Gage has known his colors for a while, but when I saw this book at the library I thought he’d enjoy it. A World of Colors by Marie Houblon and published by National Geographic is one I can recommend enthusiastically to all kids from 2-5 or 6.  Let me start with the photos – they are gorgeous, interesting and international.  Each color has 4 pages and the text isn’t something the child will read by themselves, but the text makes this book interactive so it isn’t something they’d want to read by themselves anyway.  For each color it asks that you look around and find something that color and because of that it would be fun to go around the house reading it in different rooms.  Let me show you a few pages…

So sorry about the blurry pink page  but I’m including it so you can get an idea of the photos.  So after we read this I decided that tis might be a good way to start categorizing and practicing gluing abilities.  So I let Gage choose a color in the morning at breakfast and over the course of the day I collected things that he could attach to a piece of construction paper.  Next time we do something similar (and we will just with other categories) I’ll let him help with the scavenger hunt (but to be honest just the gluing part was all the time Gage wanted to spend on this activity, 5-10 minutes, so I’d break it up into two activities).

Today was our last day and we did green.  Here’s how it went down…

His standard pose for the camera to start.

I always think it’s fun to see what he’s going to choose first.  Today it was the grasshopper.

This is so blurry because this mom doesn’t like to have her hands so far away from a 2 year old with glue.

After the grasshopper is a small green craft stick. I did try to have a few tactile items for each color for more interest.

Some days he would put everything I put out on there, other days he just chose a few.  Today he told me he was done and I told him he had to add 3 more things. He chose 3 dinosaur stickers.  When I asked him to point to his favorite thing he chose Kermit the frog.

His final color collection.

I have a big plastic bin where I keep old torn up books and misc. craft supplies to use for projects just like this one.  The book was the inspiration for this activity. So much fun 🙂

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson is a book that I have loved sharing with Gage.  It is all about imagination and that’s something I want to encourage in Gage.  The fact that purple is his favorite crayon color  and that there was a scary dragon in it made this an easy sell.  It is a little long, but Gage makes it all the way through.  I’d say It’s perfect for kids 2 1/2-5 and there are just so many activities to try with this one.  I decided to let Gage make his own. book.  Harold was armed only with a crayon, but Gage got stickers and a little help from mom.

For prep I folded 4 sheets of paper in half and then a sheet of white cardstock for the cover, collected purple crayons and stickers that could help with storytelling.  We very loosely used some of the scenes from the book.  Gage had fun even if I had to prod with the storytelling.  I will do this activity again and each time prompt more from Gage so I have to provide less.  I made the cover myself after he was done 🙂

the set up

what should I put on the road?

sometimes one crayon is not enough

and sometimes I needed help.

I’m feeling proud.

the final productI had so much fun with Gage I’m thinking of making one myself. I think this book is a must have for any kid.  Harold’s that is, Gage’s isn’t for sale!

There’s a little bit of purple in here :(courtesy of Bookbath))

Blogging from A-Z

Open This Little Book by Jesse Klausmeier and illustrated by Suzy Lee.

When I read Kathy’s review (BermudaOnion’s Weblog) of this book I was intrigued by how clever it looked, but wondered if it would be too old for my almost two and a half year old son.  Kathy was sweet enough to mail it to Gage so we could find out.  She is a very generous book blogger and if you are not reading her blog you should be.  Thanks, Kathy 🙂

This is a book within a book within a book…I wasn’t sure Gage would ‘get’ the concept.  The first time I tried to read it he lasted about 3 seconds before he closed the book and said ‘”don’t like it”.  I decided not to take this too seriously since this has been his phrase of choice for the last week or so.  So, last night before bed we tried again and he flipped through the book forward and then backward.  Now that we’ve gotten him to ‘like’ it I know that we will have more fun with it.

This book is the argument for traditional publishing.  The pages must be touched  and flipped to really experience the unique aspect of the story.  It’s very visual.  Not only is it the story of a ladybug, a frog, a rabbit, a bear, and a giant, it is also a tool to teach small ones about sizes and colors.  Gage does know his colors but sizes  are something we’re working on so this will be great for that.  I love the concept and the physical appeal of this novel kid’s book.  I do think it will be best loved by 3+.

Pansy at the Palace-A Beverly Hills Mystery, written by Cynthia Barnes and illustrated by Kim Weissenborn was sent to us by the publicist.

Pansy’s life blossoms when she is adopted from an animal shelter by a loving family and little girl named Avery. Swept into her new life at the Palace Hotel in Beverly Hills, this smart and courageous puppy saves the day by solving a mysterious theft. Pansy at the Palace celebrates the spirit of curiosity and exploration, and teaches us that no one is too small to make a difference in the lives of many!

32 pages casebound with jacket, full color published by Octobre Press (from PansyAtThePalace.com)

We went out to Buffalo Wild Wings (a great chain restaurant that does an excellent job with an allergy-free menu) last night and took Pansy with us.  Gage was less enamored with the book than I was only because I think it is just out of his age level at 2 and as much as I loved the illustrations he sometimes found them too busy, probably because it was just out of his range.  He did like the simpler illustrations and there was about the right amount of reading on the each page for him, so I can see us trying this agin in a month or two and having it be more fun for him.

Here’s what I loved.  The book itself is wonderfully done.  Hardcover with great dust jacket and the pages are thick with beautiful, colorful illustrations.

The story itself of a dog being rescued from a shelter is perfect for kids.  I think if you are going to go to a shelter to choose a dog or cat then this book would really teach your child what a great thing rescuing animals is and to feel great about having a rescue at home.  And what dog doesn’t want to be rescued and taken to live in luxury hotel in Beverly Hills?  It doesn’t hurt that Pansy is adorable and smart.

And there is a mystery involving stolen jewelry, so if you want to turn your young one into a mystery lover than this is a great place start.  I loved it.

Fun fact whenever I see Beverly Hills in a book I always fondly remember the one day I worked there many moons ago.  I made cold calls to businesses to try to get them to buy office supplies.  Every girl who was working there had to say that her name was Linda Black so that when you transferred them for the sale the manager didn’t have to think about who to say.  I had to take 2 buses to get there and then I had to say I was Linda Black all day long.  I didn’t go back for day two.  I’m glad that it worked out better for Pansy 🙂