Curious George: Plumber's Helper

A unique resource to introduce children to plumbing systems!

Rey, H.A. & Margaret.
Curious George: Plumber's Helper.
March 2010.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

In this household-educational tale, Curious George takes readers on an adventure through means of the plumbing in his own house! When Curious George takes a bucket full of toys to the bathtub for bathtime, it turns into more of an adventure than he ever could have imagined, as the drain slowly sucks down the non-tub-friendly toys, resulting in a blocked drain and overflow from other drains! When the plumber is called, Curious George (and readers) will learn about what caused the massive overflow of waters and how to prevent future recurrences.

This is actually a very interesting way to teach children about the importance of not putting toys in the toilet/tub! The way Curious George worked alongside the plumber will allow children to really gain an understanding of what happens and why and will hopefully keep them from exploring plumbing themselves (or peak their interest and really cause some damage)!

Learning/Reading Activities:

• There are two learning activities provided in the back of the book, allowing children to further explore plumbing and the use of tools.
• Or, I found an interesting plumbing-type game that children ages 5+ should be able to catch on to rather quickly, as they are asked to line up the piping to make sure the water doesn't flow where it shouldn't. That game can be played here!
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Curious George at the Park

Use Curious George to introduce the sense of touch!

Rey, H.A. and Margaret.
Curious George at the Park: A Touch-and-Feel Book.
March 2010.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Curious George engages readers in learning about the sense of touch, as readers team up with him for an afternoon in the park. Along the adventure, readers have the opportunity to use their hands and experience first-hand the way different objects feel in this touch-and-feel story! From soft, fluffy fur to the bumpy bark of a tree, children will delight in learning about their hands as a means of discovery!

I love this book and am so excited to know it will become a part of my preschoolers' unit on My Five Senses (in more ways than one)! It will surely captivate attention and elicit eagerness to learn and explore with hands!

Learning/Reading Activities:

• I will be creating two sets of literacy bags (20 different books in each set) for my students to take home as "homework" for the week. One of the books I will be featuring will be Curious George at the Park. Along with the story, I will be sending home the worksheet that can be downloaded here, as an activity for families to participate in. The worksheet asks families to explore five objects with their hands and to then describe the object using words. Check it out! This is a great way to encourage whole-family involvement, while at the same time instilling the importance of literature in children's language development!
• Create a sensory activity for your child(ren)! Using lunch-size brown bags, collect a variety of items to place inside (for example: a scrap of fleece material, grass, sand, rocks, play-doh, gummiworms, etc). Have your child place his/her hand inside the bag (without peeking) and guess what is found inside. Create a list of all the guesses for each bag. After having your child(ren) guess, reveal the contents! You can also use this as an opportunity to explore graphing (if completing the activity with several children), by graphing the object from each bag that had the most guesses and then comparing the different categories!
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Curious Baby: My First Words at the Zoo

A perfect gift to introduce a new baby to books and reading!

Rey, Margaret and H.A.
Curious Baby Curious George: My First Words at the Zoo.
February 2010.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

If you're looking to start reading to your little one or even just want to increase theme-related vocabulary, this is the book for you (and your L.O.). It's not a story, per say, but rather zoo illustrations in which all of the animals are properly labeled and clearly depicted!

I would say this durable board book, coupled with the sweet little "Curious Little Monkey" tee is well worth the $10.19!

If you're looking for more of these same style books, I would suggest checking out:

• Curious Baby Counting
• Curious Baby Music Play
• Curious Baby: My Curious World
• Curious Baby: My Curious Dreamer Gift Set
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!