Growing a Reader: Kids Books, Tips and More

Knuffle Bunny: Mirroring Everyday Life

  

I adore the Knuffle Bunny series by Children's author Mo Willems. The way in which Willems fuses photography and illustration is a great imaginative prod. Yeah sure the characters are great, and the story is heart-warming, entertaining, and instructive, but it's the illustrations that really make the books stand out for me.

When teaching children how to read, we're often urged to choose books which prominently feature recognizable objects from kids everyday lives. Hence the popularity of the classic children's book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. Children first gain an awareness of their physical environment and then later come to recognize that reality through a print environment. Willems' fusion of illustration and real life photography in the Knuffle Bunny trilogy is a great technique to help ease this transition along.

"Again, again!"

There's a new book obsession in my household and I bet you'll be able to relate. My husband and I kicked off the summer by signing the kids up for the TD Summer Reading Club (which now has a preschool component!) and heading north to a cottage for a week with a whack of books. One of the books we took with us was Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans. My husband thought our 2 1/2-year-old daughter might like it and he was right—she fell in love, asking to read it over and over again. She and her 5-year-old brother, who is currently addicted to Roald Dahl, quickly learned all of the words and began completing our sentences as we read and then reading the entire book to us, and each other, repeatedly.

What is it about this book first published in 1939 that has a little girl in 2012 and her brother so intrigued? Is it the child-like drawings? The repetition and rhyme? The order and routine? The breaking of bread? Madeline's spunk and bravery when she frightens Miss Clavel and says "pooh-pooh" to the tiger in the zoo? Her trip to the hospital in the middle of the night and the scar she wears like a badge of honour on her belly? It's hard to say, but it's simply amazing that nearly 75 years after its publication, this book, featured in TPL's 100 Books for 100 Years of Children's Services (see part 3), continues to dazzle and delight.
This isn't the first book obsession my family has experienced, and it won't be the last. Other books on heavy rotation have included the Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, Night Cars by Teddy Jam, Mysterious Thelonius by Chris Raschka and Knuffle Bunny by Moe Willems. Sometimes the books the kids obsess over take me by surprise and I'm not always wild about them, but I'm always happy to indulge them while continuing to introduce them to something new. The gleam in their eyes is irresistible, and I remember that feeling of hanging on my mother's every word as she read to me and the reassurance I felt when I could predict those words. Interestingly, when I revisited one of my own childhood obsessions, the Pokey Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey, with my son when he was a toddler, I found it lacking in magic. But I know I adored it as a child. I identified with that rascally dog and I couldn't get enough.

Repetition is reassuring to children. Being able to anticipate what comes next helps build confidence in their abilities and a sense of security. Reading the same books over and over again to children is thought to be one of the best ways to develop their vocabulary and help them improve their reading skills. Research conducted at Sussex University shows that it's not the number of books read but the repetition of each book that leads to greater learning.

What books do you remember loving as a child and what books do your kids return to over and over again? What makes these books so appealing? Please share your favourites in the comments below.

The Clue to the Children's Library Collections - Mystery Solved!

 I would like to tell you something helpful about the library's children's books and other materials that will make your visit much more interesting and certainly more fun. The clue is in knowing how the books are arranged.  Armed with this information you'll know where to look for what you need, or at the very least you'll know the questions to ask.  The set-up has a name - It is called The Reading Ladder Arrangement - and it will be the very same no matter what branch you visit.  The books are grouped according to the reading development stages of the child.

 

Picture Books

The very first 'reading' experience begins when you read to your baby - 3 months old is the perfect time to start.  Take 20 minutes out of your day to share and enjoy time together.  The love of reading begins early at our house, and it should at yours too!

The books in this part of the collection are called the picture books.  This part of the collection is a large one, with many titles to choose from.  It's part of a child's day to be able to come to the library and choose books to take home.  Favourites will be chosen for reading, unfortunately for you, over and over and over again.  You'll get tired of them, but guess who won't!  The picture books are for birth to about 5 years.  However, please note that any age ranges are only suggestions. 

Beginning Readers

These are the working "tools" to help a child through the first stages of reading alone.  They are short, illustrated, and have a vocabulary of repeated, easy words.  The ages are about 4 to 6 years.

Chapter Books

These books will appeal to readers who want the content to be more challenging.  Now the book is beginning to look like a regular book, with fewer illustrations, more pages and a more difficult vocabulary.  Children reading in this section are about grade 1 to grade 3 (6 to 7 or 8 years).

Advanced Picture Books

This part of the collection has books that look like the picture book in format (large size with full illustrations) but the stories are for the older child with a good command of the language.  Teachers will use this section when they are looking for material to help with their school units, and parents whose children still enjoy being read to but need something more challenging, will find it here. 

Fiction

The fiction collection is for those who are reading really well and who will be moving into the teens and the adult collections.

Non-fiction

This section contains all levels of reading, so that when someone comes in for project material she or he will find it according to the number system that the library uses. Library staff will help you find the right information for your project. 

Next time I will cover a section at a time, with suggestions for titles to look for and enjoy, from the classic to the new, from the first reading experience to the independent and confident reader, from reading for light entertainment to material for the more serious among us.

 

 

 

The Alphabet Song As A Lullaby?

Songs are powerful things aren’t they?  The catchy tune, the lyrics, the rhythm…you catch yourself singing along to the latest hit on the radio without ever having actually studied the words. 

We’ve all been there before: trying to revise important dates or names for that history quiz; or, possibly worse, trying to come up with ways for your kids to retain those important dates or names for their quizzes. It can be a real chore, and many find it increasingly difficult to retain all that information; and yet somehow, we can remember each and every word to our favourite Bon Jovi or Madonna song even though we never sat at a table memorizing the lyrics…[and as for singing along to that Justin Bieber tune your daughter has on constant repeat?  Well, I won’t tell if you don’t! (Baby, Baby, Baby, ohhh!...)] 

The power of song is quite a remarkable thing, and utilizing it to your advantage can actually aid your young reader for the years of memorization ahead...and yes, it can begin before your child can read.

Did you know that singing at an early age to your babies helps them memorize important skills such as learning the alphabet?  In my Ready For Reading Baby Time classes, I have the parents sing the classic lullabies we all know and love “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, and “Baa Baa Black Sheep” as they gently rock their babies.  Towards the end of the sessions, I pull out “The Alphabet Song” and some parents pin me with a quizzical look…do I really think a baby is going to know the alphabet? Is there a use to singing it when the baby won’t understand?  

Well “The Alphabet Song” has the same tune as those two previously mentioned classic lullabies.  By singing “Twinkle Twinkle” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep” to your baby repetitiously, they begin to recognize the rhythm of the song.  Adding in the alphabet to that familiar tune, increases the chances of your child memorizing the letters later on in their preschool years. 

So when rocking your baby to sleep tonight, don’t rule out using “The Alphabet Song” as a lullaby simply because it may seem irrelevant.  In fact, add it on after your nightly rendition of Baa Baa Twinkle Star!  I get my Baby Time parents to sing it as a round: One group starts with “Baa Baa Black Sheep”, the next begin “Twinkle Twinkle”, and the final group finishes with “The Alphabet Song”. 

It really is a thing of beauty, and far more catchy than Mr. Bieber’s latest hit.

The pictures tell a story!

Try something new the next time you borrow a book for a child from Toronto Public Library! 

Select a title by illustrator.

Stéphane Jorisch is a Canadian illustrator whose pictures transmit the joy and cheerfulness of childhood from the page to the reader.  He was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustrators in 2012. 

He has illustrated stories that cover a wide range of topics, from the story of a bunny who claims she will marry chocolate cake in Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake to the story of a little girl who wears her traditional clothing on the first day of school in Suki's Kimono. 

 

 Stéphane Jorisch's illustrations reflect the emotional life of children.  Rosie and Buttercup is lovely story for any child who has recently experienced the arrival of a sibling.

 

Let us know if you or your child have a favourite illustrator.  Stephen Gammell's fantastic, sometimes scary, and sometimes delightful pictures fascinate many young boys and girls.  For years, Canadian readers have been enjoying Barbara Reid's amazing plasticine pictures. 

 

"I don't know if what I like about children's books is the humor or the fact that things always have to keep moving.  The lightness of things ... When you're stressed, the smallest problems seem catastrophic, but the point is to try to find a lighter side.  That's what I try to do."    -  Stéphane Jorisch

 

 

 

Childhood friendships

Have you ever been totally puzzled by the peregrinations, bumps and grinds that children experience in their friendships? It was always endlessly fascinating for me to watch the way children bicker and argue with those children they declare to be their best friends. Both with my own children and those I taught, it was evident that there were constant readjustments being made in the relationships that children have with each other.

With that I would like to welcome a relatively new author who is able to capture that paradox. Rebecca Bender has just two picture books in print, and is a relatively new voice in Canadian literature, but what a voice it is. She has captured this unusual nature of friendship between children in both of the picture books available.

In Giraffe and Bird, Rebecca introduces us to two characters that are seemingly enemies. They cannot stand each other and are continually finding fault with each other. When Bird makes a face, Giraffe sticks out his tongue; when Bird tweets in his ear, Giraffe invades Birds personal space. Bird can't put up with Giraffes bad breath; Giraffe cant abide it when Bird eats too much fiber and then well, you know. If you ask them, Giraffe and Bird will tell you: they cant stand each other. But once they go their own way, they find that, in fact, they need each other, and maybe, even like each other (though they will not admit it). This book resonated so well with children that it won the 2012 Blue Spruce award voted on by thousands of children across Ontario.

This title has been followed up by a hilarious sequel, Don't Laugh at Giraffe.  In this book, Rebecca examines the delicate nature of embarrassment and friendship. Giraffe and Bird are both thirsty and so they go to the watering hole. Bird leaps in and drinks to his content, while Giraffe has a dilemma. The water level is down and he is so tall, how will he reach the water to drink? As Giraffe tries many creative (but ultimately unsuccessful) solutions, Bird leads the other animals in teasing Giraffe and making fun of his efforts. As the final effort lands Giraffe in the water in the most undignified way, all of the other animals burst into laughter, none so loud as Bird. Giraffe slinks away, still thirsty and embarrassed. How Bird handles this situation is a wonderful blueprint for friendship and problem solving.

 

Your children will go through many situations with their friends that they will have to grapple with and find solutions for. Having books on hand that show this as a normal process in friendships will support them in these journeys, and open the conversations with thinking about how to solve their own problems in a creative and positive way.

Why All This Emphasis on Summer Reading?

Summer reading clubs have been a staple of library programming for decades - but why? From an educational point of view, it's about maintaining the learning and progress that has been gained over the year - kids who don't read over the summer don't just stop developing their skills, they actually lose some level of reading proficiency. By encouraging kids to read over the summer with small incentives and wide-open choice of reading material the way we do, we can help slow that down.

From a parent's perspective? It's a great added activity to keep those kids busy for a little more of those long, hot days of summer. Just think about it - they will need to spend some quiet time reading, and then you can all head over to your local library and spend some time in the cool, picking more books, getting rewarded for reading, joining contests, and attending some of the many great programmes we have on over the summer.

We really ramp up our programming, too, with much more of what we do aimed at school-aged children we don't usually get to see as much, so there is perfect reasons to find your way over to your library for a puppet show, concert, or magic show. Check your branch listings online - you may be surprised by what you find!

The TD Summer Reading Club web site is another great destination, if it is simply too hot to move, or your child wants to play on the computer. There are fun things for kids to do, and this year, as they earn stickers for their reading, they are also given codes to unlock special extras - even more incentive! Take a peek around - this year's site is all new, and looking quite spiffy!

So yes, we have our formal reasons that are backed by studies and fulfill important mandates about supporting readers, but we are also busy having a whole lot of fun over at the library and online, and love the chance to get to see your kids more often!

Summer at the library is a win-win, so come on over, sign up for the reading club, and visit us for programmes and sticker rewards!

Series for Summer Reading

The TD Summer Reading Club is underway at your local library and continues to be a great way to keep your children reading, all summer long. Children who read over the summer maintain their reading skills when they return to school in the Fall. The key to keeping the enthusiasm high for reading is to empower your kids to choose what they want to read. Summer is all about having fun and reading should reflect that same sense of joy!

An easy way to maintain reading momentum is to get your child hooked on a series. Series fiction provides newly independent readers with a sense of accomplishment. Plus, their simple stories, strong 
main characters and appealing illustrations resemble beginning readers but at a higher reading level, aiding in the transition to more complex stories.

As a parent, you might be overwhelmed by the sheer number of series available so here’s four series you might want to suggest to your children.

Anna Hibiscus
As a librarian, it can be quite a challenge to find books at this reading level that feature a lead character of colour. Each book in this series features linked short stories about Anna, who lives in Africa with her large extended family. While exploring traditional and modern African customs, readers will identify with Anna’s familiar childhood adventures.

How to Train Your Dragon
Connecting readers with a book based on a popular animated movie can be very effective, and it’s even better when there are multiple books to get kids hooked on a series. Hiccup is a young Viking who doesn’t fit in with the rest of his burly friends, but Hiccup discovers a special skill – he can speak the language of dragons. Expect lots of high adventures, spectacular sword fights and of course, dragons. 

Babymouse
Newbery award-winning author Jennifer Holm along with her brother Matthew have created a sweet, funny graphic novel series about Babymouse who finds herself dealing with the everyday ups and downs of life including school, family, and friends. Don’t let the presence of pink stop you from recommending this series to boys – this series has enough sharp wit and humour to appeal to them, as well.

Spaceheadz
Jon Scieszka, best known for his hilarious picture book The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and the Time Warp Trio series, has written a new early chapter book series about three aliens who disguise themselves as kids to recruit earthlings to help save the planet. This series is part of a growing trend called transfiction, where the book series along with online content creates an experience where readers are part of the story. The Spaceheadz website allows readers to submit photos and stories, watch videos and meet other fans of the series. The interactive component of Spaceheadz will appeal to reluctant readers.

A Stories-First Approach: Sharing Your Own Love of Stories

In her wonderful book Reading Magic, Children's book author Mem Fox espouses a storeis-first approach over a strictly phonics-based approach to teaching kids how to read. Fox believes that at first, it is more important for children to develop a love of stories than it is for them to learn how to make the right sounds out of letters and their combinations. Is this a radical approach to growing a reader? I think not.

For me, a stories-first approach is logical. I agree with the author's assertion that if children are entertained by wonderful stories they're more likely to develop a joyful attitude toward learning how to read. And if they are enthusiastic about learning to read, that makes the job of teaching them to read that much easier.

Fox says that children need to hear a thousand stories read aloud before they begin to learn to read. Who has the time to read their child a thousand stories you might ask? Well, if you break that number down into three stories per day, you can easily deliver one thousand stories in one year. That number is definitely manageable.

Folktales are a wonderful font of inspiration for stories which ache to be told. Most of us already know the simple narratives of a couple classic fairytales by heart: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Cinderella, The Gingerbread Boy etc. And if feeling brave, we could probably stumble along, sharing these wonderful stories with our kids, without relying on textual formats.

Aside from re-telling these classic stories, we shouldn't underestimate the power of personal narratives. Stories can come from anywhere, including our daily lives.

If you choose to work towards the goal of sharing one thousand stories with your child per year, don't forget to look beyond the tried, tested, and true catalogue of children's books, and towards yourself, as both story-lover and storyteller. Below are some examples of books that can get you started along this journey.