I am a huge fan of Glenys Nellist, so when Zondervan sent me her book, ‘Read and Rhyme: The First Christmas’ I was just tickled. I had the chance to both read this with my own children, as well as read it with my preschool Sunday School class. All the kiddos loved this one.
What I Loved
I loved the educational value of this book. It’s all about rhyming, which is an important literacy skill. This book is full of flaps with rhyming words hidden underneath. As you read the story, littles can guess what word finishes the rhyme. Then the answer is revealed by lifting the flap. This would be a great tool for homeschool families and preschool classes working on rhyming. I also love the simplicity of the text that makes the story fun and engaging for little readers.
What My Littles Loved
My Kindergartener thought this book was so fun. She loved being able to guess how the rhyme would end on each page. Though she was a initially confused that all the flaps had words underneath as opposed to pictures. We had to talk about this one and explain the surprise was the rhyming word. Still, she was undeterred and really enjoy this one.
My Sunday School class also enjoyed this one, though the rhyming definitely wend over head of the youngest in my class (3 year-olds). The oldest (5 year-olds) had a great time with this though. I think that this tool would be great in classroom setting with a targeted age (like all 5 year-olds).
Either way, all of the kids really enjoyed the illustrations. They are sweet, simple, and do a good job of trying to represent Jesus’ ethnicity accurately.
Click here to get your own copy of ‘Read and Rhyme: The First Christmas’ by Glenys Nellist.
Baby Devotions 