Bob Books - Tools for Learning to Read

I first learned about Bob Books when I worked for one of the largest book retailers. Parents would come in looking for them frantically. So of course when Ricky was 4, I bought them and tried to introduce them to him.

He hated them almost immediately and one time had a fit so big that I never brought them out for months. Earlier this summer, Mark introduced Halo - an inappropriate (age 17) video game on the xbox to Ricky. I decided to grasp the opportunity and bribe my son to learn to read and his reward would be time on Halo. It totally worked.

Ricky has now mastered 16 Bob Books so far and knows many sight words. He enjoys reading these books to his grandmothers, his aunts, uncles, and anyone who will listen. Learning them has boosted his confidence at school and about himself in general and it's really great to see. It's cool to be able to read a book by yourself!

For those of you who may not know what Bob Books are, they are little books - about 8 pages each, that build on reading. They have to be read in order - as each book builds on the previous one in terms of sight words, and the sounds. The box set Ricky has almost finished is the short vowels. He has 2 more books to go to finish the 18 book box set. The second box set has the long vowels. I bought these larger box sets from Costco earlier this year.

I totally recommend these books for parents to do with their kids to supplement what they are learning in school.

Photo borrowed from http://www.bobbooks.com/img/mfbb-1.jpg

The Night Before the Tooth Fairy by Natasha Wing, Illustrated By Johansen Newman

Ricky has all his teeth and our next door neighbor (who is 6) just started losing his teeth and told Ricky about it. Ricky's a little freaked about losing his teeth but is intrigued by the Tooth Fairy thing so I decided to get him this book.

The book is written in the Night Before Christmas style and is very funny and cute. Here is the opening lines,

""Twas the night before the Tooth Fairy

would come take my tooth,

I'd been so excited

ever since it got looth."

This book does a great job addressing what happens when your tooth gets lose, when you lose it, and how cool it is when the Tooth Fairy comes. I think Ricky feels a lot better about the whole thing now, thanks to this cute book.

Scholastic, 2003

Crow Call by Lois Lowry, Illustrated By Bagram Ibatoulline

I can't read the name Lois Lowry without thinking of Anastasia Krupnik - one of my favorite characters as a young adult. Lois Lowry wrote some great books for kids and is partially responsible for the book lover I have become as an adult. So when I saw this book at the library, I had to check it out - because I knew it was going to be good - and because I was curious.

Crow Call is based on a real life experience of Lois Lowry as a young girl. This book is about a young girl and her connection to her father, who has just returned from the war. She and her father set out on an autumn morning in Pennsylvania and share some cherry pie in town. Then they go out in hills and call the crows. Having lived in Chicago my whole life, I never heard of crow calling. So this was educational for me too.

Since Ricky is a soon-to-be 5 year old boy, he was a bit bored by this book. I think he might be too young for it and doesn't really appreciate the book's merits quite yet. He knows about war from Star Wars but we haven't told him about the actual world wars yet - and the killing, death, etc. He also has no concept of being apart from either of his parents for more than just a day while he sleeps at grandma's house. Living in Chicago, he has gone to the park several times, but has never been out in the woods or anything close to the beautiful Pennsylvania hills. Gosh, this book is pointing out so many things I have yet to show my son!

This book would be perfect for a girl who is ages 6 to 8. I will definitely read this book to my son when he is bit older and can appreciate it. As a young girl, I know I would have loved this book myself. The story is sweet and the illustrations are breathtaking.

Scholastic Press, 2009

The Elevator Man by Stanley Trachtenberg, Illustrated By Paul Cox

I got this book from the library for Ricky. I was attracted to it because of the illustration style. This book is about a little boy who is friends with the Elevator Man. The building's elevator is renovated and the Elevator Man gets a promotion to Doorman.

I was worried that Ricky would be bored during some parts, but he was at full attention the whole time. This book was good because it struck up a conversation about the whole elevator man thing. Riding an elevator is probably one of Ricky's favorite things to do when we go anywhere - specifically, pressing the button.

I explained to Ricky that old elevators needed an elevator man, and we talked about condos, and hotels and the number of floors on them, etc. etc. Actually there is one page where the illustrator shows several floors in a courtyard fashion - and all the people waiting for the elevator. In a nutshell, this book was a good tool for teaching Ricky about buildings and elevators. A Life Tool.

I appreciate this book because it gave us a topic that we wouldn't really talk about otherwise.

So in that sense, it's educational for little kids.

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2009

The Adventures of Harvey the Wonder Dog by Lise Dominique, Illustrated By Chrissie Vales

The author of this book, Lise Dominique, did a reading at my son's school yesterday. Since Ricky has dog allergies, he had to stand in the back of the room as far away from Harvey as possible. He liked the book and what he could see of Harvey the dog.

This is the first time I've blogged about a book I haven't read to Ricky but made an exception since the author read the book to his class. Ricky told me that he liked the book and would like me to find it for him at the library so he can hear the story again.

Hoping our library bought this book. Will blog again after we read it together at some point.

Star Wars Sticker and Activity Books

Sticker books are the best. And if your child loves Star Wars and Star Wars the Clone Wars, these books published by DK Books are a total must-have.

The book here on the left features the movies and the book is divided up in sections that coincide with scenes from the movie. There are names of all the characters, ships, and alien beings with definitions. Since Ricky can't read yet, I find myself reading the descriptions of the stickers he picks out. All very educational for the young Star Wars fan.

There is also a Star Wars the Clone Wars sticker book, and one that is a coloring book and sticker book. Ricky has all of these books and when he finishes them, I buy him a new one. He never gets tired of them. These books are great to travel with as well.

Look Inside an Igloo by Mari Schuh

Am I on a non-fiction kick? Not really but I did visit the library again yesterday and picked this up for Ricky too. Same author and publisher as the previous book!

When snow builds on our patio set we refer to it as an igloo. We had a pretty good snowstorm a few weeks back and Ricky was able to hide in his "igloo." Mark and I have explained what igloos are to him, but I thought I would pick this book up to show Ricky.

The book talks about Inuits and how igloos are built. It also describes how the Inuit cook food and sleep. We found it fascinating the way they used a sheet of ice as a window - among a few interesting tidbits.

This is a great brief snapshot of an igloo but I feel like the book could have been longer. Just when Ricky was getting more interested, it was the end of the story. Still, I thought this was a decent snapshot for a preschooler. The photos were excellent.

As in typical non-fiction fashion, the book has a glossary and index at the end of the book. I also want to note that the publisher also offers "A Look Inside" a log cabin, pyramid, and tepee plus other titles as well. I foresee reviews of these books in the future if I can find them.

Published by Capstone Press, 2009

Max's Words by Kate Banks, Pictures by Boris Kulikov

I've been working with Ricky on sight words for a few months and when I saw this book I thought it would inspire him.

Max has one brother who collects coins and one brother who collects stamps. He wants to collect something too. So he picks words. He discovers that when you put them together, you can say all kinds of things.

What a great concept. Ricky enjoyed this book but it won't be an every-single-night or several times a week kind of book. He told me that he likes the book but I can return it to the library if I want to. hehe.

Published by Francis Foster Books, 2006

Other Countries, Other Cultures - A National Geographic Picture Book: One World, One Day by Barbara Kerley

With the earthquake in Haiti, we've all been thinking about a country other than our own (for a change) and what it is like living in another country. So when I came across this book at the library on the "new" shelf, I grabbed it and wanted to share it with Ricky.

Other than brief clips on Sesame Street, Ricky's never really been exposed to other countries. I mean, we went to the Dominican Republic on vacation 2 years ago when he was 3 but that was on a resort - so he didn't really experience much other than the resort.

This book is interesting because it shows how kids across the world get up in the morning, eat breakfast, go to school, learn in school, eat lunch, go home, do homework, eat dinner, and prepare for bedtime. Ricky liked this book because he could relate to what all these kids were doing. He found it interesting that 2 girls in the pictures had nose rings and we ended up having a conversation about nose rings and why people want them and what they mean. He was actually grossed out!!

Anyways, this is a good book for kids because it exposes them to other cultures. The photography is excellent but I expect nothing short of excellent from a National Geographic book!

Published by National Geographic Society, 2009

Explaining Death to Small Children: I Miss You by Pat Thomas & What's Heaven? by Maria Shriver

We just lost my dear aunt last month to cancer. She was very close to us, and even babysat Ricky for the last year and a half when I started working part-time. So Ricky was pretty close to her. I wasn't quite sure how to explain death to him - he just turned 4 - and with all the craziness, my mother-in-law was sweet enough to pick out some books about death and mail them to me to read to Ricky.

I Miss You: A First Look at Death by Pat Thomas is a great book for kids ages 2-6. It was the perfect book for Ricky - short, sweet, and had loads of pictures. It reaffirmed what he was experiencing: loving someone, not seeing them anymore, and missing them. At a very high level it mentions how everyone is born and everyone dies, how you attend a funeral, and the feelings a child may have when losing someone. The loved one in the book was an older female - could be a grandmother or an aunt, but obviously everything in the book is applicable to losing any kind of loved one. It acknowledges that cultures deal with death in various ways and it does not focus on any specific religious belief. I strongly recommend this book for little kids who lose someone they love.

I felt that What's Heaven? by Maria Shriver was above Ricky's head. It is more appropriate for a 6-8 year old audience. It is long, very descriptive, and you need a really good attention span to benefit from it. Also - with the heaven thing - it's pretty Christian. We only got to page 2 and Ricky was already asking to read something else. Maybe if he were a little older, things would have been different. In any case, this book will be useful when he is older and has questions about death and heaven.

In any case, it's great to have books to address all kinds of things - from potty training to death. My parents never read me any books to explain anything - other than puberty!

I Miss You Every Day by Simms Tayback

This is a great book for kids who have a loved one who lives far away that they miss. Ricky could identify with this book because his aunt and uncle live several states away and he misses them and thinks of them all the time.

The little girl in the story wraps herself and sends herself as a letter to her loved one. The book follows the journey she takes through the postal system. There is also a picture and envelope in the front that your child can view.

Published 2007 by Viking

The Adventure of Taking Kids to the Zoo: Class Two at the Zoo by Julia Jarman, Illustrated by Lynne Chapman

This book tells the story of what happens when Class Two visits the zoo. From the illustration, one might say that the anaconda eats a few children. That assumption would be correct.

I enjoyed the writing style of this book, thought it was funny and would recommend it. However, I made the mistake of not reading this book myself before reading it to Ricky. The concept of going to the zoo and having a giant snake eat a few children might be scary to some toddlers. I was unable to stop reading and had to finish the book with him and he seemed fine. He thought it was funny - lucky me. I'm glad that he didn't express fear at visiting the zoo or anything like that.

I think I will be checking this book out of the library again - but maybe later on - when he is 4 or 5. We haven't talked about animals really hurting people (as in the Crocodile Hunter's fate) or death yet and we would like to keep him innocent as long as we possibly can. It is every parent's choice when to introduce such concepts and we have chosen to wait.

Aha - the book states Ages 5-8 for a reason!!! My mistake for not looking and reading to my almost-three-year-old. Oh well.

Published in 2007 by CarolRhoda Books.

Many thanks to the book's illustrator, Lynne Chapman for providing the jacket photo