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!