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This Month’s Book: The Desert Is My Mother
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for March is The Desert Is My Mother  by Pat Mora.  The desert is mother to all of us Tucsonans and how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place! See the beauty of the desert as your explore the vibrantly illustrated pages of this book!

The desert is a beautiful place that provides for us in many ways! The Desert Is My Mother by Pat Mora depicts how the desert provides for a little girl, and the gratitude she feels for  its generosity. While reading, talk with your child about the meaning of gratitude. Talk about the things that make you feel grateful. Invite your child to think about the things she is grateful for.

Stars twinkling in the night are such a beautiful sight! We’re so lucky that there is a song about them! Sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with your little one!  Promote fine motor skills by modeling for your child how to make their little fingers twinkle like a star. Find an example of the finger play here: https://youtu.be/hy0KyiJJDyY

Vocabulary is an important early literacy skill and books provide the perfect opportunity to introduce new words! Chant, bloom, heal, and prickly pear are just a few of the many words found in this book that may not be used every day. While reading, invite your child to think about the meaning of any unfamiliar words you come across. Are there any clues in the story that can tell you what they might mean?

Let your child paint the beautiful colors of the deserts with watercolor ice cubes! Simply mix water and food coloring in your ice cube trays and freeze! Involve your child in the process and create new shades by mixing colors! Make predictions with your child throughout the process: “What color do you think yellow and blue will make?”

Join the Conversation!

Share your experience with The Desert Is My Mother 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 painting with ice cubes!

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

@mwfbaz Yellow and blue make green! #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 Desert Is My Mother!

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This Month’s Book: Flora and the Peacocks
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for February is Flora and the Peacocks  by Molly Idle. Let the beautiful illustrations guide you through Flora’s journey in creating a beautiful new friendship.

Celebrate diversity with Flora and the Peacock by Moly Idle!Flora may not have much in common with a Peacock, but that isn’t going to stop her from dancing a beautiful friendship dance with them. While reading, talk to your child about the challenges that Flora faces in her attempts to connect with the Peacocks. Promote problem solving skills and  explore with your child the many ways in which a person can overcome differences.

Let your child experience what it’s like to be different animals by singing the song If I Were A Bird! Make it a special moment by dancing along with your child! Find the song here: https://youtu.be/kLDHYYOCa7Q

 

Flora and the Peacocks is a wordless book! This is a beautiful opportunity to aid in the development of your child’s vocabulary and comprehension skills. While reading, focus on the illustrations to guide the conversation. Noticing and talking about the details of each illustration will have you using lots of language with your little one and also help her figure out the story.

 

Play that encourages cooperation is a great way to promote skills to build strong relationships! Play blocks with your child to promote cooperation.  Creating a plan together, taking turns, and sharing will  encourage cooperation and create a fun interactive experience. Try building with everyday items such as egg cartons, shoe boxes or food boxes! A pre-cursor to letter recognition is shape identification. So, try pointing out the shapes of the blocks as you play!

Join the Conversation!

Share your experience with Flora and the Peacocks 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 blocks.

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

@mwfbaz We worked so hard together to build a such a tall tower!  #storytime

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

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Flora and the Peacocks!

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This Month’s Book: Penguin on Vacation
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for January is Penguin on Vacation  by Salina Yoon. Beaches and friendship! What could be a more ideal scenario for Penguin and his wondrous vacation!    

Penguin is tired of doing the same winter activities and decides that it’s time for a vacation! His vacation destination is very different than home, leaving Penguin questioning how to pass the time. Penguin on Vacation by Salina Yoon provides a wonderful opportunity to talk about the importance of friendship and what a wonderful difference friends can make in improving situations. While reading,  talk to your child about friendships that are important to you.  Invite your child to reflect on their own experiences with friends. Being open to all input provides a wonderful opportunity to discuss ways to be a good friend to others.

Penguin rowed his raft all the way to the beach! Sing and dance to the song Row, Row, Row You’re Boat and invite your child to imagine rowing off to a faraway land. Find the song here: https://youtu.be/mPZA6-oUXIU. 

Alphabet knowledge is an important early literacy skill. Simple concepts, such as same and different, help children recognize letters. While reading, bring attention to the similarities and differences found in the illustrations: “Penguin and Crab have the same eyes, but Crab has eight legs and Penguin has two.” Noticing these subtleties will help your child to begin to notice the subtle differences and similarities found in letters!

Balls are so awesome that Penguin has his with him on almost every page! Playing ball with your child not only improves motor skills, but it also promotes literacy! The hand-eye coordination needed to track the ball  is a skill necessary for reading and writing!

Join the Conversation!

Share your experience with Penguin on Vacation! 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 Rolling the ball back and forth is 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 Penguin on Vacation

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This Month’s Book: Waiting Is Not Easy!
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for December is Waiting Is Not Easy!  by Mo Willems. Sometimes one of the hardest things to do is wait. Especially when surprises are anticipated. In this wonderful book, Mo Willems takes us on a journey of waiting and the beautiful surprise that follows!

Waiting is NOT easy! But unfortunately, it is necessary. Fortunately, many things are worth the wait! Mo Willems’s Waiting Is Not Easy depicts this scenario perfectly. While reading, talk with your child about how Gerald and Piggie each react to having to wait.  Talk with your child about a time when they had to wait for something. How does it feel to wait? Explore with your child some fun waiting strategies.

Having to freeze during a song encourages children to practice patience as they wait for the beat to drop. Practice self regulation by doing The Freeze! Find the lyrics here: https://youtu.be/Igr_XCHqY68

 

While reading Waiting Is Not Easy! talk to your child about what is happening on each page. See if they notice any changes taking place from page to page. Making predictions and focusing on details of the illustrations with your child will help them develop comprehension, an important early literacy skill.

Waiting in offices can be so hard for children. Distract your little one from the difficulty of waiting by PLAYING! Turn counting into a game and ask your child to count how many yellow objects are in the office waiting room. Then, change up the color. Play “I Spy,” or  take your baby on a stroll through the office and describe different objects. The possibilities are  endless!

Join the Conversation!

Share your experience with Waiting Is Not Easy! 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 games in the waiting room.

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

@mwfbaz I counted three yellow items in the waiting room! #storytime

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

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Waiting Is Not Easy!

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This Month’s Book: Let’s Eat! ¡A comer!
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for November is Let’s Eat! ¡A comer!   by Pat Mora. Enjoy this wonderful bilingual books that brings family together is one of the most fabulous ways, FOOD!

Let’s Eat! ¡A comer! by Pat Mora is a wonderful book that encompasses the importance of family and food and the gratitude felt when those two are combined! While reading, talk to your child about why the  characters feel “rich.” What does it mean to feel rich in the context of the book? Tell your child what makes your feel grateful and then ask them about times in their lives when they have felt grateful.

Apples and bananas are not only nutritious, but delicious! Sing a song about these healthy food choices. Find the lyrics to the song Apples and Bananas here: https://youtu.be/zvOyZ_srK5g 

In Let’s Eat! ¡A comer! Grandma gets to join  dinner! Even the dog comes to the table, or at least under the table. While reading, point out all the different members of the family and then talk to your child about all the members that create your beautiful, unique family.

Just like eating , art can be a great way to bring the family together. Provide your child with simple materials such as crayons, paints, chalk and paper, and as a family create beautiful art! Create recycled art! Next time you are grocery shopping ask for paper grocery bags and allow your children to use them as canvases! The cardboard from cereal boxes also make great canvases. Your child will be so excited to create art with you!

Join the Conversation!

Share your experience with Let’s Eat! ¡A comer! 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 family creating art 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 our beautiful recycled art! #storytime

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

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Let’s Eat! ¡A comer!

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This Month’s Book: Boo! ¡Bu!
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for October is Boo! ¡Bu!  by Leslie Patricelli. Pumpkins, Pumpkins and more pumpkins! This wonderful book will have your feeling the presence of Fall with all it’s beautiful depictions of….PUMPKINS! What is Fall without pumpkins?

It’s October and the weather is Boo-tiful! Leslie Patricelli has captured the essence of Fall and the emotions and excitement that come with it in Boo!/¡Bu! Promote emotional literacy by talking to your child about the different emotions depicted throughout the story. Ask your child if they can remember a time when they felt these diverse emotions: “Do you remember a time when you felt scared? What did you do to feel better?”

Five little pumpkins is such a fun song and a perfect way to invite the Fall season. Follow the link to find the song: https://youtu.be/cm1qvX1ygOo

 

Print awareness takes place when children start to understand that written words have meaning. Leslie Patricelli has done a wonderful job of fostering this concept by labeling the illustrations throughout Boo!/¡Bu! While reading, point out these words and the corresponding illustrations to promote this important early literacy skill

Play Peek-A-BOO with your child! The back and forth interactions that take place during this wonderfully simple game make it easy to have a beautiful conversation with your baby or toddler. Try using a blanket or scarf to hide behind and mimicking your child’s reactions while playing this game.

Join the Conversation!

Share your experience with Boo! ¡Bu! 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 Peek-A-BOO!

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

@mwfbaz Playing Peek-A-Boo is 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 !Boo ¡Bu!

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This Month’s Book: Bear & Hare Where’s Bear?
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for September is Bear & Hare Where’s Bear?  by Emily Gravett.  You can COUNT on loving this fun story that follows Bear & Hare on an adventure of hide and seek!

Bear & Hare:  Where’s Bear? is an adorable book about play, making it perfect for children! Bear tries hard to find a perfect hiding spot for hide and seek, but being a big bear makes it difficult to hide! Invite your child to try and find Bear and Hare in the illustrations. Talk with your child about the hiding spots and ask open ended questions: “Was it hard to find bear behind the fish tank? Why do you think it was so easy to find him? Where could bear hide in our house so that we couldn’t find him?

Music is a great way to promote early math! Check out Four Little Ducks by Erik Litwin and Michael Levine: https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ioGmSNeobw

Elaborate on the concept of counting and promote numeral identification by pointing to the numbers in the book as you count along with Bear and Hare. While you do this, your child will begin to identify quantities, an  important early math skill!

 

Recreate the story and play a game of hide and seek with your child! Try a different version of this game: instead of hiding from each other, hide one of your child’s toys. Use the words “hot,” “warm,” and “cold” to guide your child to the object. The closer your child gets to finding their toy, the hotter it gets!

 

Join the Conversation!

Share your experience with Bear & Hare Where’s 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 playing hide and seek!

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

@mwfbaz We had so much fun playing hide and seek together! #storytime

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

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Bear & Hare Where’s Bear?

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This Month’s Book: Kitten’s First Full Moon
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for August is Kitten’s First Full Moon  by Kevin Henkes.  Silly Kitten thinks the moon is a bowl of milk. Follow Kitten on her adventures as she tries so many different ways to reach the milk.

Kitten is so hungry and the full moon looks like a bowl of delicious milk! The moon may not be a delicious bowl of milk, but Kitten is not going to give up trying to pursue it despite her failed attempts. While reading Kitten’s First Full Moon, talk about a time when you or your child attempted to do something that didn’t seem to work out. How did it feel when it didn’t work out?  What do you do when you’re faced with a challenge? Talk with your child about the importance of trying despite having feelings of frustration or fear. Give an example of a time that you persevered when faced with a challenge!

Kitten is so brave and spiders are too! Especially the itsy bitsy spider! The Itsy Bitsy Spider song encompasses the concept of perseverance. Sing this song with your child and afterwards talk to them about how the itsy bitsy spider demonstrated bravery.

 

Kitten is a wonderful problem solver and tries many different ways to reach the bowl of milk in the sky. While reading, invite your child to make predictions about what might happen: “What do you think will  happen when Kitten jumps off the porch? Will she reach the moon?” Problem solve with your child and explore different ways Kitten could reach the “bowl of milk.”

 

Gardening is so much fun and a wonderful way to support your child in developing grit! The delayed gratification helps them develop the self-control needed for learning. Keep it simple and collect seeds from the kitchen— such as tomatoes, peppers, or avocados. Pima County Public Library even has a seed library! Learn more at https: //www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjTnZ7JiZbVAhVP7GMKHcACB8UQFggmMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.library.pima.gov%2Fbrowse_program%2Fseed-library%2F&usg=AFQjCNGdzt6N_yT4fv8Ba-Yl5eJAEM29xg. Join the Conversation!

Share your experience with Kitten’s First Full Moon 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 dressing up!

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 garden we planted! #storytime

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

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Kitten’s First Full Moon!

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This Month’s Book: Should I Share My Ice Cream?
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for July is Should I Share My Ice Cream?  by Mo Willems.  This wonderful Piggie and Gerald book explores the process of sharing and what a dilemma it can be. Do you think Gerald will share his ice cream? Read the book and find out!!

Sharing is caring! But sharing can also be hard, especially when  deciding whether to share delicious ice cream with a best friend! Should I Share My Ice Cream? is a fun Mo Willems book that provides a perfect opportunity to talk with your child about empathy. While reading, ask questions that invite your child to think about how the characters feel: “How did Gerald show that he was worried about how Piggie was feeling?” or, “Why was he worried about her feelings?”

Gerald is such a good friend! Let’s celebrate his kindness by singing a song about him! Little Elephants is a cute adaptation of the song Elefantitos. Find the words to the song and a book here: http://canticosworld.com/books/little-elephants/

 

Print awareness, a child’s ability to understand that written words have meaning, is an important early literacy skill. We can foster this awareness by pointing out the environmental print we see every day, and underlining the words we read in books. Mo Willems uses speech bubbles throughout the book to draw attention to Gerald and Piggie’s words! While reading, point out the words inside the speech bubbles. Talk with your  child about which character  is saying the words.

 

Role playing is a wonderful form of play that allows a child to literally put themselves in someone else’s  shoes. When children have the chance to experience what it feels like to be someone else, they begin to practice empathy.  Empathy is critical to social and emotional development. Invite your child to pretend, role-play, and recreate stories with items from around the house. Kids love dressing up in Mommy or Daddy’s clothes!

 

Join the Conversation!

Share your experience with Should I Share My Ice Cream? 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 dressing up!

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

@mwfbaz Walking in Mommy’s heels is a challenge! #storytime

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

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Should I Share My Ice Cream?

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This Month’s Book: Little Chickies/Los Pollitos
Our Cover to Cover Book of the Month for June is Little Chickies/Los Pollitos  by Susie Jaramillo.  This wonderful song book will provide your child with so many opportunities to explore. Not only is it bilingual, but it’s also accordion style and it has lift the flaps! So, enjoy talking, singing, reading and PLAYING with Little Chickies! 

Singing to your little ones not only gets them hearing the diverse sounds of language but it also provides an opportunity for your child to bond with you and your voice. Little Chickies is a wonderful book adapted from a song that was originally in Spanish! While reading or SINGING this book , talk to your child about the different things that the mommy hen does to nurture and bond with her little chicks! “How does the mommy hen take good care of her babies?”

In case you’re not familiar with the tune of this beautiful song, José-Luis Orozco has a created a video with both a Spanish and English rendition. Find the video with this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHeqM4UTLLM

Being a song book makes Little Chickies so wonderful. But amazingly enough it also happens to be a lift the flap book! Utilize the flaps in the book as an opportunity for your child to interact with book. Let them lift the flaps on their own and allow them to make predictions about what they think will be under the flaps.

Little Chickies is also an accordion style book! Allow your child to play with this book and literally unfold the story and it goes along. This style of book allows the child to clearly see the sequence of the story. It also happens to be very long once unfolded. Maybe the book is even longer then your child! How many pages long is your child when compared to the book ? What other things, toys, can you measure with this book? There are so many possibilities when playing with this book!

Join the Conversation!

Share your experience with Little Chickies/Los Pollitos 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 measuring themselves with the book.

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

@mwfbaz Look how many pages long I am! #storytime

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

Be creative! We can’t wait to see what you loved about Little Chickies/Los Pollitos