http://www.elcpsj.org. Sue and Emma enjoy a recent Toddler Fest at the Anastasia Island Branch Library, St. Augustine, hosted by the Early Learning Coalition of Putnam & St. Johns Counties.
As parents we are all familiar with this nightly routine: she’s bathed, her teeth are brushed, and she’s settled in your lap for a few moments of reading before you say goodnight. The last thing you want is a bedtime story that makes her want to jump up and dance.These books will keep your little one calm when it’s rocking-chair reading time:
In Mem Fox’s classic Time for Bed (Harcourt 1993), different animal “parents” prepare their babes for bed under the nighttime sky. The last scenes focus on a human mother and child, with the child reclining on a pillow embroidered with stars. The gently-repeating rhyme and soothing illustrations create the sensation of a lullaby.
Caldecott Medal-winner The House in the Night (Houghton Mifflin, 2008), written by Susan Marie Swanson and illustrated by Beth Krommes, features just three colors: black, white, and small touches of gold. The text is a variation on the old “key to the kingdom” nursery rhyme, and with just over one hundred words, this book is a poem of comfort at bedtime.
Barbara Berger’s spare and elegant Grandfather Twilight (Putnam & Grosset, 1984) is a walk through the woods as the skies deepen toward darkness. In the center of the book are several silent pages that allow you and your child to whisper your own way through the story together.
For more information on what to read to your child please visit DollysLibraryFL.com today!
