A Few of Our Favourite Books

At our little yellow school, we love books!  Our daily story times are something we all look forward to.  From picture books to chapter books, it is never too early to begin reading to a child.  Maria Montessori believed that the sensitive period for language development is between birth and age 6.

At our Montessori school, reading aloud is always encouraged, whether it is by an adult or a fellow student.

Reading with a friend.

Here are a few of our favourite books.  These are the books we must have multiple copies of as we simply cannot survive without them.

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Our #1 favourite!  We often read this at the beginning of the school year when children are having difficulty separating from their parents.  Three owl babies are left alone while their mommy goes looking for food.  The older two are quite stoic, while little Bill says "I want my mommy."  After a few pages, the children know what Bill will say and often join in as the story is read.  Mommy owl does come back.  This helps to reassure our little ones that mommies always come back.  

Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

This is a beloved classic that the children could hear every single day.

It is the story of Max, a little boy in a wolf costume.  Max misbehaves and is sent to his room.  His room transforms into a forest and Max sails in a boat to where the wild things are.  Oh how we love to join the wild things as "they roared their terrible roars, and gnashed their terrible teeth, and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws".  Max is able to tame them by staring into their eyes without blinking once.  The wild things make Max their leader and the wild rumpus starts!  After a while Max wants to be where someone loves him best of all, back in his room and his house.  It is a great story about taming our own monsters and the power of unconditional love. 

The Bad Seed and The Good Egg by Jory John

Our students could hear these stories every week.  They are very funny books that make us laugh!

The Bad Seed is about a bad seed.  A baaaaad seed.  He seems to relish in his badness.  During the story we find out what happened to him in his life to make him that way.  As the story progresses, the bad seed decides to change his ways and become a good seed.  Well, mostly good.  The children can relate to and empathize with the bad seed.

The Bad Seed

The Good Egg is about a good egg.  A verrrrry good egg indeed.  Unfortunately, he is stuck in a carton with 11 bad eggs.  The good egg tries to keep the peace between the bad eggs in his dozen.  It becomes too much for him and he eventually cracks up.  He goes on a voyage of self-discovery and returns to his carton.  Upon his return, the other eggs in his dozen are happy to see him.  In the end, the good egg finds the balance between being good to his fellow eggs while being good to himself.

The Good Egg

The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield (Canadian astronaut)

The Darkest Dark

Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut.  This book is based on Chris's childhood and encourages children to dream the impossible dream.  As a child, Chris loved rocket ships and outer space.  Unfortunately, he was afraid of the dark.  When he watches the first moon landing on television, he realizes that space is the darkest dark there is.  Instead of being afraid, he discovers that space is exciting when you have your dreams to keep you company.  This book has beautiful illustrations and is very simply told.

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

The Paper Bag Princess

This book reverses the stereotype that a princess needs to be rescued by a prince to live happily ever after.  Princess Elizabeth is to marry Prince Ronald.  A dragon comes along and destroys their castle, clothing, everything.  Princess Elizabeth must wear a paper bag.  The dragon also kidnaps Prince Ronald.  Princess Elizabeth outwits the dragon and rescues Prince Ronald.  He is ungrateful and asks her to come back when she looks like a real princess.  In the end, Princess Elizabeth rejects Prince Ronald and dances into the sunset.  Girls and boys can't get enough of strong, brave Princess Elizabeth.

Click, Clack, Moo  Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

Click, Clack, Moo  Cows That Type

Farmer Brown's cows find an old typewriter in the barn.  They type letters to Farmer Brown demanding various items.  "Dear Farmer Brown, The barn is very cold at night.  We'd like some electric blankets.  Sincerely, The Cows"  When they do not receive the electric blankets, they go on strike and there is no milk.  Then the hens want electric blankets or else no eggs.  All Farmer Brown hears all day is "Click, clack, moo.  Click, clack, moo.  Clickety, clack, moo."  Once the children realize the pattern, they join in.

This is just a sampling of our favourites.  There are so many others including Whistle for Willie, Peter's Chair and The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, Chester by Melanie Watt and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.