We do a lot of reading in our house, so incorporating the book S is for Smiling Sunrise by WordsBright was easy to do. The story comes in a beautiful, full-color 32 page hardcover book. It was written by a father (Vick Wadhwa) for his daughter when she was young.
The first thing I noticed about the book was that it was of very high quality, so I know it was made to last through reading it many, many times. The illustrations were full of color and interesting.
The next thing I really noticed was that the words that represent each letter are unique and go beyond what a typical preschool alphabet book would have. For example, K is for Kaleidoscope and Y is for Yacht. In fact, throughout the book, children touch on things like learning about nature, virtues, gifts, words, and more. While many other children’s books touch on the exact same words to represent each letter, this one takes a leap out there and introduces different concepts and teaches children to think about other things.
“S is for Smiling Sunrise” FREE Resources
In addition to the book, there are other free companion resources available. There is a free parents’ guide for pre-k children, as well as a free teachers’ guide for K-3 students. Both of these are free PDF downloads with many ideas on how to continue to teach children based on the words and concepts introduced in the book.
For example, the pre-k guide talks about how to incorporate rhymes into everyday activities, including rhymes from the book. The K-3 guide is more in-depth and talks about Goodness, Beauty, and Wonder. Then it goes into each word listed in the book and has discussion points about the concepts, questions about each, vocabulary that is related to the topic, and suggestions of activities to go along with the word. It provides a great starting point for character development for young children, as well.
Not only can you get copies of these guides, but you can also download a free MP3 of the Smiling Sunrise Alphabet Song. My kids noticed right away that this song was the book in song form. They made sure to point out that how I had read the book wasn’t how the song was sung. I guess my rhyming wasn’t on point enough for them. 🙂
Final Thoughts
Our family did enjoy this sweet little book. I read it to my 3 year old and 5 year old while we were waiting on their bigger siblings to finish extracurricular activities. They liked it enough to tell their 8 year old brother about it when he was done, so I ended up reading it again when he was around, as well as listening to the Smiling Sunrise Alphabet Song MP3 with them.
My 3 and 5 year olds seemed especially excited that the words were different and unique from other alphabet books. Those can be kind of boring and predictable, so this kept them on their toes and made them think. They also really liked the illustrations.
We did use the guides a little bit, because it really tapped into their curiosity about some of the words and encouraged them to develop their vocabulary. It also helped me to gauge their comprehension. Our favorite part had to be the Activities suggestions. It was neat to have a few ideas on ways to expand on the word. Several were things we could do right there in the van while waiting on the older siblings, so that was nice!
The story was very positive and upbeat. It would be fun to read for a boy or a girl. My kids enjoyed that it was a rhyming book, because they like to hear me try and put it to a beat while I’m reading!
This book retails for $16.95, but can be found cheaper online. There are also bulk buying discounts. Find out more on their Buying Options page.