Tap Tap Boom Boom
Written by Elizabeth Bluemle and Illustrated by Brian Karas
April showers bring May flowers, but we can still enjoy those rainy (or snowy, in Vermont) days while they’re here!
Why I Like It:
The rollicking rhyme scheme is fantastic for reading aloud.
The repeating phrase of “tap tap boom boom” is so much fun for any toddler. My two-year-old loves to say it even when we aren’t reading the book.
The cool illustrations have so much to look at and talk about, almost every page is an adventure.
There is some great vocabulary in this book, including words like “congregate,” which are super language-builders and discussion starters!
The author used to live in NYC, where this book takes place, but now lives in Vermont.
Keep It Going:
Cloud Art: 
Supplies needed:
Cotton Balls and/or Cotton Pads for clouds
Cotton Swabs for rain drops
Washable Paint
Tweezers, Tongs, or Chopsticks (for holding the cloudy shapes)
Glue or Mod Podge
Dish or hand soap
How To:
Mix some glue or Mod Podge with the paint (add a drop of dish soap to make it an easier clean-up.) and then cover those cotton balls/pads!
Using tweezers or tongs, place the sticky clouds on the paper.
Add some drops of rain using the cotton swabs.
Why bother? This is a great way to build fine motor skills, especially if your kiddo is using tweezers or tongs to place the cotton balls on the paper. Holding cotton swabs is also good for those fine motor skills, and all of this helps with hand-eye coordination. Beyond that, using alternative painting tools really gets those cognitive skills fired up…one of the benefits of thinking outside the box!
Splat Clouds
Supplies Needed:
Stockings, tights, old socks, whatever. (I used old pantyhose I found at a thrift store.)
Old play dough , sand, birdseed.
Washable Paint.
How To:
Fill the foot of the stocking or whatever you’re using so it makes a cloud-like shape. Tie off the top, leaving a small handle.
Dip in paint and splat on the paper.
Once the paper is covered in clouds, you can add some rain drops or just leave it as a cloudy day.
Active Reading Activity:
Whenever you read the words “Tap Tap Boom Boom” have your child bang a drum, jump up and down, or do a yoga pose. This will help them build those listening skills while also keeping them engaged, especially kinesthetic learners!
Count The Booms:
As you read, see if you can count how many times you say the word “tap” or “boom.” You can use tools to help you keep count, like drawing lines on a paper or lining up cars or other materials.
Rainbow Fun:
My two-year-old really likes the page with the rainbow, so we have to add some rainbow fun here too! Besides painting and drawing rainbows, we used prisms and the shiny sides of old CD’s (remember those?!) to make rainbows shine from the windows.
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