I'm a Dirty Dinosaur is delightfully catchy poetry that any little boy would love, and girls too!
When a Dragon Moves In is a wonderfully written book for young kids with wild imaginations and an inkling toward mischief. The book is written by Jodi Moore, and I feel I would be remiss not to mention the illustrator who does such an amazing job giving us the whole story: Howard McWilliam.
Although the main character in this book is a young boy, this is an awesome book for boys and girls alike; filled with imagination, fun, mischief, and ultimately learning to do what’s right. A little boy goes to the beach with his family. When he builds the perfect sandcastle a dragon moves in, and they become fast friends. The dragon seems to make beach fun even more exciting. He helps the boy with all kinds of beach activities: floating, roasting marshmallows, and of course, flying a kite. He is even there to protect the castle from bullies looking to stomp on it. But, when the boy tries to tell his family about his dragon and no one believes him mischief arises. The dragon eats all the sandwiches, puts claw marks in the brownies, and even sprays sand all over the older sister. When the parents confront the little boy about his misbehaving he protests that it wasn’t him, it was the dragon. When the parents say they’ve had enough of this “dragon business” the little boy sends the mischievous dragon away until he can learn some manners. The pictures are adorable and tell the other side of the story. Although, the dragon is on every page doing all of these things, the family is also there helping roast marshmallows and keeping bullies away. Even though, the boy uses the dragon as his scapegoat for his own bad behavior, he eventually decides that good manners are more important than simply having fun. The book ends with him vowing never to make a perfect sandcastle again, “At least until tomorrow”. The entire back cover displays a beach covered in sandcastles, and dragons of all colors and sizes playing with the children allowing the imagination to run wild. My son loves Dr. Seuss books! Maybe it’s because they’re silly, or maybe it’s because they rhyme and have a sing song rhythm. Either way, if it’s Dr. Seuss my son will happily sit and follow along while I read.
Lately, his favorite Dr. Seuss book is the ABC Book. The inside cover (front and back) has the entire alphabet in capital and small letters. So, before we even start reading we sing the alphabet, and then again at the end of the book. Every letter has its own page, and begins by presenting the letter in both sizes. So, the first page reads: BIG A, little a, A, a, A, what begins with A? Then, he gives you a list of things that start with the letter. My son loves the pictures AND the silly rhymes. Because of the catchy rhythm, he can probably recite the entire book by heart. Each page uses an appropriate amount of repetition with the letter. Plus, every few pages you get more practice with the alphabet up to the letter that you are currently on. Overall the book is very cute and a great way for kids to learn their ABC’s. |
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April 2015
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