"Hush, Little Baby" by Marla Frazee

This book brings you into the folk song's origins of the Appalachian mountain area in West Virginia.

There is just something so captivating about this book! We've had it checked out from the library for two months and our daughter still wants it read and sung to her. She loves looking at the details in the illustration and screaming like the baby, blowing out the candle, signing "broke" for the looking glass, or signing "happy" for the baby and the end of the book. She likes looking at books with babies and puppies and this book has both. The peddler has a mandolin which is a nice connection with her dad. I had never thought about what storyline the folk song might have. In this rendition, an older sister is jealous of her younger baby and wakes the baby and then asks her Papa to buy her items from a peddler to make the baby stop crying. Each item seems to make the baby cry harder but finally when the new day is dawning the "horse and cart fall down" and the baby is the "sweetest little baby in town." This is a perfect before bedtime, or before nap time, book. I hope you take some time to check out this folk song book.

Other activities to pair with the book:
--Sing other lullabies.
--Listen to mandolin music.
--Play house and pretend there is a baby that won't sleep.
--Talk about the emotions in the book like jealousy, anger, tired, exhausted, frustrated, peaceful, happy...

Other books by this illustrator that we have read over and over again and really enjoyed:
"All The World" By Elizabeth Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Marla Frazee. This book was awarded a Caldecott Honor.

Comments

Point with your Finger

Mo Willems' Books and Tips to Grow a Reader "No! Point with your finger!" Our daughter has been shouting at us these words as we read her books. I think it helps her stay focused and it is a way in which she is learning to read more words. Tracking the words as we read helps to connect the fact that what we are reading is what is on the page. An article from Learning Without Tears says: "And be sure to use your finger to point to letters and words, which helps kids connect print and speech." Lastly, pointing to the words as we read to our children shows them the pathway words take on the page; left to right and up to down. As I told someone this weekend when they asked if she could read, "Yes, she is quite the reader." So what am I doing to help her grow her reading skills and what books are we reading? Continue reading below to see some ideas we are doing to get her thinking about words. As far as what books we focus on, we read all sort of books an...

Interactive Books

Interactive Books: 9 Subcategories of Interactive Books Over Spring Break I was reading an interactive book, Bunny Slopes , to my daughter with my daughter on her Grandma's lap. We got a couple of pages in and she looks over to her Grandma and says "I love this book, this is my favorite, do you love this book?" So what is an interactive book? An interactive book draws readers in and asks them to participate with the story in some way. When books are fun and playful, it strengthens their love for reading which in turn makes learning to read easier for them. Print Motivation is one of the six early literacy skills that have been identified that children must know before they learn to read. In order to promote print motivation one must enjoy books. Interactive books can also: promote independence, hand-eye coordination, understanding that reading is from left to right, fine-motor practice, sensory outlets and other skills like 'good readers make predictions' (wha...

Camping Books

Camping Books We bring books along with us camping. They are not always nature or camping themed, but we have found some camping themed favorites that we would like to share with you. These four books have camping specific vocabulary and show four thoughts about camping: 1.) camping brings along the unexpected 2.) when camping we are immersed in God's creation 3.) when camping we can find silence and a break from our daily life 4.) when camping we can dream and create magical moments in our lives. 1. A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee by Chris Van Dusen. Published by Chronicle Books LLC, 2003. Ages 3-7. Camping thought #1 brought out by this book: Camping shows us to expect the unexpected and trust God that He will bring us home in the end. This is the second book in the Mr. Magee series. If you haven't already, you should differently check out this book and his other books. Our daughter has had me read her this book, and the Down to Sea with Mr. Magee book, o...

DragonFly's Book Suggestions

Search This Blog