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Push and Pull
First wordsAnimalsAges 3–5

Push and Pull

by ReadRead · 90 sec

Oh no, the wagon is stuck! Push, Pig, push! Pull, Donkey, pull! A first book with one short sentence per page and paper animals that really push and pull.

10pop-up spreads
28things to tap
2new words
Words in this book
pushpullapplescarrotdonkeygategoathooray
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Inside the book

Goat has a big red wagon full of apples. Pull, Goat, pull! Down the farm lane it rolls, until, oh no, it stops in a mud puddle. Push, Pig, push! Pull, Donkey, pull! Push and pull together, and it moves. Then Pig pushes the gate open, Donkey pulls up a big carrot, and there are apples for all at sunset.

Pig pushes the stuck wagon while Goat pulls the rope, in Push and Pull.
Pig pushes the stuck wagon while Goat pulls the rope, in Push and Pull.
Goat and the big red wagon full of apples on the farm lane.
Goat and the big red wagon full of apples on the farm lane.
Donkey pulls a big carrot.
Donkey pulls a big carrot.
Apples for all by the red barn at sunset.
Apples for all by the red barn at sunset.

The two new words

push

Press on something so it moves away from you. It comes up 6 times, and every time Pig leans in and pushes: the wagon, the gate, the wheelbarrow.

pull

Hold on to something and bring it toward you. It comes up 8 times, and every time Goat or Donkey leans on the rope and pulls, or Donkey pulls a carrot out of the ground.

Made for children just starting kindergarten: one sentence per page, three to six words. One pattern comes back with one word changing: “Pull, Goat, pull!”, “Push, Pig, push!”, “Pull, Donkey, pull!”. Every other word is one a four-year-old already knows: pig, goat, donkey, big, red, wagon, gate, carrot, apples.

Questions to ask while you read

Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.

  1. 1What is in Goat’s big red wagon?
  2. 2Pull, Goat, pull! Where is the rope?
  3. 3Oh no! Why did the wagon stop?
  4. 4Pig is behind the wagon. Is Pig pushing or pulling?
  5. 5Who comes to help? What does Donkey do?
  6. 6Push and pull together! Can you push with your hands?
  7. 7How does Pig open the gate?
  8. 8What does Donkey pull out of the ground?
  9. 9Tap something: does it want a push or a pull?
  10. 10Who is eating an apple? Would you like one too?

Tips for parents

  • First time: use Read to me and watch the animals heave. The whole book takes about a minute and a half.
  • Act it out: push both hands forward on “push”, and pull an invisible rope on “pull”.
  • On the stuck page, stop and ask “What can we do?” before you turn the page.
  • Play it for real: push a toy car away, then pull it back on a string, and say the word each time.
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