Preschool

See How I Grow

Book cover: See How I Grow
Author(s): 
Angela Wilkes

This well-worn book has been kicked-around, chewed on and well-loved by my young children since my second oldest received it for Christmas just before the birth of his new baby sister (he was two at the time). The book is a photo-story of the author's daughter as she grows from a new baby to an active toddler. Each two-page shows a number of pictures of the baby doing whatever she does best at that given age.

My First Body Book

Book cover: My First Body Book
Author(s): 
Melanie Rice
Christopher Rice

This is a fun and very kid-friendly introduction to the body and its various functions and capabilities. It begins with a set of transparent overlays which portray the skeleton (skeletal system), the heart, lungs and blood (cardiovascular system), and the brain and nerves and digestive system. When I first got this book (back in the days when I was a DK representative for a short time) I worried that this book wouldn't hold up very well. After more than three years of use by little hands, I have to admit it's done quite well.

Catholic Math Activities

Book cover: 'Catholic Math Activities'
Author(s): 
Mary Ann Grobbel

If you're looking for a way to liven up your math program or to bring in some painless math review you have to pick up this book. Catholic Math Activities provides dozens of math games that children actually enjoy playing and almost all of them only require dice and simple home-made material. The author makes use of children's interests by revolving the games around things such as baseball cards and animals. What really pleased me about this program is the clever way our Catholic faith was brought into these games.

The Big Dipper

Book cover: The Big Dipper
Author(s): 
Franklyn M. Branley
Illustrator(s): 
Molly Coxe

A very simple science book for children with cartoon-like pictures (nice cartoon, not cheezy-cartoon) that introduces some basic concepts about the stars. The very simple story line discusses looking at the night sky, that you see different stars in the summer and winter, where the big dipper got it's name, the names of the stars that make up the big dipper, how people can find direction from the North Star and the traditional constellation Ursa Major that the Big Dipper belongs to.

Catholic Children's Treasure Box Books 1-6, story of St. Therese

A multi-part story of St. Therese's life is told in these six books with lovely colorful illustrations. This version would be especially appealing to three to six year old children. The story includes quite a few interesting details focusing on Therese's acts of sacrifices and offerings to God of everything she did - both those things that were hard for her to do (such as giving some flowers that she had just picked to her grandmother to use at the altar) to those things that she enjoyed doing. Also included are instructions for making the St.

Little Saints

Book cover: 'Little Saints: A Catholic Preschool Program with Classical Disciplines'
Author(s): 
Cynthia Blum

I'm just thrilled with it the Little Saints program on my first overview. The subtitle of the book is "A Catholic Preschool Program with Classical Disciplines", and it is just what I wanted last year! I'm going to try it with my soon-to-be-3 year old and my Kindergartner this year.

Anno's Counting Book

Book cover: Anno's Counting Book
Author(s): 
Mitsumasa Anno

This is a charming Counting Book with a colorful two page spread for each number from zero through twelve. The pictures show the beginnings of a town. For zero, you see a snowy field with a river running through it. The next page has one house built, one snowman, one person skiing, one pine tree, one crow, one dog, etc. Each month another building is added as more people come to the town. Young children, who often enjoy small details in pictures, can find how many things on each page can be counted up to the same number.

How a Seed Grows

Book cover: How a Seed Grows
Author(s): 
Helene J. Jordan
Illustrator(s): 
Loretta Krupinski

A very simple, charming book that explains to young children what seeds are and takes them through the development of some bean seeds. The growth present each day is illustrated in the book and the child is invited to try grow the beans themselves and watch the progress in real life. The book also introduces children to different kinds of seeds (for trees, flowers, vegetables, etc.), and how each seed will grow into the same kind of plant that it came from, and the basic things necessary to make a plant grow.

What Lives in a Shell?

Book cover: What Lives in a Shell?
Author(s): 
Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Illustrator(s): 
Helen K. Davie

This beautifully illustrated book, designed for preschool and kindergarten, explains different kinds of shells and the creatures that inhabit them. The shells are compared to the shelter occupied by people and by other animals. We learn that some shells do grow larger along with certain animals while other animals must shed their out-grown shell in favor of a new one. Many shells are beautifully depicted and identified and the story-format of the text is very easy and interesting for young children to follow.

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