Play With Me: Children's Books [Part 1]

By Shannon Mallery, Program Assistant Sr. - Mature Adults

The next Play With Me series will focus on children's books that you can read to the special children in your life over your device. We have chosen books that are the core of "The books I would bring to a desert island" list. They are fun, interesting and easy to read to little ones.

Each week's post will have a "review" of five books suitable for children two to five years of age but will most assuredly be loved by you and slightly older siblings as well.

Tips:
  • Some of the books are not currently in print but can be found on used booksellers' websites.
  • You may want to consider having your little one follow along with their own copy.
  • When reading make sure you are in a well lit area and that your child can hear you clearly.
  • Hold the picture up to the screen for a little bit when you are done reading each page so that your little one can see it.
  • Read the book out loud a few times to yourself before reading it to your child so that you can add emphasis as you read.

A Letter To Amy
By: Ezra Jack Keats
HarperCollinsPublishers
Read time: 7 minutes


A Letter to Amy is a sweet story of a little boy named Peter who is having a birthday party. He makes a point to send his friend Amy a hand written and mailed invitation because she is special to him. The author handles the characters with a sensitivity that makes them seem real. It is a delight to read A Letter to Amy and spend a little time in Peter's world with him and his friends.


A Most Unusual Day
By: Sydra Mallery
Illustrations by: E.B. Goodale
Greewillow Books An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
Read time: 4 minutes 30 seconds


A Most Unusual Day follows a little girl named Caroline through a not so typical; typical day at school. There is something very distracting on her mind that the reader is left to guess at. There are subtle clues in the text and illustrations each one hinting at what it is. The book ends by revealing that Caroline becomes a big sister that day. It is a wonderfully written touching book about family.


Zoomer
Written & Illustrated by: Ned Young
Scholastic Inc.
Read time: 5 minutes 30 seconds


Zoomer is a super funny crowd pleaser! Children can't get enough of the colorful, detailed, imaginative illustrations as well as the quirky personalities of the characters in this book. And when I say character I mean it ; Zoomer is a real character, but in a good way. The story follows three brothers and their dad around all morning while they are supposed to be getting ready for school, or are they?


Drive: A Look at Roadside Opposites
By: Kellen Hatanaka
Groundwood Books House of Anansi Press Toronto Berkeley
Read time: 5 minutes


Drive: A Look at Roadside Opposites takes the reader on a journey out of the city into the mountains, through the desert and farms to an eventual destination in the woods. A story mostly told with bold graphic pictures in exquisite color combinations lets the reader experience opposites from the view of a bystander along the way from the edge of a cow field to a bird's eye view.


Dinner at the Panda Palace
By: Stephanie Calmenson
Illustrated by: Nadine Bernard Westcott
HarperCollinsPublishers
Read time: 3 minutes and 30 seconds


Dinner at the Panda Palace is silly, simple, positive and educational. Mr. Panda owns a restaurant that feeds hungry customers from one traveling salesman elephant to ten hungry chickens and everyone in between. As each group of patrons arrive at Mr. Panda's restaurant your little one can practice counting and you can practice bringing each group of characters to life.

Next week we will review more books to share with the special children in your life as the Play With Me: Children's books series continues. Enjoy the cooler days and remember to Play More with DPR!

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