One little pig has made a little den for herself in the woods, and another little pig has a small hut next door. One morning they return from a walk to find that their big friend Bear has moved into the den and an even larger Moose into the hut. CRASH! With both homes collapsed, they're all in a pickle—but what if they find a way to build a house in the woods that all four of them can share? With lush, whimsically detailed illustrations and a cast of endearing, industrious (and most accommodating!) characters, Inga Moore constructs an inviting story of friendship that kids will be happy to visit awhile.
Understanding that words are read from left to right and pages are read from top to bottom
Recognizing their name in print and other often-seen words, like those on signs name beginning letters or sounds of words
Matching some letters to their sounds
Developing awareness of syllables
May use familiar letters to try writing words
Retelling stories that have been read to them
Your child already knows how to read some words! Familiar favorite words like their own name, friends’ names, the name of their favorite restaurant, or other places you frequent, are part of your child’s sight word vocabulary. They aren’t quite decoding the words as they will later but they recognize the shape of the word when written out. Some logos like McDonalds or Subway also have color cues that your child can use to figure out the word. More and more, your child is paying attention to the visual clues of words. They are also continuing to make connections between the sounds and the letters that represent them. They may be telling stories by drawing pictures and sometimes adding letters or even a whole word to their drawings. This is a busy time in emergent literacy as your child is standing right on the edge of being able to read and write themselves!
Click here to see a full list of milestones for your 4-year-old as well as tips and activities for you and your child!
Why did we select this book?
Many children at this age are dealing with having to share space and toys with classmates and siblings. This book is a wonderful depiction of a group of friends working together to make a space and collection of things they can all enjoy. The highly detailed drawings of familiar Maine animals hammering, sawing, and driving a pickup is both sweet and silly.
Related Activities
10 Ways to Explore A House in the Woods: Click to download our suggestions for simple (and fun!) activities for this favorite Raising Readers book.
Make a connection to real Maine animals. All the animals in this book live in Maine, but they do not behave quite like this in real life. The bear going to bed early is an opportunity to talk about real bears going into hibernation. The beavers building the house in the book is an opportunity to talk about how beavers build homes in real life. Look for nonfiction books on these animals in the library.
You might talk about this book when you are outdoors. With some fallen sticks, you could pretend to build a house for Bear, Moose, and the Pigs. Bring along a peanut butter sandwich to thank your builder!
There are so many opportunities for conversation in this book. When the pigs’ houses are broken, does that remind your child of a time when something they had was broken? Do you know anyone that drives a blue truck like the beavers? Are there similarities between your house and the house in the book?
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