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The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone is a classic tale that teaches readers that we reap what we sow. The little red hen lives in a house with a cat, a dog, and a mouse. One day, the hen asks the other animals to help her plant some wheat, but the cat, dog, and mouse all say, "Not I!" They won’t water the wheat, cut it, or grind it up. They won't even help bake a cake with it...but they do want to eat it when it's done! But since the little red hen did the work all by herself, she enjoys the cake all by herself too. Caldecott Honor-winning artist Paul Galdone’s colorful ink and wash illustrations add humor to the characters in this beloved little story that teaches children an important moral lesson.
The House that Jack Built is a Little Golden Book Classic that tells the story of Jack, his animals, a lovely maiden, and a host of other characters through a fun and repetitive rhyme. Children will love the colorful illustrations of Jack's house and the mischievous animals that live inside it.
Mr. Pine's Purple House tells the story of Mr. Pine who lived on Vine Street in a little white house. But Mr. Pine had a problem. All of the houses on Vine Street were white, and Mr. Pine couldn't tell them apart. He tried planting a tree and a bush, but then everyone got trees and bushes. Mr. Pine decided to paint his house purple. Then he would be able to tell which house was his! Mr. Pine bought purple paint and got to work on his house. Despite a few interruptions with brushes, ladders, baseballs, cats, and dogs, Mr. Pine ends up with his own purple house and a street full of homes as unique as the people who live in them.
First published in 1941, Curious George is a classic beloved by generations. In this timeless tale, the man in the yellow hat finds George in the jungle and brings him home to the big city. George is very curious and manages to cause mischief on the boat and in the city when they finally arrive. Children will love reading about George's antics with firefighters, telephone wires, jail cells, and balloons. After his many adventures, the man in the yellow hat finds George the perfect place to live — the zoo!
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans is an enduring classic. This Caldecott Honor Winning book introduces young readers to the courageous Madeline. Madeline lives in an old house in Paris with eleven other little girls and Miss Clavel and she is not afraid of anything. Even when she must have her appendix out, Madeline finds ways to enjoy herself and show off her scar. Bemelman's melodic verse and whimsical illustrations bring the beautiful world of Madeline's Paris to life.
Charlie Needs a New Cloak by Tomie dePaola is a charming book that tells about how Charlie the shepherd makes himself a new cloak. Through the book, young readers are introduced to cloth making and learn words specific to that process like "shear," "card," "spin," "weave," and "sew." The colorful illustrations of Charlie and his helpful sheep add humor and whimsy to the simple story of a shepherd making a cloak.
Barndance! by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault tells the lyrical story of a young boy's magical night at a barn dance with the farm animals. Through the movement of the verse, children hear the stomping rhythm of traditional barn dances as they follow along with the story of the young boy dancing the night away with cows, rabbits, pigs, horses, and a violin-playing scarecrow.
Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel introduces readers to Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo, the first and most honored son of his mother. Tikki tikki tembo and his younger brother Chang sometimes disobey their mother and play by the well near the river. When Chang falls in the well one day, Tikki tikki tembo has no trouble explaining the situation to his mother. The Old Man With the Ladder is able to pull Chang out of the well, and he is soon as good as new. However, it's a different story when Tikki tikki tembo falls in the well some time later. Chang has a horribly difficult time getting his mother and the Old Man With the Ladder to understand what has happened because of his brother's great long name. Tikki tikki tembo is eventually rescued, but the Chinese people learned a valuable lesson from his story and now only give their children very short names. Children will delight in the bright and lively illustrations and the rhythmic poetry of the lines.
Noah's Ark is a retelling of the story in the Bible with simple language that is easy for young children to understand. The bright and colorful illustrations complement the narrative of Noah, his animals, and his ark.
The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola tells the story of a beautiful quilt made for a little girl named Abigail. Abigail loves the quilt, and when she and her family move to a new home, the quilt gives her comfort and warmth. After many years, Abigail put her well-loved quilt in the attic where it is loved by mice and raccoons and cats. After many years, another little girl finds the quilt and her mother patches it up. When her family moves, the quilt again becomes a warm, safe place for a young girl. The unique and colorful illustrations bring to life the story of the quilt and the girls who love it.
In November, by Cynthia Rylant is a beautiful depiction of the time of year when the air gets chilly, the trees are bare, and animals begin to snuggle together for winter. In November, people come together on a special day with delicious food to celebrate blessings and be with their family and friends. The lyric descriptions of the author and the earthy illustrations of Jill Kastner perfectly capture the cozy, memorable moments of autumn.
In The Gingerbread Boy, author and Caldecott Honor illustrator Paul Galdone retells the classic fairy tale of the runaway boy made of gingerbread. One day, an old woman bakes a gingerbread boy, but he escapes from her oven and runs down the lane shouting “Catch me if you can!” He is chased by a cow, a horse, a barn full of threshers, and a field full of mowers, but the little gingerbread boy runs faster than them all. But at last, the gingerbread boy gets caught and outsmarted by a tricky fox who gobbles him up! Galdone’s humorous ink-and-wash illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to this rollicking, rhythmic, repetitive tale.
The Little Drummer Boy is an illustrated edition of the traditional Christmas carol. The artwork of Ezra Jack Keats visually tells the story of a poor boy accompanying the procession to Bethlehem. Though he has no gift to give to the newborn king Jesus, the young boy plays for the baby on his drum as the animals keep time. The beautiful jewel-tone illustrations and rhythmic, drumming beat of the song are sure to bring the magic and joy of this beloved Christmas carol to life for young readers.
In The Friendly Beasts, a rendition of an old English Christmas carol, the friendly stable beasts tell of the gifts they have given to the newborn Jesus. Tells the story of the Nativity from the animals' point of view, with the donkey, cow, sheep, and dove telling what they offered the babe.
Home for a Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown has been a childhood classic since 1956. In this timeless tale, an adorable bunny looks for a home in the springtime. He asks robins, frogs, and groundhogs where they live, but none of their homes would be good for a bunny. When he finds another bunny who lives under a stone, the little bunny knows he is home. This simple, sweet, and playful story is beautifully illustrated by the exquisite artwork of Garth Williams.
In Jan Brett's classic children's book, The Mitten, she adapts and illustrates a popular Ukrainian folktale. One day Nicki drops one of the white mittens his Baba knitted for him. Soon, woodland animals begin to investigate the little mitten forgotten on the snow. A mole crawls into the mitten first to stay snug and warm. He is soon followed by a rabbit, a hedgehog, an owl, a badger, a fox, and a bear! The animals are warm and cozy (and a little squished) until a little meadow mouse comes along and tickles the bears. The bear's mighty sneeze sends the animals and the mitten flying! Jan Brett's unique border images inspired by Ukrainian folk art give playful clues as to what animal will fit into the mitten next.
Snow by Cynthia Rylant is a poetic narrative about the different kinds of snow, the way it looks, and how it makes you feel. The beautiful illustrations by Lauren Stringer are alternatively fun and tranquil as they bring the snowy white world to life and tell a visual story about a girl, her friend, and her grandmother experiencing the simple joys of a snow day.
In Guess How Much I Love You, the modern classic by Sam McBratney, as Little Nutbrown Hare is going to bed he tells Big Nutbrown Hare how much he loves him. But Big Nutbrown Hare loves him even more. Little Nutbrown Hare keeps trying to explain his love, but he finds out it can be hard to measure. He tries showing his love as high as he can reach, or as high as the tip of his toes, as high as he can hop, and even as high as the moon. But Big Nutbrown hare loves Little Nutbrown Hare to the moon and back! This endearing story about a big and little hare classically captures the deep bond of love between a parent and child.
The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown tells the story of a little bunny who finds an egg. The bunny begins to imagine all the different things that could be inside the egg. He tries to open the egg by jumping on it, kicking it, rolling it down a hill, and throwing acorns and small rocks at it. Eventually, the bunny gets so sleepy he curls up next to the egg and falls asleep. While he's sleeping, a little yellow duck hatches from the egg. The duckling wants to wake the bunny up so he jumps on him, throws a tiny rock, and rolls him down a hill. Finally, the bunny wakes up! The duck and the bunny become friends and never have to be alone again.
Officer Buckle and Gloria is a Caldecott medal winning picture book by Peggy Rathmann. In this delightful story, Officer Buckle gives speeches about safety tips to schools, but the children never listen. But when Officer Buckle gets a police dog named Gloria, everything changes. The kids love his safety talks with Gloria! What Officer Buckle doesn't know is that Gloria is acting out his safety tips behind him with silly antics. When Officer Buckle sees a televised version of his safety speech, he finds out about Gloria's goofing. Officer Buckle gets angry and does not want to do any more speeches. After a major mishap at a school, Gloria and the students convince Officer Buckle to go back to giving safety speeches, and a new safety tip is created: "Always stick with your buddy!"
Never Tease a Weasel by Jean Conder Soule is a funny, frolicking poem that teaches children to be nice to others — because teasing isn't nice! The silly scenes illustrated by George Booth include a moose with juice, a mule in a pool, a dove in gloves, a bug with a rug, and fox with matching socks. Through these silly suggestions, young readers learn it's best to be kind to animals because "It's more fun to please a weasel and be friends with him instead."
The Runaway Bunny, a timeless classic by Margaret Wise Brown, tells the story of a little bunny who declares to his mother he is running away. In an imaginary game of hide-and-seek, the bunny tells his mother all the places he could hide from her. Yet, each time, the mother pursues and finds her little bunny. In the end, the little bunny decides to stay where he is. Young children will find comfort in this book and its description of a mother who always finds her child.
In the beloved classic Green Eggs and Ham Dr. Seuss uses colorful characters and his iconic rhymes to tell the story of Sam-I-am as he lists all the places and ways that you can enjoy green eggs and ham. In a house or with a mouse, in a box with a fox, with a goat, or on a boat, Sam-I-am insists that this meal is a treat which can be enjoyed anywhere and everywhere by everyone. At last the friend of Sam-I-am tries the dish and he too begins to celebrate the deliciousness of green eggs and ham!
From the publisher: "Once there were two color kittens with green eyes, Brush and Hush . . .So goes the rollicking tale of two pouncy kittens who make all the colors in the world. First published more than 50 years ago, this much-requested title is now available as a Little Golden Book Classic, with its original cover!"
Corduroy by Don Freeman remains a childhood classic. This beloved book tells the story of Corduroy, a stuffed teddy bear, as he waits on a shelf for the love of a child. When a mother won't buy Corduroy for her little girl because he is missing a button from his overalls, the little bear goes on a nighttime adventure in the store to look for it. He climbs escalators and explores the furniture department looking all over for his missing button. Though he doesn't find his button, the next day Corduroy finds a friend who fixes his overalls and gives him a forever home.
One Fine Day by Nonny Hogrogian is a retelling of an Armenian folktale about a thirsty red fox that won the 1971 Caldecott Honor medal. In the story, when the fox steals milk from an old woman she chops off his tail! The fox spends the rest of his day going from place to place fetching one thing and another in order to get more milk for the old woman so she will sew his tail back on. This humorous tale about a fox and the bargains he makes features full-color illustrations that will help young readers easily follow along with the story.
In The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Paul Galdone retells the classic tale accompanied by his colorful and humorous artwork. In the story, three hungry billy goats want to cross a rushing river to the fields of lush green grass and daisies beyond. However, to get there they have to cross a wooden bridge guarded by a mean and ugly troll. As the first and second billy goats cross the bridge, they manage to outwit the troll. When the third billy goat walks across, he butts the troll right off the bridge and into the river! This silly story about goats and trolls will delight young readers with its lively, rhythmic prose and its engaging illustrations.
Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty is a Caldecott Honor book that retells the fable of "Androcles and the Lion" through the story of a young boy who goes to the local library and checks out a book about lions. He reads about lions, and his grandfather tells him a story about hunting lions. That night Andy even dreams about lions. Then, on the way to school the next day, Andy actually meets a lion! Andy helps the lion remove a thorn stuck in its paw, little knowing how his lion will one day repay him. Young readers will love this timeless tale of friendship, kindness, and (of course) lions!
Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes teaches children about differences, friendship, and acceptance. Chester and Wilson are best friends, and they like all the same things. They are together all the time! When Lilly moves into the neighborhood, Chester and Wilson don't like to play with her. She's loud and silly, always wears disguises, and does everything her own way. Eventually, Chester and Wilson learn that being different can be good when Lilly scares away some bullies! Chester and Wilson learn to appreciate Lilly's way of doing things, and the three become close friends.
The Story of Little Babaji is a retelling of Helen Bannerman's original much-beloved tale which she wrote for her daughters. Authentic Indian names have been given to the title character, his mother, and his father in this new edition, and the artwork by Fred Marcellino adds unmistakably Indian details to the story. This classic tale of a young Indian boy outwitting a group of tigers has been lovingly adapted in this handsome new edition of The Story of Little Babaji.
10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle tells the story of ten rubber ducks who are washed overboard in a storm. The ducks were made in a factory and loaded on a ship to go all over the world. But when the wind and waves wash them into the ocean, their lives become a little more exciting. As the ducks drift in different directions they meet all kinds of animals. One of the ducks meets a dolphin and another a seal. One encounters a polar bears while a whale sings to another. As the sun is setting and darkness closes in, the tenth little rubber duck alone, bobbing in the ocean when he encounters a family that looks a lot like him.
The Empty Pot by Demi teaches the importance of honesty through the story of a young boy named Ping who loved flowers. He was also very good at growing flowers! The aged Emperor also loved flowers. When the Emperor decided to choose an heir to succeed him, he called all the children in the kingdom to come to his palace and receive a flower seed. The Emperor declares that the one who shows him their best in a year will become the Emperor after him. Ping gets a seed and plants it like all the other children. No matter what he tries or how diligently he tends his seed, it simply will not grow. When spring comes, Ping is ashamed that he has to present an empty pot to the Emperor when all the other children have beautiful flowers. The exquisite art and simple prose of The Empty Pot reveal the surprising way in which Ping's failure actually becomes a magnificent triumph and illustrate the beauty and nobility of honesty.
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant is a Caldecott Honor book that tells the story of the relatives who came from Virginia. The weeks of their visit are filled with lots of hugs, snuggled sleeps, eating good food, playing outside, and generally just being together. This warm recounting of a family visit and the lively illustrations that accompany it sweetly convey the excitement, well-being, and nostalgia that come with a visit from relatives.
From the publisher:
Francis is so full of God's love that he wants to sing His praises. His glorious singing inspires birds of every color, and even the sun and moon, to join him in joyful celebration.
Tomie dePaola's simple text and vibrant illustrations bring the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi to life for even the youngest children, and reminds us how sweet it is to rejoice and give thanks for life and love.
A passel of playful peas keeps it green as they experience the colorful world around them, from red kites to yellow buses to purple mountains and more! Bright and bold illustrations fill the pages of this delightful exploration of color.
Little Green Peas is featured in the Memoria Press Junior Kindergarten Read-Aloud Set and the Simply Classical Level C Read-Aloud Set.
Literature is fundamental to a strong classical education. Our supplemental reading program will help your child develop a taste for quality literature from an early age. Children delight in listening to the rhyme and wordplay of poetry.
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OrthodoxHandmaiden –
My daughter just completed Jr. K this year and was upset because the “fun new books” she’d become accustomed to each week had stopped along with her studies. These books are carefully selected to go along with each week’s lesson in the Jr. Kindergarten curriculum and they’re delightful reads. Both my daughter and I looked forward to reading the new selection each week and since then, we’ve read them over and over again. Each book features a lovely story and very good illustrations – just the thing to begin gently introducing children to quality literature at an early age. Even if I hadn’t done the Jr. Kindergarten core with her, I’d still consider these books a very good investment.
CherryBlossomMJ –
I have written a long series of blog post reviews on the entirety of Junior Kindergarten.
link: http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/2013/04/29/memoria-press-junior-kindergarten-review-part-i/
Specifically to the read-aloud set: *The picture book set is listed as optional, but really the entirety of your literature lesson depends on it. So if you are not going to buy them you have to at least acquire the books from the library as they are needed on their one week.
My favorite part of the lesson plans is the Literature portion. Starting out in this age I figured you just read, but I wouldn’t really know what to discuss or point out besides the obvious (see the bird?). So here we have a “before you read”, “as you read”, and vocabulary section. It’s fabulous! I’m ecstatic (as a book-a-holic and book reviewer) to see my daughter understand and talk about copyright dates and notice that this author also wrote this other book we read or have on our shelves. It also is neat to me to see her really learn new words and part of stories. As a beginning to classical education, I think we are on a great start. Of course as this stage we are not really narrating and no dictation, but she is able to answer questions about the stories and make connections to other things that I never would have expected.