I’ve started up my video reviews, giving language boosting tips to parents, using favorite PAL Award winning toys, books and games. I couldn’t resist sharing this gem of a book, “Two Speckled Eggs” by author/illustrator Jennifer Mann.

 

As a parent, you can up the language level of your book time with a few tips such as

  • Talk about the book. Don’t feel bad about pausing on a page to talk about what is happening. I call it “hanging out on a page.” Research actually shows that children show greater gains in language skills when an adult talks about the story as well as reads it. It is called Dialogic Reading.
  • Check out facts about the author and illustrator. Kids love to hear about where they live, if they have a pet that might have inspired the story, or in this case the fact that the author and illustrator are the same person. Jennifer Mann was an architect before she wrote children’s books.
  • Thinking, reasoning, questioning. How is an architect related to an illustrator? One little boy told me, “An architect makes things and an illustrator colors them.” He was close! As I began to read the story and he saw Lyla Browning off by herself with a magnifying glass he said, “She’s like an architect, discovering things!” Relate the author’s inspiration from life experiences to the story. How does it connect?
  • Relate the book to life. Kids were making fun of Lyla Browning because she brought in  a curly hair tarantula for show ‘n tell. “Blecchh! Disgusting, gross.” What could we say that would encourage Lyla? What can we do when kids are mean?
  • Name their feelings. How does Ginger feel when the kids are wrecking her games? When they don’t like her cake? When Lyla offers a ladybug? Mad, sad, disappointed or frustrated?
  • Comparisons. How was Lyla’s present different than the others? One child compared the wrappings, “Lyla’s was in a plain box with the top open and the other ones were brought in a special way, gift bags, bows and ribbons.”
  • Go beyond the story. My little friend launched into telling me about his friend, Lane, who ruined his 5th birthday party because he broke all the presents and made him sad. And, Lane’s dad didn’t do anything about it which he didn’t understand. Wow, there was a lot to talk about after he shared his experience related to the story. He also started talking about being different and said he was the only different one in his class. As I probed a little more, as to why he was different, he said, “because I’m the smartest and I read the best.” He clearly gets the concept that “different” can be a good thing.

Click here for my full review.