What I'm Reading for Family Literacy Month
Sometimes matching the right read to the right person is a challenge. So we are starting off the New Year with some help for you. Here are five great books for you and your family to discover for Family Literacy Month. I know my family enjoyed them and are re-reading our favourites!
We are Family by Patricia Hegarty
Who doesn't love a book that rhymes? Parents will love the rhyming, and children will love finding out about all the different people that can make up a family. This is a great book for our emerging readers as there are easy-to-read words for parents to point out. It's also a great book to read when two families or different generations are merging together.
Short Stories for Little Monsters by Marie Louise Gay
I am a huge fan of this author and her wonderful water-colour images. This book will appeal to fans of graphic novels as well because it is in a comic strip format. Parents take note, children find out that carrots might not be all you've said they are when an eyeglass-wearing rabbit makes an appearance. My favourite story is about a boy who believes he becomes invisible just by throwing a pillowcase over his head. Haven't we all wanted to just disappear at some point? Younger children will love hearing the stories and looking at the pictures and older readers will love the hidden jokes.
The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue
Toronto is a diverse city and how wonderful to have a book that includes such diversity. This family has won the lottery, bought a big house and moved in with their seven adopted children. All goes great until.... a bad tempered grandpa moves in! Finally a book that deals with adoption after the fact and how a family deals with various backgrounds. Also good for parents of the sandwich generation explaining why a grandparent might have to move in with them. Better for older readers as the vocabulary is large. A great family read, maybe a chapter each day for the month of January?
Countdown to Danger: Canadian Survival! by Jeff Szpirglas
Do you go left or right? Do you take the bridge or ride the rapids? It's all up to the reader in this book. But whichever way you choose adventure and danger are sure to be close at hand. Have a reluctant reader? Or maybe a child who can't finish a whole chapter book? Then this is the book for you. By having some say in where the story goes, readers are on the edge of their seats. Nature and the outdoors are the back ground for our hero and after that it's up to you, dear reader.
What Do They Do With All That Poo? by Jane Kurtz
Okay, I know, I know. Parents are groaning at the title as their children giggle aloud. But hey, I bet you do wonder where all the zoo poo goes! Plus how far does giraffe poop fall? How heavy is an elephant's poop? Even though this is a non-fiction fact book, the rhyming text lends humor and lets the story unfold through the facts. Children are fascinated with the subject and will want to repeat the facts, out loud, to family, friends and yes complete strangers in the grocery line!
What books are you reading together this Family Literacy Month?
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