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Book of the Month: ArchivesBook of the Month: January 2005
Dinosaurs Alive and Well!: A Guide to Good Health Using brief text and cartoon illustrations, this book describes almost everything a child (or a dinosaur!) needs to know about being healthy. Nutrition, exercise, sleep, dental care, feelings, first aid and more are covered in these short yet comprehensive chapters: A great book to read to accompany a lesson on healthy living. Children reading at the second grade level or higher could read this book independently. Book of the Month: February 2005
How Do You Raise a Raisin? Kids and adults alike have been gobbling up delicious, nutritious raisins for centuries. This engaging book, pairs on each page a catchy rhyme and an informative non-fiction blurb so kids of all ages, both young (K-1) and older (2-4) can enjoy reading and learning about where raisins come from and why you should eat and enjoy them. A language arts, science, history, social studies, and nutrition lesson - all in one book!
Book of the Month: March 2005
Eat Your Peas Louise March is National Nutrition Month. Why not spend some time encouraging children to try new foods? In this Rookie Reader, beginning reader book children practice phonemic awareness skills through rhyming while they discover what it really take to get Louise to eat her peas. Quick-moving and fun, this book would be an excellent springboard to a discussion about tasting new foods – including peas!
Book of the Month: April 2005
One Bean It’s spring and it’s time to experience planting and growing fruits and vegetables! This simple, informative book describes how to start with one bean and grow a bean plant. Told through the eyes of a child, the text is engaging and the cut-paper illustrations are appealing. It could be read aloud to young children as an introduction to a bean-growing experience. The last two pages use smaller print to provide more information about beans and suggestions for additional activities Why not start a school, classroom or family garden? Use these books to get you started:
Book of the Month: May 2005
Duck on a Bike It’s National Bike Month! And, what could be sillier than a duck on a bike? What about a whole barnyard full of animals? With bold, brightly-coloreda illustrations, this humorous picture book makes a delightful read-aloud as the barnyard animals watch the duck and share their thought about his actions. This is a great lead-in to a safety helmet and bicycle safety discussion. Cinco de Mayo is May 5th! Try one of these books with a Spanish translation as part of your celebration:
Book of the Month: June 2005
Milk to Ice Cream June is National Dairy Month, so grab a glass of ice-cold milk and enjoy this simple book about how milk is made into ice cream. Using simple language and large photographs, this book clearly explains how ice cream is made from milk. It also includes a table of contents, glossary, and an index. This book is could serve as an effective springboard for making ice cream with a group.
Book of the Month: July 2005
Fast Food! Gulp! Gulp! Take a break from the fast food! Enjoy this book, by the author-illustrator of favorites such as Lyle the Crocodile and Ira Sleeps Over, which takes us on a joyous romp through Fast Food Town. Using cartoon-style illustrations and lively rhyming, we experience all kinds of foods being prepared, served, and eaten faster and faster. Finally the cook has had enough and quits to work in a health food place. The story leaves us with this positive message: “Bon appetite – whatever you eat.” Instead of fast food, enjoy a summer picnic in honor of National Picnic Month! Try on of these great books about picnics:
Book of the Month: August 2005
Fast Food! Gulp! Gulp! Celebrate your Farmer’s Market. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are fresh and tasty – plus you are supporting your neighbor’s business. In the story, Farmers Market, a girl helps her parents take their vegetables to the farm market and spends the day selling them. The short text is enhanced by richly colored paintings depicting the story. A level 2 reader in the A Green Light Reader series, this book could be read independently by many children in first and second grades.
Here are some other great books about markets and shopping for food:
Book of the Month: September 2005
Tops and Bottoms September is 5-A-Day Month! Enjoy this book about gardening, vegetables, and a hare that uses its wits to deal with a lazy bear. Hare will provide the labor for a wonderful crop on Bear’s land, but Bear must choose if he wants to harvest the tops or the bottoms of the plants. This is an excellent book to discuss different types of plants and what parts we eat such as the root, stem, leaf, seed, or flower. With delightful illustrations and a witty text, this picture book is a classroom favorite and can be used to help children learn about vegetables . Try some other tasty books about fruits and vegetables:
Book of the Month: October 2005
Picking Apples and Dumplings It’s fall harvest time. Time to pick apples and pumpkins! In this story, Kristy and her friends and family go to an orchard to pick apples and choose pumpkins. This book uses photos of an actual family to convey the fun and warmth involved in doing things together as a family. They also learn about the delicious things that can be made from apples. When they return home, they help Grandma make an apple pie and help Dad carve their pumpkins. Here are some of the many other books you can use to celebrate the harvest of apples and pumpkins:
It is also Dental Hygiene Month. Try one of these books to reinforce taking good care of our teeth :
Book of the Month: November 2005
Thanksgiving is ... Dedicated to “all those who love Thanksgiving Day,” this charming picture book provides both historic and contemporary information about this holiday. It also includes information about harvest celebrations of long ago, including Egyptian, Chinese, and Jewish traditions as well as the important role Native Americans played in teaching the Pilgrims how to grow food and to be better hunters. Bright folk art illustrations enhance the text . November is National American Indian Heritage Month. Celebrate by reading some of these books :
Book of the Month: December 2005
Too Many Tamales.
Celebrate the holidays and family meal time with this beautiful multicultural story. It’s Christmas Eve and Maria thinks she lost her mother’s diamond ring in the masa while helping make tamales for the family. Can she and her cousins eat all twenty four tamales to find the ring before her mother discovers it’s missing? This picture book, with warm, golden-tone illustrations, provides a gentle, loving glimpse into the life of a Mexican-American family. Research shows that eating with your children provides many benefits. Family meals are often part of the holiday season. Here are some other books that celebrate diversity and families eating together:
Book of the Month: January 2006
Making Minestrone
January is National Soup Month. And, it’s cold outside! Why not make soup? This colorful book with multicultural illustrations features lively children surrounded by friendly animals exploring the garden and gathering vegetables to make minestrone soup. The rhyming text celebrates gifts of nature to make a nourishing soup, while reinforcing phonics and phonemic awareness. The recipe included in this picture book could be used for a class cooking project. Here are some other SOUPERB books:
Book of the Month: February 2006
Cherries and Cherry Pits
February is National Cherry Month, American Heart Month, and Cancer Prevention Month. It’s a great time to make sure that you’re eating lots of fruits and vegetables. Highlighting African-American families, this book shares the story of Bidemmi. She loves to draw and make up stories to tell her friend. All of Bidemmi’s stories have an element in common: cherries and cherry pits. Creative and imaginative, this picture book could serve as an effective springboard for children to make up their own stories using a fruit or vegetable as the common element. The colorful illustrations encourage children to express themselves through drawing. Pancake week is during February. Why not one of these books and make pancakes? :
Book of the Month: March 2006
Oh, the Things You Can Do That Are Good for You!
With one book, we can celebrate National Nutrition Month, Reading Month, and Dr. Seuss’s birthday! Part of The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library, this book is subtitled, All About Staying Healthy. It features the familiar Cat in the Hat and two children as they travel to the Feeling Great Clinic in far-off Fadoo. In classic Dr. Seuss style, they learn about exercise, germs, eating healthy, dental hygiene, the importance of sleep, and other aspects of being healthy. The book has a predictable rhyming format, and includes a glossary, a list of titles for further reading, and an index. School Breakfast Week is celebrated during March. Try reading one of these books and encouraging your young readers to eat breakfast everyday:
Book of the Month: April 2006
Play it Safe
It’s spring! And, it’s time to participate in Youth Sport Safety Month – and prepare for National Bike Month in May. This story describes bike safety day at school and the important things Officer Bow Wow teacher the Little Critters. The simple text with repetitive language is enhanced with the charming Little Critters' illustrations. The book concludes with seven pages of educational activities and support material.
It’s also a great time to plan a school or family garden. Use these books to get you started:
Book of the Month: May 2006
An Alphabet Salad: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z
It’s National Salad Month! This alphabet book consists of large, colorful photographs of a fruit or vegetable for each letter of the alphabet. Beneath each photograph are several sentences of information about the food. The book concludes with fruit and vegetable facts, the old food guide pyramid, vocabulary list with definitions, bibliography of print and web site resources, and an index.
Cinco de Mayo is May 5 th! Try one of these books with a Spanish translation as part of your celebration:
Book of the Month: June 2006
Out and About at the Dairy Farm June is National Dairy Month so grab a glass of ice-cold milk and enjoy this simple book about how dairy farms. When a group of children go on a field trip to a dairy farm, they make a list of things to find out. Each two-page spread of this picture book contains basic information on one page and more in-depth information on the other side. The book concludes with a recipe for easy ice cream, fun facts about cows, vocabulary words, a list of resources, and an index.
It’s also Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month. Enjoy these books and try using fresh fruits and vegetables for the recipes in them:
Book of the Month: July 2006
The Berry Book It’s Berry Month! Enjoy some fresh fruit and this colorful and informative book about berries. It clearly describes different types of berries, how they grow, and how we use them. The book contains step-by-step directions for growing strawberries and making a blueberry pie, strawberry jam, and raspberry ice cream. It also presents fascinating bits of information, some historical and some scientific. By the end of the book, everyone will want to run to the nearest market and purchase some of these delicious fruits. This book makes an excellent classroom resource and a good introduction to a berry project. In honor of National Picnic Month, pack a lunch and try one of these great books about picnics:
Book of the Month: August 2006
A Visit to the Farmer's Market Celebrate your Farmer’s Market. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are fresh and tasty – plus you are supporting your neighbor’s business. Large, colorful photos and simple text make a visit to the farmers’ market a special treat. Delicious-looking fruits and vegetables almost leap off the page as you stroll down the aisles, touching and tasting them. The benefits of fresh food are emphasized, as is the fun of meeting new people at the market. Readers also learn that fresh foods come from farms and gardens. Here are some other great books about markets and shopping for food:
Book of the Month: September 2006
No More Vegetables September is the time to remember to eat more fruits and vegetables! In this book, Ruthie hates vegetables and refuses to eat them. She even has nightmares about vegetables and makes up silly rhymes about them in school. Her mother finally discovers the perfect solution when she tells Ruthie she doesn't have to eat any more vegetables as long as she helps her mom plant and grow vegetables in their family garden. Ruthie agrees, with surprising results. . Here are some other great books about markets and shopping for food:
Book of the Month: October 2006
Carla's Sandwich It’s National School Lunch Week – eat a sandwich! In this story, Carla likes unique sandwiches, some might even like call them weird, and she brings them to school everyday. The other children call Carla's sandwiches "gross," "disgusting," and "sick," but Carla doesn't mind. When Buster forgets his sandwich on the day of the class picnic, Carla finds a way to change everyone's mind about her creative food choices. This delightful book is lots of fun and can serve as a springboard for unusual sandwich projects in the classroom. The illustrations add to the book's humorous appeal and reflect the diverse nature of our country. You can also celebrate the harvest of apples and pumpkins this month these books:
Book of the Month: November 2006
A Visit to the Farmer's Market November is a time when families come together…and eat! Centered on the kitchen, this richly illustrated picture book celebrates African-American families. Written as eight short chapters, each describes an experience such as Talking Pots Day when all the aunts gather to make the biggest pot of soup in town, and Corn Pudding Time when Daddy takes over the kitchen. The engaging stories are told through the eyes of a young girl. The illustrations from gold-toned oil paintings convey a sense of family warmth and love that make this a highly appealing book. November is National American Indian Heritage Month. Celebrate by reading some of these books:
Book of the Month: December 2006
A Visit to the Farmer's Market Celebrate the holidays and family meal time with this beautiful multicultural story. Set in the Hawaiian Islands, this picture book presents a joyful look at the Yang family custom of making dumpling soup to celebrate the New Year. Seven-year-old Marisa gets to help make dumplings for the first time but is worried that hers don’t look like the others. Intergenerational love combines with traditions from several cultures to create a warm and caring story. A glossary of terms in English, Hawaiian, Japanese, and Korean is available. Publisher’s notes explain that Dumpling Soup was selected in the first New Voices, New Worlds contest to encourage writers from diverse racial backgrounds to submit children’s manuscripts. Research shows that eating with your children provides many benefits. Family meals are often part of the holiday season. Here are some other books that celebrate diversity and families eating together:
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