Submitted by special guest blogger Ms. Julie, the county library’s summer intern!
Have you ever seen a red elephant? Pick up I Dream of an Elephant by Ami Rubinger and you will read about all kinds of different colored elephants, doing all kinds of different things. Whether reading to your child or to a group of children, this book is excellent at getting them involved. It is engaging not only because of the bright colors and exciting pictures, but also because of the rhyming. When you flip to a page, the last word (a color) isn’t written, so you have to ask the child what color the elephant is, to complete the rhyme. (“I dream of an elephant whose color is…?” “White!” “Playing in piles of snow, what a sight!”) I Dream of an Elephant is an exciting book for any occasion. See this book listed in our catalog or read an article about Julie’s successful summer internship
Colors
Birds
Submitted by Ms. Tess!
Capitalizing on my admiration for children’s literary stalwart Kevin Henkes (last name pronounced HENK-us), and all things with wings, is Birds, written by Henkes, and illustrated by his lovely wife Laura Dronzek. This reads almost like a nonfiction book for very early readers. It’s informative, without being boring, educating us on the different colors and sizes birds can be, and the different things they can do, like fly, and sit in trees. It also shares charming anecdotes like: “Once I saw seven birds on the telephone wire. They didn’t move and they didn’t move and they didn’t move. I looked away for a second… and they were gone.” Birds are awesome creatures. If your child is as fascinated by our feathered friends as I am, you’ll definitely want to check out Birds. Today! See this book listed in our catalog
Meeow and the Little Chairs
Submitted by Sue from Leonardtown!
Meeow and the Little Chairs by Sebastien Braun. Meeow is a black cat who is having some animal friends over to play. He and his friends like to make things. During the story, each of Meow’s friends are introduced. Then Meeow and his friends proceed to make a train with different colored chairs. The words and sentences are descriptive, pointing out colors and objects used by the animal friends to create their imaginary train, which makes the story appealing and fun. The book provides opportunities for interaction between you and your child. Enjoy the answers you might recieve when the narrator asks questions, and you encourage your child to predict “What have you found, Meeow?” and “What can they be doing?” The illustrations are digitized and assembled using hand painted line shapes. See this book listed in our catalog
Miles the Crocodile
Submitted by Tess from Lexington Park!
Want to raise a jazz lover? Have I got the book for you: Miles the Crocodile Plays the Colors of Jazz by Andy Blackman Hurwitz and illustrated by Andrew Cunningham! Miles is a trumpet playing crocodile here to demonstrate “that the colors of jazz can make beautiful art” through words, pictures, and music! The book comes with a CD of jazz music that corresponds with the story. My favorite track is “Blue Jazz Blue” in which Miles sings the “I Ain’t Got No Cookie Blues” lamenting “I got my milk, but I want my cookie too!” If you like this kit, look out for other books in the “Baby Loves Jazz” series like Charlie Bird, Duck Ellington, and Ella Elephant. See this book listed in our catalog
I Am a Rainbow
Submitted by Amanda from Lexington Park!
I Am a Rainbow by Dolly Parton is an adorable book that associates colors with emotions that every boy and girl experiences. Written in rhyme, it connects each feeling and color with a great picture to illustrate the point. Pink- as sweet at cotton candy! Red- as angry as a bear! Blue – bored and sad! It goes on and on. The author shows that everyone has feelings as different as colors, and urges the reader to understand those feelings in others. She goes on to explain that everyone is a rainbow of different feelings, and “It’s not up to you, the way that you feel. But how you act IS a different deal.” See this book listed in our catalog
Pink
Submitted by Amanda from Lexington Park!
Pink by Nan Gregory and Luc Melanson. Vivi is dizzy wanting pink! She wants to have “perfect pink” like the cool, rich girls at her school. They have all the “perfect pink,” she whines to her mother and her father. Vivi’s father is a truck driver, and her mother cleans the halls in the apartment complex they live in. Vivi wants a perfect pink bride doll that she knows she will never afford. So she runs errands all winter for her neighbors to save for the perfect pink bride doll. On a beautiful spring day, Vivi’s mom suggests that the family goes on a “pinknic” in the park. Her Mom makes pink sandwiches, pink tea, and they even stop to buy pink cakes for desert! They make a list of all the things they see that are pink that day. On the way home they stop by the store to see the perfect pink bride doll that Vivi has so desperately been craving and working for, only to find it has been sold. Vivi learns that you can’t always have what you want that day–the same day she learns that she has all she wants in her family. It is a great lesson about not getting what you want, and fitting in. It is a great tale for little girls! Plus it is filled with PINK! See this book listed in our catalog