Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star ~ Books You Can Sing & KID KANDY

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
By Jane Cabrera
(Holiday House, 2012)

We are all familiar with the song called "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

Jane Cabrera takes the song a few steps higher in her sparkly book. In Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Cabrera used twinkle, flicker, glisten, shimmer, and sparkle in a variety of worldwide habitats to show places that the little star shines. Bright colors were used to illustrate people and animals that gaze up and wonder about the star.

Young readers will love the familiar melody and twinkling star found in Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

KID KANDY:

Make a Sparkly Star

1. July 4th is almost here. Stars are seen everywhere when America celebrates her birthday. This is a perfect time to help little ones learn the star shape. Search and find stars any time you are out in the community.

2. Teach older children to draw stars. Help younger ones make stars. Practice on paper.

3. Draw large stars on cardboard. Adults only: Cut out the stars with a craft knife. Punch a hole in one point.

4. Put the stars on wax paper. Let your child paint the star with white school glue. Provide a shaker container of glitter and let your child cover the wet glue with glitter.

5. Let the glitter dry. Shake off the excess glitter and return it to the shaker for a future project.

6. Add a hanging loop of yarn or string.

7. Let your child find a spot to hang the glistening star.

Now you have to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" again!

Shapes, Shapes, Shapes - Non-Fiction Picture Book

Shapes, Shapes, Shapes
By Tana Hoban
(A Mulberry Paperback Book, Greenwillow Books, 1986)

Shapes, Shapes, Shapes is a wonderful nonfiction book about shapes.

In her book Shapes, Shapes, Shapes, Tana Hoban showcases photographs of everyday life and objects. Big city items becomes simple shapes behind her focused camera lens. Nothing is more challenging and appropriate than hooking what we want children to learn to real-life examples.

KID KANDY:

Make your own book about shapes. Enlist your child to be the content producer and locate items in your home, neighborhood, or community that showcase circles, squares, diamonds, triangles, rectangles, and ovals. Take photos of the "scenes" chosen by your producer child.

Print out the photos. Use double stick tape and attach them to cardstock. Ask your producer to decorate the cover page with the book title (his or her choice) and brightly colored shapes. Staple the left edge to make your own book. Read and have fun identifying the shapes.

Or make a computer slide show or Power Point show with the photos. Help your child producer arrange the slides in the desired order. Label them, add music, or program the show with special computer effects. Enjoy the show!

Angie Quantrell loves books that incorporate photographs. In one of the books she has written, I Can Be More Like Jesus, Angie took photographs for the illustrations. Her graphic artist, Clay Allison, used a watercolor program on the photos to create a special look. Angie loved the process of helping with book illustrating.

I Can Be More Like Jesus is available through Woman's Missionary Union in the preschooler resources tab. Go to http://www.wmustore.com.