Let's Go to the Beach

Let's Go to the Beach
by Nancy Streza

Beatrice is 5 and her reading requirements are "must be easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy."  Here's another little book that met those requirements with a fun, summer spin.   Each page has one sentence (or even just a part of one) and there are colorful photographs that give cues.
On a side note- I went to the library today and checked out 5 more easy readers.  Even though borrowing a book from the library is technically free, at $.25 each day each book is late, there's a significant chance these 5 books will cost me at least $1.25 if not closer to the $18 I paid last time I went to the library.  Ebooks aren't always free (though they often can be!) but neither is the library.  Even if you return your books on time, gas at $4/gallon might make buying a kindle ebook a better choice for your beginning reader!

Ereader Tip: Change the Font Size

Did you know you can often change the font size on your Kindle Fire, Kindle App or other Kindle device?  Some children's ebooks have the text embedded in the image (and when there's no pop up formatting, it can be pretty tiny when trying to read on a phone).  But-- many books have what's called "flowing" text so that you can edit the font size.  This makes tiny words easier to read and can sometimes fix pictures not lining up with the text.


Reading on a Kindle can be lots of fun--especially when you know all the tips and tricks!

The Hungry Shark

The Hungry Shark
by Tamia Sheldon

This is what a picture book should be.  The images are vibrant and the story is educational yet funny and cute.  Amelia the shark is looking for lunch but keeps getting foiled by sea creatures.  The end features a lunch of lush seaweed (which, I don't know how realistic that is) but the kids thought it was cute.  There's a fun bonus recipe for peanut butter pasta with seaweed in the back of the book.  I don't know if I'm brave enough to try it, but it sounds good and it might get the kids eating their (sea) veggies.  Ebook and print editions.

Little Buggies

Little Buggies: A Rhyming Guessing Book For Little Ones (baby - age 5)
by Cindy Bracken

This is a cute little book.  My 5 year old was not quite ready to read all the words and quickly guessed all the answers, but Michael (2) loved all the little bugs.  It's well formatted with an illustration above the text.  No print edition but the author has a number of other ebooks.   We don't usually call bugs "buggies" so that was a bit annoying but the kids liked this one.  Currently free (6/27/12) but make sure you check the status when downloading.

Trains

Trains: Discover Series Picture Book for Children (Kindle Kids Library)

One of the things we love about ebooks is the ability to find reliable information regarding just about any given subject.  These Discover Series books provide a great introduction to a wide range of subjects for babies and toddlers.  No, there isn't any more than a one or two word description of each image, but as a mom who feels compelled to read every single word on the page, these are pretty much a godsend.  When Michael gets in a swiping mode, this little book is perfect.  Each page has a clear, easy to see image (even on our black & white kindle since everything's on a white background) and a title beneath.  I get to feel like I'm reading to him and he gets to look at a wide range of photos and add to his vocabulary.  After seeing a train go up and down while we were visiting the beach last night, this was a winner this morning.

Review: If I had a Little Boat

If I had a Little Boat by Calee M. Lee

Review:

This is a cute, yet short book that worked perfectly on our Kindle Fire. The rhyming text is one line on each page and Beatrice (5) was able to read most of the words.  Michael (2) liked swiping (what toddler doesn't?) and the images had a lot going on to keep both of their attention. I liked that the images filled the screen and that the story was pretty cute.  This author has several other kindle books available.  No print edition.