Young children are more fascinated by weather changes than we sometimes realize. In this lift-the-lap and pull-the tab-adventure, Maisy shares that wonder and delight. After you share this, you might like to start keeping a weather calendar and have your preschooler draw a sun or rain or snowman on date. At the end of the week--count how many sunny days you had. This kind of beginning record keeping is a fun way to keep the curiosity alive with observing and recording what they see in their own world. For early school aged kids, look at the review for How the Weather Works: A Hands-On Guide to Our Changing Climate.

Play It!
Kids are fascinated with weather and soon notice the connections between weather and what they can do. You can enlarge on that interest by putting up a calendar with spaces they can draw on. Have them color in a sun or rain or snowman each day. At the end of the week count up how many sunny days you had. Were there more sunny days than rainy ones? This kind of simple record keeping involves drawing, counting, and comparing. You are also introducing them to the names of the days of the week and the numerals on the grid. It is also a fun way to keep curiosity alive by observing and recording what they see in their own world.

Song to Sing
Rain, Rain go away
Come again another day
_____name____want s to go out and play
So rain , rain go away!

To the tune of the Bear Went Over the Mountain.
There are seven days in week
Seven days in the week
Seven days in the we-e-e-ek...
And now I'll name them for you...
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

             A few years ago we published several books with suggested books and follow-up games that extend the book experience. One collection Read It Play It is for playing with babies and toddlers. The other is for preschool and early school years children. We also did a collection in Spanish, featuring books that were in Spanish or were bilingual.

Click here to buy Read It! Play It!

Click here to buy Read It! Play It with Babies and Toddlers

Age: Toddlers, Preschool. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the ever-popular series, this is truly a spectacular new edition. It is a compendium of many Walter Wicks' classic photographs accompanied by new riddles by Jean Marzollo. This is a fun take-along for summer travels choice. Young readers will be able to share reading the riddles and then the two of you can hunt for the items you must try to spy. The images are crisp and complex and good fun for the whole family. For extra spying fun use the extra riddles added to the back of the book.
This is just one of a collection to share whatever the season. All ages.

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Riddle Me This
Play your own riddle games with the images in the book. Choose one of the big pictures and then make up your own riddle about one of the small objects on the page. You don’t need to make a rhyming riddle. but you could use a rhyme as one of your clues. For example, if your riddle is about a bear...you could say I spy something that walks on four legs, it has a shaggy coat and it rhymes with chair.

Rhyme Time Game
Give everyone a pencil and paper. Use a timer from another game.
Agree on an object in one of the big photos in the book.
When you say go, everyone writes as many rhyming words they can think of that rhyme with the object selected. For example: if you zoom in on a picture of a cat...how many words can players write that rhyme with that? When time is up each player reads her list. Others must cross out any words that others have also written. Everyone scores any words that are left. (With younger players everyone gets a point for each word without regard to other players lists.)Choose another picture and play another round. Winner is the first person to get 10 points—or decide what the points to win will be depending on the ability level of the players.

                A few years ago we published several books with suggested books and follow-up games that extend the book experience. One collection Read It Play It is for playing with babies and toddlers. The other is for preschool and early school years children. We also did a collection in Spanish, featuring books that were in Spanish or were bilingual.

Click here to buy Read It! Play It!

Age: Preschool, Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Once again, Mark Teague has come up with a funny concept starring Mrs. LaRue and her clever dog, Ike, who likes to write. When their neighbor Mrs. Hibbins is taken ill, Mrs. LaRue offers to care for her poor stranded cats. This unfortunately means that the cruise she and Ike had planned is cancelled since the cruise ship will not accept cats. Instead Mrs. LaRue and the three pets take off on a cross-country auto trip, dashing Ike's dreams of an adventure at sea. What follows are a series of postcards written by poor, unhappy Ike to Mrs. Higgins. Anyone who has shared the back seat of a car with siblings will get the big picture as grouchy Ike and the spoiled cats move across the country visiting iconic sites such as the Empire State Building, the Grand Canyon. Dino-Land and more. Some series wear thin, but Ike and Mrs. LaRue are the exception to the rule. Good fun! 5-9.

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Geography 1
This is a classic fun game to play with older kids who know the names of the states and cities by heart. But it’s also a good game for motivating kids to learn these names. In the traditional game player one says the name of a state or city and the next player must name a place that begins with the last letter of the last place named. For example, if I say California the next player must say a place that begins with an A. This is a good choice for older players.

Geography 2
Play this with a map in full view:
How many states can you find that start with the letter N?
How many states have two words and start with South?
How many states have two words and start with North?
What state has the longest name? How about the shortest?
Name the states that are on the Atlantic coast.
How many states are on the Pacific coast?
What states border Canada?
What states border Mexico?

The object of the game is really to have kids start looking at the map and seeing common attributes that will help their knowledge of the map. It’s a less global way of looking at the U.S. map. A skill they can carry to other maps.

Abbreviate It!
Make a stack of cards with the name of each state.
Make another stack with the abbreviation for the name of each state.
Shuffle the two decks. Put the timer on for three minutes.
How many matched pairs can a player make in 3 minutes.
Next player does the same.
Winner of each round is the one who gets the most pairs.

Plan another trip for Ike and Mrs. LaRue
What states would they probably travel through to get from New York to Florida.
What states would they probably travel through to get from Illinois to Louisiana?
Etc....you can make up the starting point and destination.....and use the map to show how to get there.

A few years ago we published several books with suggested books and follow-up games that extend the book experience. One collection Read It Play It is for playing with babies and toddlers. The other is for preschool and early school years children. We also did a collection in Spanish, featuring books that were in Spanish or were bilingual.

Click here to buy Read It! Play It!

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Newest in his "Wow!" series, Robert Neubecker's dynamic illustrations give kids a whirlwind look at life in the ocean. His colorful images swim across the pages. Some pages open wide for long double spreads of sea creatures in the tide pool, on the coral reef, in the deep and beyond. There are labels on some pages, but no story as such. The vibrant images on the page will provide much to talk about and ponder. This is a science book, an art book, a fun to look at together-and-alone kind of book. Most of all it says look at all the wondrous life that is under the water just beyond the sand shore! Wow! Indeed!

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Magic Art
You'll need: a wax candle or a white waxy crayon, white or manilla construction paper, blue and greenish water color paint and brush.
Step 1. Draw lots of fish—big and small on the white paper. They will hardly be visible.
Step 2. Make a light wash of blue and or greenish blue watercolor paint.
Step 3. Use a big brush to paint over the waxy drawing and abracadabra the drawings will appear.

Wow! Shells !
On your next trip to the beach take a photo of your child gathering up plenty of small shells to bring home for crafts. Wash the shells in sudsy water and let them dry on the sun. Kids can paint them or leave them as they are in a natural state. Bring home and inexpensive plastic picture frame and white glue. Together paste the shells around the border of the frame. When they dry in place put the photo in the frame and you have a double Wow! A happy memory!

       A few years ago we published several books with suggested books and follow-up games that extend the book experience. One collection Read It Play It is for playing with babies and toddlers. The other is for preschool and early school years children. We also did a collection in Spanish, featuring books that were in Spanish or were bilingual. 

Click to buy Read It! Play It!

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Kids do love to shout and in this "knowing and naming" book, Fleming invites them to do exactly that. She starts with colorful numerals that kids are invited to shout the nnames of as you point. She moves on from there to the letters of the alphabet, colors, and finally animals. Kids that know these things will find it fun, no doubt to shout them out. Those who are still unsure will gain from the repetition and no doubt enjoy shouting what they do know. Though adults may want earplugs, kids love any excuse to shout and this one is just right for storytime sharing in class, library or home.

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Now Hear This!
Tell the players that you are going to clap out a number. They must wait till you put your hands down before they can shout it out. The first person to guess your number gets to clap next. With older players you can do simple math facts by clapping out 2 pause 2..players must shout out 2 + 2 is 4.

Things That Go Together
Play a fast round of things that go together. A leader begins the game by thinking of two things that go together, such as salt and pepper. The leader says "Salt" the first person to say "Pepper" becomes the leader. You can play a variation of this with opposites. The leader says one word and someone must shout out the opposite, as in yes/no or high/low.

           A few years ago we published several books with suggested books and follow-up games that extend the book experience. One collection Read It Play It is for playing with babies and toddlers. The other is for preschool and early school years children. We also did a collection in Spanish, featuring books that were in Spanish or were bilingual.

Click here to buy Read It! Play It!

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Sean has a big, big yawn while sitting on his mat....and of course everyone knows that yawns are catching. So who got his yawn? A Scruffy Fluffy___ Can you guess? Turn the page and you'll find a cat who in turn has a big, big yawn that is caught by___ You get the idea. There is a cut-out hole on each page, but it offers no visual hints about who is next. The clues are in the words that kids will soon remember as they have you read it again and again.

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This is What I Like To Do Game
Players take turns leading others as they sing and add a different motion that everyone else must imitate, such as winding your arms, tapping your head, stamping a foot, wrinkling your nose, etc.

This is what I like to do, wouldn’t you like to do it too?
This is what I like to do....
Now we'll all follow you...(and the leader points to someone else.)

Yawn, Sneeze, Hiccup, Cough Game
This is an action memory game.
1. Player one does two actions
A yawn, a sneeze.
2. Player two must do the same two actions in the same order and add one more action.
A yawn, a sneeze, and a cough.
Player one or three repeats what Player two just did and add another action.
A yawn, sneeze, hiccup, hiccup

      The game goes on until the chain is broken and someone forgets. Kids have fun making these silly sounds while they are learning to listen and recall what has been done. It’s a playful way to build listening and memory skills.

        A few years ago we published several books with suggested books and follow-up games that extend the book experience. One collection Read It Play It is for playing with babies and toddlers. The other is for preschool and early school years children. We also did a collection in Spanish, featuring books that were in Spanish or were bilingual.

Age: Preschool. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

There are days like this in almost every life. Well, maybe not quite as bad as this one that started when Adelaide annoyed Bailey and Bailey blamed Clyde and Clyde cried--you get the idea. In A, B, C order each student from A-Z does something that begins with the same letter as his or her name. It goes full circle until Adelaide actually apologizes. After sharing this lively alphabet, it might be fun to try to come up with an ABC story with different names and actions. Alternate with your child and involve other members of the family in telling an original story about people from A-Z. As always, Emberley's drawing of children are full or action and feeling, too.

PLAY IT!
What's in a Name Game
How many first names in alphabetical order can you and your kids come up with together? Play this cooperatively. One person comes up with a name and another peron has to come up with an action or noun that starts with the same letter as the name. i.e. If you say Alexandra...another person says.....ate apples. If one person says Billy...another person says bounced a basketball. Put your ideas together to make your own book with the names and actions you have come up with together.

A My Name Is Alice
Slightly older kids who are learning the names of the states and cities will like this classic jump rope or ball bouncing game.
A my name is Alice and my husband’s name is Al. We come from Alabama and we sell apples. B my name is Betty and my husband’s name is Ben. We come from Boston and we sell buttons. Etc. players keep jumping or bouncing for as long as the player can keep the names and places and products going in alphabetical order.
Next player comes in when the 1st player is stopped and continues with that letter.

Tell Me Five Game
This is a good game for the car. Tell me five things that you can eat that start with A. Tell me five things that you can find in the kitchen that start with B. etc

Shape Up ABC
Write capital letters on slips of paper that are folded and put in a bag. Player 1 pulls a slip and has to try to shape his body into that letter that others try to guess. This is a fun game that helps kids internalize in a sensory way the shape of the letters they are learning to write and read.

         A few years ago we published several books with suggested books and follow-up games that extend the book experience. One collection Read It! Play It! is for playing with babies and toddlers. The other is for preschool and early school years children. We also did a collection in Spanish, featuring books that were in Spanish or were bilingual. Click here to find the Read It! Play It! books.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.