Staff Picks of 2007

Staff Picks: Top Picture Books of 2007

With so many great children's books published each year, coming up with a "best of" list can be difficult!

Follow this link for a list of my top twenty picks in picture books for young children of this past year.

Every year the Caldecott Medal Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, convenes in January to choose the winner of the Caldecott Medal. The Caldecott Medal honors the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. Stay tuned on Monday, January 14, 2008. Fans of children's book illustration can watch a live webcast of the Youth Media Awards that morning via the following link: http://www.unikron.com/clients/ala-webcast-2008.

Happy New Year

Kristin recommends:

Twelve Hats for Lena: a Book of Months by Karen Katz (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2002)

Lena is celebrating the year by decorating her hat appropriately for each month. Karen Katz's usual bright, cheerful folk-art style illustrations offer a story to share with children as you introduce the calendar year and the activities and celebrations that are associated with each month. Feeling crafty? Have your preschooler make and decorate their own construction paper hat for the month. A simple pattern and instructions for making hats are located at the back of the book.

Snowy Flowy Blowy: a Twelve Months Rhyme by Nancy Tafuri (Scholastic, 1999)

Rhyming text provides a descriptive word for each month of the year and takes a country family through the changes and surprises of the year's cycle. Large beautiful illustrations in this over-sized book and the text based on an old poem by Gregory Gander bring young children a pleasing introduction to the seasonal changes in nature through the year.

Pick of the Week

Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup (Sterling, 2007).

Big Smelly Bear tells the story of a bear who can't stand to bathe. While this reluctance to keep clean seems to please Big Smelly Bear just fine, it's obvious that the other creatures in the forest can't stand the smell (fittingly, the flies "were the only ones that ever came close"). Then one day the yucky, muddy, dirty, stinky bear becomes so filthy that he starts to itch. What's worse, he can't reach his itch to scratch it! Along comes lovely Big Fluffy Bear who offers her help, but only if Big Smelly Bear agrees to a bath. Finally he surrenders to cleanliness and makes a new friend in the process. Read this one right before bathtime to persuade those preschoolers who avoid baths at all cost.

Pair the story with the following traditional rhyme:

I'm Dusty Bill

From Vinegar Hill

Never had a bath

And I never will!

Additional bathtime books to share:

Sticky People by Tony Johnston (Harper Collins, 2006)

"Sticky children playfully spread their stickiness around until bathtime changes everything." (Syndetics)

Ten Dirty Pigs, Ten Clean Pigs by Carol Roth (North-South Books, 1999)

" In rhyming stories printed back to back, pigs from one to ten take baths to clean up and then get dirty again. This is an up-side down, turn-around bathtime counting book." (Syndetics)

BookLetters - book alerts right in your inbox

The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library offers busy patrons a way to keep "in the know" about great books and DVDs. Subscribe to any number of the available topics on our Library's BookLetters web page and receive monthly newsletters featuring recommended books right in your email's inbox. Most newsletters are monthly, although a few are more frequently published. Subscribe to a variety of children's related topics: Children's Nonfiction, Children's Chapter, Children's Picture Books, Meet the Illustrator (featuring a new top children's illustrator each month), and books recently shared at each of the Corvallis storytimes. Other options include receiving the Library's newsletter ("Check It Out"), adult fiction/non-fiction and DVD bestsellers and staff picks. Additional features include Bestseller & Award Lists, Book of the Day, Authors A to Z, and the ability to receive alerts via RSS.

Pick of the Week

The OK Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld (HarperCollins, 2007)

From the New York Times bestselling author of Cookies: Bite-Sized Life Lessons comes a simple, reassuring picture book about self-acceptance. Using minimalistic illustrations, artist Tom Lichtenheld introduces the reader to the book's narrator - a figure constructed of the two letters O and K - who has an important lesson to share. "I like to try a lot of different things. I'm not great at all of them, but I enjoy them just the same," confides the stick figure character. The reader follows the figure as he tries activities including flying kites, making a sandwich, and standing on his head. The book arrives at a satisfying end with him lying in bed at night declaring that, "One day, I'll grow up to be really excellent at something. I don't know what it is yet...but I sure am having fun figuring it out." In an age of increasing pressure on children to master skills at an early age and outperform their peers, this is a modest, pleasant offering to share with all.

Enjoy,
Youth Services Librarian Kristin (who is an OK skier).

Picks of the Week

This week I'm including my recommendations (new and old) for both children and the adults in their lives.


Penguin by Polly Dunbar (Candlewick, 2007)

Ben is delighted to receive a penguin for his birthday but Penguin will not answer or respond to him in any way, no matter what Ben does, until, at last, they discover the language of friendship.

Great illustrations, simple text, and a wonderful ode to friendship between a child and his play animals.

Bright From the Start by Jill Stamm, Ph.D. (Gotham Books, 2007)

This cutting-edge handbook for parents--from a pioneer in infant brain development--bridges the gap between the most current neuroscience and practical parenting techniques.

Topics included range from screen time to attachment and bonding to music to reading.




Mushroom in the Rain by Mirra Ginsburg, with illustrations by Jose Aruego & Ariane Dewey (MacMillan Pub., 1974)

This is a classic story for rainy, blustery days like today.

How can an ant, butterfly, mouse, sparrow, and rabbit all take shelter from the rain under the same mushroom when originally there was room only for the ant?


The Little Hands Art Book: Exploring Arts and crafts with 2-to-6-Year-Olds by Judy Press (Williamson Pub, 1994)

Need rainy day ideas for young children? Try this book!
The perfect introductory art book for little hands with lots to express! Individual artistic freedom abounds as children create unique works. The author has an uncanny understanding of how to inspire preschoolers' creative spirits.

December Spotlight: Childhood Immunization

Last month, the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library highlighted information on autism spectrum disorders available to the community. Childhood immunization is the focus of this month's Birth to Six Spotlight. As with any medical information, consult with your family doctor or pediatrician for health care decisions and advice.

Check out the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library's Birth to Six site for links to online resources on vaccines. For more children's health information, see the recommended links in our Parenting section.

You'll also find book recommendations to share with a young child about going to the doctor on the Library's Birth to Six site.

Pick of the Week

Ready, Set, Skip! by Jane O'Connor with illustrations by Ann James (Viking, 2007)

"I can't skip. I wish I could. Other kids are really good." For a little girl who views other children skipping on the playground, it is especially upsetting that she hasn't mastered this skill yet. She offers up the other talents she has - she can leap, creep, twirl, even burp with style! But she can't seem to get skipping down right, until her mother gives her a few special tips...which leads her skipping off to school! A great story for mothers and daughters, and a definite choice for any preschool child who is trying to master a new skill. Just don't expect them to sit still for very long! They'll be up hopping and skipping their way through the story.

Bilingual baby

An article in this week's Sunday Gazette-Times Lifestyles section reported on the growing trend of introducing foreign languages at an early age. [Uhlenhuth, Karen. "Baby Talk is Growing Up," Corvallis Gazette-Times. Sunday, November 25, 2007.] Increased globalization, parent requests, and reports of improved problem-solving and creativity are cited as reasons behind the growth in preschool foreign-language instruction. Current early learning and brain research also suggests that the early years are the optimum time to introduce a second language. This is the time during which the brain is wiring for language skills. (To see a map of how the brain develops, check out Zero to Three's Baby Brain Map).

The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library collects children's materials in a variety of languages, including: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Somali and Swahili. Looking to introduce simple words to your baby even though you aren't fluent in another language? The Library also collects a small number of simple bilingual and Spanish board books you might enjoy.

A sample of a few simple stories in other languages:

I Can Fly, What Am I? by Alain Crozon. (English/Arabic language)

Rhyming text and lift-the-flap illustrations depict a variety of things that fly, including a bee, hot air balloon, and kite, and invite the reader to guess their identity.








Bonsoir Lune by Margaret Wise Brown. (French language.)

Goodnight to each of the objects in the great green room: goodnight chairs, goodnight comb, goodnight air. This classic children's bedtime book is available in a number of different languages.





Muu. Beee. Asi Fue! by Sandra Boynton. (Spanish language)
Board Book.

This funny board book features the usual Boynton animal characters and rhyming text.







Oso pardo, oso pardo, que ves ahi? by Bill Martin Jr. (Spanish language)

In a question and answer game, a teacher and her group see a variety of animals, each one a different color. A classic preschool read-aloud!


Did you know? The Youth Services Department has a Spanish bilingual Youth Services Librarian. For more Spanish children's book suggestions, email Ruth.


Stop by the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library every third Saturday of the month at 11:00 a.m. for Fiesta! a bilingual children's storytime/song/craft program for the whole family. For more info, call 541-766-6794.

Early Learning - Math Wise

One of the various sites I monitor online for news related to children and early learning is Psycport from the American Psychological Association. Psycport brings APA press releases to you on their site and through RSS feeds. A news report released on November 12th covered the topic of emotional, social and behavioral problems and their impact on later success in learning. To quote the press release:

"Children entering kindergarten with elementary math and reading skills are the most likely to do well in school later, even if they have various social and emotional problems, say researchers who examined data from six studies of close to 36,000 preschoolers. Children's attention-related skills also mattered, the researchers found."

The researchers (Greg J. Duncan, PhD and Amy Claessens, PhD, et al.) note that their findings of the lack of association between social skills and behavior problems with learning success comes as a surprise. But the report does add to the growing evidence supporting the importance of kindergarten-preparedness in basic early learning skills. (Click here for the press release and access to the full report.)

The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library collects materials that supports building basic math and reading skills in preschoolers. Earlier posts on this blog have highlighted picture books that build a variety of early literacy skills.

Below are several beginning counting and math concept books to share with your preschooler.
Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews
A counting book which shows what can be done with ten black dots--one can make a sun, two a fox's eyes, or eight the wheels of a train.







26 Letters and 99 Cents by Tana Hoban

Color photographs of letters, numbers, coins, and common objects introduce the alphabet, coinage, and the counting system.





Each Orange Had 8 Slices: a counting book by Paul Giganti, Jr.

An illustrated introduction to counting and simple addition. Pictures by Donald Crews.





Math on the Playground by William Amato

Shows fun ways to practice addition and subtraction on a visit to the playground. Part of the Math in My World series.






Toy Box Subtraction by Jill Fuller

This title is part of the Rookie Read-About Math series of early readers. Teaches basic subtraction concepts using toys.







Who's Counting? by Nancy Tafuri

Text and illustrations of a variety of animals introduce the numbers one through ten. Simple picture book for the very youngest children.





For more suggestions, see our Picture Books About Counting booklist.

Pick of the Week

Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney (Viking, 2007)

Shopping at a megastore may not seem like the most interesting of activities or setting for a children's picture book. But Anna Dewdney's latest book takes on this topic and adds the flare of "llama drama" that almost any child and parent will relate to. Little Llama Llama (of previous Llama Llama Red Pajama fame) is back and this time he's not at all pleased to be dragged away from his toys, plopped into a carseat, and taken on an overly long, boring trip to the "Shop-o-Rama" store. Llama Llama, in typical toddler-style gets increasingly tired and frustrated. The tension builds until it finally erupts at the climax with a dramatic meltdown. Mama llama quickly steps in to calm Llama Llama down with plenty of love and a thoughtful solution to getting through the shopping trip with ease.

Pick of the Week

Every once in awhile, I come across such a great read-aloud that I find myself singing along with the rhythm of the text long after I've put the book down. Oliver Who Would Not Sleep! by Mara Bergman with illustrations by Nick Maland is just one of those books. With illustrations that create a soft, fantastical feel, similar to Maurice Sendak's work, and wonderful rhythmic and rhyming text, this book begs to be read aloud at bedtime.

Curl up with that young dreamer by your side or in your lap, and follow Oliver Donnington Rimington-Sneep as he avoids sleep by taking his rocket ship on a trip to Mars. With a bedroom full of toys, a big imagination, and boundless energy, Oliver Donnington Rimington-Sneep makes an excellent companion for storytime. A sure-fire hit for any bedtime-avoider and a magical read-aloud for anytime of day. Pair this one with another bedtime-struggle book such as Bedtime! by Joan Blos, The Boy Who Wouldn't Go to Bed by Helen Cooper, or I Am Not Sleepy and Will Not Go to Bed by Lauren Child.

Autism Awareness

Autism Awareness

Headlines from newspapers, television, parenting magazines and websites have been putting the spotlight on autism spectrum disorders. In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control released data that found 1 in 150 children have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The American Academy of Pediatrics just released a clinical report recommending early screening for autism - at or before 24 months of age. The AAP site also gives an autism checklist for parents. For more information, Autism Speaks.org provides videos online that discuss autism and compare typical and atypical development. This month the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library is highlighting information on these disorders and resources available to the community. Please check out the Library's Birth to Six site for suggested books, online resources, and community support on this important topic.

Additionally, if you would like to share your story with autism as part of our efforts, please feel free to email Youth Services Librarian Kristin from the Youth Services Department or call 541-766-6794.

Toys!

As adults, most of us can still remember our favorite toy as a young child. Whether it was a hand-me-down doll with brown curls, a bright yellow Tonka truck, a bendy Gumby toy, a Cabbage Patch kid, an Erector set, or a train set, we can recall many happy afternoons spent playing with our favorite toys. Playing is an important part of childhood - for a child it is their "job". Many important concepts are learned during play. Whether it is learning basic science and math concepts (volumes, sizes, shapes, counting), trying out different roles through dramatic play, or sharing and working cooperatively with others, play provides a wealth of opportunities. Not to mention, we all know it's fun. Some of us can remember making a childhood vow that when we grew up we wouldn't stop playing!

A few of my favorite books for boys (or girls!) about playing are below:

Below by Nina Crews

This story follows the adventures of Jack and his action-figure, Guy. Jack and Guy play on the staircase - climbing mountains, exploring cities. Then one day Guy falls down and Jack must rescue him. Wonderful photographs illustrate this story.







Changes, Changes by Pat Hutchins

Two wooden doll figures arrange and rearrange blocks to make a variety of things - a castle, firetruck, boat, train and more. A wonderful, wordless story for the lover of blocks and imagination!





The Crimson Comet by Dean Morrissey

"When the light on the moon goes out, Nora and her brother Jack take a trip in their rocket to help the Man-on-the-Moon regain power." (Syndetics) This is a cozy bedtime story full of gorgeous paintings and imagination.





Golden Bear by Ruth Young

For younger children, Golden Bear, offers a sweet tribute to a toddler's best friend, his teddy bear. Rhyming text and soft illustrations make this a good "snuggle-up-and-share" read-aloud.








Harry and the Dinosaurs at the Museum by Ian Whybrow

"When his family goes to a museum so that big sister Sam can research human ancestors, young Harry wanders off while playing with his toy dinosaurs and becomes lost, but Gran knows just where to find him." (Syndetics) Perfect for sharing with a dinosaur fan, or anyone who has imagined their favorite toys coming to life!





Red Light, Green Light by Anastasia Suen

"A young boy creates an imaginary world filled with zooming cars, flashing traffic lights, and racing fire engines." (Syndetics) Sure to be enjoyed by toddlers, fans of transportation, and anyone looking for some imaginative play inspiration.





Traction Man is Here! by Mini Grey

Know a young fan of superheroes and action figures? Treat him to this book and he's sure to enjoy the fun and laughs.

"Traction Man, a boy's courageous action figure, has a variety of adventures with Scrubbing Brush and other objects in the house." (Syndetics)

No Need to Sit Still!

Anyone who spends time with a toddler or preschooler often knows it can be difficult to get him to sit still long enough to enjoy a book. And the last thing you want to do is force him to sit still while you read the book if he would rather be up and moving around. We all want storytime to be an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. That's crucial for developing his print motivation - a child's interest in and enjoyment of books! This is a much-needed skill for developing his interest in eventually learning to read. Sharing books together should be fun - not something he feels he must do only because mommy or daddy makes him. We all want him to enjoy books.

Choosing quiet times to share books - right before bedtime or a nap - might be the best choice for your child when the goal is sitting quietly as you share a good story. But for those active times, you can still incorporate a good read! Who says storytime must always be a quiet, still time?

These books encourage your toddler to move along to the story. It can be a great solution for those wiggly little ones. He gets to be active and enjoy a book! For more suggestions, ask a Youth Services Librarian.

Animal Fun by Zita Newcome

A group of toddlers has fun imitating a penguin, a crab, a duck, an elephant, and other animals while they exercise.

Bounce by Doreen Cronin and Scott Menchin

Rhyming text offers advice on the best ways for toddlers to bounce.










From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

Encourages the reader to exercise by following the movements of various animals; presented in a question and answer format.









If You're Happy and You Know It: Jungle Edition by James Warhola

Jungle animals sing the verses of this popular song that encourages everyone to express their happiness through voice and movement.






We've All Got Bellybuttons! by David Martin

Various animals invite the reader to experience what their different body parts can do, including their tickly belly buttons.

Beginning with Books

Want to raise a reader? Begin introducing books to your baby right from the start. Think your baby is too little to enjoy a book or get anything out of the experience? Think again. Babies are busy developing important connections in their brains during the first years of life - especially the connections devoted to language skills. The more your baby experiences language, the better equipped he will be to eventually learn to read. Talk and sing with your little boy and he'll have an attentive audience to begin talking and babbling with you. Share books and rhymes with your baby. He'll gain vocabulary and begin to understand how his native language works (for instance, recognizing the individual sounds that make up words). The experiences you share with him today will are a valuable investment in his future!

When your little boy is a baby, it doesn't matter what you read to him. The point is that you are reading aloud and sharing the beauty of language with him! So pick up the newspaper, your favorite magazine, a recipe, the latest novel, or a picture book. If he sees you reading - and enjoying it - he'll associate reading with pleasure.

Check out board books - sturdy books made just for babies and toddlers - at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. Carry them in the diaper bag and have them ready to share during those waits at the doctor's office or in line at the grocery store. Keep a book or two in the crib for your baby to play with on his own. Have books in the toy box.

When your boy flips through the pages quickly, touches, chews, and tosses his board books, this is reading! It may not look like it, but this is the beginning of reading - figuring out how a book works! Don't force your little one to sit still for a book. If he looks away or disengages, put the book down and try at another time. Eventually, he'll be able to pay attention for longer periods of time. In the meantime, keep it short and fun!

And you'll be helping grow a reader...

Need a few suggestions? Look for board books with simple, bright illustrations. Too much action or detail on a page can be overstimulating. Photographs of other babies, people, and common experiences are always appealing to little ones. Try touch and feel books, as babies are sensory learners. Nursery rhymes and books based on songs provide the beginnings of phonemic awareness - a skill he'll need to become a reader someday. Common themes such as bedtime, dressing, and family life are really interesting to babies. For more ideas, just ask a Youth Services Librarian!

Spotlight on Boys

Resources for Parents and Caregivers of Boys

Recent popular magazines such as Time have addressed the issue of whether education and society are failing boys or if boys are doing well. Similarly, in the world of libraries and education, journals like School Library Journal have concentrated on topics such as gender differences in education, reading ability and motivation.

During the month of October, check out the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library's Birth to Six site for recommended picture books and resources for little boys. Visit us at this blog again soon for additional resources and fun ideas!

Here are just a few online resources and books to look for at the Library that discuss the topic in more detail:

• Boys Adrift: Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men by Leonard Sax


• "The Boy Problem." Sax, Leonard. School Library Journal, September 2007, pp. 40-43. www.slj.com


• "The Boys Are All Right." Von Drehle, David. Time, August 6, 2007, vol. 170, Issue 6, pp.38-47. Access full-text through our online databases.


• Boys and Literacy: Practical Strategies for Librarians, Teachers, and Parents by Elizabeth Knowles and Martha Smith


• Guys Read. Author Jon Scieszka's website devoted to great books for guys of all ages!


• Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv


• The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life by Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens


• Raising Boys by Steve Biddulph
• Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys by Dan Kindlon


• "Reclaiming Kindergarten: Making Kindergarten Less Harmful to Boys." Sax, Leonard. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 2001, vol. 2, pp. 3-12. www.boysadrift.com


• Teaching the Male Brain: How Boys Think, Feel, and Learn in School and Life by Abigail Norfleet James


• The Wonder of Boys: What Parents, Mentors, and Educators Can Do to Shape Boys into Excellent Men by Michael Gurian


• Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences by Leonard Sax


• "Why Johnny Won't Read." Bauerlin, Mark, and Sandra Stotsky. Washington Post, January 25, 2005. Access online here.

Playing with Words

Vocabulary is one of the most important literacy skills a child needs in order to become a successful reader in life. When reading aloud to a child, you will often encounter a "rare" word - a word not regularly used in conversation. This might be a word that you understand or recognize, but think your child will not know the meaning of it. Instead of skipping over this word - or substituting an easier word - take a moment to explain what the word means to your child. Knowing the meanings of large number of words helps a child when she begins reading on her own. It helps her make that connection between sounding out a word and recognizing a word she has heard before and knows the meaning of. Picture books are a great way to introduce new words. In normal conversation, we encounter roughly 9 rare words per 1000 words spoken or heard. But in picture books, we encounter approximately 27 rare words per 1000!(http://www.cmrls.org/pdf_documents/ce_materials/earlyliteracynotes.doc)



Children love to play with the silly sounds of words - which is one reason Dr. Seuss books have remained so popular over time. Many picture books celebrate words in a variety of ways. In Fancy Nancy, Nancy makes sure we know she prefers fancier rather than simple words. In Max's Words, we meet a wonderful boy who collects words like some boys collect coins or stamps! In The Boy Who Loved Words, Selig also collects words and discovers their power.


For even younger children, sharing books like The Napping House by Audrey and Don Wood or Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming introduces them to a variety of different words used to talk about the same concept. For truck lovers, try The Mighty Street Sweeper by Patrick Moore. Descriptions of various heavy equipment give readers a great chance to expand their vocabulary: "The boom pump can squirt tons of concrete. The street sweeper can squirt a small puddle of water."

Enjoy these books!




Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor


A young girl who loves fancy things helps her family to be fancy for one special night. Sure to bring out your own fancy side! If you love this one, be sure to catch Fancy Nancy in her return to picture books with Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy.

Max's Words by Kate Banks

When Max cuts out words from magazines and newspapers, collecting them the way his brothers collect stamps and coins, they all learn about words, sentences, and storytelling.

The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter

Selig, who loves words and copies them on pieces of paper that he carries with him, goes on a trip to discover his purpose. Words. Selig collects them, ones that stir his heart (Mama!) and ones that make him laugh (giggle). But what to do with so many luscious words? After helping a poet find the perfect words for his poem (lozenge, lemon, and licorice), he figures it out: His purpose is to spread the word to others. And so he begins to sprinkle, disburse, and broadcast them to people in need. {Syndetics}

Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming

When Bear notices that winter is nearly here he hurries to tell Snail, after which each animal tells another until finally the already sleeping Bear is awakened in his den with the news. {Syndetics}

The Mighty Street Sweeper by Patrick Moore


Despite its size, the street sweeper has one mighty job! The street sweeper is a little truck with a very big job. While it is not the largest, fastest, or most powerful truck, a street sweeper does something that no other truck can do: it keeps our streets clean. And a street sweeper is so much fun to watch.Colorful illustrations and an engaging compare-and-contrast text make this picture book a delight for budding truck-lovers. {Syndetics}

Going on a Fall Walk

As Fall arrives in Benton County, take an opportunity to go on a walk with your small child and talk about the changes that the new season brings. Green leaves change to shades of yellow, gold, orange, and red. Leaves fall to the ground. Animals build shelter for the winter. The air grows crisp and the daylight hours grow shorter. There are so many opportunitites to talk about what you see around you, answer those "why?" questions, add new vocabulary and share seasonal changes and traditions with your child. A cool, rainy day may require a change in how we prepare for a walk outdoors. Our shorts and sundresses retire and make room for raincoats, sweaters, long pants, rubber boots and jackets.

As you share an autumn walk, talk about what is going on around you. What colors and textures do you see? What shapes are found in nature? What are the names of the things your child finds? Is that a pine cone? A street sign? A squirrel?

The following books can be good starting places to discuss the new season with your child:

Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington

Annie the apple farmer saves her most beautiful apples to sell fresh at the farmers' market.

Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell

In preparation for Halloween night, a family visits Mr. Comstock's farm to pick apples and pumpkins

Fall Is Not Easy by Marty Kelley

A tree tells why, out of all four seasons, autumn is the hardest. This one is sure to get some laughs!

Fall Leaves Fall! by Zoe Hall

When fall comes, two brothers enjoy catching the falling leaves, stomping on them, kicking them, jumping in piles of them, and using them to make pictures. Includes a description of how leaves change through the year.

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

A man made of leaves blows away, traveling wherever the wind may take him. Lois Ehlert's natural collages offer a surprise and a treat for the eye. Follow this one with a craft of your own leaf man!

Mouse's First Fall by Lauren Thompson

Mouse and Minka experience the delights of nature on a windy autumn day. Recommended for toddlers and preschoolers who have loved the other titles about Mouse by Lauren Thompson.

Tucker's Apple-Dandy Day by Susan Winget

Tucker promises Mother he'll bring home apples from Farmer Sam's Apple Orchard. His family is looking forward to apple pie! But Tucker gets busy helping out his friends— and forgets his promise.
Susan Winget's sparkling fall scenes are a visual treat, and her gentle touch shows Tucker's friends helping him in a most believable way. This endearing story ends happily with a delicious pie and news of Tucker's apple-dandy day. {from Syndetics}