Next week I'm sending treats with my daughter to daycare for her birthday, and going in at story time. I would like to do a special guest reading of a really fun book to the class while I'm there, since they don't allow an actual party(we're having that another day).
Can anyone recommend an entertaining book for reading out loud to 4 year olds? Boys and girls. It doesn't have to be about birthdays (but it can), just something that groups of kids really like. I like to act out the voices of characters and have conflict and drama to rile up the laughs...She's already heard all our favorites here!
Actually, now that I think about it, a game may work, so if anyone knows a fun game, I would be interested in that as well. But I'm mostly thinking fun story book that I could leave behind for the daycare to keep...but I'm open, help!
Thank you!
Thank you so much everyone! I had a blast previewing everything on the list you provided-now I'll see what the library has and order the rest-these all sound awesome and I hadn't heard of most of them. THANK YOU!
We love Mo Willems books for reading aloud - They are so funny. There's one titled Pigs Make Me Sneeze in which you can act out sneezing--funnier if you saw the book. This would get the kids laughing - mine do and I'm not a particularly great actress.
A.,
I would go with any of the "Froggy" books....they have lots of rhymes, great humor, and wonderful illustrations. Froggy goes to school, Froggy rides the bus, etc. There's bunch of them.
The kids will love them!
I work at a daycare and one of the kids favorite thing to do is dance to the Greg and Steve "Kids in Action CD". I have seen them on Amazon but am not sure if you can get them in the store. Basically the cd is all fun songs that encourage the children to get up and dance and you do the actions that are in the song. You could leave the cd at the daycare for the kids to keep. Have fun!
Try taking a look at "It's Raining Pigs and Noodles" by Jack Prelutsky. This isn't a story, but it is a really fun book with kids. It has all kinds of silly poems, so you could pick a few of your daughter's favorites (and yours). Have fun with it!
_"Stand Back!" said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze"_ (that's really the book title LOL) is one of our very favorites of all time. Lots of animal voices, drama, comedy, everything a 4 year old can ask for LOL :-) Here's the description from Amazon: "The last time the elephant sneezed, he blew monkeys out of the trees, stripes off the zebra, and spots off the leopard. This rollicking new edition of the favorite nonsense verse again shows the panic that follows the elephant's dreaded announcement. " Looks like it's still in print... Have fun!
My standard read-aloud as Mystery Reader in my kids' classrooms (from preschool to about 2nd grade) is The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater. It's very funny, has great illustrations and a good message about being true to yourself and not just conforming with the crowd, it's a perfect length for a read-aloud and the kids love it. It helps that virtually no one has ever seen it before! Have a great time!
I bought my son a fairy tales book of The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood etc. One time when the neighborhood kids came over to play I read them the three little pigs but I got really into it, acting it out with the kids, using the wolf voice and stuff. The kids got such a kick out of it that now when they come over they ask if I can read it and act it out with them. They laugh so hard. I’ve read that story it seems like a 100 times by now and the parents say their kids talk about it all the time =-) It’s just a classic. My son saw it on Super Why the other day and was totally into it because he knows the story by heart now. LOL
One story that both my kids loved for me to do is the Three Little Pigs (I'll huff and puff and blow your house down...). I just tell it and use different names for the pigs every time. I also make lots of noise and make it loud. Then at the end I change it up a little bit and the wolf ends up just having to have salad and vegetables to eat. They loved it and just laugh and laugh every time. Just an idea.....
Don't Do That by Tony Ross - You can Act out the characters
About a little girl who gets her finger stuck in her nose and many different people (teacher, principal, doctor etc.) try to get it out all along her little brother says I can get it out....
Don't Eat the Teacher by Nick Ward - About a shark that goes to school and loves to eat everything including .....
The kids will laugh at both of these books. You can ask them questions. Let them come up what they think is going to happen. My kids enjoyed them.
My kids love the Tacky the Penguins books, and there is one Tacky and the Winter Games which fits in with the Olympics starting this week. We've had moms come in to the class to read those dressed in silly clothes and the kids thought it was great. Another one of our favorites is Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner. Good luck!
All my kids (am those who have been at local library programs) love the old lady who swallowed a fly! "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly" by wescott or taback. It is alot of fun and the kids can get into it and repeat with you because it repeats over and over. There are other books about the old lady swallowing a chick (easter), a bat, bell, shell, pie and my daughter said they read another one in class at school that was winter theme like snow or something... but her teacher may have made it up. I've never seen that one. Dr. Suess is always fun too. Also there is a book called horray for fish by Lucy Cousins that all my kids loved at that age. We have it memorized and the kids love finding the different fish on each page of the book. Have fun!
Hope this helps:)
Our son's favorite book right now is SuperHero ABC's. You can get it at both Borders and Barnes and Noble. I can't recall the name of the author, but it's a really cute comic book rendition of the alphabet.
Our 3.5 year old almost has it memorized.
That would be my recommendation. The paperback is ~$8, hardback is ~$15
I love Chicka Chicka Boom Boom...we used to read it and play rhythm instruments.
Fun game is Voice Ball. You stand in a circle...make a shape in the air and a sound and throw it to someone. Like form a fake circly ball and yell "Wheee". (Get more creative as you go) The person catches it, imitates your shape and sound. Then she/he changes it and throws it to someone else.
A good cd to play is John Lithgow's Singing in the Bathtub. My kids took that in to school a few times.
Also, there is a wonderful song "On the Day Matthew was Born.." I forget the singer, sorry!
I did that for a group of special needs kids this summer. Had two sheets of games I wanted to do, etc. and that was all we did for over an hour. Everyone wanted to put in their name, or someone else's.
The women there said they had never seen the kids so attentive.
Words are..."On the day (Matthew) was born....on the day Matthew was born...on the day Matthew was born, the angels laughed and they blew on their horns, and they danced....they danced...they smiled and they waved their hands...on the day, on the day Matthew was born.
Red Grammar was maybe the singer???? Sorry!
Pati
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
I love reading all the Skippy John Jones books--so much fun to read aloud!!!
Dinosaur Rumpus by Tony Mitten. Both my daughter and son love it. We stomp around and make a rumpus whenever they say the words "just like a dinosaur rumpus". It's great!
I love "My Big Dog". It's about a funny cat with attitude named Merle. I also like "Dear Professor LaRue" (or something like that) but the kids might be too young for it. My daughter just recommended "Cluck, Cluck Moo". Have fun!!
I love you more than rainbows by susan krites(I think that is how you spell it). All my kids and my kids friends love it.
Officer Buckle & Gloria
or
The Happy Birthday Tree (this is an old book, not sure if still available)
