I love when a story moves. As an auditory learner, I do my very best when I hear things. The cadence-- the flow and pause of writing-- can change it from text to poetry, from words to music.
What does this have to do with kids? Well, way before we can understand language, we can hear pitch, inflection, and phonemes (the little sounds that make up words). Being able to distinguish between sounds is a major foundation for eventually being able speak and read. Noticing tone variation helps kids put meaning to words. (Example: If you're around a dog, say "Ooh ahh ooh!" in an excited and happy voice. See if the puppy's tail wags. You get my drift).
Here are some of my favorite books for kids aged 3-5 that play with rhythm and rhyme:
I read this book by Chris Raschka to my daughter before she was even born. It doesn't have much of a plot, but its sound-play is genius. Inspired by the jazz music of Charlie "Bird" Parker, Raschka suggests varieties in how to read the rhyming text by using different fonts. I've actually performed this book for kids in-tandem with an improvising jazz band. It was fun.
Don't blame me if the refrain from this book gets stuck in your head. It happens. That means that it will happen for kids, too. So, why not get them hooked on a cute book that also happens to have all of the letters of the alphabet in it? The simple story and bright illustrations make this a real crowd-pleaser.
I admit, this was another one that I read to my kid while she was still in the womb. Seriously, if I have to listen to what I read, I may as well enjoy it. Webb uses colorful pictures of animals to aid the chant comprised of their names. Again, the rhyme and very conscious varying of syllable stresses makes this text feel as if it is in motion. I also like that some less-common animals, like the lemur, have a role to play in this plot-less poem.
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