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This Month’s Book: All Around Us
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for March is All Around Us by Xelena Gonzalez! 

Children create understanding of their world and culture through oral traditions. All Around Us by Xelena Gonzalez encompasses the beauty of this tradition as a Grandpa teaches his grandchild about the circle of life. While reading, explore with your child the special times that you practice the tradition of oral storytelling. “This grandpa tells stories while they garden. We like to tell stories while we ride in the car together. You love to hear stories of what you were like as a baby!” You could also explore new opportunities to put this tradition into practice.  “Maybe I could tell you the story of the day you were born on your birthday every year.”

 

Celebrate life and all its beauty with a traditional Spanish song called De Colores! José-Luis Orozco performs a beautiful rendition of this song found here:https://youtu.be/9rn43pLNtlY

 

A sense of belonging is also an important component in a child developing positive self identity. Promote this concept by connecting the stories you share with your child to their personal life and own experiences. This will help them feel connected to these stories and messages. “You also spend time with your grandpa, what kinds of stories does he tell you?” or “They are going for a walk, we walk to the bus stop everyday!”

Being in nature has positive effects on us all!    Gardening is a fun and easy way to connect with nature and with your child! The Make Way For Books App has some wonderful suggestions to keep gardening simple. You can find these suggestions in the preschool section of activities under Grow a Garden. The Pima County Public Library also a has a seed library where you can obtain FREE seeds for your garden!

Share your experience with All Around Us and be entered into a raffle to win next month’s C2C Book Club title! For example, you could:

• Tell us about your child’s favorite part of the story.
• Send a video of you sharing the book together.
• Send a picture of you and your child creating a garden!

Share your photos and videos with us on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to tag Make Way for Books. For example:

@mwfbaz My plants are growing! #storytime

Or email us your photo or video at info@makewayforbooks.org.

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about All Around Us!

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This Month’s Book: Salsa Lullaby
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for February is Salsa Lullaby by Jen Arena! 

Getting baby to bed can be challenging at times, but maybe not when you dance them to sleep. And not just any dancing…we’re talking SALSA! So, get ready for some cuteness when you read Salsa Lullaby by Jen Arena. While reading, talk to your child about their bedtime routine, “They dance before bed! What things do we do before bed?” Talking about routines provides an opportunity to strengthen them. Having strong routines will create a predictable environment that will help your child feel safe and secure! “We don’t dance before bed, but maybe we should, it could help us get all our energy out before we go to sleep!”

 

Incorporate dancing into your routine with The Super Silly Tango. It’s so much FUN! Find it here: https://youtu.be/8G5hCKI65Sw

 

Having strong routines helps develop an important set of skills called executive function, which we all use to manage tasks and reach goals. Memory is one of these skills. As you read, practice recalling what happened earlier in the story to guide your way through the book: “Now the baby is bouncing to the beat. Do you remember what else the baby has done to the beat? That’s right, the baby sang and danced to the beat! What else do you think he will do?” Even if your child isn’t yet able to respond to questions, it’s wonderful to still ask…just respond for them, “I think the baby is going to laugh to the beat, because that’s what you do!”

Play with your child  by creating your own beats!  Collect safe household objects that your child could use to make music and allow them to experiment. Pots, pans, plastic bowls, spoons…the list goes on! Don’t forget to dance to your beats! Cha Cha Cha!

 

Share your experience with Salsa Lullaby and be entered into a raffle to win next month’s C2C Book Club title! For example, you could:

• Tell us about your child’s favorite part of the story.
• Send a video of you sharing the book together.
• Send a picture of you and your child making music!

Share your photos and videos with us on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to tag Make Way for Books. For example:

@mwfbaz Look at us dancing the tango! #storytime

Or email us your photo or video at info@makewayforbooks.org.

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Salsa Lullaby!

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This Month’s Book: Breathe Like a Bear
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for January is Breathe Like a Bear by Kira Willey! 

Pause for a moment with your child with an amazing book called Breathe Like a Bear by Kira Willey. You will find 30 different mindfulness activities that will help you and your child connect to yourselves and each other; these can also help with calming down…and that’s great! Although the book is a guide, your can still read it together as it is also full of the cutest illustration that your child is sure to adore. Try letting your child chose the activity based off of which illustration she thinks is the cutest, or silliest!

Breathing exercises can help us connect with our bodies…so can dancing. So why not sing and dance to fun song? Check out Mi cuerpo by Eric Litwin & Michael Levine found at this link: https://youtu.be/dRxwOL7J7x0

 

Not only is this book a guide to awesome mindfulness activities but it’s a book you and your child can use to promote imagination. Take a picture walk with this book and create your own stories with your child by focusing solely on the illustrations.  You can use just one page of the book, skip through pages or use all the pages. Just follow your child’s lead and prompt them with open ended questions. “Oh wow, what do you think is happening here?” Or “Why do you think the bears are all smiling?”

Extend all this mindfulness by doing yoga with your child. There are so many fun poses that it can feel more like play than exercise.! Here is a quick three minute yoga flow by Mariam Gates that you can practice with your child. What a  great way to start the day: https://youtu.be/m_E0AK2nkAY

 

Share your experience with Breathe Like a Bear and be entered into a raffle to win next month’s C2C Book Club title! For example, you could:

• Tell us about your child’s favorite part of the story.
• Send a video of you sharing the book together.
• Send a picture of you and your child doing yoga together!

Share your photos and videos with us on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to tag Make Way for Books. For example:

@mwfbaz Look at me, I’m a strong tree! #storytime

Or email us your photo or video at info@makewayforbooks.org.

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Breathe Like a Bear!

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This Month’s Book: The Odd Egg
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for December is The Odd Egg  by Emily Gravett! 

Emily Gravett created another wonderful book titled The Odd Egg! While reading, talk to your child about the illustrations. Ask them questions that will help them make predictions about the story. “That’s such a big egg, what do you think is inside? What makes you think that?” Making predictions with your child will help them develop comprehension, an important literacy skill which will help them better understand what is happening in the story!

 

Sing Four Little Ducks to go along with the story! Eric Litwin and Michael Levine created a fun version that can be found at this link: https://youtu.be/_ioGmSNeobw

 

A great way to start off a story is by simply having a conversation about the cover. Begin by asking your child what they think the story will be about. Pointing out what you see can help guide the conversation. “Duck is so close to the egg, it looks like he’s listening to something. What do you think he hears?” Or, “What does odd mean? Do you think this egg is odd? Why or why not?” Be sure to follow your child’s interest and elaborate on what they notice.

Retelling stories is a great way to promote comprehension. A great way for children to do this is through artistic expression! Provide your child with some simple art materials to allow them to retell the story with a picture! Your could prompt your child with a question to fuel their imagination, “Can you draw or paint a picture of your favorite or least favorite part of the story?” After they finish, encourage conversation by asking them to tell you about their picture! And remember, scribbles are an important form of expression!

Share your experience with The Odd Egg and be entered into a raffle to win next month’s C2C Book Club title! For example, you could:

• Tell us about your child’s favorite part of the story.
• Send a video of you sharing the book together.
• Send a picture of you and your child creating beautiful art!

Share your photos and videos with us on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to tag Make Way for Books. For example:

@mwfbaz Look at my masterpiece! #storytime

Or email us your photo or video at info@makewayforbooks.org.

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about The Odd Egg!

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This Month’s Book: Grande y pequeño/Big and Small
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for November is Grande y pequeño/Big and Small  by Britta Teckentrup! 

Grande y pequeño/Big and Small by Britta Teckentrup is full of adorable illustrations that provide a perfect opportunity to have a beautiful conversation with your child. The illustration on each page depicts something BIG and little. While reading, talk to your child about how the illustrations are related to each other. “Seeds are so little, have you noticed the seeds in apples before? What other foods have seeds and why do they have seeds?” Or, “A bird is bigger than a worm, but do you think that birds are big? Why?” Asking why at the end of a question that would normally have a quick answer provides an opportunity for your child to create more elaborate responses which spurs dialogue and interaction with your child!

 

Sing and dance to a fun song with your child! If I Was a Bird seems to be the perfect addition to this book. Create your own lyrics to the song, “If I was a bird, I’d eat a small worm.” Find the song here: https://youtu.be/64g11MkZavY

 

Back and fourth conversations with your child  creates an environment full of language and love, an environment that will promote positive brain development in your child! And talking to your child about things that they can relate to provides even more opportunity for beautiful conversation! While reading, try and relate the book to their prior knowledge and experience of things: “This bee looks really friendly, remember when that bee was following us in the back yard? How did that make you feel?”

Help your child to collect things around the house that are big and small and then turn them into a game. Sort the objects, count them, play eye spy with them…do whatever is fun for you and your child!

 

Share your experience with Grande y pequeño/Big and Small and be entered into a raffle to win next month’s C2C Book Club title! For example, you could:

• Tell us about your child’s favorite part of the story.
• Send a video of you sharing the book together.
• Send a picture of your child playing with all the BIG and small objects they collected!

Share your photos and videos with us on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to tag Make Way for Books. For example:

@mwfbaz My teddy bear is so BIG! #storytime

Or email us your photo or video at info@makewayforbooks.org.

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Grande y pequeño/Big and Small!

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This Month’s Book: De colores
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for October is De colores by Patty Rodriguez & Ariana Stein! 

De colores is a  traditional Spanish folk song that celebrates the beauty of life, with all it’s beautiful colors! And now it’s available to read or sing, in a colorful bilingual board book!  Despite how you feel about your singing voice, your child loves it, so share this book with your child by singing! Sing along to the words in the book or create your own song to go along with the book. “Old  MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O. And on that farm he had a bee, E-I-E-I-O.” Be creative together!

 

 

Sing along to De colores with an amazing singer named José-Luis Orozco by using this link: https://youtu.be/9rn43pLNtlY

 

 

Singing along to De colores will help your child’s development of an important early literacy skill called phonological awareness. Phonological awareness is a child’s ability to distinguish all the diverse sounds that make up words and will help in their language and reading development. Making silly animal sounds also helps promote phonological awareness! While reading De colores, encourage your child to imitate the sounds of all the adorable creatures featured in the book! “What sound does a bee say? Now, let’s fly around like bees!”

 

Elaborate on phonological awareness by making listening tubes with your child. Let your child decorate a piece of paper with markers or crayons and then roll it up and tape it together. Encourage your child to hold the tube to their ear to accentuate the sounds that they hear. This activity is titled Sounds All Around and can be found on our Make Way for Books app!

 

Share your experience with De colores and be entered into a raffle to win next month’s C2C Book Club title! For example, you could:

• Tell us about your child’s favorite part of the story.
• Send a video of you sharing the book together.
• Send a picture of you and your child making listening tubes!

Share your photos and videos with us on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to tag Make Way for Books. For example:

@mwfbaz The sounds are so clear with my new listening tube! #storytime

Or email us your photo or video at info@makewayforbooks.org.

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about De colores!

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This Month’s Book: Margaret and Margarita 
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for September is Margaret and Margarita  by Lynn Reiser! 

With no one to play with, Margaret and Margarita didn’t think going to the park would be any fun.  Well, thank goodness they went, because they got to make a wonderful connection! While reading Margaret and Margarita by Lynn Reiser, talk to your child about the importance of forming positive relationships: “Margaret and Margarita became friends and look how much fun they have together.” Reflect on the times your child formed a positive connection: “Remember the first time you played with Sebastian at the pool, now you are best friends! I wonder what you and Sebastian will do at the pool the next time we go!”

 

Listen to Count On Me, a beautiful song about friendship by Bruno Mars. Sing along to the lyrics found in this video! Also be prepared for  some adorable animals that become friends. Watch the video with your child to see how many of the animals that they can identify. Which animal  do they like best? Why? Find the link here: https://youtu.be/h9O5_Q-oLrs

 

Learning how to handle books is an important early literacy skill and super easy to promote! Simply let your child handle books! While reading, let your child hold the book and turn the pages. Babies and toddlers might need some reminders to be gentle. Board and cloth books are great for this age. Handling books allows your child to feel a sense of ownership over their experience and will have them feeling like a big kid!

 

Margaret and Margarita had a make believe party! Have a pretend party with your child! Ask your child what you will need for the party. Which friends or stuffed animals will you invite?

 

Share your experience with Margaret and Margarita and be entered into a raffle to win next month’s C2C Book Club title! For example, you could:

• Tell us about your child’s favorite part of the story.
• Send a video of you sharing the book together.
• Send a picture of you and your child having a pretend party!

Share your photos and videos with us on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to tag Make Way for Books. For example:

@mwfbaz Parties are so much fun! #storytime

Or email us your photo or video at info@makewayforbooks.org.

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Margaret and Margarita!

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This Month’s Book: Mr. Tiger Goes Wild
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for August is Mr. Tiger Goes Wild  by Peter Brown! 

Something doesn’t feel quite right to Mr. Tiger, so he gets in touch with his true self and along the way inspires others to do the same! Mr. Tiger’s ability to lead and inspire is just one of the awesome parts of Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown . Use this book as an opportunity to talk with your child about listening to their feelings: “Mr. Tiger didn’t like the way he was feeling,- have you ever felt that way?” Reflect with your child, “I remember when you tried soccer and after giving it a good try, you told me that it wasn’t fun, so you tried gymnastics instead. Now you are excited each week to go to gymnastics! I’m so happy you told me how you were feeling so that we could find the right activity for you.”

Speaking of happy…dancing with scarves is bound to illicit happiness! If you don’t have a scarf, use a Kleenex or a dish towel to dance along to this fun tune: https://youtu.be/f89kawLBKDo

Having emotional intelligence helps a child identify, understand and manage what they are feeling. It’s an importance skill that can be developed simply by talking to your child about ALL their feelings and the feelings of others. While sharing this story, ask your child if they can identify how and why the characters are feeling.  “Why do you think Mr. Tiger is bored with being so proper? What does proper mean?”

 

Relax with your child  by doing puzzles together. You can build your own by cutting up left over book jackets, art created by your child, or cereal boxes!

 

Share your experience with Mr. Tiger Goes Wild and be entered into a raffle to win next month’s C2C Book Club title! For example, you could:

• Tell us about your child’s favorite part of the story.
• Send a video of you sharing the book together.
• Send a picture of you and your child playing with puzzles!

Share your photos and videos with us on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to tag Make Way for Books. For example:

@mwfbaz I made a puzzle with my artwork! #storytime

Or email us your photo or video at info@makewayforbooks.org.

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Mr. Tiger Goes Wild!

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This Month’s Book: One Is a Piñata
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for July is One Is a Piñata  by Roseanne Greenfield Thong! 

Celebrate beautiful culture as you count your way through the book One is a Piñata by Roseanne Greenfield Thong. While reading, talk to your child about the illustrations that may seem familiar to their lives. Also point out the illustrations that depict something new! “You love hot chocolate, but we have never used it for dipping bolillos. How do you think that would taste? Should we give it a try?”

Sing and dance a counting song to go along with a counting book! The song Dance Freeze Melt is so much fun to dance along with your child! Find the song here:

 

Take advantage of this book as an opportunity to promote early math skills! Help them to identify patterns by asking them to predict what number will come next. “We just read about the number three. What number are we going to read about next?” If they can’t think of the number, try recounting to help your child identify the pattern!

 

Promote math again by using the simple recipe found on our app to create homemade bubbles. Download our app at the App store or the Google Play Store by searching for Make Way for Books.  Once downloaded , search for the activity called “Bubble Time!” Your child will love to help measure and pour the ingredients…and of course, playing with the bubbles!

 

Join the Conversation!

Share your experience with One Is a Piñata and be entered into a raffle to win next month’s C2C Book Club title! For example, you could:

• Tell us about your child’s favorite part of the story.
• Send a video of you sharing the book together.
• Send a picture of you and your child making bubbles!

Share your photos and videos with us on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to tag Make Way for Books. For example:

@mwfbaz We are so excited to use bubbles created by us! #storytime

Or email us your photo or video at info@makewayforbooks.org.

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about One Is a Piñata

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This Month’s Book: Can I Play Too?
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for June is Can I Play Too?  by Mo Willems! 

Playing catch is so much fun, but it is possible without arms?  Can I Play Too? by Mo Willems takes you on a journey of trial and error to figure out a way to include snake in a game of catch.  While reading, focus on the how the characters are feeling  throughout the story and have a conversation about those feelings. “Look at snake, how does he feels when he thinks that Piggie and Gerald do not want to play with him? Why do you think he feels that way?”

Problem solving can be difficult , especially when our ideas aren’t working.  “Rolling with the waves” can make the process a little easier…and there’s a  song about it! Find the song  Roll With The Waves at this link: https://youtu.be/ETM2Laer374

Comprehension is a child’s understanding and interpretation of what they are reading. It’s an important early literacy skill and can be promoted by making predictions with our child as we read.  While reading, ask your child what they think will happen in the story.  “Do you think that throwing a lot of balls at once will help snake catch? Why?” There are no right or wrong answers, just beautiful conversations!

 

Playing catch is so much fun, but it’s not the only way to play with balls. Escape the heat and play indoors by allowing your child to throw a softer ball into a laundry basket or a bucket. Turn the laundry basket into a goal and allow them to kick the ball into the basket! The possibilities are endless!

 

Join the Conversation!

Share your experience with Can I Play Too? and be entered into a raffle to win next month’s C2C Book Club title! For example, you could:

• Tell us about your child’s favorite part of the story.
• Send a video of you sharing the book together.
• Send a picture of you and your child playing ball!

Share your photos and videos with us on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to tag Make Way for Books. For example:

@mwfbaz This book is so funny! #storytime

Or email us your photo or video at info@makewayforbooks.org.

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Can I Play Too?