On the Shelf

Header Right Social

FacebookInstagramYoutubeMeetupOn the Shelf Blog

Header Right Search

Rhyming

Summer Walk

by 1 Comment

Title: Summer Walk by Virginia Brimhall Snow
Format: Book
Who It’s For: Kids (And Adults)

Are you looking for an engaging read that not only sparks your child’s imagination but gets their body moving?   With these times of social distancing and isolation it can be difficult to find safe, fun ways for our littles, and no so littles, to connect with the outside world.

In Summer Walk, we have a rhyming tale of a summer adventure shared between Grammy and her grandkids.  The story walks us along as they discover and identify 24 insects.  The detailed pencil sketches of this family unit form an intricate backdrop for the bold and colorful featured insects.  Following the story, there are fun insect facts, as well as, a nature themed craft and activity you and your child can do together.  They become the perfect learning extensions when you get back from your own Summer walk.

I love this book not only because it is a doorway to the outdoors which seamlessly melds learning with doing, but because it reminds me of my own children and the time they spent making memories with their Grammy.

Find it in the catalog , check it out and begin making your own summer memories today!

Spider in a Glider

by Leave a Comment

Spider in a Glider by Lesley Sims and David Semple
Format: Book
Who It’s For: Kids

Spider in a Glider is another in the wonderful series of Usborne Phonics Readers. With a great rhyming structure and a terrific story this one will keep your kiddos totally entertained! Spider, a highly accomplished string-spinner is not satisfied. More than anything she wants to fly. But even with her beautifully spun wings, it is just not working. Her friend Beetle has the same passion for flight and he invites Spider to join him in his spiffy homemade glider. They climb aboard and strap in. Dragonfly tows the glider up high in the air! They’re flying!! The two friends loop and glide and enjoy the amazing view, until a sudden thunderstorm pops up. Your littles will love reading about Spider and Beetle’s narrow escape and ongoing friendship. Grownups will also like the helpful phonics information in the back of the book and everyone will enjoy the clear colorful illustrations full of movement and joy.   If you liked Spider in a Glider, try Crow in the Snow, or Bee Makes Tea!

Find it in the catalog

1-2-3 A Calmer Me: Helping Children Cope When Emotions Get Out of Control

by Leave a Comment

1-2-3-A Calmer Me: Helping Children Cope When Emotions Get Out of Control by Colleen A. Patterson and Brenda S. Miles
Format: Children’s Picture Book
Who It’s for: Children and Caregivers

In this story, a little girl explains how she can get angry and frustrated sometimes. Like when she loses her balloon in the park. It is OK to get mad, but when you do, you can recite this rhyme.
1-2-3 a calmer me, 1-2-3 I hug me, 1-2-3 relax and b-r-e-a-t-h-e, 1-2-3 a calmer me.
The story introduces children to a simple rhyme they can use to slow down their bodies and stop mad feelings from spinning out of control.
The mantra or rhyme appears several times throughout this picture book whenever the little girl finds herself becoming upset from conflicts with friends, family and even while playing sports.

By memorizing the simple mantra, a child can use it to slow down their immediate reactions and replace them with words that are more comforting. The idea is based on the psychological principles of relaxation and mindfulness.

Find it in the Catalog

The Sunhat

by Leave a Comment

The Sunhat by Jennifer Ward, illustrations by Stephanie Roth Sisson
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Kids

Rosa has a beautiful red sunhat that fits snug upon her head. On her way to school one morning, a hot dry wind whooshes the hat from Rosa’s head and carries it away. The wind drops things where it wishes and on this day sets the sunhat down way out in the desert, where animals come across it one by one. Each seeks shelter underneath it, from sun or from storm, until there is a crowd of desert animals inside, stretching the poor sunhat this way and that! When the storm ends, a wind blows by and whooshes the hat off and away, dropping it into the path of none other than Rosa on her way home from school. The Sunhat is a lovely semi-rhyming story about a beloved hat and its desert adventure.

Find it in the catalog

Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do

by Leave a Comment

Submitted by Ms. Shannon!

It’s fun to think about what we might be when we grow up and Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook, illustrated by Andy Robert Davies, shows so many options. Each time we turn the page, we find a simple rhyme that gives us several clues and asks a question. Who would wear the overalls with a big straw hat? Who would wear an apron, oven mitts, and tall white hat? The illustrations transform this book into the perfect guessing game. We examine all of the clues and use our investigative skills to figure out the mystery jobs. We might even decide what we want to be when we grow up! See this book listed in our catalog

Swallow the Leader

by Leave a Comment

Submitted by Ms. Shannon!

Swallow the Leader: A Counting Book by Danna Smith and illustrated by Kevin Sherry. Take a dip under the sea with a group of fantastic rhyming fish friends! You can swim and play together with the turtles, whales, rays, blowfish, and crabs. We watch our aquatic friends and pretend to be a different underwater creature on every page. Follow the leader is a super fun game to play with lots of friends, everyone can pitch in. Can you splash like a fish? Can you snap like a crab? Can you count to ten? We count and we rhyme and we play and we swim and we might have forgotten to LOOK OUT FOR THAT SHARK! AAAGHHH! See this book listed in our catalog