Teaching the Alphabet - How to Build an A

This kit that I found at Mr. Mopps Toy Store in Berkeley, CA is really clever.  As it states on it's package:

"W stands for WOW!  It's a book, It's a game.  It's a letter-building kit- and best of all, it's a great way to learn the ABC's.  Each page shows you how to build a new letter with foam shapes.  Children will love Sara Midda's tiny people hauling and heaving the pieces into place, as well as the hands-on fun of bringing each letter to life."

Sara Middda's previous books include the international best seller In and Out of the Garden and South of France.  She lives in Sussex, England.

Includes:  11 fully safety-tested foam pieces that can be used to build all of the letters of the alphabet, and accompanying book, and a mesh storage bag.  For ages 2 and up.

My review of this product-  I got this so that my son could review his alphabet letters in a fun way.  When we've spent more time with this book  and the foam letters, I will let you know how he likes them.  To me, as an educator, they seem like a really fun, engaging way to work on letters!



Resources:

How to build an A
by Sara Midda
ARTISAN
A division of Workman Publishing, Inc.
225 Varick Street
New York, NY  10014-4381
www.artisanbooks.com
ISBN 978-1-57965-378-1
$17.95 U.S.

The Little Engine That Could

Continuing down the list of classic children's books that topped our list of favorites at age 2 is The Little Engine That Could.  This is a true classic.

That said, I personally found that it was NOT what I remembered from my own childhood.  As an impressionable kid, I must have seen a cartoon version or two (or five) of the classic Engine that Could story. Those emphasized the final big climb up the mountain.

The original Watty Piper text, however, is different.  It is almost like reading a historical text, which I personally found to be a lot of fun.

1 - There is a HEAVY emphasis on all the dolls and toys (led by the somewhat creepy-looking clown) pleading with the passenger engine, the freight engine, and the beaten-up rusty engine for help.

2 - The description of the stuff that the broken-down engine was carrying is straight from the Great Depression, as one would expect from a book written during the Great Depression.

3 - The illustrations are all in a style that you could readily

At any rate, I think this is all great stuff and so does our 2-year-old (though it is more about the trains and less about the history for him).

Here's a link to the 1930's style version.
















And here's a link to an updated 50's-ish version.














Wikipedia has an entry on Watty Piper, which includes his real name (Monk).  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watty_Piper.  It also includes an interesting history of the evolution of the story over time.  The Wikipedia entry links to an article written by a historian at the University of Illinois called the "Search for Watty Piper," which is really interesting  http://tigger.uic.edu/~plotnick/littleng.htm.

--TC Daddy

Top Five Children's Books in 2010 (From Daddy's Perspective)

I mean "top five children's books in 2010" in the sense that our 2 1/2-year-old loved these books in 2010 -- NOT that these books came out in 2010.

That said, and without further ado, our 2 1/2-year-old's top five books of 2010 - at least from Daddy's perspective:

5 - Mother Goose Collection (we have somehow ended up with three of these, all of which are a bit different)

4 - The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper

3 - The New Adventures of Curious George, Margaret and H.A. Ray (though really "Vipah Interactive" illustrating "in the style of H.A. Ray)

2 - Good Night Beach, by Adam Gamble

1 - The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keets

More on each of these books in future posts.

--TC Daddy