March Books on the Move

I've been waiting for March as the perfect time to highlight some of  E's vehicle books!  Here in New England, we can count on March to bring us at least a few good thawing out days.  That is before Mother Nature reminds us that it's never really safe to assume it is spring in New England, until sometime in April.  Regardless, those early sunny days are perfect for getting back outside and into some dirt and mud to play with your trucks! After an entire winter longing to spend the afternoons outside, E is loving every moment of his outdoors time over the past few days.  Since he has been big time loving on his trucks lately, and is bound to become even more enamored in the coming weeks, it is a perfect time to focus on all things vehicular in his reading as well!

Who am I kidding, we play with trucks outside no matter the weather!

Here are a few highlights of what we are reading this month: 

#shelfie

#bookstack

"Digger, Dozer, Dumper" by Hope Vestergaard:

I can already tell that this book is going to be a favorite of E for a long time! A nice rhyming verse with an explanation of each vehicles purpose is accompanied by adorable illustrations of  each vehicle going about it's job.  There are quite a few different vehicles highlighted, including construction vehicles, and others you might see within your community.  E can't sit for the whole book right now, but it is so easy to pick up where we left off previously, or even just let him choose random pages with whichever vehicles appeal to him at that moment.  Not to mention it works as a resource for this momma, who has about zero knowledge of which truck is which.  Seriously, I can identify a dump truck and that's about it.  Thank goodness that I will be able to learn alongside E as we are bound to read this book over and over!

Love the humor in this book!

"B is for Bulldozer" by June Sobel:

This nice little alphabet board book highlights each letter, as they might be used to describe  the sights and sounds of a construction sight.  What I really enjoy about this book, is that rather than a string of alphabet letters with theme related words, it actually tells a complete story.  If the reader pays close attention to the illustrations, you can follow along as the children observe the construction project come along through the seasons, leading up to a fun surprise at the end!  I'm not one to spoil a surprise, but I can give a hint--the construction project ends with something that can ZOOM!  A quick read, perfect for little ones.

"E" happens to be a favorite letter in this house.

"Dig, Dig, Digging" by Margaret Mayo:

This book came highly recommended to me when I was gifted a copy at my baby shower.  It was gifted to me by a coworker, who happily reminisced about her son's love of the book.  My own son definitely enjoys it as well, and it is one that we read frequently.  The pages each feature a different truck, and carry on a predictable pattern and rhyme to describe the tasks the truck does each day.  Little ones watch the busy vehicles work hard all day, and the story finishes with a time to rest message for the trucks, and equally busy little movers.

Bulldozer...another one of the few vehicles I can identify

Side note: While I fully appreciate any gift, and especially books, I really love when people give their personal favorites, and anything a little out of the ordinary. It's so special to be able to think about the giver when enjoying the books with your child.  When the book is one that is a little out of the ordinary, it is just so much easier to connect with the gift giver than when it is the third copy of "Goodnight Moon".  So I encourage everyone to think outside the box a little next time they gift a book to a child-your personal favorite just might inspire a new fan!

"Old MacDonald had a Truck" by Steve Goetz:

This book really is so much fun.  I love that it takes a song most kiddos are familiar with, and adds a different twist to it!   Old MacDonald actually has more than just a truck in this story, he has a whole bunch of trucks.  Preschoolers will love singing along with the familiar Old MacDonald tune and enjoy the surprise at the end of each E-I-E-I-O.  Plus, Old MacDonald has a little something up his sleeve, with all the busy working trucks.  You'll have to check out the book to see what it is!

"E-I-E-I-FLOW"

"I am a Fire Truck" by Josephine Page:

This super cute fire truck shape book is great for toddlers!  E loves to "drive" this book around, and anything that gets him engaged with a book makes me happy!  It's a really quick read, with just a few pages of a sentence or two each, to explain different types of fire department vehicles.  "I am a Fire Truck" is my perfect diaper bar book--I keep it in there for something different to pull out while waiting at the doctor's office, or for E to look at while in his car seat, and it never gets old! Also available are dump truck, train, and garbage truck versions.

How cute is this?!

I really love our little collection of vehicle books, and find that they give so many opportunities for conversations outside of our reading nook. It is great to see these vehicles out and about, doing their jobs in our community, and be able to use or reading time to learn more about them!  And of course, all this truck talk carries right over into playtime as well!

Dump truck or food truck?

What about you? Do you have any favorite vehicle books?