Off the Bookshelf: Mister Beetle’s Many Rooms

Remember the bookstore trip where Jakei chose books written by Filipino authors?   Here’s the other book that he chose, Mister Beetle’s Many Rooms.

Mister Beetle's Many Rooms

With the colorful illustrations created by the author Robert Magnuson, Mister Beetle’s Many Rooms easily captures the attention of young readers. The story is about a beetle who chose a tiny plant with five leaves (rooms) to live in.  Mister Beetle soon finds more and more insects living in his plant and set off to discover where all the new leaves are coming from.  Unable to stop the plant from growing into a tree, he set off to find another home where he can live peacefully by himself.  He had a change of heart though when his “neighbors” threw a surprise party for him to show their appreciation for his founding their home.

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The book is a great springboard for discussions on relating with other people, appreciating your neighbors, and caring for the environment.  At the end of the story is a one-page feature of how plants grow.  The kids were studying plants in school when we bought this, so it was the perfect supplement for their lesson in school.

The book also comes in two languages, English and Filipino.  If your child is still struggling with his Filipino subject, this and other Adarna books would be of great help in developing their skills in Pagbasa.  It is recommended for children ages 10 and above, but, as with May Higante sa Aming Bahay, even younger children would enjoy reading the story.

Jade in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory

Lookie!  Little girl just entered the world of Willy Wonka!

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Why did we choose Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for her first chapter book?  Well, aside from this Mama being an avid fan of Roald Dahl, she has seen the movie based on that book several times this month and totally loves it.   I also think that the characters in the books would be a great springboard to discuss behaviors that are unacceptable.

She’s in Chapter 10 but would probably have read more had I not limited her reading time.  The book is suggested for ages 8 up and she’s only five years old. Instead of allowing her to read from cover to cover, I ask her to read only two to three chapters a day.  Each chapter is followed by a short comprehension check and a brief discussion. This way, I’m also able to check if she really does understand what she’s reading or if she’s merely reading the words.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is among the recommended books for school age children.  This book is always among top 100 children’s books list so do add this to your kids’ must-read book list.

Next on our list is Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and The BFG.  Then perhaps, some E.B. White books after that.

Like Zoe!

My toddlers love to read books.  They have easy access to their bookshelf and are allowed to choose the book they want to read.  My only condition for them is to put the book back on the shelf before getting another one.

 

My best friend gifted Jade with a Little Blessings book.  Upon seeing the book cover, she immediately exclaimed, “It’s my favorite book!”  I presume it is because she can relate to the little girl pictured in the cover. They are after all similar in many ways. 


The book written by Melody Carlson is about a little girl who discovers that she can do new things; things that big kids can do.  She can fix her bed, get dressed, eat by herself, brush her teeth, comb her hair, fiddle, take care of her fish, bake cookies, pack away her toys, and so much more. 

Each glossy page is also filled with pictures of things we see at home.  Elena Kucharik’s illustration delights my toddlers.  These pictures are great for vocabulary building also.  Sometimes, I name objects and ask the toddlers to look for them in the page.  Other times, I let them point at objects and we name them together.

We have read this book countless of times, but the toddlers never tire of listening to the story.  Jade still declares that it is her “most favorite book ever.”  It has also helped encourage Jade to be more independent.  Whenever she does something that Zoe can do, she says, “Like Zoe! Mama, I’m like Zoe!”  It’s not only Jade who loves the book.  Jakei loves it also.  He loves looking at the pictures and naming them.

 

Since the toddlers love this book so much, we also want to get a copy “I’m Jack!”, another book in the series.  I still can’t find any in the local bookstores though.



I’m Jack! I Am Made to Run and Play (Little Blessings Picture Books.)



Book Review: Learning About Teamwork: CODLEY AND THE BIG STORM – TOGETHER WE CAN!

A few weeks ago, I was given a free copy of an ebook that was written precisely to teach young children about Teamwork.  CODLEY AND POKIE – TOGETHER WE CAN! by Lisl Fair is filled with colorful illustrations of delightful sea creatures that hold the interest of young children.  This book with its simple vocabulary and easy to understand context is also great for early readers.  My four-year-old girl was even able to read the entire story by herself. 

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The story is about how Codley the octopus and Pokie the puffer fish cleaned their shipwreck with the help of other sea creatures residing there as well.  By using their individual capabilities and working as a team, they were able to do what seemed impossible to accomplish.

When I asked my little ones what they liked best about the story, both said that they liked it when all the animals cleaned the mess together.  My 3-year-old boy said, “they cleaned the boat together and then they were happy already.” I guess then that the book was successfully able to convey my young children that working together would lead to positive results.

My children are preschoolers and can relate to Pokie’s initial apprehension about being too small to be of any help.  They too sometimes get frustrated about not being big or strong enough to do certain things.  At their young age, they still need plenty of encouragement (and guidance) as they discover their abilities.

Though this is a children’s book, we adults could learn a lot also about teamwork.  I’m certain that most of us also feel at one point or another that we can’t do anything to help others or even our society because we lack the proper resources or skills needed.  It would be wise for us to heed Pokie’s grandma’s advice, “Just think about one way you can help, no matter how small.”

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Codley and the Big Storm – Together We Can! is available in Kindle Edition.  This wonderfully illustrated picture book is a must read for children, especially those who have siblings.  To know more about this book and other great reads, visit http://www.BrainyConnections.com or http://www.facebook.com/BrainyConnections.

Learning How To Read With Phonics-In-Reading

While grocery shopping in Shopwise,  we found a set of books that could help our little girl in her Reading adventure.  The Phonics-in-Reading series came in glossy pages and humorous stories that introduce phonics to young readers.  There are also worksheets and activities at the end of each story to check comprehension. Each book costs only P34.75 so we bought all five books of Series 1 which introduces short vowel sounds.

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When we got home, Jade asked for one of the books so we’ve already started with Book 1.  This morning, we once again read through it together.  Although she already knows all the sounds of the letters, Jade is still having difficulty blending the sounds together to form words.  She was able to go through “A cat. A fat cat. A mat.” without difficulty though.

Hopefully, these five books will encourage my little girl to read all by herself.  With the way she’s delighted with the pictures and the stories, it seems she just might learn how to read all by herself soon.