When Queen Vernita of Oceaneer misses her friends from the Land of Quail, she invites each one to visit for a month. Queen Vernita’s Visitors tells about those visits and along the way introduces youngsters to the months of the year, the days of the week and a multitude of activities.
Author Dawn Menge (a Special Education teacher working toward a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction) makes sure to mention the number of days in each month as well as calendar exceptions like leap year. Repetition of the days of the week in each month should help children learn them in short order.
The many activities the hospitable Queen Vernita and her child-guests enjoy – from playing “jolly jump rope” on the Mondays in January to singing “cherry Christmas carols” on the Sundays in December – will trigger the imaginations of kids and grownups alike.
Monthly themes (like games in March, water in July, turkeys in November) make it a good resource for preschool and kindergarten teachers. The variety of food Queen Vernita serves may just help mom-readers answer the perennial question, “What’s for dinner?”
Colorful full-page illustrations by Bobbi Switzer add warmth and a sense of fun.
Though the product details suggest a 9-12-year reading level, this book’s real target is the preschool, early elementary or learning-disabled child. The fact that 9 to12-year-olds will be able to read it to them is a bonus.
Queen Vernita’s Visitors provides a painless way to teach the calendar, seasons, months of the year, and days of the week. It would make a great addition to community, school, and home-school library collections. Or just buy a copy for your child’s playroom bookshelf.
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