Tag: Dr. Seuss

Animals, Fall

Fox Stories

Jennifer
Fox Stories

I’ve gathered 20 great books featuring foxes! Preschoolers will love hearing these fantastic fox stories. These stories are perfect to read all year round. While foxes are often paired with fall decorations, I’ve also included stories about foxes in winter, as well as plenty of books that can be read anytime of year.

20 Fox Stories:

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves

1. Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson —

In this beautifully illustrated book, we meet a young fox named Fletcher who is unaware that some trees lose their leaves in the fall. Fletcher is determined to save the leaves from falling off of his favorite tree. Unfortunately each one of his ideas fail to keep the leaves on the tree. After the last leaf falls off the tree, Fletcher carries the little leaf home to his den. He puts it into a nice cozy bed for the night. When he returns to his tree in the early morning, a beautiful sight is waiting for him. His tree is covered in sparkling icicles! His tree reassures him that all is fine and that Fletcher is free to enjoy the beauty in front of him without worry for his tree. Love Fletcher? Then check out his winter and his spring stories too!

Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss

2. Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss–

Warning, this silly, rhyming book will result in tongue-twisting giggles! The funny rhymes and bright pictures will keep preschoolers engaged throughout the story. This book is on the long side, but the silliness should keep preschoolers entertained as you rhyme your way through this one.

Fox the Tiger

3. Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor–

We love this series! Fox is hilarious and very imaginative. In this story, Fox wants to be a tiger, so he adds some stripes to his fur and sets out to show his friends, Rabbit and Turtle. Rabbit and Turtle want to pretend to be something else too. Everyone puts their imaginations to work and has lots of fun playing pretend. In the end, however, they are happiest being themselves. Be sure to check out Fox’s other stories, especially Fox Versus Winter!

Six Silly Foxes

4. Six Silly Foxes by Alex Moran —

This is a great book for exploring emotions. Look at each scene and think about their expressions and what they are doing to figure out each emotion. Also, each fox wears a different color, so preschoolers can practice their color identification. The story is short and packed with rhyming silliness to keep your child entertained.

Lawrence in the Fall

5. Lawrence in the Fall by Matthew Farina–

In this sweet story, Lawrence and his dad head out into the woods to collect leaves for Lawrence’s show-and-tell project at school. Dad shares the names of the trees with Lawrence as the young fox collects leaves of various shapes, sizes, and colors. The beauty of nature is expertly captured in this story, as father and son take in the quiet wonder of the trees around them.

I'll Always be Your Friend

6. I’ll Always Be Your Friend by Sam McBratney–

I love this this book about a mother fox who reassures who her little one that she will always be his friend. Like human children, little fox finds it hard to stop playing when his mother tells him to. He gets mad and says, “I’m not your friend anymore!” Who hasn’t heard this from their frustrated child before! Little fox has to test boundaries (and patience) before realizing that he wants to be “friends” with mommy again.

Fox Makes Friends

7. Fox Makes Friends by Adam Relf–

Lonely little fox decides to make a friend, but not in the way you might expect! The fox builds one out of sticks, rocks, and fruit. Unfortunately the new friend falls short of fox’s expectations as it does not move or talk. But soon, curious animals come to check out fox’s creation and help him make friends in the process.

One Fox: a counting book thriller

8. One Fox: a counting book thriller by Kate Read–

This book had my son’s full attention! A sneaky fox is making its way to the hen house. The story starts with 1 sly fox, then shows 2 eyes, followed by 3 plump hens. My son was practically on the edge of his seat as the fox enters the hen house. The story makes it up to 10 before the fox is chased away. Phew, the hens are safe! The book ends with a disclaimer that no foxes or hens were harmed in the making of this book 🙂 This story is masterfully told with sparse, but strategic words and great pictures.

Winter Dance

9. Winter Dance by Marion Dane Bauer —

This is one of my favorite fox stories. It 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.


I Love You Because You're You

10. I Love You Because You’re You by Liza Baker–

My son loves books about parent-child relationships! In this heartwarming story, mother fox tells her young fox everything that she loves about him. Short, rhyming text with bright pictures will keep preschoolers interested. Mother fox continuously reassures her little fox that no matter the behavior or emotions her young one exhibits, mommy loves him!

Denny and Penny: a fun rhyming picture book

11. Denny and Penny: a fun rhyming picture book by Silas Wood–

Denny and Penny, two foxes, have complete opposite tastes in food. One day, Denny runs out of his favorite sweet treats and asks Penny if she has any. But Penny likes to eat fish and vegetables, not sweets. Will Denny be brave and try something new? At the time of writing this, the eBook version is free on Amazon.

Little Fox in the Forest

12. Little Fox in the Forest by Stephanie Graegin —

This wordless picture book provides a great opportunity for children to interpret the story. In this book we see a little girl take her stuffed animals fox to school with her. On her way, a real fox takes off with her toy! She and a friend from school chase after the fox, but lose sight of it in the forest. The children stumble upon an archway that leads them into a fantastical village filled with miniature houses for the forest animals. You’ll never guess where they discover fox and the stuffed animal!

You Make Me Happy book

13. You Make Me Happy By Smriti Prasadam-Halls–

Get ready for cuteness overload! In this sweet story friends, Porcupine and Fox, explore the world around them, enjoying each other’s company. Everything from playing to enjoying a picnic is better when the person (or animal) who makes you happy is by your side. Sing-songy rhymes are accompanied by adorable pictures. This story is sure to make you say “awww, how sweet!”

Baby Fox: finger puppet book

14. Baby Fox: Finger Puppet Book by Chronicle Books —

My preschooler loves these finger puppet board books. Not only is the fox puppet cute, but it helps bring the book to life. The text is short, but contains great facts about foxes such as they live in a burrow and come out at night to play.

Jasper and Ollie Build a Fort

15. Jasper and Ollie Build a Fort â€‹by Alex Willan —

Best friends, Jasper and Ollie, set out to see who can build the best fort. Jasper, the fox, builds really quickly and soon his fort is complete. Children will laugh at Jasper zooming around and all of the pizzazz that goes into his fort. Meanwhile, Ollie, the sloth, slowly constructs his fort. It is missing all of the flashiness of Jasper’s fort, but offers a cozy spot where the friends can hangout together. The story is sweet tale of friendship as this odd-couple come together to enjoy each other’s company.

Little Fox and the Missing Moon

16. Little Fox and the Missing Moon by Ekaterina Trukhan–

My son has become interested in detective stories and mysteries, so this was perfect for him. In this book, Fox looks out his window at bedtime and discovers the moon is missing! He jumps out of bed to investigate this strange disappearance. Turns out his friends are looking for the moon too; everyone except rabbit. They head over to rabbit’s house to find that rabbit has the moon. Read this one to find out why rabbit took the moon!

A Fox Found a Box

17. A Fox Found a Box by Ged Adamson–

Fox discovers a radio abandoned in the forest. After some trial and error, fox and his friends get the radio to work and the forest is filled with music. The author takes the reader through a moving journey about how the power of music effects our feelings. What happens when the batteries run out and the forest is quiet again? Fox and friends begin to appreciate the sounds of nature and realize that there has always been music all around them.

Little Fox and the Wild Imagination

18. Little Fox and the Wild Imagination  by Jorma Taccone —

When I learned that Dan Santat illustrated this story, I had to check it out. I love Dan Santat’s artistic style and the humor he captures so well in his illustrations. I was so happy to find that this story is about a father and son who use their imaginations to have an epic adventure filled with a car race, a robot squid, and lots of books! This story is funny and full of heart 🙂

The Fox Wish

19. The Fox Wish​ by Kimiko Aman–

Siblings realized mid-snack that they forgot their jump rope at the park. They rush back to get it, but find that foxes have discovered it and are having a great time playing with it. One of the foxes explains how she made a wish for a new game to play and then the foxes stumbled upon the jump rope! Not wanting to spoil the fox’s delight in a wish come true, the little girl lets the foxes keep the jump rope after getting a promise that everyone will play together again soon. Beautiful pictures and a thoughtful tale of sharing and kindness will make this book a great choice for bedtime stories.

Fox and the Box

20. Fox and the Box  by Yvonne Ivinson–

The artwork on the cover of Fox and the Box had me intrigued! The story is told mainly through the pictures, with just a couple key words per page. A fox at the beach, watching all of the ships in the water, wants to turn his crate into a ship and join in the fun. Fox’s determination and wild sea adventure will delight young readers. Everyone will love the happy ending!

Please check your public library for these fox stories. If you choose to purchase them, please note that I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program to try and help cover the costs of my website. So if you buy something through one of my links, then I get a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support! Happy reading 🙂

Paper Plate Fox Craft!

Fox Paper Plate Craft: turn a paper plate into a fox with some orange tissue paper, googly eyes, and a black pompom for a nose.

paper plate fox craft


Uncategorized

Silly Rhyming Stories for Preschoolers

Jennifer
Silly Rhyming Stories for Preschoolers

Get ready for lots of giggles as you read these silly rhyming stories with your preschooler!

10 Silly Rhyming Stories:

Billy Bloo is Stuck in Goo

1. Billy Bloo is Stuck in Goo by Jennifer Hamburg–

This is one my son’s all-time favorite books! Billy Bloo gets stuck in goo. Who will save him? A whole series of silly characters try and rescue him, only to find themselves stuck too. Yikes! A cowgirl, a pirate, acrobats, and even the Queen are stuck, and its starting to look like they may never get out. An unlikely critter passes by, a scared shriek from one of the would-be rescuers, and suddenly they are being dragged out, one-by-one. Hurray! You and your kiddo will be cracking up throughout this book!

I Like Myself

2. I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont —

Not only does this book have a positive message about loving yourself just the way you are, but the story is a fun read-aloud to share with your kiddo. With awesome rhymes galore, you can’t help but get caught up in the this girl’s exuberance as she tells that world that she loves herself just the way she is. I love the pictures! David Catrow’s illustrations in this book remind of Dr. Seuss’ silly illustrations.

Silly Sally

3. Silly Sally by Audrey Wood —

Your preschooler is going to love this one! Silly Sally went to town, walking backwards upside down. Along the way she encounters a pig, a dog, a loon, a sheep, and Neddy Buttercup, who is walking forwards, right-side up. They dance, they play, they sing, and they sleep, before finally making it to town.

Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?

4. Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? by Dr. Seuss —

Whether you read the board book or the hardback edition, this story is great for preschoolers! It is full of sounds that will have kiddos engaged, giggling, and even making up some of their own! This is one my storytime favorites because they kids have so much fun repeating Mr. Brown’s sounds with me 🙂

The Wonky Donkey

5. The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith–

In this story we meet a wonky donkey who accumulates more problems, more rhymes, and more giggles as the story progresses. Preschoolers will love mimicking the sounds in this book and laugh as the story becomes even more ridiculous. By the end of book, we have a spunky, hanky-panky, cranky, stinky, dinky, lanky, honky-tonky, winky wonky donkey! My son says you have to read this one!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cow

6. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cow by Lucille Colandro–

Lucille Colandro’s “There was an Old Lady” series is a favorite with preschoolers. The old lady is ridiculously silly and the kids love to laugh at her antics and say “you can’t do that” when she swallows a cow, some hay, a pig, duck, horse, sheep, and a fiddle! Why is she swallowing all of these things?

Elmo's Tricky Tongue Twisters

7. Elmo’s Tricky Tongue Twisters by Sarah Albee–

Sesame Street’s Elmo presents silly, tricky tongue twisters that will have everyone giggling! Good luck trying to read these tricky words with a straight face. Both you and your kiddo will be cracking up as you compete to see who can say it fastest! The pictures are filled with Sesame Street favorites and the rhymes are full of great vocabulary words.

How to Catch a Mermaid by Adam Wallace

8. How to Catch a Mermaid by Adam Wallace–

This book is great for preschoolers. It has a mermaid, awesome pictures, silliness, and a rhyming story! A couple of kids and dog try and catch a mermaid. They have shiny bait and lots of traps, but the mermaid is quite clever and escapes. Oh no, one of their plans backfires and the kids and the dog find that they are the ones trapped. Yikes, a bunch of sharks are coming! What are they going to do? Mermaid to the rescue! Whoo-hoo, everyone is safely returned to shore 🙂

I Love You, Fred

9. I Love You, Fred by Mick and Chloe Inkpen–

Fred, a little pug, is in dog school. He learns to stay away from cars and poo (cue the giggles). He also learns a lot of important words, except for what the word “Fred” means. If only he knew how to Fred! Fred goes to ask the dog in the upstairs mirror, but doesn’t get an answer. Only when Fred is rescued by his boy from a duck pond, does Fred realize that “Fred is a name and it is mine!” Preschoolers will love Fred, a wiggly dog with big googly eyes, who tries to wag his tail off.

The Hiccupotamus by Aaron Zenz

10. The Hiccupotamus  by Aaron Zenz–

We love this silly tongue-twisting tale of a hippo that comes down with the hiccups. Its hiccups are so bad that the hippo disrupts all of the animals around him. The animals get together and decide that something must be done to cure hippo of the hiccups. Each attempt at a cure is hilarious and the rhyming, tongue twisters adds to giggles. Your preschooler will laugh their way through this book!

laughing face

For more silly rhyming stories, take a look at my Dr. Seuss Stories for Preschoolers and ask your local librarian for book suggestions. I’ve included links to purchase these titles on Amazon. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program. If you buy a book through one of my links, then I get a small percentage of the sale (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support! Happy Reading 🙂

Uncategorized

Dr. Seuss Stories for Preschoolers

Jennifer

Dr. Seuss’ birthday is on March 2 and that’s also Read Across America day. A lot of schools and libraries read Seuss stories on this day, but they can be too long for preschoolers. Nonetheless, preschooler want to get in on the fun! Fortunately a lot of Dr. Seuss’ stories have been modified over the years into shorter, more preschooler accessible formats and many of his popular characters have their own spin-off books too (although not written by Dr. Seuss). Here are some Dr. Seuss stories suggestions for preschoolers:

10 Dr. Seuss Stories:

The Cat in the Hat's Great Big Flap Book

1. The Cat in the Hat’s Great Big Flap Book by Dr. Seuss–

The Cat in the Hat is probably Dr. Seuss’ most famous book. Kids love it, but it is a really long story. For those of you with preschoolers who can’t sit through the story, try this lift-the-flap book that not only features parts of The Cat in the Hat, but also There’s a Wocket in My Pocket, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, Dr. Seuss’ ABC, and Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You. This book is huge and has tons of flaps that should hold little ones’ attentions. This book doesn’t have a story, but there is lots of stuff to read when you open the flaps. There’s counting, animal sounds, colors, silly Seuss creatures, alphabet letters, and rhymes!

Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?

2. Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? by Dr. Seuss —

Whether you read the board book or the hardback edition, this story is great for preschoolers! It is full of sounds that will have kiddos engaged, giggling, and even making up some of their own! This is one my storytime favorites because they kids have so much fun repeating Mr. Brown’s sounds with me 🙂

Cooking with the Cat

3. Cooking with the Cat by Bonnie Worth–

While not written by Dr. Seuss, this book does feature one of his most famous characters, the Cat in the Hat! Featuring rhymes and plenty of silliness, this short book features the Cat in the Hat cooking up some of his favorite cupcakes. The cat arrives, cookbook and egg beater in hand, to cook with the kids. Readers will see the steps involved with making cupcakes, and enjoy the Cat’s antics.

Dr. Seuss' Spring Things

4. Dr. Seuss’ Spring Things —

Thing 1 and Things 2 from Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat have a spin-off board book series. Each book features a very short rhyming story, bright pictures, and holiday/seasonal images. In this spring book, Thing 1 and Thing 2 explore the outdoors and find ducklings, baby chicks, frogs, a spring rain storm, flowers, muddy puddles, and more! Ask your child what their favorite spring thing is! Also, check your library for more Thing 1 and Thing 2 adventures.

6. The Grinch’s Great Big Flap Book by Dr. Seuss–

My kiddo loves lift-the-flap books! Being able to interact with the book, whether its a touch-and-feel or lift-the-flap, makes reading extra fun for little ones. This book tells the story of the Grinch, a Christmas-hating meanie, who tries to keep Christmas from coming to Whoville. The Grinch learns that Christmas isn’t about presents or a big feast for dinner, but about family, togetherness, and love. With this new revelation, the Grinch’s heart grows! He embraces the Christmas spirit and returns everything he stole. The citizens of Whoville welcome the Grinch to spend Christmas with them in this sweet ending. This is a long story, but being able to lift-the-flaps really kept my son’s attention throughout the book. He was excited to see what pictures were underneath the flaps! This book is large and has tons of flaps that should hold little ones’ attentions. We also own Green Eggs and Ham Great Big Flap Book, which my son really likes too!

Ten Red Apples Up On Top

7. 10 Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss —

In this funny, rhyming book, a lion, a tiger, and a dog compete to see who can stack apples on their head and do tricks without the apples falling! While they keep trying to outdo each other, the animals inadvertently find themselves in a bear’s home. The bear is not happy with their shenanigans and chases them out. The animals run into more bears and more trouble. The bears chase the animals (who still have apples still stacked on their heads) into an apple cart! Now everyone has 10 apples up on top! Your child will laugh at this silly story and enjoy the animals’ crazy escapades. Plus, this books offers a fun way to incorporate counting!

8. Green Eggs and Ham: a magnetic play book by Dr. Seuss–

This is a shortened version of the original Green Eggs and Ham and it includes magnets that allow little ones to play along with the story! I love that kids can use the magnets to make up their own stories and use their imaginations ! Now you get to enjoy Seuss rhymes and Sam I Am’s antics without having to sit through a long story — what a great way for preschoolers to be introduced to Dr. Seuss stories.

Dr. Seuss' ABC

9. Dr. Seuss’ ABC by Dr. Seuss–

This is a wacky alphabet book filled with all sorts of silly words that will have your preschooler giggling. Looking for a way to make learning the alphabet fun, then this book is great choice. Preschoolers will be calling out the alphabet letters on each page and laughing at the zany pictures. Using both real and made up words, this alphabet book does a great job with the letter’s phonetic sounds.

Dr. Seuss' 1 2 3

10. Dr. Seuss’ 1 2 3 —

While not written by Dr. Seuss (this book created by his estate), it uses his silly, made-up creatures to illustrate a rhyming book that makes counting lots of fun! My son enjoys guessing what combinations of real animals make up the crazy ones in the book.

If you want free Seuss printables, craft ideas, and games, visit Seussville.com and PBSkids.org.

Check your library for these and other fun Dr. Seuss stories for preschoolers. I’ve also included links to purchase these titles on Amazon. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program. If you buy a book through one of my links, then I get a small percentage of the sale (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support! Happy Reading 🙂

Fall, STEM

Apple Theme — books, craft, STEM, and games!

Jennifer
Apple theme picture books, crafts, and STEM activities for preschool
Apple theme books, crafts, and STEM activities for preschool

Fall is just around the corner and I love to do apple-themed things this time of year. Here is a list of some of my favorite apple books for preschoolers and kindergarteners: a tissue paper craft, a yummy apple STEM activity, and a fun apple counting idea to do with pompoms. And no apple themed activities would be complete without an apple taste test — try different kinds of apples and see which one is your favorite!

Apple Books:

1.The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson — I love Lauren Thompson’s books! This is a cute story about everything that goes into making an apple pie. As the story progresses, your child will notice more and more animals after the delicious pie! Thompson creates a cumulative and lyrical text that teaches preschoolers about nature and the apple’s life cycle.

2. Apple Picking Day by Candace Ransom — Ransom’s trademark short story with great pictures makes this book a good choice for kids who can’t sit still for long stories. The family goes apple picking and the reader gets to enjoy the fun with them. Preschoolers will get caught up in the excitement as the brother and sister race against other kids in the orchard to see who can pick the most apples.

2. 10 Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss — in this funny, rhyming book, a lion, a tiger, and a dog compete to see who can stack apples on their head and do tricks without the apples falling! While they keep trying to outdo each other, the animals inadvertently find themselves in a bear’s home. The bear is not happy with their shenanigans and chases them out. The animals run into more bears and more trouble. The bears chase the animals (who still have apples still stacked on their heads) into an apple cart! Now everyone has 10 apples up on top 🙂 Your child laugh at this silly story and enjoy the animals’ crazy antics. Plus, this books offers a fun way to incorporate counting!

3. Ouch by Ragnhild Scamell — in this story, an adorable hedgehog gets an apple stuck its back. Now hedgehog can’t fit into its den and winter is coming. The hedgehog’s animal friends try to help and get the apple off, but each attempt ends up with more things stuck to the poor hedgehog. After squeezing, and swimming, and rolling around, hedgehog and friends are running out of ideas. Fortunately, along comes a goat with a big appetite and eats all of the things that are stuck on hedgehog!

4. Aaron Loves Apples and Pumpkins by PD Eastman — Fall is here and Aaron the alligator loves everything about it. He loves the yummy apples, pumpkins, football, Halloween costumes, and spending time with his friends. When his friends go apple picking, Aaron tells them that he knows a better way to get the apples down. Aaron shakes the tree, causing all of the apples to fall down on him! Oops 🙂 Now all of the apples are down and Aaron and his friends can enjoy them together. This book is part of the beginning reader series, I Can Read. It has short sentences with few words per page, making it a good choice for kids who are learning to read, and for those who do not want to sit through long stories.

5. Apples, Apples, Apples by Nancy Wallace — in this cute story, the bunny family goes apple picking on a lovely fall day. Farmer Miller teaches the bunnies all about apples. Kids will love learning all about apples with the bunnies. The book includes a applesauce recipe too!

6. 10 Red Apples by Pat Hutchins — everyone loves apples, including all of the farm apples. The apple tree starts with 10 red apples on it. Soon, one-by-one, a farm animal comes along and eats an apple off of the tree. The farmer eats the last one, and his wife didn’t get to enjoy a yummy apple! Oh no! Not to worry, the wife knows where to find more 🙂 This story has bright pictures, large, bold numbers on each page, and makes it easy for preschoolers and kindergartners to practice counting apples.

7. Adding Apples by Nick Rebman — this nonfiction, early math book is a great choice for preschool and kindergarten apple-themes. The child in the book leads the reader through a series of age-appropriate math problems with apples 🙂 My son liked counting the counting all of the apples on the page and announcing the answer to me! Plus the pictures in the book do a great job representing different colors in the apples.

Tissue Paper Apple Craft:

Tissue Paper Preschool Apple Craft

To make this tissue paper apple craft, you will need a piece of white paper, a pencil, a glue stick, and tissue paper in red, green and brown (or orange). I drew a rough outline of an apple on a piece of paper. Next I cut red tissue paper into 1-inch squares.

My son and I both scrunched up the red tissue paper squares together — great for preschool fine motor skills. After we had a lot of of tissue balls, my kiddo covered his apple shape in glue. Then he stuck the tissue all over his apple.

After covering then entire apple in red tissue, we scrunched up green tissue. We glued the green tissue balls in a leaf shape. Even after adding the green leaf, my son still thought his apple was missing something. He decided to add an orange stem (I didn’t have brown tissue paper).

His apple turned out pretty cute! We really enjoyed doing this craft together and I love that he added his own creative ideas with the stem.

STEM Activity:

Apple STEM activity — using our 5 Senses

Activities:

Apple Counting:

Preschool Apple Counting Activity with flashcards and pompoms

Tactile counting with pompoms really helps conceptualize numbers. For this activity, preschoolers will add red and green pompoms to their apple tree to show the same number of apples as is listed on their flash cards. I made numbered cards and an apple tree that you can print. This activity can used over-and-over again as no glue is involved. Just draw a card, look at the number, and place the corresponding number of “apple” pompoms on the tree!

For this activity you will need to print off the flash cards and cut them out; print off the tree page; and have 10 pompoms in red and green. Click on the link below for your flashcards and tree:

Apple-CountingDownload

Find the Differences:

Can you find 5 differences between these 2 scenes?

Find-the-Differences-Apple-TreeDownload
Uncategorized

Kindness Books

Jennifer

Today is author E.B. White’s birthday. He wrote Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and Trumpet of the Swan, among others. I loved these books as a kid and what I remember most about them is the kindness shown throughout them. My 4 year old is little too young to sit still for these books, however, there are lots of picture books with kindness themes that he and I can enjoy together.

Finding Kindness by Deborah Underwood — In this beautifully illustrated book, 2 children witness small acts of kindness throughout their neighborhood. One act of kindness leads to another, and soon everyone, no matter how small, finds a way to be kind.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Stead — I love, love, love this book! My son and I have read this several times together and I have shared it at library storytime because it is such a sweet story about the power of kindness. Amos McGee works as a zookeeper, where he befriends an owl, a turtle, an elephant, and a penguin. When Amos gets, his friends return the kindness he gave them, and the animals travel to Amos’ house to take care of him. The soft illustrations are perfect for this gentle story.

Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli — Mr. Hatch is a lonely man who keeps to himself. He gets a surprise package on Valentine’s Day containing candy and a note that says “Somebody Loves You.” This act of kindness changes Mr. Hatch’s whole outlook on life! He starts doing kind things for his coworkers and neighbors, and becomes truly happy until he learns that the surprise package was delivered to him by mistake. Mr. Hatch goes back to being alone, believing no one loves him after all. His neighbors and new friends come together to show Mr. Hatch how much they really do love him and how much they appreciated his kindness. This story shows how a little kindness can make a world of difference to somebody.

Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss — is there any storybook character more kind than Horton? In this rhyming story, Horton the elephant discovers that a speck of dust contains a miniature world, Who-Ville. When the other jungle animals think Horton is making the Whos up, they set out to prove Horton is tricking them. Horton is determined to keep the Whos from harm. This moving story ends with the smallest of Whos making the biggest difference as Horton finally proves that the Whos are real. The other jungle animals finally understand that a person’s a person, no matter how small.

Check your public library for these fantastic books!

They can also be purchased online, through Amazon by clicking on the book pictures. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s affiliate program, which pays advertising fees to sites that advertise and link to Amazon’s products. So if you buy the book through my site, I get a small percent from the sale.