Take Your Family on a Story Walk

by Katrina Morse for Family Reading Partnership

Take your family on a walk—a Story Walk! Stroll down a wooded path or skip through a mown field and read pages of a children’s book as you go. Dryden, Enfield, Danby, Groton, and soon Newfield have specially marked trails with the words and pictures from children’s books posted at intervals along your way. These five Story Walks in Tompkins County are a program of Family Reading Partnership.

“Over and Under the Pond” by Kate Messner is featured on the Dryden Story Walk

Start with the book cover at the trailhead then look for the book’s first page next on the path. Read aloud as you go and enjoy the story, illustrations, and being outside with your children. What happens next in the story? Look for the next page on the trail to find out!

Walking while reading can be the perfect way to share a book with an active child and can engage a range of ages from baby to early elementary school ages.

The books for these Story Walks are chosen by librarians and community members in each area and feature local authors and illustrators when possible. Books are usually nature-themed or have content related to the community itself and are replaced with new books seasonally.

When each Story Walk is launched, the featured book is given as a gift to families who attended the event that day, with funding for books provided by United Way of Tompkins County Youth and Philanthropy, Rotary Club of Ithaca, and in Dryden in memory of Grandma Alice Garmezy by her loving family. After the launch, the Story Walk trail is opened for all to enjoy year-round for new adventures each visit.

In Dryden you can read “Over and Under the Pond” by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal. The Story Walk is located on the portion of the Jim Schug Trail between Agway (Main St) and South St. In this story children will discover how plants and animals live together on the land surrounding a pond and in the pond’s water.

The Enfield Story Walk is located on the elementary school grounds, starting in the orchard, and features “Mouse’s First Fall” by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Erdogan. Learn about autumn with the book’s characters Mouse and Minka as they explore leaf shapes and fall colors.

In Danby read “Over in the Meadow” by John Langstaff , illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky on their Story Walk located at Dotson Park, in the area right in front by the natural playground. Based on the traditional counting song, each page of this book has new details for young children to see and animal noises to try out.

Groton is currently featuring “Izzy’s Groton Adventure” by local authors Janet Watkins and Mona Forney, and is located on the Groton Memorial Trail section that leaves from the Groton Memorial Park, behind the pool. Because this is a new Story Walk, free copies of the book are still available for families to pick up at Brittany Station gift shop, while supplies last. Store hours and location are posted at the Story Walk.

Published in 2013, this is the first of a series of books told from the perspective of a fictional, adventurous orange cat, Izzy P. Kitty, who lives in the Groton Public Library. Readers may recognize Groton landmarks and some town residents in the book. This Story Walk is recommended for slightly older children because of the steeper trail and longer story.

Newfield will be getting their Story Walk installed later in August or September. Location and book still to be determined.

Want to get involved? Groton and Enfield Story Walks are still in need of sponsors. Volunteer liaisons are also needed for each Story Walk to walk a trail every week or two and let Family Reading Partnership know if anything needs attention. Contact Family Reading Partnership at 607-277-8602 or office@familyreading.org for more information. Follow Family Reading Partnership on Facebook and Instagram for read-aloud tips, inspiration, and activities.

Spreading the Love with Words and Books

by Katrina Morse for Family Reading Partnership

Writing and receiving cards in the mail or hand delivering a card to someone special can be a fun family tradition. Show your child the value of the written word this Valentine’s Day by making your own cards and sharing them friends and relatives.

Get out your red and pink construction paper (or color some white paper with crayons), scraps of ribbon, buttons, or other odds and ends. Use glue sticks or white glue (for heavier items) and markers or colored pencils. Show your child how to make a heart by folding paper in half and then cutting out just one half of the heart. Open the paper to reveal a symmetrical symbol of love! Cut, arrange, glue and then when everything is ready, add the words to make a special Valentine’s Day message.

When you help your children write the things they want to say on their cards, or you write what they dictate, you are showing them that words are used to tell people our feelings (among other things!).

Read the Valentine message by pointing to letters and words and saying the message together, following along with your finger. Give each other a hug for a job well done!

Give Valentine’s Day cards in person or put in an envelope and show your child how to add an address, stamp, and put in the US mail. Grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, and faraway friends will treasure a handmade card sent to them for Valentine’s Day.

Learn some words about love that you can use in your cards by reading some of these children’s books:

• “How Many Do I Love You: A Valentine Counting Book,” by Cheri Love-Byrd, illustrated by Mei Stoyva, padded picture book format
• “Counting Kisses: A Kiss & Read Book” by Karen Katz, board book format
• “I’ll Love You Till the Cows Come Home” by Kathryn Cristaldi, illustrated by Kristyna Litten

Do you have a favorite picture book character? There is probably a Valentine’s Day book featuring that character that you can read together. You’ll find rhymes and heartfelt messages about love in these books:

• “Llama Llama I Love You” by Anna Dewdney, board book format
• “Love from the Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle
• “Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day is Cool” by James Dean
• “Love from the Crayons” by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
• “Happy Valentine’s Day Mouse” by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond, board book format

Play with Books!

by Katrina Morse for Family Reading Partnership

Dramatic play is what children do naturally. Acting out scenarios from real life settings such as home, the grocery store, or a city street or pretending to be someone else like a musician, pirate, or scientist give children the opportunity to explore their own feelings and learn how to talk about them. They confront fears, make choices, and solve problems. There is so much learning that happens in play!

Children’s books are a rich source of ideas for pretending. After reading any of your favorite books together, ask your young child which character they would like to pretend to be and start acting out the story. Grown-up hats, scarves, and shoes can used be as costumes that transform your child into another person or creature. Recreate the setting of a book with a few simple props you already have at home. Pillows can become a boat, car, or a picnic table. Stuffed animals and action figures can become other characters in a story. Let the play expand to new make-believe stories and let your child’s imagination blossom.

Here are some books for young children that will inspire the fun:

“This Jazz Man” by Karen Ehrhardt, illustrated by R.G. Roth. This counting book has a bee bop rhythm in the descriptions of how a jazz band makes music. Snap, tap, pound a beat on a drum, and lead with a conductor’s baton. Make your own instruments at home out of pots and pans and create your own sounds just by humming, clicking, and tootling to a beat! Can you work together to make music?

“Wiggle” by Doreen Cronin, illustrations by Scott Menchin. From the author of “Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type,” here is another story that will tickle your child’s funny bone and spark some creativity. Follow along as a dog wiggles his way through the day. From the morning wake-up wiggle, to wiggling with his shadow, wiggling like a crocodile, and wiggling as slowly as a polar bear, this is a book that you’ll want to read standing up. Then your child can practice all the ways to wiggle.

“Little Blue Truck Leads the Way.” By Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry. A sequel to “Little Blue Truck,” this story is set in a city with many other types of vehicles, lots of people, and tall buildings. Little Blue Truck is in the right place at the right time and saves the day. Phew! How did he feel about that? You and your children can pretend to be a line of cars, trucks, and cabs with Little Blue Truck out in front, leading the way through a city made by the furniture and doorways of your home.

 

Children’s Books That Inspire Winter Fun

by Katrina Morse for Family Reading Partnership

Long winter nights and chilly days with the children home on vacation from school are perfect times to snuggle in, stay warm, and read favorite books with your family. Read about the winter season–then go outside and enjoy the frosty wonderland! If your children need some encouragement to bundle up and go out in the cold and snow, reading books about the magic of snowflakes, making tracks in the snow, and how much fun it is to go sledding will kick-start their winter adventures. Try some of these titles:

“The Story of Snow: the Science of Winter’s Wonder” by Mark Cassino and Jon Nelson. What is at the center if each snowflake that is formed? Why do snowflakes have 6 sides? How many types of snowflake crystals are there? Give your children magnifying glasses and they’ll be able to see how each snowflake is unique, just as described in this fascinating book. Photographs are mixed with illustrations to depict the science of snow.

“All About Animals in Winter” by Martha E. H. Rustad. Have you ever seen a butterfly in the snow? Find out why some animals migrate, some hibernate, and some change the color of their fur to be camouflaged in the snowy landscape.

“Over and Under the Snow” by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal. Even though the winter landscape is very quiet, there is a lot going on top of the snow and especially underground. Animals have all kinds of homes they build for the winter and ways of keeping safe, warm, and well-fed.

“Tracks in the Snow” by Wong Herbert Yee. This rhyming book is a mystery story for the very young listener. A little girl makes tracks in the snow and then finds more tracks to follow. Who else is making tracks in the snow with her?

“The Thing about Yetis” by Vin Vogel. Any large, white, furry Yeti, also known as an Abominable Snowman, loves winter. You’ll learn about all the ways this cute little Yeti enjoys the winter season, snow, and cold. But don’t be surprised that like many children, he also misses the warm days of summer!

“The Snow Bear” by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Claire Alexander. This is a story of two children, a Snow Bear, and a sled. How do their imaginations help them when they get lost and have to find their way back home? A story of suspense and of friendship.

Celebrate your family’s winter holiday and the winter season with books you give as gifts or that you find at your neighborhood library. Make giving, getting, and reading children’s books a family tradition. You’ll be making memories for your family that will last a lifetime!

 

Summertime Fun!

Katrina Morse for Family Reading Partnership

Summertime is here! Enjoy the sun, the warmth, and all the family fun that summer brings. Are you planning a vacation? Will you be spending some time at the pool? Are you looking forward to some backyard exploration? Whatever you do this summer, there are many books to read with your young children to enrich experiences and give your family ideas for summer activities. Here are a few favorites:

“LaRue Across America: Postcards from the Vacation,” written and illustrated by Mark Teague. Told from the perspective of Mrs. LaRue’s dog, Ike, you can follow their road trip across the country visiting landmarks, cities, and small towns. It would be a much better vacation for Ike if they didn’t have the neighbor’s cats along with them in the car!

“Summer Days and Nights,” written and illustrated by Wong Herbert Yee. A celebration of the simple pleasures of summer, this story features a little girl’s adventures in one day, sun-up to sun-down. Butterflies, lemonade, picnics, and swimming during the day and owls, frogs, and sounds to explore in the night. This book will inspire your family to head outside and appreciate the natural world.

“Frog and Friends: The Best Summer Ever,” by Eve Bunting, illustrated by José Masse. This beginning reader book is written in 3 short stories. In each, Frog interacts with his friends and learns about accepting differences, compromising, and being generous, with summertime as a backdrop for the tales.

“Hello Ocean,” by Pam Munoz Ryan, illustrated by Mark Astrella. This poem will bring you right to the ocean with rich language that evokes the feel, sights, sounds, smell, and even the taste of the ocean. Squishy sand between the toes and salt spray on the face are also depicted in the realistic illustrations.

“Maisy Learns to Swim,” written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins. With a little trepidation, Maisy goes to her first swim lesson and step-by-step we see what she learns from kicking, floating, and blowing bubbles. Maisy is cold getting out of the pool, but gets dressed, and has a snack. The story covers all the nuances of learning to swim.

“Bailey Goes Camping,” written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes. Bailey, the rabbit, wants to go camping with his older brother and sister, but they tell him he is too little to go. Mother finds a way for Bailey to camp out right at home. This is one of the author’s first books and has become a summertime classic.

Encourage Creativity with Children’s Books

Creating artwork is one of those things that some adults find easy and others won’t even try to do! Young children, however, don’t judge themselves as harshly as grown-ups, and usually are eager to dive head first into painting, drawing, cutting, and gluing. The process of working with different media and putting colors and materials together is rich with learning experiences and even more important than what the creation looks like in the end. The drawing, painting, or collage they bring home from school is a reminder to your children of how much fun it was to make their art piece.

As children get older they create art with more intention. Children learn to use the real world and their imaginations for inspiration. Because artwork is unique to each person, children can find self-confidence in creating one-of-a-kind pieces with support and encouragement from the adults in their lives.

To encourage your child’s creativity, read some of these children’s books together and then follow-up your read-aloud by doing an open-ended art project:

“The Pencil” by Allan Ahlberg, illustrated by Bruce Ingman. A pencil starts by drawing a line that becomes a boy, a dog, a bicycle, more characters, and a story. A paintbrush joins in to add color. What happens when the pencil wants to change a few things? He draws an eraser for himself of course!

“the dot” by Peter H. Reynolds. A girl believes she can’t draw, but her art teacher encourages her to start with a dot. From there, she finds her confidence, and passes on the feeling to a friend. 

“Ms. McCaw Learns to Draw” by Kaethe Zemach. Ms. McCaw seems to know everything about math and science, history and spelling. But, one thing she can’t do is draw. Dudley Ellington, a student in Ms. McCaw’s class, doesn’t do well with traditional studies at school, but loves to draw. A friendship is formed as the student teaches the teacher.

“When a Line Bends… a Shape Begins” by Rhonda Growler Greene, illustrated by James Kaczman. Lines turn into many brightly colored shapes that become animals, people, and action! Young children will have fun looking for triangles, squares, circles, and more while listening to the rhyming text.

Go On an Adventure by Book!

Ready to go on an adventure? Open a book and begin! Children’s books are full of new ideas, words, and excitement. Read a book with your child and then experience the book through real life for added dimension and pizzazz!

If you read a book about a bakery, go visit one and get a sample of a tasty treat. If you read a book about birds, do some backyard bird watching and see what feathered friends you find. If you read about construction vehicles, spend a week looking for them on any outings. You can also go on a reading adventure at home, learning about things you do every day to see life in a new way.

When you are on your adventure, you can have your book with you to read and compare. What is the same in this bakery as the one in your book? What birds did you find that are the same or different as what you read about? How many construction vehicles did you spot that were in the book you read? Your child will be learning new words as you talk about what you are doing and will be practicing how tell you his or her own ideas.

Here are some suggestions for books to read and activities to do. Have fun on your reading adventures!

Read “From Head to Toe” by Eric Carle and do all the movements in the book. When you are done, play a guessing game and take turns remembering what motion each animal makes.

Read “Harold and the Purple Crayon” by Crockett Johnson, then make a picture together. One person can draw something with a crayon on paper, then can give the crayon to the next person, who adds to the drawing. Go back and forth adding to the drawing until the paper is full.

Read “Raindrop Plop!” by Wendy Cheyette Lewison, illustrated by Pam Paparone on a rainy day, then put on some boots, grab an umbrella, and see what you find out in the rain. Are there any new streams of water or puddles? Are there any animals or insects out in the rain with you?

Read “Lunch” by Denise Fleming, then try to find a rainbow of food to eat for your own lunch. What food is red, purple, or green? Can you find anything to eat that is pink, blue, or yellow?

Read “I Went Walking” by Sue Williams, illustrated by Julie Vivas, and go on your own walk. Take a walk around your neighborhood, a park, or a farm. What animals do you see? What color is each animal? You can repeat the refrain in the book as you go, “I went walking. What did you see? I saw a (fill in with animal name) looking at me.”

Read “Jamberry” by Bruce Degan and find some berries to eat! Look at the grocery store, farmer’s market, or farm stand. Try to find fresh berries, but if you can’t, you can get frozen berries or berry jam at the grocery. Which berries are your favorites? Which berries does your child like?

Reading Fits into the Flow of Summer

How is your summer going? What have the kids been doing to keep busy? Running, jumping, swimming, exploring, and hopefully some relaxing have all been part of your family’s summer fun.

Summer reading fits right into the flow. Read a book aloud with your children for some quiet time and then get up and go with a related activity to make the book come alive! Here are some suggestions:

• Read “The Salamander Room” by Anne Mazer, then go on a walk in your neighborhood and look under rocks, in streams, and in trees for creatures you may not usually notice.
• Read “The Doorbell Rang” by Pat Hutchins, then bake some cookies and count them. If you eat 2 cookies, how many are left? What kind of cookies did you make? Did you follow a recipe in a cookbook?
• Read “How Rocket Learned to Read” by Tad Hills, then write an alphabet letter in mud with a stick or in sand with your finger. A good letter for any child to learn is the first letter of his or her name.
• Read “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” by Mo Willems, then take a bus ride. Where did you go on the bus? Who did you see? Who drove the bus?
• Read “Feast for Ten” by Cathryn Falwell, then go grocery shopping together. Make a list of what you need for the day. Check off each item on your list as you find it and put it in your cart.
• Read “Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes Later)” by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard, then try on all the hats you have at home. What shapes, colors, and sizes of hats does your family wear?
• Read “Feathers for Lunch” by Lois Ehlert, then go on a walk to look for birds. You’ll find out the names of some local birds, what they look like, and what their call sounds like in this book. Can you spot any near where you live?
• Read “A Splendid Friend, Indeed” by Suzanne Bloom and ask a friend to come over and share a snack. Or you could ask your friend to play a game or draw a picture. What do you like to do with your friends?

Have a great summer!

Summer Word Play

Your child has spent the afternoon running, jumping, swimming, and playing catch. Now it’s time to slow down and spend some quality time as a family. It’s time to exercise your child’s brain by playing with words, stories, and songs. You can do these activities almost anywhere with just a few materials.

1. Write down the titles of your child’s favorite books from home or the books you just got at the library on slips of paper. Put them in a bowl and then have your child pick a slip and see which book to read first.

2. Use a puppet or a stuffed animal to pretend to tell a story or read a book. Make up a new voice for the character that doesn’t sound like your normal reading voice.

3. Empty out the change in your pockets daily into a jar. When you have enough money, go with your child and buy a book of your child’s choice.

4. “Read” your family photo album together. Start with the baby pictures of your child and tell stories about the photos. What happened and who was there? What does your child remember? Tell the story of how you picked out your child’s name.

5. Help your child write and illustrate a letter it to send to grandma and grandpa or to a favorite author. You could also make your own greeting cards with your child for special occasions like a birthday or holiday.

6. Play a rhyming game. Say a word and have your child say a word back that rhymes, even if it is a nonsense word. Then reverse. You can make a little song with the words.

7. Write down all the things you will be having for dinner into a play menu. Help your child draw pictures of the foods next to the words. Use the menu at the table to “order” dinner like you would in a restaurant.

8. When you go on a trip or just on errands during the day, make a journal of your activities by writing them down as you go in a blank book.

9. Sing your favorite song together and let your child stand on your feet as you dance. Make up new verses of the song and sing it together.

10. Develop a secret hand signal that means “Let’s read!”