One of the many joys of having multiple children is the opportunity to read books over and over. Wild About Books is one of those delightful reads that never grows old.
My oldest boy – now 15 – received this book from my parents when he was 3 years old. If I had to estimate, I’d say I have read this book hundreds of times. The humor in this book is perfect for the young and old. It’s just a delight!
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➡ Looking for more children’s books with activity ideas? I have tons! Browse through this category: Children’s Books with Learning Ideas.
You’ll find a variety of books for various ages and stages.
Wild About Books
Book: Wild About Books
Author: Judy Sierra
Illustrator: Marc Brown
Wild About Books is an adventure about Molly McGrew, the Springfield librarian, who mistakenly drives her bookmobile into the zoo. Molly sets up all of the animals with books they are sure to love!
This book is written in a rhyming, sing-songy style that never gets old.
Forsaking their niches, their nests and their nooks,
They went wild, simply wild, about wonderful books,
Choosing thin books and fat books and Cat in the Hat books
And new books and true books and heaps of how-to books.
Learning Ideas for Wild About Books
Wild About Books lends itself to many different types of learning ideas. Here are just a few to get you started!
➡ Multiple animals are mentioned in this book – lemurs, a lynx, zebras, giraffes, geckos, pandas, and more. Help your child learn about any animals that are unfamiliar.
➡ Have your child find every type of animal listed in the book. Then put them in groups. Groups can include carnivores or herbivores or omnivores, animals with hooves, animals with beaks, vertebrates or invertebrates, cold or warm blooded, animals that hibernate or animals that migrate, or group according to genus.
➡ Research a few of the animals mentioned using an animal encyclopedia. Record the animal’s name, scientific name, classification, diet, habitat, and any interesting facts.
I’m not a huge fan of DK history books (the pages are too busy!), but we have greatly enjoyed our DK Encyclopedia of Animals through the years and refer to it often.
➡ Choose 2-3 animals from the book and determine its scientific name based on its genus and species.
➡ One line from the book reads ‘Forsaking their niches, their nests, and their nooks’. Discuss the natural habitats of various animals mentioned. This might be a good time to introduce biomes if your child is unfamiliar.
➡ Do you recognize any of the books or authors mentioned? If so, what books have you read by the same author?
➡ ‘At the new insect zoo, bugs were scribbling haiku.’ What is haiku? Use the examples given in the book to understand haiku, and then make up a few of your own!
➡ At the end of the book, Molly builds a branch library. You and your child can discuss what would be the first books you would put in the new zoo library! Make a list and teach your child about how a book should accurately be written – capital letters for words in the title and underlined.
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