What are the best books to read with emergent readers during January? Here are some of Bluebird Speech’s favorites to consider as you engage kids in the fun and benefits of storybook time!
january Book Recommendations
be brave little penguin
Author: Giles Andreae
Summary: with some encouragement from his friends, a young penguin learns to be brave and swim in the water
Theme: winter clothing, winter forest animals, animal habitats
Level: preschool to kindergarten
Language skills: emotions – happy, sad; attributes – warm, cold, big, small
Sounds: /p/ for penguin; /s/ blends – swim, scared, small
Core Vocabulary: help, play, not, scared
Fridge Vocabulary: penguin, mom, dad, friends, water
Resources: AAC Literacy Planner 2022
the mitten
Author: Jan Brett
Summary: a classic, repetitive tale about a young child and the animals that find a home in his lost mitten until a mouse joins
Theme: winter clothing, winter forest animals, animal habitats
Level: preschool to kindergarten
Language skills: cause and effect, sequencing, prepositions – in and out, predictions
Sounds: /m/ for mitten, mouse, and mole
Core Vocabulary: want, go, in, how, come, move, over
Fridge Vocabulary: mitten, bear, fox, rabbit, hedgehog, mouse, badger, owl
Resources: The Mitten Language and Literacy Companion
snowmen at night
Author: Caralyn Buehner
Summary: after dark, the snowmen engage in exciting, magical winter activities
Theme: winter activities, community
Level: preschool to kindergarten
Language skills: vocabulary – winter and snow activities; inferencing and perspective taking, sequencing, rhyming
Sounds: /sl/ blend – sleep, slow, sled
Core Vocabulary: at, night, play, sleep, down, on, make
Fridge Vocabulary: snowmen, sled, skate, snow angel
Resources: Snowmen at Night Speech Companion