Back to Reality

Here I was thinking that I'd not yet written about non-fiction works, only to see that it was my subject in a post eight months ago!  However, in light of recent book-choices in my home, it bears repeating.  My kid loves books about the actual world.

Pre-K has been focusing on changes-- like caterpillars to butterflies and seeds to plants.  So, naturally, the tadpole to frog change was one that my daughter has heard among her metamorphosis studies.  Being a librarian means that she mentions interests, and I pull books.  It isn't in the official job description of "mom" or "librarian," but it may as well be.

So, I brought home a book called Growing Frogs by Vivian French/ Illustrated by Alison Bartlet, and she chose that as the bedtime story for two nights in a row.  It tells of a girl whose mom helps her tend frog spawn at home, and the nature facts (which are in a different font) emphasize the importance of respecting the ecological status of the frogs by only taking spawn from man-made ponds and by returning adult frogs to their pond of origin. The story and facts work well together and focus on both the development of tadpoles/frogs as well as how humans can interact with the process.  However, the illustrations are bright but simple.  While cute, I wanted photographs.

So, I brought home Tadpoles and Frogs by Anna Milborne.  I like how this book expanded on the one we read previously.  It talked about the changes that frog spawn-->tadpoles-->frogs experience.  However, it also talked about a variety of types of frogs, camouflage, hibernation, and eating adaptations.  While there were some illustrations, many colorful and detailed photographs also grace the pages.  (I know that I can count on books that are published by Usborne to have awesome graphics).  There is a table of contents, glossary, and index, but the text is sparse enough that with a focused kid in the upper preschool range, it can be done in a single sitting.  With a bookmark, it probably would work over a few days for the shorter-attention-spanned kid.  While we did read it in a single sitting, I measure my daughter's jump as we took a break from the text to experiment as suggested in the text.  (Yay for kinesthetic learning!  Moving rocks brain cells!)

Even though Milborne's writing is geared to early readers, it is advanced enough in its vocabulary and content that I felt okay having this be a read-aloud.  (I tend to avoid early reader books ever since I heard Jim Trelease speak against parents reading those to children.  I heard him talk in Las Vegas, NV, in 2005.  However, in instances like what I just stated, I will read them to my daughter).

So, if your kid is curious (and really, what kid ISN'T curious?), do not be afraid to jump the line away from stories into fact-land.  Non-fiction uses words that fiction doesn't, and it is another bridge to expanding awareness through books.

Drama Mama

I grew up in the theatre, literally performing in my first play at age five.  Therefore, I am biased.  I love the stage.  That said, I would like to tie that passion into early literacy.  For me, that is what storytime has been about for years.  However, I got one of my first tastes this past week of how, as a parent and audience member, I can collaborate with performing artists to bring out many more facets of a book than I would with a simple reading.

My daughter and I went to a play of Diary of a Worm, a Spider, and a Fly based on the books by Doreen Cronin/ Illustrated by Harry Bliss.  Many lines in the script came verbatim from the books, but the plots had a bit of expanding in the theatrical version of the tales.  It was pretty true to the text, though. 

The next day, my daughter was sitting in her carseat with her pencil and a notebook.  I kept hearing her say "Dear Diary" and then talk while she scribbled. After that, we went to our local library and checked out Diary of a Fly and Diary of a Spider.  She chose Diary of a Worm as her book to keep for our Reading Partners program where you can earn a free book after reading 20 books together.  Since checking them out/ acquiring them, we have read all three books multiple times. 

My daughter and I share books every night and many days, too.  Still, I think that she really clung to these tales not only because they are cute and funny but also because of the experience she had watching the stories unfold on stage.

*Warning for my librarian friends-- I think these stories in text form work better one-on-one than for storytime readings.  (This allows time for studying the illustrations and for children to absorb the humor).

Simplicity

I have been hanging on to two books for weeks now because I wanted to blog about them.  Tonight, I am. In doing so, I am toasting simplicity. 

One book, Dot by Patricia Intriago, has just a few words per page, and the illustrations are altered versions of a basic, black circle.  It manages to teach opposites and rhyme so seamlessly that kids probably miss the lesson and just enjoy watching the dot's shifting characteristics.

The other book, Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli has colorful illustrations of a girl on a swing.  As many children do, she begs her dad to push her higher.  With just a few words, the illustrations convey the extreme lengths of her trip.  (It may not actually be possible to swing to outer space, but it is fun to imagine that it is).

While neither book is probably a huge vocabulary builder, they both provide wonderful jumping-off points for children to do their own storytelling.  I am always a fan of the planted question, "What if?"  I am awe-struck by those capable of planting the question using sparce language.  Kudos, Intriago and Patricelli!

Español for American Kids Who Like Pictures!

I read a book tonight that is a Latino version of "The House that Jack Built" in terms of it being a story that builds on itself and that has a cadence.  What was really fun about it to me, though, in addition to the repeating ending, was the way that it introduced characters and objects in English and then called them by their Spanish names in the following pages.  From context, I really felt like I was remembering the words!  The book was The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred by Samantha R. Vamos/ Illustrated by Rafael López.  It includes a recipe for rice pudding at the end along with a glossary of Spanish terms.  I really like how the book not only introduces the language but also Hispanic culture.

This book reminded me of two others that I really like because of how they introduce Spanish words in context.  Say Hola to Spanish and Eight Animals on the Town-- both by Susan Middleton Elya-- do a fantastic job of keeping bright illustrations and fun text at the forefront of the reading.  Even though the reviews on Eight Animals on the Town say that it is for older childen, I found that my daughter loved it when she was three.  I do not believe she is out of the norm here.  We made animal sounds to go along with the text, and she came away wanting both re-reading and pineapple upside-down cake (which features in the story).  Both of the Elya books that I mention above are part of larger series that also have an immersive Spanish language feature in a mostly English text. 

So, enjoy your libros with your niños and niñas!

Nursery Rhyme Numbers

As of late, my daughter recites the "One, two, buckle my shoe..." poem at least once a day.  Her Pre-K evaluation a few months ago said that she needed to work on recognizing written numbers.  Ah ha!  While D loves the rhyme and rhythm of her chant, I see it as a wonderful way to practice seeing how we write different numerals.  Yay for the book Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker!  This book does not feature a complicated story and is only slightly an elaboration on the poem itself.  However, the bright illustrations an engaging companion to speaking the nursery rhyme.  Moreover, my daughter gets to see every number she says in bold, bright font.  This is a cute book that works for younger siblings or friends, too.  However, for the pre-writers of the world, it also serves a purpose.

Books Battle Bullying

"Bibliotherapy" means that books can help people in specific situations.  Yeah, it is an academic term.  It has legitimate uses, though.  In this case, I want to talk about a book that helped my daughter when she was being bullied.  Some of the big kids ("school-agers") were saying mean things to her and calling her a "loser."  She said that it hurt her heart.  How horrible is it for a mama to hear this!  Of course, I talked with the daycare director about the situation.  Luckily, we also stumbled into a wonderful book for dealing with the issue.

I found a copy of The Cow That Went Oink by Bernard Most.  In it, farm animals laugh at a cow who says "oink" and at a pig who says "moo."  However, these two animals decide to teach each other the sounds that they know.  With much hard work and perseverance, they become the only "bilingual" animals on the entire farm!  I love the empowering message this has.  My daughter, though, took it one step further.  She kept telling the story where all the animals then started learning how to make different sounds. 

We also read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.  She had read with her Pre-K class, too.  It is a classic for a reason.  The title character's long, floral name-- while deemed perfect by her parents-- earns taunts from several classmates.  Luckily, the awesome art teacher, Delphinium, restores Chrysanthemum's pride.  It is amazing what the positive effect of a mentor can be!  My daughter beams when she says how her name is also the name of a flower.

One of the Every Child Ready to Read 2 skills is "talking."  I like that these books give a springboard for important conversations.   

Adventures in Process

I grew up in theatre, so permanently emblazoned upon my brain is the phrase, A story has a beginning, a middle, and an end."  Acting teachers were pretty tired of scenes that lacked an end, I think.  Anyhow, the theatre where I grew up recently did a production of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie based on the book by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felisha Bond.  My daughter definitely enjoyed it. 

This was several months ago.  Last night, we read If You Give a Dog a Doughnut by the same author-illustrator team.  She loved it, and I loved seeing her "get" how cause and effect works.  (It reminds me of the "if...then" statements in the BASIC language of computers, but I digress).  She proved her comprehension even more tonight when she started telling a story (showing off her--as Every Child Ready to Read 1 would call them-- "Narrative Skills) "If you give a llama a book."  I asked her questions to prompt along the tale, but her imagination carried it.  While, unlike the books in the Numeroff-Bond series, her story did not end where it began, I still enjoyed it.  More importantly, she did. 

Happy Year of the Dragon!

Last week, my daughter and I enjoyed a community Chinese New Year's celebration.  Due to the reading that we did before attending this arts & crafts event, she derived much more from the activities than she would have if we had gone without our biblio-prep.  (Is that a term?  I guess that it is now!)

The book, which bore repeated readings at D's prompting, is The Magic Brush: A Story of Love, Family, and Chinese Characters by Kat Yeh/ Illustrated by Huy Boun Lee.  In it, Jasmine is a Chinese-American girl whose grandfather, Agong, teaches her the art of Chinese calligraphy as she explores her imagination.  Each page features Chinese characters, and the end of the book has an extra section that includes a pronunciation key, history of Chinese art, and list of several Chinese treats.

The story itself is touching. ::Spoiler alert:: Although it does not say so concretely, it is pretty clear that Agong dies.  However, the tale also deals with this in a touching though not saccharin way. 

I love the connection between Agong and Jasmine as well as the way that she comes to transmit the values and culture he shared with her.  The bold, colorful illustrations that incorporate Chinese characters like an Asian WordWorld are also impressive.

Fractured Fairy Tales for the Preschool Set

I am back, readers!  Today, I want to speak up on behalf of traditional nursery rhymes and fairy tales.  I grant that there are some stories that are rather violent for young folk.  I'm not one for reading Grimm tales straight to my daughter.  However, having heard some of the general cannon not only leads to a sense of commonality, but it opens the doors for kids to enjoy fractured fairy tales.  (It is sort of like grammar, you only notice the broken rules if you've learned what the rules are.  In this case, though, the results are funny). 

So, here a couple of spoofs of traditional nursery rhymes and fairy tales that have amused both me and my daughter recently:

Detective Blue by Steve Metzger/ Illustrated by Tedd Arnold:  So, Little Boy Blue grows up to become a detective who seeks the missing Little Miss Muffet.  The cartoon style book give many opportunities for character voices.  The detective-style tale is adorable, and there are a multitude of funny details in the illustrations that make this a wonderful choice for re-reads.

Dragon Pizzeria by Mary Morgan:  D asked for this one several nights in a row.  Two dragons work together.  One makes the pizzas while saying nursery-rhyme knock-offs.  The other delivers the pizzas all over fairytale land.  Fairy tale characters order each pizza to specifications that match their story's situation.  The biggest treat for us was probably the map at the end that included everyone from the book.