Read, rhyme, and romp : early literacy skills and activities for librarians, teachers, and parents

Designed to promote literacy in young children and to empower parents, educators, and librarians, this guide is filled with simple strategies, creative activities, and detailed instructions that help make reading fun.

Encouraging a love of reading in young children can be a source of both great frustration and immense joy. This handy resource provides essential tips, techniques, and strategies for making early literacy development fun and inspiring a lifelong love of reading.

Read, Rhyme, and Romp: Early Literacy Skills and Activities for Librarians, Teachers, and Parents explores the six basic pre-literacy skills that experts agree are necessary for a young child to be ready to learn to read. Special sections within each chapter are dedicated to the specific needs of preschool teachers, parents, and librarians, making the content relevant to different settings. Recommended book lists, personal anecdotes, and literacy-rich activities combine to create an effective and accessible plan for implementing an early literacy program.

• Acknowledgments p. xi
• Introduction: From Pickled Peaches to the Moon: The Lifelong Power of Reading, Rhyming, and Romping p. 1
• Bibliography p. 8
• 1 "I Found Just What I Wanted!": Begin with Books p. 11
• What Can You Do?: At the Preschool p. 14
• What Can You Do?: At the Library p. 16
• What Can You Do?: At Home p. 18
• Heather Recommends: 12 Interactive Picture Books p. 22
• Bibliography p. 23
• Webliography p. 27
• 2 Wow! Words!: Learning Language p. 29
• What Can You Do?: At the Preschool p. 32
• What Can You Do?: At the Library p. 33
• Heather Recommends: 17 Books with Unusual Words for Library Story Time p. 34
• What Can You Do?: At Home p. 37
• Heather Recommends: 16 Books with Unusual Words for Story Time at Home p. 38
• Heather Recommends: 19 Books for Picture Book Conversation (Dialogic Reading) p. 41
• Heather Recommends: 13 Books about Feelings p. 42
• Heather Recommends: A Dozen Poetry Books for the Young p. 44
• More Word Games and Activities p. 46
• Bibliography p. 48
• Webliography p. 53
• Discography p. 53
• 3 Print Has Purpose p. 55
• What Can You Do?: At the Preschool p. 57
• What Can You Do?: At the Library p. 58
• What Can You Do?: At Home p. 58
• Heather Recommends: Nine Books to Help Write a Book p. 60
• Bibliography p. 64
• 4 Boobooshots and Other Stories of Stories p. 67
• What Can You Do?: At the Preschool p. 68
• What Can You Do?: At the Library p. 70
• What Can You Do?: At Home p. 70
• In the Classroom or at the Library: Felt Board Stories p. 74
• The Art of Storytelling p. 75
• Heather Recommends: More Than 14 Folktales That Are Easy to Learn p. 76
• Bibliography p. 80
• Discography p. 82
• 5 Sing a Song, Rhyme a Rhyme p. 83
• What Can You Do?: At the Preschool p. 86
• Heather Recommends: 10 Games to Teach Phonological Awareness p. 86
• Heather Recommends: 13 Rhyming Books to Read Aloud in the Preschool p. 90
• What Can You Do?: At the Library p. 91
• Heather Recommends: 18 Rhyming and Rhythm Books for Story Time Success p. 94
• What Can You Do?: At Home p. 95
• Heather Recommends: 16 Books for Rhyming Fun at Home p. 97
• Bibliography p. 100
• Webliography p. 103
• 6 B Is Buh and Other Alphabet Discoveries p. 105
• What Can You Do?: At the Preschool, at the Library, and at Home p. 106
• Heather Recommends: 10 Simple Alphabet Books for Baby p. 106
• Heather Recommends: Seven Alphabet Books for Toddlers p. 107
• Heather Recommends: Nine Alphabet Books for Preschool p. 108
• A Literacy-Rich Day: 26 Ways to Celebrate the Alphabet p. 109
• Still More Fun with Letters p. 115
• More Books to Celebrate Letters p. 117
• Heather Recommends: 52 Books to Celebrate the 26 Letters p. 117
• Bibliography p. 121
• Webliography p. 124
• 7 It's Story Time! p. 125
• The Welcome p. 126
• The Opening p. 127
• Heather Recommends: Five Books of Story Time Rhymes p. 128
• The Story Song p. 131
• Reading Aloud p. 133
• Movement Rhymes p. 134
• Heather Recommends: Nine Books of Action Songs and Rhymes p. 135
• In-Betweens p. 139
• Continuing on p. 139
• Tickles and Lap Bounces p. 139
• Last Story p. 139
• Closing Song or Rhyme p. 140
• Baby Story Time p. 141
• Heather Recommends: 44 Stories Just Right for Babies p. 142
• Early Literacy Tips p. 144
• Using Props p. 146
• Book Selection p. 147
• Heather Recommends: 20 Stories of Creativity and Imagination p. 147
• Heather Recommends: 14 Stories of Growing Up p. 149
• Heather Recommends: 30 Stories That Make You Feel Good or Create a Mood p. 150
• Heather Recommends: 25 Stories with Surprises p. 152
• Heather Recommends: 18 Stories to Make Children (and Their Care Providers) Laugh p. 154
• Heather Recommends: 28 Stories That Invite Participation p. 155
• Heather Recommends: 17 Stories That Play with Words p. 157
• Heather Recommends: 21 Stories of All the World p. 159
• Bibliography p. 170
• Webliography p. 178
• 8 What's So Important about Reading Aloud: What the Research Tells Us p. 179
• The Importance of Reading Aloud p. 180
• The Development of Learning to Read p. 181
• Books in the Home p. 183
• Language Development p. 185
• Kindergarten Readiness p. 187
• Screen Time p. 188
• Bibliography p. 191
• Webliography p. 192
• 9 Read More, Learn More: Print Resources, Websites, and Early Literacy Programs p. 193
• Heather Recommends: 20 Print Resources about Early Literacy, Brain Development, and the Importance of Reading Aloud p. 193
• Early Literacy Programs: 18 Places to Explore on the Web p. 202
• 10 A Parent, Two Teachers, and a Librarian: Thoughts about Early Literacy p. 211
• Bibliography p. 218
• Index p. 221