book

Turn off the TV. All of those toy ads. The stream is painful for parents, caregivers, educators and librarians who have an understanding and dedication to early learning and early literacy.

At Pierce County Library System, librarians agreed on the 5 Best Toys of All Time according to Wired’s GeekDad blog @ http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/01/the-5-best-toys-of-all-time/all/1

1. Stick
2. Box
3. String
4. Cardboard Tube
5. Dirt

These are true learning toys that foster a child’s imagination—from labeling them toys to creating the energy and magic within and from them. Imagination is perhaps the greatest lifelong gift.

“Not a Box” and “Not a Stick” by Antoinette Portis engagingly portray two of these top toys. David Shannon’s “Too Many Toys” shares how a boy and his mother sort through toys and end with the roundup in GeekDad’s list.

To finish off one’s holiday shopping, one more toy needs to be added to the list—at the top of the list: time from a parent or caregiver to a child. “Blackout” by John Rocco shares this wonderful tale as it transforms and reunites a busy family from their isolated lives to join with neighbors. Through this adventure, the family rediscovers the fun and gift of giving each other their time.

Happy Holidays and take time to read with, listen to and play with the children in your life. Give them the rich and favored gift of learning, and help set them on the road to healthy, compassionate and happy adults. 

Thank you, Pierce County Library System, a member of the Early Learning Public Library Partnership, for this contribution.

This week Foundation for Early Learning hosted the Early Learning Public Library Partnership Symposium, and asked attendees to let us know their very favorite early learning books (yes, they could choose more than one). Here are the wonderful early learning books they shared.

We are delighted to feature a blog post by Sally Chilson, Youth Services Coordinator at Spokane Public Library, a member of the Early Learning Public Library Partnership.

School is back in session, the smell of fall is in the air and the leaves are crunchy under my feet.  It is my favorite time of year to cuddle up with a book.  Here are some titles to share with a little one who is ready to cuddle up to listen.

Little Chicken’s Big Day by Katie Davis and Jerry Davis.  Little Chicken gets separated from Mama on an outing and is glad to find that she is near by.  “I hear you cluckin’, Big Chicken” is a great refrain to say together as Little Chicken goes from being annoyed a being hurried along to really glad that Mama is nearby.

Rrralph by Lois Ehlert.  Ralph is an amazing talking dog.  He can tell you he is on the roof, that the stuff on the outside of trees is bark, and that the path is rough, among other things.  It is a great jumping off point for other noises dogs can make, and since the illustrations are done in collage, it is fun to go back through the story and talk about what makes up each picture.

Mama, Why? by Karma Wilson. This is my new favorite cuddling up at night book.  The polar bear cub continues to ask “Mama, why?” after each of her explanations about night until Mama tells her cub that she will dream of her dearest the whole night through.  Changing the question to “Mama, who?” the cub falls asleep to the answer “you.”  The fanciful arctic sky illustrations are beautiful and it can end an evening of stories on a wonderfully quiet note.