Innovative Illustrator Illuminates

I wanted to write today about an author/ illustrator whose inventive paper-cutting techniques bring vividly to life basic early literacy concepts.  I love reading the work of Laura Vacarro Seeger.  Her books are simple, yet they make clear some important ideas.  Below are some books by her that I recommend along with the topics they cover:

The Hidden Alphabet  (Letters)

First the Egg (Processes)

Black? White! Day? Night!  (Opposites)

Lemons are Not Red  (Colors)

Just the Facts, Mam.

Not everyone will like everything.  Just as preschoolers assert their preferences in terms of what to wear, what to eat, and what to play, they have their opinions about what to read.  Even when kids are in the toddler phase, they tend to have a book that their caregivers could recite by heart due to having repeated in ad nauseum.  (In our case, this was Moo! Baa! La La La! by Sandra Boynton ).

Imagine my surprise to find that my daughter, the child of someone with her graduate academic certificate in storytelling, loves juvenile non-fiction.  For some of the most simple, we read cover to cover.  For others, though, we read some captions while we look at the illustrations, photographs, and diagrams.  (In her Pre-K orientation, the teachers emphasized the importance for parents who are not literate in the language of a book to share stories with their children by discussing the pictures). We talk about the history and biology that have come to life in amazing pop-up volumes.  Books about ancient Egypt, dinosaurs, plants, and animals have been the big winners at our home.  My daughter tends to be very tactile; she wants to feel the world.  For her, books as instructions for basic science experiments and crafts are as useful or more so than those where the entire experience is on the pages.   

Two books at my home that sparked conversation and nursed my daughter's intrigue are new selections from the Insiders Alive series.  They have pop-up and other interactive features, but the writing is also informative and relevant.  The ones we have enjoyed are: Earthquakes and Volcanoes by Anita Ganeri and Ancient Egypt by Robert Coupe.

Smaller and Smaller

 So, I've been thinking about this blog ever since writing the last one.  It is way past time to share information about two of my favorite re-tellings of a Yiddish folktale.  Especially in these times of hardship and economic challenge, the message in the story is pertinent.  The repetition and simplicity of the story makes it a great tale to share with preschoolers, though. 

The story is about a coat that, as it gets worn, a grandfather who is also a tailor remakes into many smaller garment pieces for his grandson.  In the end, once the boy loses the button that the coat eventually became, all that is left is a wonderful story.

Something from Nothing by Phoebe Gilman-- My favorite part of these illustrations is the mouse family.  As the humans lose fabric scraps in their home, the mice under the house gather them and use them to decorate their tiny abode.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Tabak-- This book (which won the Caldecott Award for children's illustration) has very fun, bright pictures.  My favorite part of this one is the collection of Yiddish and Hebrew newspaper clippings worked into the background.  For the kids, though, the way that the garment changes because of cuts in the pages is probably the most endearing way that the pictures convey the story.

Bigger, Bigger, Bigger...

Tonight, I read my daughter a book called Sally and the Purple Socks by Lisze Bechtold.  In it, a duck has cozy purple socks that magically grow, and grow, and grow.  As they do, Sally has to find new uses for the "socks" that no longer fit.  Sometimes their largess is a problem, but her creative responses tend to make the best of situations that initially frustrate her. 

This reminded me of a book that my mom read to me when I was little.  It was one of her favorites.  (Yes, kids can tell).  The story was Bembelman's Bakery by Melinda Green.  It is the tale of a baker's family who must deal with the growing mountain of dough that results from the children's attempt at making bread.  A little too much yeast leads to a wonderful tale.

When reading with my daughter tonight, the patterns of the socks' growth progressing as we turned the page allowed me to use the book to prompt predictions.  "What do you think will happen?  How will Sally use the socks next?"  Often, my daughter says, "I don't know.  Let's find out!"  Maybe soon she will progress to letting her imagination paint the blanks.  Meanwhile, I am glad to see that already holds enthusiasm for reading and the knowledge that secrets unfold as we turn the pages.

Illustrations Inspire Improv

My daughter has started a new game.  She often asks what the characters in different pictures are saying.  This allows me to improvise dialog based on the text of a story.  The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman/ Illustrated by Ros Asquith has fantastic illustrations for this exercise.  It has detailed cartoon-style drawings that speak to the multitude of various homes, families, and cultures in which children find themselves.  I like the non-judgmental approach to different backgrounds.  I keep encouraging my daughter to speak on behalf of the characters, too.  So far, she leaves me to do the voices.  Hopefully, though, she will soon add her narrative skills to the mix.

Interrupt This Blog

It is not every book (or even the majority of them) that leads me to rant and rave.  If there is such a thing as literary love at first sight, it may describe my reaction to this wonderful picture book:  Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein.

In this story, Papa Chicken tries very hard to read a bedtime story to his little girl chicken.  However, she knows all the stories by heart and jumps into each telling just in time to prevent disaster or discomfort for the characters.  The warm interaction between father and daughter and genuine presentation of goal vs.obstacle make this book a natural for read-alouds.  I found it almost impossible NOT to do the voices.  (I am biased.  I always do character voices.  Still, this text begged for it).

I used this book in Summer Reading presentations for kindergarten through second grades, and it held the attention of the each class.  Then, I read it at home with my almost-four-year-old daughter.  She was involved for the entire telling, too.

I hope you interrupted your reading of this blog to procure and read this book.  If not, what are you waiting for?

Horn Book Hits The Nail on the Head

Sometimes, someone else encapsulates your thoughts and feelings so succinctly and accurately that you don't feel the need to reiterate.  That is the case for me after reading this fantastic article from Horn Book Magazine:
Why We're Still in Love with Picture Books (Even Though They're Supposed to Be Dead) by Allyn Johnston and Marla Frazee.

Please read and enjoy.