Tag: books

Winter

Chinese New Year Books

Jennifer
Chinese New Year Books for Preschool

The Lunar New Year is a world wide celebration, although it is heavily celebrated in East Asia. It ties in with the coming of spring and a time of rebirth. I’ve selected books about the Chinese New Year because I am most familiar with it, but ask your librarian for Lunar New Year books about other cultures! For preschoolers who do not celebrate the holiday at home, these books will provide a gentle introduction. I picked books that are relatively short, have great pictures, and feature some familiar characters to keep kids’ interests.

Chinese New Year Books

Bringing in the New Year

1.Brining in the New Year by Grace Lin–

This is a great choice for preschoolers learning about Chinese New Year. It is a short story, with bright illustrations. In this book, a girl is excited for the new year to come. Her family prepares by cleaning, hanging decorations, getting haircuts, making dumplings, scaring away the bad luck, and participating in the lantern parade. Finally, it is time to wake the dragon and let the new year begin! My son was curious about why the dragon looked different then the dragons he was used to seeing in books, which lead to a discussion about how European dragons and Asian dragons are different from each other.

How to Catch a Dragon

2.How to Catch a Dragon by Adam Wallace–

Preschoolers love Adam Wallace’s “How to Catch a …” series! They have engaging pictures, rhyming text, and are infused with humor. In this Chinese New Year themed story, the kids are out to catch a dragon. They’ve got their traps ready, but the dragon keeps outsmarting them! Preschools will giggle at the kids’ foiled attempts to catch a dragon.

Maisy's Chinese New Year

3. Maisy’s Chinese New Year by Lucy Cousins–

Preschoolers love the bold, bright pictures that are featured in Maisy’s books. Maisy’s stories provide gentle introductions to a wide array of topics. In this Chinese New Year story, Maisy takes the reader through all of the steps involved with preparing for the New Year. Her friends come over to celebrate with her. They all wear red, eat yummy traditional foods, and listen to the story of the Chinese Zodiac. My son loved looking at the Chinese Zodiac and talking about the different animals. He was so curious about why the rat won the race and what animal represented the year he was born! This was a fantastic book to introduce him to Chinese New Year and prompt further questions and discussion.

Peppa's Chinese New Year

4. Peppa’s Chinese New Year —

Preschoolers love Peppa Pig! Using a beloved character to teach something new really helps keeps kids engaged. So while this is not the most detailed or the most culturally accurate book on the subject, it will provide preschoolers with a good introduction to the Lunar New Year holiday. In this story, Peppa’s class is going to be celebrating Chinese New Year and the kids are so excited! They decorate the classroom with paper lanterns and put on a dragon dance. Peppa’s enthusiasm is contagious and you might find that your kiddo wants to hang decorations too.

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas

5.Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim–

This cute story is a Chinese New Year version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It is a little bit on the long side, but it is entertaining! Goldy Luck’s mom asks her to bring a plate of turnip cakes to the neighbors, the Chan family (pandas). But Goldy is hungry and sleepy. Her mother sends her to make the quick delivery. Goldy stumbles into the house to find that the Chans aren’t home. Poor Goldy spills the turnip cakes all over the floor. Before she can clean them up, the smell of rice porridge distracts her. As the tale goes, she eats porridge, tries (and breaks) chairs, and sleeps in the beds. When the Chan family gets home, she wakes up and runs away. In this story, Goldy feels bad to the trouble she caused the Chans and Goldy tries to make amends. She brings porridge, offers to help fix the chair, and clean up the mess she made!

Red is a Dragon

6. Red is a Dragon: a book of colors by Roseanne Thong–

While this story is not about Chinese New Year, it does introduce preschoolers to Chinese American culture. Plus, it helps reinforce color recognition! Told in simple, rhyming text, this is a story about a girl who spots the colors of the rainbow everywhere around her. She goes in rainbow color order, pointing out food, clothing, animals, flowers, toys, clouds, and household items. A glossary at the end of the book explains some of the things that preschoolers might not be familiar with to help further discussion with your kiddo. We had to look up one of the fruits that I didn’t know, so I was learning new stuff too 🙂

Check your library for these Chinese New Year books! I hope you will enjoy them as much as we did. I’ve joined Amazon’s Affiliate program to try and help cover the costs of this site. So if you buy something through one of my links on Amazon, then I might get a small percentage of the sale (no extra cost to you). Thank you for your support!

Animals

Penguin Books for Preschoolers

Jennifer
penguin books for preschoolers
Penguin Books

Penguins are so adorable! My son and I adore them 🙂 Watch the Monterrey Bay Aquarium’s live penguin cam for lots of cuteness! For even more penguin fun, I’ve rounded up some of my son’s favorite penguin books for you to read with your little one. Check your library for these penguin books and other great stories. After your stories, do the Penguin, Penguin action rhyme together, make a cute paper penguin craft and print off the free penguin-themed alphabet worksheet.

10 Penguin Books:

penguin books: "Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice" by Steve Metzger

1. Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice by Steve Metzger–

This book is a cute penguin version of the Five Little Monkeys. Preschoolers will love the rhyming, sing-songy story and vibrant illustrations. One by one, the little penguins get hurt and their mama has to call the doctor. Eventually no one is having any fun at all, until mama comes up with a new plan!

2. Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups by Tadgh Bentley–

Little Penguin eats some chili and gets the hiccups! Nothing is making them go away. Maybe you can help scare the hiccups out of Little Penguin? Get ready for a humorous interactive story. Kids will like the cute little penguin, yelling “boo,” and the surprise friend at the end!

3. Penguin and Pinecone: a friendship story by Salina Yoon–

My son picked this one at our library and he fell in love with this sweet story! The penguin finds a pinecone and they two become friends. Penguin has so much fun playing with pinecone, but Pinecone is too cold to remain in the snow. Grandpa tells Penguin that pinecones belong in the forest, so Penguin packs up his sled and they set off on a journey to return the pinecone to its forest home. Once in the forest, Penguin makes a nice bed for pinecone. Before leaving, Penguin takes a bunch of rocks and forms them in a heart shape around Pinecone. While it is sad to leave Pinecone behind, Penguin knows he is doing what’s best for his friend. Sometime later, Penguin returns to the forest to visit his friend only to discover that Pinecone is now a tree. Even though Pinecone looks different, the two resume their friendship! Preschoolers will love this ending.

The Snow Rocket book

4. The Snow Rocket by Derek Anderson–

Friends Romeo and Lou build a rocket out of snow that magically comes to life and flies them far away from home! They land in a city and mistake the new people, animals, and things that discover for more familiar home creatures: penguins, seals, walruses, and fish! The mistaken identities will make kids laugh as the two friends make their way through the city in search of a new rocket ship to take them home. When they are beginning to lose hope, Romeo and Lou board a cargo ship and make a rocket out of cardboard boxes and set off! Kids might just want to make a rocket of their own after reading this!

"I'll wait, Mr. Panda" by Steve Antony

5. I’ll Wait Mr. Panda by Steve Antony —

Mr. Panda is making a yummy surprise and all of the animals are excited to eat it. They keep asking if the surprise is ready and impatiently storm off when Mr. Panda tells them it’s not ready. The only one is patiently waiting is a penguin. Penguin keeps insisting, “I’ll wait, Mr. Panda,” every time someone asks if the yummy treat is done baking. Finally, penguin’s patience pays off and penguin is rewarded with a super awesome, yummy surprise!

The Magical Snow Garden book

6. The Magical Snow Garden by Tracey Corderoy–

A little penguin named Wellington, who lives in the snow, dreams of his own flower garden. His friends tell him that it is much too cold for flowers to grow here. Nonetheless, Wellington is determined so his best friend, Rosemary, helps him create his own flowers out of bits of paper, springs, gears, and other things that can be repurposed. Together, they create a beautiful garden. Sadly, a snow storm destroys the beautiful flowers. Wellington’s friends won’t let him give up, and together they rebuild the garden better than ever. Preschoolers will adore the cute, whimsical illustrations in this book. And everyone can benefit from the message, “we don’t know until we try.”

7. Little Penguin’s New Friend by Tadgh Bentley–

A polar bear is coming to visit the penguins’ home! All of the penguins are worried, except for Little Penguin, are worried because they have heard horrible things about polar bears! Yikes! Little Penguin isn’t so sure that these stories are true, and is determined to find out for himself if polar bears are really so terrible. This funny story and great moral of don’t believe everything you hear makes it a great choice for reading to your little one. Check your library for this book 🙂

Tacky the Penguin

8. Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester–

Tacky is the funniest penguin! He can’t sing, dive, or march the way other penguins do; Tacky does everything his own way. At first this seems to be bad thing, but when the hunters come looking for penguins, Tacky’s odd behavior drives them away! Turns out being yourself is pretty great 😊.

If You Were a Penguin

9. If You Were a Penguin by Wendell and Florence Minor–

This a such a sweet story to read to your little one. This rhyming text, though not very long, teaches about all of the cool things penguins can do! The book ends by telling the reader that they can do amazing things too 🙂 I like that this book shows several different types of penguins as so many books just focus on the Emperor Penguin.

Harriet Gets Carried Away

10. Harriet Gets Carried Away by Jessie Sima-

Harriet loves playing dress-up! For her birthday she dresses up as a penguin in a super cute costume. Harriet and her dads decorate for her party, but realize they forgot to buy party hats. They run into a store when suddenly a flock of penguins appear. The penguins need to make a hasty getaway and Harriet, looking like a penguin, gets dragged along with them. They hop into a hot air balloon that carries them to the penguins’ icy home! Will Harriet be able to make it home for her birthday party? My friend’s 4-year-old adores this book and she highly recommends it to other preschoolers 🙂

decorative penguin picture

I hope you enjoy these penguin books! My son and the preschoolers at the library’s storytime group really liked all of these books. I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program to try and help cover the costs of this site. If you buy something through one of my links on Amazon, then I get a small percentage of the sale (no extra cost to you). Thank you for your support! Happy reading 🙂

Winter

15 Preschool Winter Stories

Jennifer
15 Preschool Winter Stories
Preschool Winter Stories

I have always considered myself a fall person, but so many of my favorite books appear on this winter book list! The Snowy Day, The Mitten, and Bear is Awake are among my all-time favorites 🙂 Check your library for these 15 preschool winter stories and others to enjoy together. Maybe you will discover a new favorite!

There are so many fantastic books that take place in the winter time that this list could be endless! I’ve divided up winter into small lists: SNOWMAN stories, ICE SKATING stories, SNOW ANIMALS books, list of POLAR BEAR books, and PENGUIN stories recommendations for more ideas.

15 Preschool Winter Stories

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

1. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats —

This is my favorite book!!! Keats captures that childhood joy of playing in the snow. The boy, Peter, puts on his snowsuit and heads out into the beautiful snow that has descended upon his neighborhood. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and compliment this sweet story. It is full of fun and whimsy. Peter takes some snow home with him in his pocket only to find that it melted while he was taking a bath. Oh no! Is that the last of snow? Not to worry, the snow is waiting for Peter in the morning.

How to Catch a Yeti by Adam Wallace

2. How to Catch a Yeti by Adam Wallace–

My son loves the “How to Catch” series, and this yeti story is his favorite! In this silly snowy adventure, the kids set a whole bunch of clever traps to catch a yeti. However, the Yeti easily escapes and the traps backfire on the kids with hilarious results. If you look closely at the illustrations, you can find “hidden” members of the yeti’s family watching the kids.

Winter Dance written by Marion Dane Bauer

3. Winter Dance by Marion Dane Bauer —

This is a sweet story that teaches kids about how animals spend the winter. As the first snowflake falls on the fox’s nose, fox wonders what he is supposed to do in winter. The other forest animals tell him how they prepare for winter. Some fly south, others store food, and some hibernate. Unfortunately none of these ideas will work for fox. Finally, another fox comes along and shares what foxes do in winter — they dance in the falling snow! With such beautiful illustrations, kids will love looking over the pictures and seeing the two foxes twirling about in the snow.

Fox Versus Winter by Corey R. Tabor

4. Fox Versus Winter by Corey R. Tabor–

In this humorous book, Fox does not like winter. His friends hibernate and migrate, leaving him lonely. Fox gets an idea to make new friends out of snow, but they are not as much fun as his old friends. What’s Fox to do? He decides to fight winter! Get ready to laugh as Fox gets a flame thrower and tries to melt winter. Winter fights back and Fox gets covered in snow. Just then, Rabbit appears. Rabbit teaches Fox to appreciate winter and Fox finds that with a friend by his side, everything can be enjoyable.

Bear is Awake by Hannah E. Harrison

5. Bear is Awake: an alphabet story by Hannah E. Harrison–

This is such a cool book! With hardly any words, the reader pieces the story together from the fantastic illustrations and the alphabet letter and corresponding word on each page. In this book, a bear awakens too early ( A = awake) and sets off in search of food. It finds a little girl in a cabin, who, through a series of humorous events, helps bear return to its home and go back to sleep. Zzzzzzz.

Little Owl's Snow book

6. Little Owl’s Snow by Divya Srinivasan–

Little Owl is so cute! In this Little Owl story, the forest animals are preparing for winter. Some gather and store food, some hibernate, and some stay awake to play in the snow. Soon winter arrives and leaves a blanket of snow in Little Owl’s forest home. Even though Little Owl misses his hibernating friend, hedgehog, he enjoys the snow with his other friends. Preschoolers will love this bold, bright pictures and gentle story.

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London

7. Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London —

Froggy is preschool fan-favorite! His books are full of excitement, fun sounds, bright pictures, and struggles that little kids can relate to. In this story, Froggy is supposed to be hibernating for winter, but he wakes up to explore the snow. He has to put on all of his warm clothes, with “zuts” and “zaps” before he is ready to explore. Unfortunately, he keeps forgetting something important and has take all of his clothes on and off over and over again. Just when he thinks he has everything he needs, his mommy yells that he forgot his underwear! Yikes!!! Poor Froggy trudges back inside. By now he is too tired to play outside, so he climbs back into bed and falls asleep. Kids can pretend to get dressed along with Froggy to add to the fun of this book.

book cover of Jan Brett's "The Mitten"

8. The Mitten by Jan Brett —

This is my favorite Jan Brett book. I love her illustrations and the sense of humor displayed in the pictures. One snowy day, the forest animals discover a mitten that a little boy dropped. One by one, the animals squeeze into the mitten to be cozy and warm. Amazingly, the mitten stretches to accommodate even a big bear! But when a little mouse tickles bear’s nose, bear’s huge sneeze sends all of the animals flying out of the mitten! The mitten soars through the air and the little boy catches his missing mitten and carries it home.

winter stories: "Snow Day!" by Candice Ransom

9. Snow Day! by Candice Ransom–

This is a short, rhyming story about playing in the snow. School is canceled due to snow, so the children put on their winter clothes and head to play! They have a blast sledding and having a snowball fight. They come home cold and wet to warm up with some hot chocolate 🙂 This a cute story and preschoolers will enjoy the fun.

A Loud Winter's Nap by Katy Hudson

1o. A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson —

Tortoise is just trying to sleep his way through winter, but all of his animal friends are being too loud. The animals are excited about all of the fun winter activities they get to do, like sledding and ice-skating. Their excitement keeps turtle from his slumber, who keeps trying to find the perfect nap spot. When tortoise tries to use a sled as a bed, he accidently takes off down the hill! Tortoise discovers that enjoying winter activities with your friends is a lot of fun!

Preschool winter stories. Image of book cover of "The Hat" by Jan Brett

11. The Hat by Jan Brett —

I love this funny story about a hedgehog who has a stocking land on his head. The stocking sticks to the hedgehog’s spikes and Hedgie can’t get it off. The other animals make fun of Hedgie, who insists that he is actually wearing a hat, not a stocking on his head. By the end, the other animals have stolen the rest of the laundry so that they too can have warm clothes like the hedgehog.

Book: Ten on the Sled by Kim Norman

12. Ten on the Sled by Kim Norman–

This rhyming, sing-song story follows the pattern of the Ten on the Bed song. The caribou has a sled and soon his nine friends join him for a sled ride. One by one, the animals fall off and they form a giant snowball. The animals race the giant snowball down the hill, losing friends as they go. By the bottom of the hill, only the caribou is left on the sled. Your kiddo will giggle as wolf wipes out and fox flips out of the sled. Caribou is lonely and he invites all of his friends to join for another sled ride!

Preschool winter stories book cover: The jacket I Wear in the Snow

13. The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel–

Every parent who has ever had to bundle their child up for snow play and every child who has worn layer upon layer of clothes will appreciate this story! Told in rhyming text, the child tells the reader about all of the clothes that must be worn just to be able to go outside and play. Clothing gets stuck in zippers; the kid feels too hot! Lots of humor and cute illustrations to keep readers entertained.

Preschool winter stories: "Winter is Here" by Kevin Henkes

14. Winter is Here by Kevin Henkes —

In Kevin Henkes’ Winter is Here, preschoolers are introduced to the magic and wonder of the season. In this gentle, soothing story with beautiful illustrations, the reader sees the changes winter brings outside, as well as inside. Colorful clothing, frozen ponds, a cute snowman craft appear. Take a look around and see what winter changes you see. Soon winter fades and spring emerges.

Preschool winter stories: "Do You Want a Hug?"

15. Do You Want a Hug? (Disney Frozen) by Kevin Lewis–

Join Olaf in a game of hide-and-seek in the wintery world of Frozen’s Arendelle. This is a fun interactive book, where the reader gets to “play” with Olaf. Olaf’s joy is contagious as he asks the reader to give him a hug. Olaf runs splat into the book page and bonks his nose. He mistakenly thinks that the reader is playing a game and that he can’t get a hug until the game is over. Olaf suggests Leap Troll and Ring Around the Reindeer before settling on hide-and-seek. All right, no peeking as Olaf hides. Can you find him?

decorative image of 3 snowflakes

I hope you enjoy these preschool winter stories. My son and the preschoolers at the library’s storytime group really liked all of these books. I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program to try and help cover the costs of this site. If you buy something through one of my links on Amazon, then I get a small percentage of the sale (no extra cost to you). Thank you for your support! Happy reading 🙂

Book Activities

My son and I enjoy reading books together and then making crafts that go along with our stories. Check out my Crafts Page for ideas!

Christmas, Winter

Cookie Stories-

Jennifer
six cookie stories for preschoolers
Cookie Stories

Every year I get really excited about baking and decorating Christmas cookies! My love of Christmas cookies has extended into cookie crafts and now, cookie stories:) Not all of these books are Christmas themed, so you can read about cookies all year long! Check your library for these ten books.

1. How to Catch a Gingerbread Man by Adam Wallace–

In this storybook-themed adventure in the “How to Catch” series, author, Adam Wallace, brings us a rhyming story of the Gingerbread Man. One day during story time, the Gingerbread Man leaps off the page of his book and takes off through the book store. The kids make a whole bunch of traps to catch him, but the Gingerbread Man’s storybook friends come to his rescue! The Gingerbread Man escapes all of the traps, but notices that the kids are sad that they can’t finish the book. The cookie leaps back onto the page so that everyone can finish the story. Grown-ups will enjoy seeing their childhood book friends come to the Gingerbread Man’s aid.

2. Tough Cookie: a Christmas Story by Edward Hemingway–

This book is so funny! Get ready to laugh your way through this updated gingerbread man story, featuring a tough cookie. Cookie claims to be a delicious sugar cookie, but he isn’t sweet and cookie isn’t fast. Cookie taunts Fox, who immediately catches Cookie. Fox tries to take a bite, but hurts his tooth! What a tough cookie! An unlikely friendship forms between the two and Fox sets out to help Cookie be his best cookie-self in this hilarious picture book.

3. The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett–

I absolutely love Jan Brett’s books! Her illustrations are fantastic and the gingerbread baby is so cute. In this twist on the classic folktale, a family makes a gingerbread baby who jumps out of the oven and runs through town. One after another, the people and the animals give chase. The boy, however, has a plan. He bakes a gingerbread house and the cookie, looking for a place to hide from everyone, runs inside. Now the gingerbread baby lives safely inside his gingerbread house.

In this non-holiday cookie picture book, an adorable cookie recalls its struggles in school and just not feeling smart. Sometimes we all get distracted, mixed up, and frustrated, even cookies! One day, Cookie gets a school assignment to create something. It could be anything! What should Cookie make? Finally, inspiration strikes and Cookie writes a poem. The class takes turns showing what they created. Each one has a different talent. It is Cookie’s turn to share. All of the other foods love the completely original, Cookie-created poem! Cookie realizes that everyone is good at different things, and just because you aren’t good at something, doesn’t mean that you aren’t a smart cookie.

Cookie stories: 'The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas" by Laura Murray

5. The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas by Laura Murray–

Lisa Murray’s Gingerbread Man has a whole series of adventures! In this rhyming Christmas book, the Gingerbread Man learns about the spirit of giving. The kids make cards, sing songs, and bake treats for their community. The Gingerbread Man knows just who he wants to make a card for and he sets out with his class to give their gifts. The Gingerbread Man gets separated from his class and his little cookie legs get hurt in the snow. He doesn’t give up and he hobbles up to the shop with his card to give out. Read this book to find out who the Gingerbread Man’s special card is for!

Cookie stories: 'The Gingerbread Pirates" by Kristin Kladstrup

6. The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristin Kladstrup–

Cookies and pirates together in one sweet Christmas story! A boy and his mom make gingerbread pirate cookies for Santa. The boy’s favorite is Captain Cookie and he takes the captain to his room. After the boy falls asleep, Captain Cookie goes in search of his cookie crew, who he needs to save from being eaten by Santa! Along the way, the cookie discovers Christmas wonders and finally meets Santa himself. Captain Cookie challenges Santa in a daring attempt to save crew. Santa promises not to eat the gingerbread pirates before delivering a bit of his Christmas magic to the cookies. Pirate-obsessed and imaginative kids will enjoy this book and its magical ending!

Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?

7. Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by Bonnie Lass–

This book is the southwest version of the famous song. The pictures are awesome and preschoolers will love the sing-songy story. Turns out it was sneaky ants who took the cookies! But don’t worry, every gets a cookie at the end. I’ve read this to the library preschool storytime group many times and they have always enjoyed it. It’s fun to play the Who Stole Cookie game after reading this. My three-year old really liked this book and since it was just the two of us, we set up some stuffed animals to be players in the game with us.

The Duckling Gets a Cookie

8. The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems–

My son loves this series by Mo Willems! The pigeon is in desperate need of some manners and the little duckling is just the one to show the pigeon how to ask nicely for something. The pigeon can’t believe that duckling got a cookie just by asking nicely and saying please. Come along on the pigeon’s hilarious journey to learn to say please and thank you.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

9. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff —

This book is a fun read! A boy gives a mouse a cookie, which leads to mouse asking for a glass of milk. After the milk, mouse wants to check his reflection in a mirror to see if he has a milk mustache. On and on it goes until mouse is thirsty again and wants another glass of milk, which makes it think of a cookie! This is a humorous story and helps preschoolers understand sequencing.

Cow Loves Cookies

10. Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson —

This is one of my son’s favorite books. I think we both have it memorized now! This is a super cute book about what foods farm animals like to eat. They are all very predictable except for the cow, who loves cookies! Preschoolers will love the rhyming, the repetition, and the fun sounds. Read this to find out why cow loves cookies so much. Karma Wilson is a very popular author, so your local library will probably have this book

Visit your library and checkout these cookie stories and other great cookie-themed picture books! I’ve joined Amazon’s Affiliate program to try and help cover the costs of this site. So if you buy something through one of my links on Amazon, then I get a small percentage of the sale (no extra cost to you). Thank you for your support! Happy reading 🙂

Find the Differences: My son loves “find the differences” activities and he asked if he could design one. He made this cute gingerbread themed Find the Differences (free downloadable PDF) worksheet. Can you find all 5 differences?

Cookie Cutter Craft: We turned some of our cookie cutters into stencils and made paper Christmas cookies!

Mosaic gingerbread man craft

Mosaic Gingerbread Man Craft: make a cute gingerbread man out of construction paper.

Christmas, Winter

Santa Books

Jennifer
Santa books

My son is so excited for Santa’s Christmas visit! We visited our library and stocked up on Christmas books. My kiddo wanted to read “Santa books” so here are some that we read together and enjoyed!

8 Santa Books:

1. See Santa Nap by David Milgrim–

See Santa Nap

After a busy night of delivering gifts, Santa need a vacation and a nap. Unfortunately all of the animals are busy playing with their new toys and accidently disturbing Santa’s rest. In this short, funny story, poor Santa is hit by a stray ball, awakened by noisy drums, sprayed by water, and disturbed everyone he tries to nap. Will Santa ever get his much needed rest? Check this one from your library to find out!

Santa Bruce

2. Santa Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins–

We love the Mother Bruce series and just adore Bruce, the grumpy bear, the clueless geese, and the happy-go-lucky mice. In this Christmas book of mistaken identity, the woodland animals think that Bruce is Santa! The illustrations throughout the book will crack your kids up 🙂 Since all of the animals think they told Santa their wishes, Bruce, the geese, and the mice set to make sure everyone gets something for Christmas!

The Chicken Who Saved Christmas

3. The Chicken Who Saved Christmas by Rebecca Elliott–

In this bright, sparkly book, Santa is sick in bed and unable to deliver to toys to children! “Calamity” cries chicken, who rallies the farm animals to save the day. The bright, cheerful illustrations with touches of sparkles will capture your child’s attention as the animals nurse Santa back to good health and get the sleigh ready. With so much happening, Chicken forgets to get the reindeer ready. The reindeer say they can’t fly on empty stomachs, but it’s time to head out and deliver presents! Is Christmas ruined? Not to worry, Santa is feeling better and he uses a bit of Christmas magic to make the farm animals fly and they pull the sleigh full of toys!

Click Clack Ho! Ho! Ho!

4. Click, Clack, Ho! Ho! Ho! by Doreen Cronin–

In this sparely worded picture book, Duck attempts to come down Farmer Brown’s chimney but gets stuck! The other animals attempt to unstuck Duck, but get themselves trapped in the chimney too. Now Santa has arrived and needs to get down the chimney. Will he get stuck too? Get ready for giggles as Santa gets everyone successfully down the chimney and soot goes flying everywhere! Pay special attention to Duck’s backpack to find out why he was trying to get down the chimney in the first place.

The Night Before Christmas

5. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore and Jan Brett–

You just have to read the Clement C. Moore’s poem, The Night Before Christmas, as part of your Christmas stories! In this beautifully illustrated edition by Jan Brett, readers will love seeing Santa and his elves delivering Christmas presents while the children are tucked into bed. Each page’s illustrations are a treasure trove of detail that perfectly compliment the poem.

The Day Santa Stopped Believing In Harold

6. The Day Santa Stopped Believing in Harold by Maureen Fergus–

We’ve all read stories where children start to doubt Santa exists, but in this funny twist, Santa starts to doubt that a little boy named Harold exists. Santa has plenty of good reasons to doubt Harold. For one thing, the handwriting on the letter looks like an adult’s handwriting. And when Harold came to sit on Santa’s lap this year, he looked different than the last time Santa saw him. Seems pretty suspicious. So Santa decides to hide out at Harold’s house this Christmas and see if he really does exist. Kids will love the ending!

Santa's Stuck

7. Santa’s Stuck by Rhonda Gowler Greene–

We’ve all been curious about how Santa gets up and down chimneys. In this book, we get an up close view of Santa making his way down the chimney. Before his toy-delivering journey, Santa indulges in too many snacks. Now that he’s trying to make his way down the chimney, his big belly is becoming a problem. Uh-oh, Santa is stuck! Several animals try and help Santa, but to no avail. Finally, a mouse is able to get Santa free and Christmas is saved!

Santa Duck

8. Santa Duck by David Milgrim–

In another book with a case of mistaken identity, Duck puts on warm red clothes before heading out to find Santa Clause. The other animals think that Duck is Santa and they all excitedly tell him their Christmas wishes. Duck doesn’t know what to do! Fortunately , he finds the real Santa and Duck tells him what his friends want for Christmas. Santa is impressed with Duck’s great memory and makes Duck his special Christmas helper! Preschoolers will giggle their way through this story, enjoying the bright, cheery pictures.

Check your library for these Santa books! I’ve joined Amazon’s Affiliate program to try and help cover the costs of this site. So if you buy something through one of my links on Amazon, then I get a small percentage of the sale (no extra cost to you). Thank you for your support! Happy reading 🙂

5 Little Stockings Rhyme

Crafts!

Fall, Halloween

Pumpkin Books

Jennifer
Preschool Pumpkin Books
Preschool Pumpkin Books

My son loves Halloween and I love pumpkin spice, so pumpkin stories are a natural fit for us! We own a few of these and have checked out the rest from the library. Check your library for these pumpkin books too! It was hard to narrow our choices down to a dozen, but I didn’t want this post to be too long 🙂 We hope you and your preschooler will enjoy these pumpkin books as much as we do!

Splat the cat and the Pumpkin-Picking Plan

1.Splat the Cat and the Pumpkin-Picking Plan by Catherine Hapka–

Splat is a good-intentioned, lovable kitten who finds himself searching for the perfect pumpkin for his mom. He and his mouse friend, Seymour, scour the pumpkin patch, but none of the pumpkins are quite right until Splat finds a gigantic, round orange pumpkin! How is Splat going to get this huge pumpkin home? Well he’s going to roll it all the way home by running on top of it, of course!!! Your preschooler will love Splat’s runaway, rolling pumpkin and sympathize with his quest for the perfect pumpkin.

Christopher Pumpkin

2.Christopher Pumpkin by Sue Hendra–

Christopher Pumpkin is the cutest pumpkin! Created by a witch to help get ready for a scary party, Christopher Pumpkin struggles to do anything the way witch wants. Christopher P. likes pink and sparkles and unicorns, not scary, spooky stuff. The witch gives him one more chance to do something scary or else she’s going to cook him. Will Christopher be able to turn his sparkly, cutesy decorating style into something scary? Check this one out from your library and find out! Told in a rhyming style, with bold, bright illustrations, preschoolers will love reading this one over-and-over again!

Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin

3.Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills–

I adore Duck and Goose. They have the best friendship and such sweet adventures together. In this short, sparsely worded story, Duck and Goose go looking for a pumpkin in very unusual places. Your preschooler will giggle as they look for a pumpkin in a lake and on top of a tree stump. Fortunately, their friend, Thistle, comes along and tells them about the pumpkin patch 🙂 (non-holiday story)

Too Many Pumpkins

4.Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White–

This story is about a woman who HATES pumpkins! She won’t even look at them. So when a truck accidently spills pumpkins in her yard, she does everything she can think of to keep them from growing. The pumpkins, however, thrive in her yard. When fall comes, she finds that she has too many pumpkins! The woman devises a great plan to get rid of the pumpkins and along the way, ends up making new friends with her community 🙂 This sweet story is perfect for fall / Halloween and a heartwarming display of the joy of sharing and connecting with others.

The Runaway Pumpkin

5.The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis–

In this funny story, siblings Buck, Billy, and Lil, go up a hill search of a big pumpkin. The one they find is gigantic and soon, they have it rolling down the hill and destroying everything in its path. The family members below are too intrigued by dreaming of eating eat it to be concerned about the damage its causing. It finally comes to a stop and Granny turns this gigantic pumpkin into a whole bunch of yummy pumpkin foods for a Halloween feast.

Pumpkin soup

6.Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper–

Duck, Cat, and Squirrel and three good friends who like to make pumpkin soup together. Everyone has a specific job to do. One day, Duck decides he wants to switch jobs, which leads to a fight among the friends. Duck leaves in a huff. Soon Cat and Squirrel go in search of their friend. Will Duck want to come back and make soup with them? Kids will love Cooper’s illustrations and enjoy going on the fall journey with these characters. The book also includes a recipe for pumpkin soup that you and your kiddo can make together! (non-holiday story)

Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin

7.The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin by Stan and Jan Berenstain–

I loved the Berenstain Bears when I was a kid and I’m excited the their books are still available so I can share them with my son! In this Thanksgiving-themed story, the Berenstain Bears are entering the pumpkin contest. Of course the cubs and Papa really want to win first prize! Mama Bear gently tries to teach Papa and the cubs about the true meaning of Thanksgiving, but the bears are too consumed with the idea of winning to listen. When the family doesn’t win first prize, the Bears begin to understand the true meaning of Thanksgiving and being thankful for what they do have.

The Biggest Pumpkin Ever

8.The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll–

This is the story of two little mice who unknowingly fall in love with the same pumpkin! One wants to make the biggest Jack-o-lantern and the other wants to win the town’s biggest pumpkin prize. When they realize that they have both picked the same pumpkin, the mice work together to help it grow.

A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster

9.A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster by Amy Young —

Lucy and Sparkle have fun doing autumn things together. They visit a pumpkin patch, explore a corn maze, and play games. Things get a little too spooky for Sparkle, who is afraid of a pumpkin monster. Lucy, who enjoys being scared, learns that not everyone likes to be a little scared. This is a sweet story about two friends who learn to respect one another’s feelings. Plus it ends with an awesome rainbow from Sparkle’s magic horn and yummy treats for the friends to enjoy together.

Pumpkin Trouble

10.Pumkpin Trouble by Jan Thomas–

This short book will bring out the giggles as farmyard friends run from the pumpkin monster! Wait a minute, did that pumpkin just quack? Slapstick comedy, bright illustrations, and a confused duck make this book a preschool winner 🙂

Pete the Cat: Five Little Pumpkins

11.Pete the Cat: the Five Little Pumpkins by James Dean–

Preschoolers’ favorite cat, Pete the Cat, brings the pumpkin finger rhyme to bedtime in this fun book. Count along with these cool, rhyming pumpkins sitting on a gate. Kids will love the pumpkins’ costumes and the fantastic Halloween illustrations!

12.The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiane–

The Disney Jr. Halloween movie started as a book! This is a sweet story about a square pumpkin who just doesn’t seem to fit in the with round pumpkins in the patch. The round pumpkins make fun of Spookley for looking different. But one Halloween, a storm starts blowing the round pumpkins all over the place! Oh no, there is a hole in the fence. Will they roll right out into the bay? It’s up to Spookley, the square pumpkin to save the day. Preschoolers will enjoy this rhyming story and will be keeping an eye out for a square pumpkin next time you go to a pumpkin patch.

More Books!

I hope you and your preschooler enjoy these pumpkin books! There are so many pumpkin books available that we love, and we hard a hard time narrowing down our choices for this list.

Looking for more great stories to read together? Check out my FALL favorites, ZOMBIE book recommendations, 12 MONSTER Stories post, and my GHOST Stories for preschoolers.

I’ve joined Amazon’s Affiliate program to try and help cover the costs of this site. If you buy a book through one of my links, then I get a small percentage of the sale. Thank you for your support! Happy Reading 🙂

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, and more Pumpkins!

Make Pumpkin Fizz —

Pumpkin Fizz

Incorporate fun, seasonal STEM activities into your preschooler’s education with this fun, fall-themed science experiment.

Pumpkin Find the Differences—

Pumpkin-themed Find the Differences worksheet

It’s time to put your observation skills to work! Can you find 5 differences between these 2 pumpkin scenes?

Pumpkin Handprint Craft —

I love handprint crafts! They preserve your little one’s prints and you get to look back at them and ooh and ahh over how little and cute they were 🙂

Five Little Pumpkins Finger Rhyme–

Animals, Fall, Halloween

Bat Books

Jennifer
Preschool Bat Books
Bat Books

Here are ten preschooler-approved bat books! We rarely see bats where we live, so when we do, it is pretty exciting! Twice over the last couple months, I saw a bat outside of the library where I work 🙂 So of course, I had to pull out my copy of Bats at the Library! Check your library these great bat stories. Speaking of the library, we found a bat outside the library: https://youtube.com/shorts/Ti7Nqr67uws?feature=share

Bat Books

Stellaluna

1.Stellaluna by Jane Cannon–

Stellaluna is a preschool classic! Kids love this young fruit bat. In the story, Stellaluna is separated from her mother and ends up being adopted by a bird family. My son loves watching Stellaluna try to bird things 🙂 Stellaluna realizes that she needs to be true to her batself and not try to be something she’s not. This sweet, loving story about family ends on a happy note!

Good Night, Bat! Good Morning, Squirrel!

2.Good Night, Bat! Good Morning, Squirrel! by Paul Meisel–

Bat thinks he has found the perfect home! However, it turns out that this is squirrel’s home. Since they sleep at opposite times, they don’t have a chance to communicate in person. Squirrel doesn’t want to share her home so she leaves Bat notes trying to get him to leave. Bat misinterprets the notes and thinks they are friends now. Kids will giggle at the misunderstandings and love the happy ending.

Bats at the Beach

3. Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies–

Brian Lies makes great bat books! This is one of several “Bats at . . .” series. The bats also go to the library, the ballgame, and join the band! In this beach themed one, the bats enjoy a fun evening at the beach. Lies’ rhyming text and beautiful illustrations will make this a bedtime favorite.

Little Bat

4. Little Bat: finger puppet book by Paragon Publishing–

The finger puppet book is so cute! It has very few words, but my son and the library’s storytime kids just love it. The gently, rhyming story and the fun puppet make this book a preschool favorite 🙂

Superbat

5. Superbat by Matt Carr–

This book cleverly disguises bat facts into the storyline! A little bat thinks he’s a superhero because of all of his amazing bat abilities. The other bats tell him that those abilities don’t make him a superhero, just a regular bat. However, when a family of mice need rescuing, Superbat swoops in and saves the day using his bat abilities!

Hedgehugs: Autumn Hide and Squeak

6. Hedgehugs: Autumn Hide and Squeak by Steve Wilson–

Get ready for cuteness overload in this story! Best friends, Horace and Hattie, are two adorable little hedgehogs who love to play together. One fall day, Hattie becomes sad that the leaves are falling off of the tree. Fortunately a distraction in the form of a new squeaky friend comes at just the right time. The squeaky young bat joins the hedgehogs in a game of hide and seek until it’s time for the bat to go home. Horace asks the bat for a favor and the new friend is happy to help. The little bat tells its colony Horace’s request and they pull off the most spectacular surprise for Hattie 🙂

Littlebat’s Halloween Story

7. Littlebat’s Halloween Story by Diane Mayr–

Littlebat badly wants to go to the library’s storytime and listen to stories with the kids. Mama bat explains that it is too dangerous for a little bat to go into the library when people are there, with the exception of one special day. Littlebat can’t wait for the special library day. Mama tells him to be patient and watch for changes. Soon the seasons change from summer to fall. The library starts decorating for Halloween, and finally, the day comes when Littlebat gets to storytime! He blends in with the Halloween decorations and gets to hang out with the kids and listen to stories 🙂

Bats Around the Clock

8. Bats Around the Clock by Kathi Appelt–

These cute bats just want to dance! This book incorporates great bat illustrations, humor, a variety of dances, and learning to tell time all rolled into one. Readers will want to dance along with these grooving bats.

Brian Lies bat books series -- "Bats at the Library."
Bats at the Library

9. Bats at the Library by Brian Lies–

I know I’m little biased since I work at a library, but this truly is a fantastic bat book! It’s rhyming story tells about all of the fun things a bat (or kid) can do at the library! Brian Lies’ illustrations and attention to detail are fantastic.

Bat Jamboree

10. Bat Jamboree by Kathi Appelt–

Bats and counting, oh what fun! The bats put on a fantastic theatrical performance in this cute book. Count along at the bats take the stage. You won’t want to miss the bats’ grand finale!

Preschool Bat Books

I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program to help cover the costs of this site. This means that I get a small percentage of the sale of if you buy a book through one of the links I’ve posted. Thank you for your support! Happy reading 🙂

More Bat Fun:

Coffee Filter Bat Craft

Bat I Spy: count how many of each type of bat you can spy!

Bat Counting: color in the number of bats as shown.

Coffee Filter Bat Craft: make awesome coffee filter bats!

Rhyme: Bats are Flying!

Fall

Firefighter Stories and Activities

Jennifer

Here are some firefighter stories and activities to enjoy with your preschooler 🙂

Preschool Firefighter Stories and Activities
Firefighter stories and activities

October is fire safety month. This is a great time to talk to your child about the dangers of hot stoves, matches, lighters, fire pits, and what to do if there is a fire. Practice STOP, DROP, and ROLL and make sure to check your home’s smoke alarms to ensure that they are working properly. Check out your library for book ideas on teaching your child about fire safety.

Firefighter Stories

Two of my son’s favorite firefighter stories are Frank Dormer’s Firefighter Duckies and Norman Bridwell’s Clifford the Firehouse Dog.

Firefighter Duckies

Firefighter Duckies is absolutely hilarious!!! You and your child will laugh-out-loud all through this book as the poor firefighter duckies rescue whales in trees and put out a burning chef’s hat. Every disaster is super silly. Nevertheless, through it all, “they are brave, they are strong, they are….firefighter duckies!” If you think you are up to laughing this much, then check out Firefighter Duckies from your library.

Clifford the Firehouse Dog

My son loves Clifford stories and the tv show on PBS, so combining Clifford with firefighters was a total win for him! In Clifford the Firehouse Dog, Clifford uses his extreme height to help firefighters rescue people from a tall building and he grabs a water tower and doses the fire with it. I’m always hesitant about firefighter stories that show actual burning buildings because I don’t want to freak kids out, but my son did not find this the least bit frightening. My library had firefighters come and read to kids and this is one that they read to the preschoolers. Hopefully your library carries this Clifford adventure.

Since we love Jonathan London’s Froggy series, we decided to give Firefighter Hippo a chance. Here Comes Firefighter Hippo is a cute story about a little hippo who pretends to be a firefighter. My son loves to pretend to be a firefighter, so this book really resonated with him. Little Hippo sets off on an adventure in his pedal-powered firetruck, running into some difficulties along the way. Bright illustrations add to the enjoyment of this story.

Otis and the Kittens

Otis the Tractor is a favorite in our house! We were excited to find a firefighter Otis story at our library 🙂 In Otis and the Kittens, by Loren Long, Otis the Tractor sees smoke coming form the barn and an upset mama cat. Otis saves the kittens and brings them to mama. Mama cat is still upset; Otis thinks there must be a missing kitten. Otis bravely goes to help. Suddenly, the floor collapses and Otis is trapped. Now he needs help too. Not to fear, Otis’ friends rescue him and the kitten. This story provides a great jumping off point to talk about what to do in a fire, showing the danger of being trapped in a burning building.

FIREFIGHTER ACTIVITIES:

Firetruck Craft

Make a firetruck craft from some basic shapes. Your preschooler will be so excited to see the firetruck take shape as they glue everything together!

Supplies needed are:

-construction paper in red, yellow, white, black, & green

-pencil

-ruler

-scissors

-glue

How to Make:

-Draw the shapes to make a firetruck. Ask your preschooler to name the shapes (circle, square, rectangle, etc.)

-Preschoolers can cut out the basic shapes. Since the ladder is intricate, an adult should cut it out.

-Once everything is cut out, glue them onto a separate piece of paper in the shape of a firetruck!

Wheels on the Firetruck Song

We sang our own version of Wheels on the Bus and called it Wheels on the Firetruck. For our firetruck lyrics we sang:

Wheels on the firetruck go round and round. . .

Lights on the firetruck go flash, flash, flash. . .

Ladders on the firetruck go up and down. . .

Hoses on the firetruck go spray, spray, spray. . .

The siren on the firetruck goes whee-eee-o, whee-ee-o, whee-ee-o, the siren on the truck goes whee-ee-o all through the town.

I Spy — Firefighter

Firefighter I Spy: practice counting and writing numbers with this fun Firefighter-themed I Spy activity. Count how many of each picture you see and write the number in the box next to the picture.

Firefighter-I-SpyDownload

I hope you enjoyed these firefighter stories and activities! Check your library for these books and other other firefighter stories : ) To help support this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program. Through this program, I get a small percentage of the sales made through my links. Thanks for you support and happy reading!

Fall, Halloween

Ghost Stories

Jennifer
Ghost stories for preschoolers
Ghost Stories for Preschoolers

At ages 3-4, my preschooler loved what he called “spooky” books — they were books that had ghosts, monsters, and creepy drawings, but they weren’t actually scary. Here’s a list of 6 not-so-scary ghost stories for your preschooler to enjoy:

The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo! by Elaine Bickell and Raymond McGrath–

In this rhyming story, a young ghost is in search of her missing “boo.” She meets many animals that make sounds similar to “boo,” but they just aren’t quite right. Preschoolers will love mimicking the sounds they hear in the story and will enjoying McGrath’s fantastic illustrations. Check your library for this book to see if the little ghost ever finds her missing “boo.”

Leo, a Ghost Story by Mac Barnett with illustrations by Christian Robinson–

Friends come in different shapes, sizes, and forms, including ghosts. A ghost is looking for a friend, but he accidently scares people away with his attempts at making friends. When he stumbles across a little girl who can see him and who isn’t afraid, Leo is excited to finally have someone to play with. However, his friend thinks he is imaginary, not a ghost. Not wanting to scare her away with the truth, Leo doesn’t tell he is actually a ghost. When a robber breaks into the girl’s home during the night, Leo springs into action, leaving the little girl to wonder how an imaginary friend was able to help capture the bad guy. It is the moment of truth: will the girl be afraid of a ghost or will they stay friends? Read this one to find out 🙂

The Scariest Book Ever by Bob Shea —

My son LOVES this story about a ghost who is scared of the dark woods surrounding its home. The ghost refuses to leave his house and comes up with all sorts of silly excuses as to why it needs to stay home, rather than admit that it is scared. The reader, however, isn’t scared and goes out to investigate. Turns out the woods are not so scary after all! Can the ghost be convinced that it is safe to venture out and enjoy the fun? A funny and clever “spooky” story.

Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kohara —

A girl and her cat move into a haunted house! Turns out this little girl is actually a witch and she knows exactly what to do with ghosts! This is a fairly short book, with not a lot of text per page. The illustrations are done in orange and black and really capture the reader’s attention. Your preschooler will enjoy studying the pictures and seeing the girl’s creative uses for ghosts.

Gustavo, the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago —

Gustavo really wants to make friends with the other ghoulish monsters, but he is too shy to talk to anyone. This book really shows the struggles that shy people go through and how they sometimes feel invisible. Determined to make friends, Gustavo invites his classmates to attend his violin concert. They all come out in support of him! From here out, they all become friends 🙂

Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O’Connell —

This is a cute, preschool counting book featuring ghosts! A mean with moves into the ghosts’ home and causes them to flee. Preschoolers can help count the ghosts as the flee and gather in the woods. The 10 ghosts form a plan to retake their house by Halloween night! Get this one from you library and find out if the ghosts’ plan works 🙂

Check out my other posts for book recommendations and fall activities to enjoy with your little one: FALL-THEME post and APPLE post.

Animals

BEACH-THEME books and activities

Jennifer

Whether you live near the ocean or not, you can enjoy beach-theme books and activities with your little one at home. Check your library for beach-theme books!

Beach-theme books and activities for preschool and kindergarten
Beach-theme books and activities

We made it to the beach! And of course, we had to bring some of our favorite beach-themed books with us 🙂 Books, waves, sandcastles, and lots of splashing made for a great time!

Enjoy some of our favorite beach-theme books and activities with us!

Beach-Theme Books—

Duck and Goose Go to the Beach

Duck and Goose are some of our favorite picture book characters! My son has loved them for years (and I’ve loved them even longer!). We’ve been reading Duck and Goose stories since he was a baby. Their books come in a board book format that was perfect for when my kiddo was in the grabby stage, and now that he’s older, we read the picture books. We have actually brought Duck and Goose go the Beach and the stuffed animals to the beach with us a few times now 🙂 In this book, the two friends set off on an adventure and find themselves at the beach! But do they actually the sand, sun, and waves? Read it and find out 🙂

How to Catch a Mermaid

My son LOVES Adam Wallace’s How to Catch a Mermaid! It’s a fun book about 2 kids and dog who hatch all sorts of plans to catch a mermaid because who wouldn’t want to have a mermaid friend, right!?! Spoiler, the kids get themselves trapped instead and the mermaid saves the day! This book has rhyming text and bold, bright pictures that compliment the fun story. This has been one of my son’s favorites for a over a year now and we hope you like it as much as we do!

The Sandcastle that Lola Built

The Sandcastle that Lola Built by Megan Maynor– based on the “House that Jack Built” story, this is a cute book about a little girl’s beach day. In this great example of teamwork, Lola and her new friends work together to make a sandcastle for mermaids. Fantastic pictures and rhyming text make this book a winner!

After reading this, we had to make our own sandcastle 🙂 And just like in the book, the tide washed away our castle too!

Inky's Amazing Escape: How a Very Smart Octopus Found His Way Home
Inky’s Amazing Escape

Inky’s Amazing Escape by Sy Montgomery — my kiddo loves this book! It is a true story about an octopus named Inky, who escapes from an aquarium in Australia and makes its way back to the ocean. We learned a lot about octopuses from this non-fiction picture book, and we were fascinated by Inky’s journey. My son was so excited when he learned that Inky liked playing Legos just like he does! Out of all of the books written about Inky, this one is our favorite. Sy Montgomery is a gifted storyteller and we were absolutely fascinated by this amazing octopus. I check out lots of library books for my son and I to read together, but this is one book that we felt that we needed to own. We truly love this story and read it over-and-over again.

Over in the Ocean

My son got Over in the Ocean: in a Coral Reef for his birthday recently and it is AWESOME! It has fantastic pictures that were formed from clay by artist Jeanette Canyon that perfectly compliment Marianne Berkes’ sing-songy text. You and your little one will want to study these pictures over-and-over again to get all of the details incorporated onto each page. This book introduces a variety of cool sea creatures. It also lends itself well to movement activities that preschoolers will love to do. At the end, there is a seek-and-find activity to search for all of the sea creatures from the book, as well as a sneak-peek into the clay creations. We had so much fun reading this at the beach!

"Beach Day" by Candace Ransom. This is great for preschool and kindergarten beach-theme books and activities.
Beach Day!

Candace Ransom writes great beginning-reader books. The text is simple, but not boring and the pictures capture the joy of the kids’ adventures. In Beach Day! the family heads out to enjoy the beach together. The book captures the fun, excitement, and joy of family outing at the seashore. The kids gather seashells, build a sand castle, and see some neat sea creatures. As you read this one with your little one, you just can’t help but get caught up in the fun! Be prepared to read this multiple times 🙂

The Snail and the Whale

Another one of our favorite authors is Julia Donaldson; her books are perfect for preschoolers and kindergartners! For our beach-theme stories, my son and I read A Snail and a Whale. A snail yearns to explore in this rhyming book. However, snail finds that its explorations are hindered by its size. When whale offers to help snail take a journey, it is a dream come true. Snail enjoys adventuring with the large whale. Uh-oh, whale gets stuck and it is up to the small snail to help its new friend. This story goes to show that no matter how small you are, you can still help others.

Beach-Theme Activities —

To go along with our beach stories, my son had fun doing a beach and an ocean-themed I Spy challenges and an ocean-themed Find The Differences worksheet.

Beach I Spy

Download them for your kiddo to enjoy too:

– Beach-Themed I Spy— count how many of each beach item you can find!

–Ocean-Themed I Spy — count how many of each ocean creature you can find!

–Ocean-Themed FIND THE DIFFERENCES: can you spot 5 differences between the 2 scenes?

–BEACH alphabet letter tracing worksheet: practice tracing the letters and then color the picture!

Beach alphabet letter tracing

CRAFTS —

SPOUTING WHALE: this turned out super cute and my kiddo really enjoyed making this.

Spouting whale construction paper and tissue paper craft for preschool and kindergarten beach-theme books and activities.
Spouting Whale

Supplies needed are white and blue construction paper, pencil, scissors, blue tissue paper ( 1″ x 1″ squares), glue stick, white school glue, and googly eyes.

1. I drew a whale shape on the blue paper and cut it out.

2. My son used a glue stick to glue the whale onto the white paper. Next he rubbed the glue stick all over the bottom of the paper and glued on the blue tissue paper squares to make the ocean water.

3. Together, we wadded up the blue tissue paper squares to make the water spout.

4. Using the white school glue, I added glue dots in the pattern of the whale’s water spout and then my son added the wadded the tissue.

5. To complete his craft he added the googly eyes.

TOILET PAPER ROLL OCTOPUS:

My son loves Inky’s story so much that we decided to make an octopus craft.

Inky the Octopus toilet paper roll craft for beach-theme books and activities
Inky the Octopus

Supplies needed are an empty toilet paper roll, washable paint, paintbrush, kid safety scissors, googly eyes, and a marker.

-First we painted the toilet paper roll red. (use whatever color you want). Then we let it dry.

-After it dried, my son made cuts in the bottom of the toilet paper roll to make 8 legs. He gently pulled each leg up so that they legs splayed out and his octopus could stand.

-Then he attached the googly eyes and drew a mouth, and our cute little octopus was ready to explore our house!

Hope you enjoyed our beach-theme books and activities!

To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate Program. I get a small percentage of the sale if you buy a book through one of my links. Thanks for your support! Happy reading 🙂