Book of the week - Clap your hands and this week's 5-a-day

All our books are from this week's bear theme.
Book of the week

Clap your hands (an action book)

A board book with photographs of teddies doing the actions to "If you're happy and you know it".  Luath has really started to enjoy these action books/songs.  This was one of the books given to Luath by a cousin, I wouldn't have bought it as we already have "If you're happy and you know it" by Jan Ormerod,  but I am glad we have it as it has given us so much fun this week.  We usually also sing "Teddy bear, teddy bear" once we have sang this book a few times.

5-a-day books
(I started doing this after reading this post from almost a year ago on the Imagination Tree blog about selecting five books to read everyday for a week and why it is important),  I am finding it difficult to fit the Gaelic books we have or the ones in the library into our theme.  We did have one this week that has a bear in the story but it was too difficult for me to read much of it.  We did look at it and I read or made up in Gaelic what I could.

We are going on a bear hunt

Our version is a  small picture book.  The words to the story are not how I know it but it still follows the same theme of coming to a different obstacle and having to go through it with the appropriate sounds.  As the text is repetitive Luath was able to join in.  She liked the noise pages - they are in colour, the "we are goinng on a bear hunt" words are on black and white pages.

Goldilocks and the three bears (touch and feel)

This was another passed on book.  I like the touch and feel aspect but I don't really like the way the story is told, however as it was bear week and we enjoy porridge I had to read this one.  Luath enjoys the touching part of each page.  We read and acted out the story wth some bears and her (bald) doll.

Princess Aasta

One of the library books that prompted our bear week.  A picture book with different style drawings and also text that changes font, size and line position.  Luath will sit and listen/look at this book even when she is going through her, "close each book after two pages" spells.  Princess Aasta is lonely so she writes to a paper looking for a bear friend, she chooses Kvitebjorn.  They become friends even though the king is wary of having "an Ursus maritimus" around.  Kvitebjorn takes Princess Aasta to see the Northern lights.  (Norwegian author/illustrator if you are curious)
This is the Bear

A favourite in our household.  Simple rhyming text, an easy reader style book with only a few words per page.  The sentences start with "this is the bear..."  A tale of a bear who falls (or was he pushed ) into a bin and ends up at the dump.. The boy and his dog go to the dump to search for him. The ending is great. The pictures have a little extra text of what is being thought of by the dog or bear or people - "I must be mad" says the man driving them all home.  This book makes me laugh.  We have just discovered there are more books in the series so will be on the look out for them.

Apple, Pear, Orange, Bear

Another library pick.  This book uses the four title words in a different order and with commas in different places.  You could say it tells a story or you could say it is just nonsense.  The drawings are simple but convey what the words say.  I wasn't sure the first time I read it but the book has grown on me.  Luath listens to it well; it is short, repetitive and simple with clear pictures, just what suits her at times.

We read these and other bear books plenty times each day, this week was more like ten a day (and all Luath's other favourites!)