Nonfiction November- Be the Expert

Now that I’ve discovered Nonfiction November I’m much more motivated to make a dent in my nonfiction TBR list.  This week’s theme is become the expert, and I hope to become an expert on the three books I have for you today!

Be The Expert/Ask the Expert/Become the Expert (Hosted by Julie at Julz Reads)
Three ways to join in this week! You can either share three or more books on a single topic that you have read and can recommend (be the expert), you can put the call out for good nonfiction on a specific topic that you have been dying to read (ask the expert), or you can create your own list of books on a topic that you’d like to read (become the expert).

 Play

As a former teacher and current mom to littles, I have seen first-hand how play informs a child’s life and view of the world.  Not only is play fun and a great way to unwind, kids learn so much through it!

It is so interesting that people have been researching play for years!  Who knew?  And, now, I want to know everything they have discovered.  So, for this Nonfiction November post I am choosing “Become the Expert.”

Play How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Stuart Brown

From the cover:

AS Dr. Stuart Brown illustrates, play is fun, but it is anything but trivial.  It is a basic biological drive as integral to our health as sleep or nutrition.  When we play, we are open to possibility and the sparks of new insights.  Play-defined as any kind of purposeless, all-consuming, restorative activity- is the single most significant factor in determining our success and happiness.

Why I’m interested:

I’m particularly interested in how our brains are affected by play. 

Science actually has something to say about playing.  We all have memories of favorite play experiences from when we were little, and this book tells us what effect that had on our brains and the rest of our lives.  The author has esteemed qualifications such as being a medical doctor, clinical researcher, and a psychiatrist. 

The Power of Play Learning what comes Naturally by David Elkind

From the cover:

While parents may worry that their children will be at a disadvantage if they are not engaging in constant, explicit learning or using the latest “educational” games, child-development expert David Elkind reassures us that unscheduled, imaginative play goes a long way toward preparing children for both academic and social success. 

Why I’m interested:

When I was teaching, I’d listen to students list out their after-school activities and schedules for the week.  It was shocking.  These parents really wanted their kids to be the absolute best versions of themselves, but the kids were exhausted.  Elkind’s book promises to show how play is actually a vital part of growing up.

Free to Learn Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life by Peter Gray

From the cover:

In Free to Learn, developmental psychologist Peter Gray argues that our children, if free to pursue their own interests through play, will not only learn all the need to know but will do so with energy and passion.  Children come into this world burning to learn, equipped with the curiosity, playfulness, and sociability to direct their own education.  Yet we have squelched such instincts in a school module originally developed to indoctrinate, not to promote intellectual growth.

Why I’m interested:

This book seems to take a specific look at our schools.  If parents are causing a lack of play in kids, surely schools are, too.  Think about your kid’s kindergarten verses your own.  I played in creative centers, dressed up, explored arts and crafts, and kids today learn how to write complete sentences.

Final Thoughts

All three of these books have consequences for all of us, regardless of whether we currently have young children or not.  Let’s take a close look at our culture and see how it is impacting our own lives.

Be sure to check out Julz Reads for the rest of the Nonfiction November link ups for this week!

And check out last week's Nonfiction November

Happy Reading!

Hannah

Four Great Books to Read with your One-and-a-Half-Year-Old

Reading with your children is so important – it teaches them early literacy skills, gives them a love for reading and learning, and it allows you to spend time with them talking and learning together.  My toddler is loving these books right now!

1.   Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

This book has been around for 60 years!  So many people can remember reading this book as a kid and want to read it to their own children.  Margaret Wise Brown used every phoneme in the English language in this book, so it is great for kid’s speech and reading development.

A young bunny says good night to all the things he sees from his bed before drifting off to sleep.

Buy Goodnight Moon here. 

2.   Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle

Another beloved classic.  And there are so many things you can do with this book! At my son’s young age, we are working on recognizing the animals in the pictures, and as he gets a little bit older he can “help” read the repetitive phrases.  Kids who are older preschool/ kindergarten will be able to recognize that the colors are describing the animals – an introduction to adjectives and nouns!

A brown bear sees a yellow duck who sees a blue horse, and so on!

Buy Brown Bear, Brown Bear here. 

3.   Hand, Hand, Fingers Thumb by Al Perkins

My son loves the rhythm of this book!  We pretend to drum our fingers, thumbs and hands on the book as we read.  It has also made him obsessed with drumming on everything else. 

Monkeys drum and hum and create a rhythmic read that will get stuck in your head.

Buy Hand, Hand, Fingers Thumb here.

4.   Corduroy  by Don Freeman

Honestly, my son always wants to read this book before his nap, and it’s just a bit long for that.  So, I skip lots of sentences and sometimes even pages.  But when you read the whole book as it is written you are struck with the precise language the author uses.  It’s poetic, a heart-warming story, and what young kid doesn’t relate to having a teddy bear?

A bear, Corduroy, wants to be taken home by a shopper, but he is missing a button.  After going on an adventure to find it, he is finally taken home by a new friend.

Buy Corduroy here. 

Check out one or all of these books and read them with your toddler this weekend!

 *Note: I've linked to all of these to board books on Amazon.  Almost all the books we read together right now are board books so that my kids can touch and feel them without messing them up.  I think it is so important for them to have ownership of the book and to be able to physically interact with it.  But, if you'd rather have it in paperback I totally get it!

Hannah