Colors of Sports

FOR THE WEEKEND, share this fun Olympic themed title with your child! 

Colors of Sports is appropriate for children of all ages.

Summary:
Colors of Sports by Laura Purdie Salas is the perfect title to share with your child as we enter Olympic season! This colorful book with real photographs touches on some of the sports that the world will be watching in the Olympics and even includes a GOLD medal.Each new page tells a little about a sport and the way a certain color connects to that sport.

Practice this Comprehension Strategy-Making Connections:
As you're reading Colors of Sports ask your child if they recognize any of the sports that they see on the pages. Have they ever played these sports? Have they seen someone else play? Do they have a favorite team? By asking questions that relate to your child's experiences, you will be deepening their engagement with the book and hopefully furthering their interest in the text.

Do this with your child:
Colors of Sports explores several major sports and has a different color on every page. Ask your child to chose which color or sport is their favorite and why. Then draw a picture of their favorite sport together!

If you're interested in sharing Colors of Sports with your child you can find it from Capstone Press here. Please like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. 

RAR's Summer Book Sharing List & Tips

Share these fun titles this summer!

Summer has arrived and Raising A Reader has created a list of recommended titles for summer straight from the RAR collection. You will find 40 titles (20 English and 20 Spanish/Bilingual) to delight and entertain during your summer vacation. Check these titles out at your local library or independent bookstore.

   

Click HERE to see the entire list.

Help your child avoid learning loss this summer. Check out the Raising A Reader: Tips for Summer Reading

Bread and Jam for Frances

FOR THE WEEKEND, share this fun title with your child! 

Bread and Jam for Frances is appropriate for children age 4 and up.

Summary:
Bread and Jam for Frances tells the story of Frances and her absolute favorite food. Frances loves bread and jam, she won't eat her egg and trades her lunch at school and refuses to touch her dinner so that she can have bread and jam instead. So Mother decides that if bread and jam is what Frances wants, bread and jam is what Frances will get. She is served bread and jam for every meal. But as it turns out, maybe Frances would like to have something different! Follow along with this picky eater and learn the joy in trying something new.

Practice this Comprehension Strategy-Retelling:
After you read Bread and Jam for Frances ask your child to tell you what happened in the story. Ask first for the characters and the setting. Then ask questions about the events in the story. Let them turn the pages to prompt their responses. Or you can let them flip through the pages and tell their very own story about Frances and her picky eating!

Do this with your child:
After reading Bread and Jam for Frances talk to your child about their favorite food. Ask them if they think they would also get tired of eating the same exact thing every single day. This book is a great jumping point for picky eaters. If you can, try a new meal for dinner tell your child they are just like Frances! Frances also loves jumping rope in the story. The better she eats the more she can jump. You can do an experiment with your child to see which foods help them jump the most!

If you're interested in sharing Bread and Jam for Frances with your child you can find it from Harper Collins here. Please follow them on Twitter. 

How Did That Get In My Lunchbox? The Story of Food

FOR THE WEEKEND, share this fun title with your child! 

How Did That Get In My Lunchbox? The Story of Food is appropriate for children age 4 and up.

Summary:
How Did That Get In My Lunchbox? The Story of Food, from Chris Butterworth and Lucia Gaggiotto, takes you on a journey through your lunch box. The book explores how each piece of food came to your lunch, starting as a plant and ending as a tasty bit ready to be enjoyed. From climbing trees to milking cows to crushing apples in a factory, this book takes a complete look at food processing for young readers. A peak into food groups and healthy lifestyles add the perfect final piece to this fun and charming book.

Practice this Comprehension Strategy-Making Connections:
As you read How Did That Get In My Lunchbox? The Story of Food ask your child questions to connect the text to their own lives. What kind of food do they have in their lunches? Can they find any of the food that they eat in the story? Do they know other foods that might be made the same way? By asking your child to connect the book to their own life, you will be furthering their engagement with the story and deepening their understanding of the text.

Do this with your child:
After reading How Did That Get In My Lunchbox? The Story of Food take a trip to your local market (or even through your own kitchen) and walk through the aisles making note of some of the foods that you see. Can your child find any food from the story? Can they remember how those foods were made? 

If you're interested in sharing How Did That Get In My Lunchbox? The Story of Food with your child you can find it from Candlewick Press here. Please follow them on Twitter. For more from illustrator Lucia Gaggiotti check out her website.

Kite Flying

FOR THE WEEKEND, share this fun title with your child! 

Kite Flying is appropriate for children of all ages.

Summary:
It is a windy day, perfect for flying a kite. Join this family as they cut, paint, glue and create their own kite in Kite Flying by Grace Lin.The bright pictures and simple text will delight readers of all ages.

Practice this Comprehension Strategy-Making Connections:
After you read Kite Flying, talk with your child about how they can relate to the story. Have you ever flown a kite as a family? Have you watched kites being flown? If so, do you remember where or when or even what the kites looked like? Have you read any other stories that have kites in them? Your child will be using their own experiences to further engage with the story, creating a stronger understanding of the text.

Do this with your child:
The family in Kite Flying works together to create and fly their own kite. Each member of the family has a different job to do in order to make the kite as perfect as possible. You can do something similar with your own family, be it making your own kite, or a different fun project like baking cookies, or making a box car or building a fort. Let each person have a part in the process and then enjoy the end result together!

If you're interested in sharing Kite Flying with your child you can find it from Dragonfly Books here. Please like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

For more from author Grace Lin visit her blog.

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves

FOR THE WEEKEND, share this fun title with your child! 

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves is appropriate for a pre-K audience and is a perfect book to curl up on the couch under a blanket with this fall.

Summary:
Fletcher the fox has a favorite tree; a beautiful, leafy friend. He becomes worried when the tree's leaves start turning dull and brown, frantic when the wind starts blowing the tree's leaves, and protective when he thinks his tree is sick. You and your child will enjoy the sweet story by Julia Rawlinson and darling illustrations of Tiphanie Beeke in Fletcher and the Falling Leaves. 

Practice this Comprehension Strategy-Using Context Clues:
As you and your child read Fletcher and the Falling Leaves use context clues to figure out what is really happening to Fletcher's tree. Does your child think the tree is sick? What are the other possibilities that could be happening based on the tree's symptoms?

Do this with your child:
With the weather changing, the wind blowing and the leaves falling, Fletcher and the Falling Leaves is a great way to open the door to a conversation with your child about changing seasons. There is so much excitement that comes with Fall: pumpkin patches, hot chocolate, and crunchy leaves. Go outside with your child to see the changes together; feel the brisk air, talk about the changing colors, and of course step on fallen leaves!

If you're interested in sharing Fletcher and the Falling Leaves with your child you can find it from Harper Collins Publishers here.

Like author Julia Rawlinson on Facebook and follow illustrator Tiphanie Beeke on Twitter.

My Teacher Can Teach... Anyone!

FOR THE WEEKEND, share this title with your child and use this book as a starting point to talking about what they've started doing or learning in school.

2004, Lee & Low

Summary:
"My Teacher Can Teach...Anyone!" takes you on an alphabet journey through all of the amazing things this special teacher can teach her students how to do.  

Practice this Comprehension Strategy-
Picture Walk: 
In My Teacher Can Teach...Anyone!, your child will have the chance to explore a diverse list of possibilities for all of the things they can learn this school year. Before reading any of the words in the story, take a picture walk through the book. Look at each page and talk about what your child sees. The colorful illustrations will lead the way for your child to make predictions about what each page may hold.

Discuss this with your child: 
Each page in My Teacher Can Teach...Anyone! has a career laid out in alphabetical order; using that you can prompt your child to think about the word based on the letter and picture on the page. They can mirror their own classrooms in the classroom in this book, viewing the similarities and differences in all of the topics they learn about in school. You can ask your child which topics they want to learn about or what they might already know about the ones found in the story. 

If you want to share My Teacher Can Teach...Anyone! with your child, you can find it here.

My Teacher's Secret Life

Since August is the month where most children and families are enjoying their final days of summer break and preparing to head back to school, Raising A Reader National will post weekly book recommendations this month that parents can share with their children to help them get in the "Back-to-School" mode. 

FOR THE WEEKEND, check out our first book recommendation: My Teacher's Secret Life written by Stephen Krensky. 

(1999, Aladdin Picture Books)

Summary:
Mrs. Quirk belongs in school just like all other teachers. But what happens when you see Mrs. Quirk outside on the weekend? Explore Mrs. Quirk's after school routine and discover her secret life.

Practice this Comprehension Strategy-Using Context Clues: 
In "My Teacher's Secret Life" your child will have the chance to see a teacher outside of school. They will use context clues to make predictions about what her secret life may hold. Your child will be able to mirror themselves in the school and can relate this story to their own teachers.

Discuss this with your child: 
Use the bright and quirky illustrations in "My Teacher's Secret Life" to ask your child what they see on the page. Find the circles and discover where they are repeated in the book. Find the similarities and differences between the school in the book and the child's own school. Ask them if they have any predictions about what Mrs. Quirk might be doing outside of school. Talk with your child about whether their own teachers have a 'secret life' and what might they be doing.


If you're interested in sharing My Teacher's Secret Life with your child, you can purchase it here. 

10 Reading Tips for Families with Busy Schedules

1. Carry books (or other reading material with you) wherever you go!

2. For kids that don’t get motion sickness, read while traveling in the car.

3. Instead of listening to music, listen to an audio book.

4. Create a reading challenge or competition with friends (you’ll be more motivated to read!).

5. Read during bath time.

6. Make reading something you do before you get out of bed and before you go to sleep (even if it’s for 5 minutes!). 

7. Have you children read you a story while you prepare breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

8. Download books onto your iPad, tablet, or other portable device. Encourage your child to read instead of playing games!

9. Just as you schedule your other activities, schedule in “reading time” as a part of your daily routine. 

10. Going out to eat? Read a book while waiting for your food to come!