It's Okay to Be Different

I think that everyone preschool teacher should have this book in their library. It is called It's Okay To Be Different by Todd Parr. It is a very simple, and short book but with powerful words. I first saw this book when I worked at a private special education program and I really loved it. The book portrays that is it okay to be different and have different colored hair, or wear glasses, its okay to be short, fat or thin or have a ant as a pet, have two mommies or be in a wheelchair. I love the message that it sends across. The author, Todd Parr, also illustrated the book and the pictures are very bright and bold but very simple and eye-appealing. I love the message that it sends across and is really great for children at that age since they are somewhat egocentric but also can learn that not everyone is like them and that is okay.

The other day, I was working in the toddler room. I was doing and interactive read aloud of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. The classroom also had the manipulatives that went along with it so the children really liked being able to hold different pieces of food and got to feed the caterpillar. I barely had to read the book at all because the children knew it so well and really enjoyed 'reading' all together. I would definitely recommend this book to young children. Besides the pictures being amazing and so captivating, there are many teachable themes and lessons throughout the story such as days of the week, food and metamorphosis. Eric Carle is one of my favorite children's authors.

For circle time at my preschool, I did a read-aloud of the book Olivia, written and illustrated by Ian Falconer. The children really enjoyed it. The book is about a little girl pig who goes through her routine of the day from getting up to picking up her clothes and going to her favorite places. It won a Coldecott award. The pictures are mostly black and white with some color added in but they really depict the story. You could probably even tell the story just through the pictures alone and not with the words at all. It is recommended for younger grades, such as PK or Kindergarten. It is a fun book that could be used with all children and would definitely help child with motor planning or sequencing issues that need to see routines. There are also a series of these books covering a range of topics such as Olivia Counts, Olivia Forms a Band, Olivia and the Missing Toy and Olivia Saves the Circus.