Good Night Book

I'm back from vacation with a new camera and a whole list a books that I've found. Here's a good night book that is super charming. It's one of those peaceful lullaby types of books. Soft illustrations, moons, stars, and teddy's. It's called I'll See You in the Morning, by Mike Jolley and Mique Moriuchi. My favorite page:

Don't be afraid of darkness.
Don't be afraid, my sweet.
The night is just a blanket
that helps the earth to sleep.

Brilliant!!!

Bedtime Book about the Moon

We had a full moon a couple of night ago, and it reminded me of this great book that Stevie and his dad read at bedtime. It's all in rhyme and it's awesome. The book is called Look at the Moon, by May Garelick. The first page says it all:

Moon light, moon bright,Shining on this lovely night.

Does everyone see the moon I see,

The very same moon that shines on me?

It describes the moon being all different night time settings quite beautifully. One drawback,it's a bit long for my 2 year old. My husband usually skips a couple of pages, depending on the mood of the kiddo. The book allows your child to focus on the big picture. The world, outside of their world. Pretty cool.

Good Rhyming Books

I found some good books at library yesterday with lots of rhyming words. I remember how a kiddo's ability to rhyme in Kindergarten was a good predictor of his/her confidence in reading. If a child is aware of the predictable patterns in writing (rhythm and rhyme), then it just makes reading text that much easier. If text is only 50% phonics (letters and letter sounds. . . . sounding words out), then the other 50% comes from "reading tricks" like using rhyme to predict text. Also, rhyming books are fun! My kindergarten classes always loved them and Stevie loves them too. The predictable text helps develop confidence in a reader. That's important. Here are some goodies:

Low Song by Eve Merriam (My new favorite. This one is so mellow. Good for a pre-naptime read. Illustrations are dreamy).

Look at the Moon by May Garelick (Long book. But if you just read chunks of it, skipping some pages . . . . . it is awesome. It has this cool theme. . . we're all united under the same moon. Different creatures, different people, settings, all under the same moon. Beauty.)

Time for Bed by Mem Fox (Perfect rhyming book before bed. Uses lots of repetition. Your toddler will be "reading" this one with you by the 2nd night.