Friday: Prioritizing Packing

How Many Monster Trucks Can You Fit in a Suitcase?

I’m starting to prepare for our summer get-away; I’m a list-writing, pile-making, basket-sorting kind of packer. I need to start early. B must have learned his packing behavior from me, or maybe he’s just eager. As soon as we even talk about a trip on the horizon, he’s ready to pack his bag. Unfortunately, he hasn’t yet mastered the art of practical packing. (I know, I know, HE’S 5!)

Diffusing a Potential Argument with Humor

Rather than arguing about B’s choices after he’s already gotten his heart set on taking 5 pairs of shoes, Mr. Potato Head, and a squirt gun, I’ve learned to have a conversation early about what we’ll need when we get there and what kinds of toys we’ll be able to enjoy. It helps him make better choices, and he develops the cognitive skill of prioritizing and sorting. A fun prelude to making smart choices is Shirley Neitzel’s The Bag I’m Taking to Grandma’s. We love every one of her rebus books we’ve come across, but this one is especially high on the list. The young packer in this story is preparing for a trip to Grandma’s and some of his choices are understandable, if impractical, while others are downright outlandish! The bag could never realistically hold all the items he chooses, but that is part of the fun. Eventually, Mom intervenes with some more practical suggestions, but he still gets to make some decisions too. The story is told in rhyme, with rebus pictures representing all the items he wants to pack, making it perfect for a read-together activity. Read it enough times (like us) and your child will be “reading” the whole thing on his own.

Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers

Any suggestions for packing success with a preschooler? Cool ideas for fun in the hotel? Remember, I’m making lists here!

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Feed Me Books Friday: All Aboard for Reading!

A Little Engineer Lives Here

We have 4 different kinds of train tracks, and B asked me for another set in the store today. He loves creating tracks and their surrounding cities, forests, or farmlands. He loves making long chains of cars and towing them around loop after loop. It is no surprise that train books are always popular at our house. Our most recent find capitalizes on his love of trains and his growing interest in reading to provide a cognitive experience of participating in the storytelling.


Chugging Along in Rhyme and Picture

I’m Taking a Trip on My Train, by Shirley Neitzel, uses both cumulative rhyming text and rebus pictures to make the story accessible to pre-readers. Each page adds another car, accessory, or location to the train story. The repetition of the rebus pictures used to replace key nouns (engine, tanker, people, trestle) not only emphasizes key vocabulary but also allows young readers to become familiar quickly and join in with the reading. This book became a favorite of B’s very quickly, and he not only fills in the words for the rebus pictures, but often finishes the rhyme with the descriptive text as well.

Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers.

I’m on the hunt for other good rebus stories. Neitzel has several (we also enjoyed The Bag I’m Taking to Grandma’s). Anybody have other good rebus suggestions?

Enjoyed the new friends I met last week at Read.Explore.Learn. with JDaniel4’s mom, so you’ll find me there again. Leave a link with your book suggestion(s) and then check out the others listed both here and there!

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