Science Songs

Salas, Laura Purdie (2009).  Are You Living? A Song about Living and Nonliving Things. (PreS-K)

Sung to the tune of "Are You Sleeping?", this book talks about the ways to tell if something is living.  Does it move? Grow? Eat? Have feelings?  Each verse introduces one or two ways to identify a living thing: "Is it moving? / Is it moving? / Can it fly? / Gallop by? / Living things need dinner, / Or they get much thinner, / So they need / To drink and feed."

If you read this book aloud, be sure to practice the song first--the rhythm changes in a few places to fit the syllables.  Also be prepared to discuss some of the more advanced vocabulary ("People have emotions, / Thoughts and clever notions".)  The colorful illustrations are directly tied to each verse, making this a fun book to start a science lesson for young children.

Teddy Bears

Ormondroyd, Edward (2009). Theodore: The Adventures of a Smudgy Bear (PreS)

Theodore is a smudgy, dirty, well loved teddy bear.  He's owned by Lucy, who might be careless but loves him just the way he is.  When Theodore accidentally ends up in the family's laundry basket, he takes a wild ride through the washer and dryer--and he's so clean that Lucy doesn't recognize her poor lost bear!  Theodore's messy journey home is both funny and sweet.  This is a must-read for anyone with a beloved toy.