It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood! I’m off to a school visit this morning and….!
Welcome to the new feature – Perfect Picture Book Fridays! I’m so excited about this! I’m hoping it will become a really great resource for parents, teachers, homeschoolers, writers, and gift-givers 🙂 Here and on all the linked blogs, you will find highly recommended picture books along with fantastic ideas for how you can use them at home and in the classroom, often including links to classroom guides and activity pages, hopefully making life easier for parents and teachers and giving writers great examples of craft to study. The books will be archived in the Perfect Picture Books tab above, organized alphabetically by age and subject, making it easy to find an age-appropriate book on a given topic for home, classroom, or gift.
(For those of you posting your own Perfect Picture Book, please add your link to the link list at the bottom so people can come over and find your recommendations and the resources you’re offering! For details on how to post, please click here.)
Without further ado, let’s jump into our very first entry 🙂 There are so many wonderful books out there it was hard to choose, but we’ve got to start somewhere 🙂
Llama Llama Misses Mama
written and illustrated by Anna Dewdney
Viking Juvenile, March 2009, Fiction
Suitable for: Preschool – Kindergarten (ages 3-6)
Themes/Topics: first day of school, separation, missing a loved one.
Opening and brief synopsis: “Llama Llama, warm in bed. Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead! Llama school begins today! Time to learn and time to play!” Llama Llama is excited for his first day of school, but when it’s time for Mama to leave, Llama Llama doesn’t feel so sure.
Links to resources: Activity Kit, Llama Llama in the classroom, Same and Different Activity (click on “assets” then pdf)
Why I Like This Book: Llama Llama’s uncertainty and sadness over Mama leaving him at school are portrayed genuinely, and the story is told with such warmth and reassurance that children experiencing separation anxiety of their own are sure to feel comforted. School is shown to be happy, engaging place.
For more books with resources please visit Perfect Picture Books!
I’m excited for Monday, the opening day of our Thanksgiving week contest! I hope you’ve all got your stories ready to go (or will have them ready after the weekend :)) I can’t wait to read them!!!
Before we go, here’s our Farewell Fun Friday Foto. Our final theme is THANKSGIVING, so here’s mine:
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| my Thanksgiving 🙂 |
Now, whether you’re looking for something fun to read with your child, a great book to add into a lesson plan, the perfect gift for your niece, or a shining example of picture book writing craft, click on the links below for some Perfect Picture Books! I’m off to visit PK-3s! Have a great weekend 🙂
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Hope your PK-3 visit goes well, Susanna! Have added my first link and look forward to us all compiling together, a great PB list.
Have a great school visit. Love your photo and picture book. This is such a cool idea! I can't wait to read the Thanksgiving entries either. HAGW!
My 2-year-old LOVES this book! We read it at least once a week 🙂
What a cute book! I hooked by the title and cover alone. So cute!
I like your “Would You Read It” section, just added it to my blogroll.
Susanna, enjoyed your classic selection. A great book to review. Funny that many of us selected animal books on the first Perfect Picture Book Day. Have a great school visit.
Congrats on the first perfect picture book Friday! Have a great weekend Susanna!
Susanna,
Finally got my link up. This book is a favorite with my youngest and I love the simplicity of it. Have a great weekend!
Joanna, Catherine, Jess, Abby, Darshana, Pat, Coleen, and Tracy – thank you all so much for your support of the inaugural Perfect Picture Book Friday! Especially those of you who took the time to write a review in the right format including the most important part – the resources!!! I hope everyone who wrote one linked up _ I'd hate to have missed any! Have a great weekend and I;ll look forward to your Thanksgiving Contest entries next week 🙂
I'm skidding in at the last minute! Just added my link, and am so looking forward to being a part of this fantastic project.
Oops! I missed this one. It was those cute baby cheeks I saw before, that threw me..lol.
Will I be allowed to join in the next one, Susanna?
Beth – I'm SO glad to have you! 🙂
Diane – of course! Absolutely! We'd love to have you 🙂
This is a fabulous idea. Well done for taking the initiative on this one. I love that Llama and it's a great topic for kids. I shall pop along and look at the other suggestions now. Thanks 🙂
Rosalind – I'm so glad you like it! Maybe you'd like to join us next week? 🙂
Ooh, what a fun new feature. Great idea! I look forward to checking out all the “perfect picture books” people recommend in the coming months, and I hope to add to the list from time to time as well. By the way, Anna Dewdney is one of my favorite PB author/illustrators, but I didn't know about the resources you listed to go along with her book!
Kerry – I'm so glad you like the idea, and I hope you'll join in! 🙂 I love Anna D. as well – such warm and genuine stories, and such appealing art! Thanks for stopping by to check it out!
I love this idea! Hope I can join next week. Or are you having one because of Thanksgiving? I wasn't able to write a story because of both my husband and I had minor surgical procedures this week but will try harder next time. I can't wait to read the entries.
One of my favorites! It's so clever and so fun to read aloud, and so TRUE! 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!
Just a quick off-topic question: How do you pronounce your first name? Like piranha, or like banana?
Christie – like banana 🙂
Thanks! My sister's middle name is Suzanne. Now I can confidently read your name correctly.
Christie – 🙂 Thanks for joining in on Perfect Picture Books – you always do such great reviews and already have ideas for how teachers/parents can make use of books. Can you do me a favor as we go forward and list the themes/topics of the book so I can list it in Just Right Books (which remains linked back to your blog)? Because I often haven't read the books and can't guess!
Sure. The topic of Martina is finding a suitable husband. The theme is “be yourself,” I think.
Finding a suitable husband… a topic no child can get enough good stories about 🙂
This is such a wonderful idea, Susanna. If I read picture books on a regular basis, I'd definitely participate. Hope you get lots of fantastic entries and it becomes a great resource of parents, teachers and writers! 🙂
Thanks, Cally! Hey, how's your challenge coming along? Did you beat your husband? 🙂
I am so in love with this new series! I'm going to check out the links this week and will add my own next week!
Oh, I'm so glad you like it Julie! And yay! I can't wait to see what you come up with! 🙂
Clar – I hope you and your husband are OK! No worries about missing the contest – we'll be having another next month for the holidays 🙂 And yes, we will have Perfect Picture Book Friday this week, but not Would You Read It.
Janet – I know – I just love Llama Llama! He's just so cute!
I LOVE picture books that play with words in such fun ways!
Llama Llama is absolutely adorable, as are the children in your Thanksgiving photo! When my older son was about 21/2, he gave his pacifier to the Llama at a nearby farm. We told him that's what his teeth would look like if he continued to use it. Your new Friday feature is an excellent idea! Julie
What an adorable cover and title! And definitely a useful read for kids about to start their first year at school!
Peggy – I admire Anna Dewdney's ability to keep coming up with fun rhymes for llama 🙂
Julie – I'm so glad you like the idea! And how funny that your son gave his pacifier to a llama = maybe there's a story in that! 🙂
I LOVE the Llama Llama series. I haven't read this one. I'm going to have to check it out. 😀
Stina – all the Llama Llama stories are wonderful, but this one is my favorite!
Hi again, Susanna. Any chance you have a button (or are toying with the idea of creating a button) that other bloggers can put on their sites to help advertise (and remember about) Perfect Picture Book Fridays? I would love to add it to my blog if you do 🙂
Kerry – it's interesting that you mention that 🙂 I was thinking about the very same thing. I just have to figure out how to do it! 🙂
Wonderful idea! Thanks for the recommendation. I've only read one Llama, Llama book with my kids, and we only discovered it this year.