It was six in the morning and our alarm hadn’t rung yet when Mia woke me up in her whispering voice and asked,

Where is our Over in the Meadow book, Mommy?

“It’s on top of my desk…”

Oh, there! Okay, you can sleep for 5 more minutes and then we will read again together Mommy, okay?

I thought I had 30 more minutes to catch some Zs before gearing her up for school but the little early bird wanted to read.

She really loves the book.

And I’m so glad I found it at BookSale last week.

It was not in a very good condition, the corners had been torn and some edges looked like they had been bitten off, and I normally wouldn’t buy something in that state. But it was a musical play/story (DING!) and the inside pages were pretty much intact, so together with nine other books, I bought it.

And I’m so happy I did!

We had a great weekend reading and singing Over in the Meadow together.

The story of Billy, who took a walk with his mom in the meadow, was presented in a script-like form and the chorus would sing every time they meet new animals along the way. Since I wasn’t familiar with the song, I had to learn the tune first before handing the book to her.

After that little prep, I let her dictate our pace. She took the time to absorb the ideas on every page before turning to the next. It was delightful to watch how amused she was.

If you have a kid who loves music and enjoys role playing, whether at home or in school, I definitely recommend this book.

Aside from having a simple plot, here are the things we love about it.

1. It is beautifully illustrated.

I could imagine myself being in this place.  It’s a lovely visual treat.

 

2. You can play an instrument along!

 

 

3. It teaches counting (1 to 10) through the number of baby animals they meet.

 

 

4. It has mothers and babies that children can relate to.

 

 

 

5. It teaches what actions are for: winking to clear eyes, swimming to be strong, spinning to make a web, and more.

 

 

6. It teaches action words like leaping, tiptoe-ing, fluttering, jumping, crawling, and so on.

 

 

7. It ends with a good lesson that kids would hopefully absorb. 🙂

 

 

8. And lastly, it’s charming!

When we reached the part that says frogs croak to tell their thoughts, Mia suddenly said,

Mommy, ask me to tell you my thoughts.

“Okay, can you tell me your thoughts?”

Croak!

was her proud reply.

Also, she has started creating her actions for the lyrics.

Here’s a short clip showing her own hand movements for the part where the crows caw.

Oh, I have a feeling she’s going to wake me up again for this tomorrow.

And may I just add how the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” proved true. LOL. This book, which I almost ignored, turned out to be a perfect gem for our little music lover.

I hope your kids will enjoy the book as much as ours did. And I hope you can find a better copy than the one we got. 🙂

 

What are your preschoolers favorite books? What kind if stories do your kids like?  Share in our comment box below. 🙂

 

Source: A Wee Sing book by Pamela Conn Beall and Susan Hagen Nipp

Story by: Kathy Fahlman Bates & Dorothy Pederson Fahlman

Illustrated by: Charles E. Reasoner

Publisher: Price/Stern/Sloan