My dd's 5th bday is coming up, I am invited to bring treats and read a favorite book aloud to the class. I have been waiting for this privilege my whole life! I am so excited, I love books and I love reading to kids and my dd is excited to have me there. I want it to be the BEST BOOK EVER. We have so many favorites. But I want to find something that really engages the kids. maybe 'dont let the pigeon drive the bus'?
any suggestions would be great. THANKS!
Rhyming Dust Bunnies. It brought down the house in my daughter's daycare, and I was forced to read it three time in a row while the kids howled.
"Pete the Cat - I Love My White Shoes"!!!! It is one of the best books I have ever bought and my girls (10, 5, & 3) LOVE it!!! It is fun and it has an awesome message! There is also a song you can download that goes with the book. My girls love it too and sing it all day long!!!
"Stinky, Smelly Feet- A Love Story" by Margie Pallatini
"Hilda Must Be Dancing" by Karma Wilson
"Sakes Alive, A Cattle Drive" also by Karma Wilson
"Farmer Cap" - I can't remember the author, sorry!
I love "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus"! Anything by Mo Willems will be a hit with the kids.
Personally, I think you should choose a few of your daughter's favorites and let her choose which one.
That is a great book. You can't go wrong with a Skippy Jon Jones or a Froggy book, either. With Froggy Learns to Swim, you can point out onomatopoeia!
'The Monster at the End of this Book'
That is a favorite at our house!
~It's not scary...its Sesame Street and *spoiler alert*...the monster at the end of the book is Grover!
Oh my goodness! I love books too.
Here are some of our favorites (I love the first 3 the most). You can look up reviews and even see some of the pages sometimes on Amazon.com
Memoirs of a Goldfish (by Devin Scillian)
Chicken Big (by Keith Graves)
Duck on a Bike (David Shannon)
Bedhead (by Margie Palatini)
I'm Really Not Tired (by Lori Sunshine)
That's Good! That's Bad! (by Margery Cuyler)
Wacky Wednesday (Dr. Seuss)
'Mr Brown Can Moo, Can YOU?' by Dr Suess is REALLY fun if you get the kids making all the noises too :)
"Move Over Rover." I forget who wrote it.. but you can google that. It is very entertaining.. and my kids just adore it! It was given to my son by a woman who teaches elementary school and says it's a hit with her class every year. Another great recommendation is "Knuffle Bunny II." Totally enjoyable and well written. Great story, fun, very relatable for kids. You'll like it as much as the kids will. And the pictures are awesome. Have fun! And happy birthday to your daughter! Mine turns 5 on the 28th so we're in the midst of party planning and treats to school on her big day. :)
Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros? by Shel Silverstein
Anything where you can have a puppet and do voices would be fun. If you find a yellow lab puppet, Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh is a good one. Alphabet soup in a crock pot would be unusual but healthy as a treat. Alphabet soup makes this dog talk. Have the puppet do marthas lines, you narrate. Otherwise, this might be a little difficult as a read aloud as there are alot of captions above martha in the book. The puppet will solve this problem when you present it to the children.
http://www.amazon.com/Martha-Speaks-Book-Susan-Meddaugh/d...
Arnie the Doughnut by Laurie Keller is downright funny and you could bring a dougnut treat to dove tail with the story!
http://www.amazon.com/Arnie-Doughnut-Laurie-Keller/dp/B00...
The modern version of "Chicken Little" written by Steven Kellogg is a hoot. Lot's of crazy action, humor, and opportunities to get the kids laughing. Synopsis: Foxy Loxy is hungry and planning several meals featuring his feathered towns folk as the main courses. Sounds horrible, but it is absolutely hilarious. Especially when Foxy Loxy gets it by the local police dog after he crashes his helicopter into Foxy's disguised truck. There's lots of opportunity for fun voices. Snack could be Chicken n' Biscuit crackers LOL! Or anything that would go with the various menus Foxy Loxy has planned.
http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Little-Steven-Kellogg/dp/06...
Crazy Hair Day by Barney Saltzberg is funny. It's a story all elementary school kids can relate to for sure. Maybe you could buy a bulk pack of flashy or colorful clip-in hair extensions from a party supply store for the kids to clip in their hair as an interactive activity or have them draw pics of their own crazy hair do. And of course you could wear a weird wig or come with a crazy hairdo of your own.
http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Junior-Library-Guild-Selectio...
For extensions see: http://www.orientaltrading.com/braid-extensions-a2-14_54-...
http://www.orientaltrading.com/pom-pom-tinsel-wigs-a2-42_...
Any of the "Teacher from the Black Lagoon" series by Mike Thaler or the "Miss Nelson" series by James Marshall would be a hit.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_17?url=search-al...+
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_17?url=search-al...+
Monster puppets for either could be the "teacher" and narrator of the stories above! Halloween themed treats would work here...or an apple "for the teacher."
"Is Your Mama A Llama?"
"Ten Little Dinosaurs" (Jumping on the Bed)
...any book that rhymes...Dr. Seus especially
P.S. And when I read to that age, I don't finish the last word, by dragging out the 2nd to last word, and it really keeps the kids attention, b/c some no the answer and are waiting, some are guessing...very fun.
One of my kids' favorties is 'Rhyming Dust Bunnies' - athough they prefer when my husband reads it to the class and enhances the voices.
I always like rhyming books. Since it is your daughter's birthday there is Birthday Party at the Panda Palace.
One of my favorites is 'Have I Got a Book for You!'
There is also 'Adventures of Cow' and 'Adventures of Cow Too'
I also like the pigeon series.
Do You Know Which One Will Grow? by Susan Shea. The book has flaps that open, it says silly things, and the kids get to shout out "yes" or "no." I just read it to my 3-yr-old class-they were laughing so hard.
"Go Away, Big Green Monster " is good, too. Remember, if you are excited about the book, the kids will be, too. I am thrilled that you are so excited about this opportunity.
IMO-The kids don't particularly enjoy the pigeon books and some of them have a bit of a rude or sarcastic tone to them that the kids don't understand.
The bear snors on...About hibernation and has lots of reptition, great in my day care setting!
Where the Sidewalk Ends or Light in the Attic. My kid's classes cracked up and had so much fun listening the the poetry.
"The Pigeon Finds A Hotdog."
Kids love this... and you can really make it fun by the tone, of your voice and facial expressions.
My 5 year old son, LOVES this book and tells me to read it over and over and over.
Or any of the "Pigeon" books.
Also: "Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type."
whatever you have the most fun reading will be the most fun. we love the knuffle bunny books, i get so into them and the kids crack up. the skippy jon jones books too, though maybe a bit over their heads if you dont take a minute. but lots of fun to read and do the accents and everything. theres a book by dom deluise, something charlie, that we used to have so much fun reading, lots of voices and the kids crack up and a great lesson too.... if you arent really that kind of reader and you want something quiet and engaging with beautiful illustrations, we love owl moon. ...
Anything by Dr Seuss is fine.
Fox in Socks might be a bit of a challenge to read out loud - it requires some practice.
Very hungry caterpillar!
I love Mo Willems, but the pigeon books are not my favorites. His Elephant and Piggy books are fantastic - my son is in stitches every time we read them, and he's always on the lookout for the next new book.
as of this week my kids favorites are Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you see, and Who Ate All the Cookie Dough?.
I hate reading DR suess out loud to a group of kids i would stay away from that.
My fav read aloud is one my dd loved, by John Lithgow, Marsupial Sue and the run away pancake. There is repetition in the animals chasign the pancake so the kids can participate, the picts are great, and it's funny at the end.
after that I like the Froggy books London is the authors last name.
George Barks is cute.
Whichever is YOUR favorite. Your real liking of the book and your enthusiam will shine through/ translate
I'm a childcare provider as well as a mom to 5 kiddos of my own, and they have always loved "Green Eggs & Ham", "If you give a moose a muffin", and "Guess How much I love You?" How fun!! Good luck!! :)
