I screamed in surprise when I saw a copy of Yellow Ball while rummaging through a dusty box in my favorite used bookstore. Why wouldn’t I? It was one of four books in Before Five in a Row’s book list that I (or should I say, my kids) did not yet have. Out of print, it is being sold at Amazon for $45 up. And the tag said 49 pesos – just a little over a dollar. I screamed again. … [Read more...]

I don't like stuffed toys. They gather dust, take up space, and get played with for just about two minutes. Without buying a single stuffed animal though, we still managed to accumulate a menagerie! We got to put them into good use when we put up a show based on the charming book Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack. Another extremely fun idea from Before Five in a Row!THE SCRIPT   … [Read more...]

There’s more than just one alphabet song! Everyone knows the one that sounds like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep", both variations of an old French tune. For variety, though, check out the other songs that you can sing with your child. The ABC Bunny introduced us to a wonderful, foot stamping, tralalalala ABC song. A 1933 book by Newberry Honor Book … [Read more...]