If I had to choose my all-time favorite train picture book, I would pick All Aboard! A True Train Story. Its short length and large but clear pictures make it a hit with young listeners (I've used it in my Baby Steps program with babies 12 months and younger, and they were riveted), but its usage of sophisticated words sprinkled throughout the narrative also make it appropriate and enjoyable for preschool and kindergarten students. Readers observe a steam train making its way across bridges and through mountains before coming to rest at the end of the day.
Honda: The Boy Who Dreamed of Cars is an enjoyable and accessible biography for elementary school students. Biographies of Asians are few and far between, so this helps to fill a huge gap.
Byron Barton's body of work has a strong transportation streak; My Car is one of my favorites. We follow a driver who pumps gas and takes care of his car in order for him to have transportation to his job (which involves another form of transportation!). Although I'm not generally a fan of board book editions of picture books, Barton's picture books, for the most part, make for excellent board books.
I use Donald Crews's School Bus for both my toddler story time and for our annual Kindergarten Kickoff story time program. Although the text is sparse (as it is for Crews's books that actually include text; many are wordless), the attraction of school buses make it appealing for both 3 year olds and for big kids ready for kindergarten. We see a school bus traveling across town to pick up schoolchildren, bring them to school, drop them off, wait for school to end, and bring everyone home at the end of the day.
We have many more fabulous transportation-themed books at our libraries! It's one of our most frequently requested recommendations, so ask the children's reference staff next time you visit.
Jennifer Schultz, Youth Services Librarian, Fauquier County Public Library
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment