This is a really strange time we’re in. We are combing our bookshelves for interesting activities and reads, and this stack is a set of books that have helped us to feel connected, use our imaginations, or kept us giggling. We hope you have access to some of these, too@
Britta Teckentrup’s Under the Same Sky has been helping us stay connected to our friends and family, even though we may not be able to see them right now. In this book, animals who live in different places all recognize the ways in which their lives are the same.
Beekle: an Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat is one of our most favorite books in the world. In it, Beekle, a real imaginary friend, is waiting for his friend to come along. That doesn’t happen, so he sets out to find his friend in the real world. Spoiler: he finds her, and it’s a super heartwarming scene. My kids love this one because of the ways it pushes them to use their imaginations.
B.J. Novack’s The Book With No Pictures cracks my 6 year old up every time we read it, so we’ve been reading it a lot lately. The reader of the text is “tricked” into saying whatever is on the page, no matter how silly it sounds. There are real silly words, made up words, and even hilarious sounds to say. It’s a fun break from more traditional stories, and these days we’ll take any giggles we can get.
Jon J. Muth’s Zen Shorts has shared with us some lessons about making good choices, even when things are hard. In this book, there are 3 stories within the story, starting with how Michael, Karl, and Addy become friends with a giant panda named Stillwater. As he gets to know each kid, Stillwater shares a zen tale to help them learn lessons that will help them each. It’s great fun to imaging a giant panda friend, and the lessons have been useful for us as well.
The classic, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett starts with a grandfather telling his grandkids the tale of the little-known town of Chewandswallow whose weather brought the day’s meals, to the delight of the townspeople. One day the weather started over-producing, and the giantic and strangely combined food items made the town an unsafe place in which to live. By the end of the story, you’ll be looking at the world a little differently, and you may have a craving for giant pancakes.
Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s classic The Jolly Postman is super engaging for both of my kids. In it, a postman who rides a bicycle delivers mail to the many fairy tale characters who live in his town. Every other page is a real envelope to be opened by the reader, with some mail inside! My youngest loves to take the mail out of the envelopes, and my oldest is starting to appreciate some of the more subtle humor in the letters.