Celebrate National Children's Picture Book Day April 2nd

Fun facts and a list of books to get you started

Did you know that if you read to your preschooler five times a day, they’ll hear close to 1.5 million words by the time they’re five years old?

Ohio State University says so.

Here’s what they’ll gain from all those reading sessions:

·    To value books and stories
·    A stronger imagination
·    Greater curiosity
·    More ability to focus and concentrate
·    Social and communication skills

Source: https://raisingchildren.net.au

Who would have thought stories could make children stronger in so many ways?

How National Children’s Picture Book Day Got Started

Jenna Lepman, a German journalist and author, founded Switzerland’s International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) in 1953. They came together to encourage children to fall in love with the written word.

In 1967, the rest of the world got involved in the celebration.

Each year IBBY chooses one country to host. That country chooses a theme and hires an illustrator to create a poster. They also have reading, writing, and drawing competitions – with some pretty cool prizes!

Why did they choose April 2^nd? It’s Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday. Chances are you’ve read one or more of his stories or seen one adapted into a movie! Here are a few:

·         The Little Mermaid
·         The Ugly Duckling
·         Thumbelina
·         The Emperor’s New Clothes
·         The Princess and the Pea
·         The Snow Queen (Disney’s Frozen)

A Brief History of Children’s Picture Books

Jan Komensky published the first picture book for children under 6, Visible World in Pictures, in 1658.

John Newberry published the first Children’s Picture Storybook in 1744, titled A Little Pretty Pocket-Book.

By the 1830s, children’s picture books were selling like crazy. One of the classics from this era is Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

In 1922 the American Library Association awarded the first Newberry Medal to The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon.

Is Writing a Children’s Picture Book Easy?

The best children’s picture books come with more than engaging stories and captivating artwork. They have timeless life lessons embedded in them as well.

If you’ve ever wondered whether writing a children’s book is easy, here are a few things the author must do:

·        Choose the book’s genre
·         Research to make the story work
·         Develop and choose the characters
·         Build the setting for the story
·         Decide how the artwork will look, and choose an artist
·         Edit the book down to the absolute essentials

Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon, said, “I finish the rough draft in 20 minutes and then I spend two years polishing.” Some say she polished as many as 23 books at a time!

Now that you see the work that can go into a children’s picture book, let’s look at ten of the most popular picture books of all time. 

Where the Wild Things Are

Mischievous Max feels misunderstood at school and home. So, he goes to the land of Wild Things, where majestic—and sometimes fierce—creatures roam. Soon they allow Max to become their leader. He promises them a kingdom where everyone will be happy. But as fun as this new life is, he realizes something is missing.

Get your copy here. 

Goodnight Moon

In a great green room, a little bunny is tucked in bed. He also says good night to everything familiar: three bears sitting in chairs, the clocks and the socks, and the mittens and the kittens. Goodnight room, goodnight moon. This book has helped children everywhere fall asleep peacefully since 1947.

Get your copy here. 

Green Eggs and Ham

"Do you like green eggs and ham," asks the main character Sam-I-am. He's very convinced green eggs and ham are something you can enjoy in many places with a variety of friends. Follow the rhyme as the list gets longer and longer.

Get your copy here.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

How would you feel if food fell like rain? It might be marvelous! But then again, it might not. See what happens when people fill their plates and their stomachs with food from the heavens.

Get your copy here.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Follow a tiny green caterpillar as he eats his way through the book. Soon he transforms into something totally different.  Author and Artist Eric Carle wanted this book to be a literary cocoon for children getting ready for kindergarten. And it has - since 1969.

Get your copy here.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Help your child learn to associate color to different animals in this easy-to-read book from Bill Martin, Jr., and Eric Carle. Encourage them to read along and soon they'll read it to you!

Get your copy here. 

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Animated alphabet letters climb a coconut tree in this crazy story! The rollicking rhyme and bold, cheerful art will have your child wanting to read this book again and again.

Get your copy here. 

Corduroy

Corduroy sits on the department store shelf, wondering when someone will buy him. Then one day a girl named Lisa comes into the store. Will she be able to take him home?

Get your copy here. 

Are You My Mother?

A young bird hatches while his mother is away, looking for food. He goes looking for her, asking everyone and everything he meets, "Are you my mother?" How many will he ask before he finds her?

The Little Engine That Could

A small train filled with toys breaks down before it reaches the children. She asks several bigger trains to help, but they all say offer reasons why they can’t. What will she do? Can she make it over the mountain alone?

Get your copy here.

Look at our other books right here.

Fun fact: April is National Decorating Month. Why not brighten up your room with a new bookshelf? See our selection here. 

Spring Crafts - Painted Cherry Tree

The Winter season is finally coming to a close and the trees and flowers are beginning to bloom. Join us in welcoming Spring with this adorable Painted Cherry Tree craft. 

You will need: 

Construction Paper (Pink, Brown)
Scissors
Glue or Tape
Paint (Pink, White, Tan)
Markers
Aluminum Foil

Instructions:

1.Start by having your students trace their hand and forearm onto their construction paper with a washable marker. 

2. Have students practice their cutting skills by cutting the hand and forearm that they traced out. 

3. Using a different color construction paper as a base, glue or tape the cut out onto the center of the page. The fingers will be pointing towards the top of the page. This creates the base of our tree! 

4. Next, give students a piece of aluminum foil and have them crunch it up into a lose ball. This will act as your "paint brush" and add some texture to the paint. 

5. Dab the paint colors onto the fingertips of the hand to create leaf filled branches of a colorful tree!

6. Don't forget to have students write their names so they can be sure to take their art piece home. 

This art work was shared by one of own PureFUN! customers. We would love to see what you and your students have been creating in your classroom too! 

Book Review: Goodnight Moon

The book that has lulled kids to sleep since 1947

How do you convince an energetic child to go to bed every night?

You read them a story. Or you sing them a lullaby. Whatever you choose, you want them to relax and go to sleep.

Goodnight Moon helps children go to sleep without feeling alone or vulnerable. It has no conflict, no battles to fight, and no princess to rescue. There is nothing in this story that will give a child bad dreams.

What makes this book unique? 

20 years before Goodnight Moon, children’s books were set in fantasy worlds. When Brown was a student at the Bank Street School, she began authoring stories for the “here and now.” Children naturally invest their worlds with meaning. Goodnight Moon guides children through a house like theirs and offers a ritual they can follow, no matter what their world looks like.

Brown was a successful writer long before Goodnight Moon. She was the children’s book editor at an important New York City publishing house. While there, she had a huge influence over children's literature, writing dozens of books—some under pen names so she did not overwhelm the market. This established here and now storytelling as a popular children's book genre.

Goodnight Moon’s rhythmic language came from Brown’s study of children’s semantics. She found children are more interested in how a message sounds than what it says. Over 70 years later, parents still lull their children to sleep with the gentle rhythms of Goodnight Moon.

Fun Goodnight Moon Activities for Preschoolers

A Few of My Favorite Toys

The bunny said goodnight to a roomful of things. What do your students have in their rooms? Make a list on the board. Then have them count how many items are on the list. For some sorting fun, have them say which items are alike and which are different.

Build Your Own Window 

Get some green poster board for the wall. Glue a piece of blue construction paper to it for the window. Take an empty tin can (like one that canned vegetables come in) and use it to draw a circle on white construction paper. Then you’ll have a moon to cut out and glue to the blue sky.

Now you can add whatever you want to the window scene:

· Pictures of household items or toys they can glue on

· A construction paper fireplace

· A piece of paper where students list the things they say goodnight to

Write your own Goodnight Moon Story

If your preschooler was the main character in Goodnight Moon, what would their book look like? Help them put together their own. You can create one from construction paper, glue, and cutouts of items they would have in their story. Use the text from Goodnight Moon as a guide. Make it as long or short as you want. Then staple the pages together and you have a book!

Grab a copy of Goodnight Moon if you don’t have one. We’d love to hear what your kids say goodnight to!