Educational Books, Toys: Savvy Essentials: Best Books for Kindergarteners (or Almost!)
Savvy Essentials: Best Books for Kindergarteners (or Almost!)
It seems almost impossible that it takes our wild little preschoolers only a couple of years to transform themselves into (semi) civilized kindergarteners. They've grown up so much that it's not just new clothes they need -- they also require a whole new shelf in their libraries. They can still appreciate Goodnight Moon (and will for quite some years!), but now they can also grasp a much larger vocabulary and far more complex storylines than ever before. So what kinds of books should we be reading with our (not so) little ones as Kindergarten approaches? The Savvy Source asked directors of some of the great Pre-K programs across the country that very question. Aren't we lucky to have their picks for our kindergarteners' bookshelves!
How Much Is a Million?
by David M. Schwartz and Steven Kellogg
By now your older preschooler is tired of one to ten. She can do it in three other languages, none of which you speak. She is ready for the big stuff. We have the book for you--an answer for the impossible "How much is a million?" question. The book is wonderfully fun, and it actually works to help little minds wrap around the seemingly impossible task of conceptualizing big numbers, something your preschooler will begin to work on in kindergarten. Marvelosissimo the Mathematical Magician shows his young friends and their pets that a million goldfish would need a fishbowl as big as a whale, that even seven full pages of the book printed with miniscule stars add up to only 100,000, that a million children standing on each other's shoulders would reach higher than airplanes fly. And then he tackles a billion and a trillion too. When the 100th day of kindergarten rolls around, with its celebration of all things 100, your little one will be ready for the counting to begin!
A House for a Hermit Crab
by Eric Carle
This touching story about moving to a new home will reassure any preschooler facing a big move (as well as her anxious parents). And this moving tale is much more than just a tale about moving; it speaks to almost any transition that a change-fearing little person might face, like the move to kindergarten. This little hermit crab grows out of its shell and has to face the daunting task of getting comfortable in a new home. And then it has to do it again! Funny thing about all that growing, it seems to bring relentless change. All the more reason for teaching our little ones early how to embrace change. A child who sees change as opportunity? It may seem like a pipe dream, but Eric Carle makes us believe.
Oh, The Places You'll Go
by Dr. Seuss
Your little one may have received this as a welcome-to-the-world present. You may have received this as a college graduation present. (Yes, it was published in 1990, which seems to some of us like just a minute or two ago....) In either case, you both should read it now. It's tends just a mite toward the sticky sweet in a way that other Dr. Seuss classics never do, but it's still an exalting, delightful book to share with someone who is at the very beginning of something big. And as any Savvy parent knows, that very much means both of you!
The Giving Tree
by Shel Silverstein
To say that this particular apple tree is a "giving tree" is an understatement. In Shel Silverstein's popular tale of few words and simple line drawings, a tree starts out as a leafy playground, shade provider, and apple bearer for a rambunctious little boy. Making the boy happy makes the tree happy, but with time it becomes more challenging for the generous tree to meet his needs. When he asks for money, she suggests that he sell her apples. When he asks for a house, she offers her branches for lumber. When the boy is old, too old and sad to play in the tree, he asks the tree for a boat. She suggests that he cut her down to a stump so he can craft a boat out of her trunk. He unthinkingly does it. At this point in the story, the double-page spread shows a pathetic solitary stump, poignantly cut down to the heart the boy once carved into the tree as a child that said "M.E. + T." "And then the tree was happy... but not really." When there's nothing left of her, the boy returns again as an old man, needing a quiet place to sit and rest. The stump offers up her services, and he sits on it. "And the tree was happy." While the message of this book is unclear (Take and take and take? Give and give and give? Complete self-sacrifice is good? Complete self-sacrifice is infinitely sad?), Silverstein has perhaps deliberately left the book open to interpretation. (All ages) --Karin Snelson Review from Amazon
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
by William Steig
Imagine all the happiness and wealth you could achieve if you found a magic pebble that granted your every wish! Sylvester Duncan, an unassuming donkey who collects pebbles "of unusual shape and color," experiences just such a lucky find. But before he can make all his wishes come true, the young donkey unexpectedly encounters a mean-looking lion. Startled, Sylvester wishes he were a rock, but in mineral form he can no longer hold the pebble, and thus cannot wish himself back to his equine trappings. His parents, thinking he has disappeared, are at first frantic, then miserable, and then plunge into donkey ennui. Meanwhile, Sylvester is gravely depressed, but tries to get used to being a rock. In 1970, William Steig won the Caldecott Medal for Sylvester and the Magic Pebble--the first of his many Newbery and Caldecott honors. In this donkey's tale, Steig imbues his characteristically simple illustrations of animals sporting human garb with evocative, irresistible, and heartbreakingly vivid emotions. The text is straightforward and the dialogue remarkably touching. Children will feel deeply for Sylvester and his parents, all wishing for the impossible--that the family will one day be reunited. Sylvester's sweet story is one that endures, reminding us all that sometimes what we have is all we really need. (Ages 4 to 8) Review from Amazon
Miss Rumphius
by Barbara Cooney
For the little ones, reading Miss Rumphius is like being taken on the knee of a lovely, eccentric, elderly relative and learning the amazing story of her life. This creaky old lady was once a very young girl too. A girl who sat on her own grandfather's knee and dreamed big dreams about traveling, living by the sea, and (as her grandfather instructed) leaving the world more beautiful than she found it. How she lives her dream is the story of this book â?? an unusual subject for a children's book, perhaps, but as captivating as they come. Little listeners will all wish for a great-aunt as adventurous and imaginative as Miss Rumphius.
Stellaluna
by Janell Cannon
Baby bat Stellaluna's life is flitting along right on schedule--until an owl attacks her mother one night, knocking the bewildered batlet out of her mother's loving grasp. The tiny bat is lucky enough to land in a nest of baby birds, but her whole world has just turned upside down. Literally. Stellaluna's adoptive bird mom accepts her into her nest, but only on the condition that Stellaluna will act like a bird, not a bat. Soon Stellaluna has learned to behave like a good bird should--she quits hanging by her feet and starts eating bugs. But when she finally has an opportunity to show her bird siblings what life as a bat is like, all of them are confounded. "How can we be so different and feel so much alike?" one asks. "And how can we feel so different and be so much alike?" asks another. "I agree," Stellaluna responds. "But we're friends. And that's a fact." Anyone who has ever been asked to be someone they're not will understand the conflicts--and possibilities--Stellaluna faces. This gorgeously illustrated book is sure to be an all-time favorite with readers, whether they've left the nest or not. (Click to see a sample spread. Illustration from Stellaluna, © 1993 by Janell Cannon, reproduced by permission of Harcourt Brace & Company) (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter Review from Amazon
The Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams
The Rabbit in the stocking isn't as expensive as the other toys: he’s covered in velveteen. On Christmas Day, the Boy enjoys his new toy but then quickly forgets and neglects him. Shunned and unsure, the Velveteen Rabbit questions his worth. Should he even becalled a real toy? An answer comes from his friend, the Skin Horse: "Real isn’t how you are made. . . .It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." The Velveteen Rabbit's journey through love and loneliness to become who he was really meant to be is a story that inspires us all on our own journey to Real. The Velveteen Rabbit is a timeless tale of friendship, love, acceptance and honesty. When the world seems uncertain, Margery Williams's classic story reminds all of us what really matters. The type in this edition has been reset to emphasize the poetry of the language and to bring out the depth of sentiment in the story. William Nicholson's 1922 illustrations, which have delighted generations of readers, are rendered in full-color just as they appeared in the original edition of The Velveteen Rabbit. Together words and pictures create a world so much like our own, and yet so delightfully magical. Review from Amazon
George and Martha: The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends
by James Marshall
Like all best friends, George and Martha do everything together--go to the movies, play at the beach, and just hang around not doing much of anything. No matter that they happen to be gigantic hippopotami, they learn the same lessons humans do about the ups and downs of true friendship. George and Martha teach each other (and adoring readers) that even in a close friendship, privacy is important, practical jokes can sometimes backfire, and among other things, pouring split pea soup into your loafers to spare the chef's feelings is not the best laid plan. What's remarkable about the stories in this wonderful collection is the emotion James Marshall infuses into his understated, charming text and illustrations. Each brief tale is always humorous, never preachy, and his drawings--deceptively simple in appearance--are guaranteed to spark feelings of empathy, delight, and self-recognition. Maurice Sendak, in his foreword to this 25th anniversary compilation edition of all 35 stories, notes, "Those dear, ditzy, down-to-earth hippos bring serious pleasure to everybody, not only to children. They are time-capsule hippos who will always remind us of a paradise in publishing and--both seriously and comically--of the true, durable meaning of friendship under the best and worst conditions." (Ages 4 and up) Review from Amazon
The Story of Babar
by Jean de Brunhoff
The Story of Babar--the early adventures of the enduring, endearing elephant--was written in 1931 by French writer Jean de Brunhoff (1899-1937). Since then, it has been translated into at least 12 languages. It's amazing how much can happen to one little elephant in the course of one little book: Babar loses his mother to a hunter, wanders into the city, gets a new wardrobe, becomes the hit of high society, marries his cousin Céleste (totally acceptable in contemporary Elephantine society), and is crowned King of the Elephants. The Story of Babar is essentially the tale of a country boy who comes to the city and, while there, comes of age. In the end, he returns home to share his knowledge and experiences with family and friends. The beautiful, delightfully detailed illustrations--de Brunhoff was a painter by trade--never fail to amuse. (Although none of the characters seem to notice, the sight of Babar in a suit leaning against the mantel while he regales his audience with tales of the jungle is plainly hilarious.) All of the Babar books are notable for their ability to tell larger stories with simplicity and style, and The Story of Babar is no exception. Potentially troubling moments--the death of Babar's mother, for example--are handled with taste, emphasizing Babar's unique gift for uncovering a silver lining in the most persistent of clouds. (Ages 4 to 8, though the cursive writing makes it best for reading aloud.) Review from Amazon
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