Strap on your boots and rain gear to venture through the entangled layers of the rain forest–discovering their inhabitants, habitat and prey, feeling the sheer immensity of the jungle. Clearly dividing the forest layers from the river, forest floor, understory, and canopy to the emergents, this book draws the reader up through the levels of foliage with just enough facts and lush illustrations.
In an age where books compete with fast-paced technology for a child’s attention, “Rain Forest” reinforces the power of an engaging, interactive book. Kids explore the layers of the rain forest in five pop-up panoramas, including the transparent, three dimensional layered view of the Amazon River. Scout an animal in its natural habitat, and then check the 3-D key below to gather facts about your creature. Children I read this to were so excited by the Circle of Life that they asked to hear about the “secondary customers” (consumers) again! The grand recycling food chain gave them order in this complicated ecosystem.
With a new emphasis on encouraging elementary school children to read non-fiction, “Rain Forest” is a captivating addition to a child’s library, capturing the enormity of the jungle’s influence in intricate detail–providing a home for more than half of known animal species and stretching for over 1,400 miles on either side of the equator. This book can be read by a child to discover and learn or used by educators to encourage children to collect facts, write paragraphs, explain the interdependence of forest layers, food chains and ecosystems or answer inferential questions about what species survive where and why.
So set aside Sponge Bob and the Super Heroes for a moment and immerse a child in the teeming forest of learning about our world.
Speech Pathologists, by profession need to be creative people, when working with children to build their speech and language skills, making the sessions so much fun that their little clients have no idea they are “learning.” In the case of I Can Do That and I Can Say That by Dr. Suzy Lederer, a professor of speech-language pathology with over 25 years experience, these inviting, educational, research-based, books were both authored and illustrated by speech-language pathologists.
Simple, clear stories aimed at children learning beginning vocabulary, gestures, sounds and language, these books use the strategies that speech pathologists seek in a book. Lists of target nouns and verbs, their corresponding signs, short rhyming lines, repetition of vocabulary, invitations to imitate in gesture and word, simple drawings and layout to limit distractions, bold-faced single words to encourage pre-literacy, and a quick pace, contribute to the magic of these stories. As therapists, we must constantly adjust our materials to meet the needs and interests of our little clients, providing stimulating and refreshing content. I Can Do That and I Can Say That invite, amuse and teach the child in a useful context.
Children are drawn in by the story’s simplicity and can’t help but join in the repetition of core vocabulary while pretending to eat, drink, hug, or kiss. My little testers enjoyed the kiss the most, anticipating and slobbering on the glossy page with delight. Answering yes and no questions and practicing greetings are included in the stories too.
Research shows that play and reading fosters language development in children. These books encouraged interaction and play, as an active 19 month-old sat on my lap through both stories in a book, spontaneously saying the sounds while looking at the animals quack, moo, meow, and woof. Acting out the verbs, brought in an element of pretend play, encouraging gestures and higher language function.
As an added feature, an interactive CD-ROM for your PC is included in both English and Spanish.
One mom declared these hard covered books so nice that they belonged in “supervised reading.” When I asked her to clarify she said, “I wouldn’t leave them out for him to rip the pages. They belong in the special Mommy and Me section of his bookshelf!” She clearly enjoyed reading the books as much as her son delighted in hearing them.
Wilbur doesn’t get it. He loves fancy clothes. Why do naked mole rats have to miss out on dress up? Who made the rules? Scooped up by his colony of critical mole rats, he is taken before the great portrait of Grand-pa, a revered titan to nakedness. Unconvinced, Wilbur continues to question, “Why not wear clothes?” Frustrated, his fellow naked mole rats appeal to Grand-pa who proclaims to his shocked subjects, “Why not?” Clothes don’t hurt anyone and can actually be fun. Given this new choice, some mole rats begin to sport new fashions and others prefer nakedness, but all are united in fun. This tale of inclusion and questioning the rules is delightfully illustrated by Mo Willem’s trademark lined characters. Simple facial lines change a rat’s expression from a “yuck” to a “Eeeeewwww,” leaving you laughing at his antics.
Use the Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed to start a discussion about rules–rules at home or school. What is the difference between unfair and unnecessary? What makes someone different? How should we treat them? What makes me different?
Being grumpy is a lot of work. Mr. Fish can’t seem to be cheered up by his convincing pals, Ms Clam, Mr. Jelly (Fish), Mrs. Squid or Mr. Eight (legged octopus). In spite of the efforts by his best-intended buddies, this dreary, sulking fish is convinced he is doomed to a life of mope. An unexpected visitor appears to plant a kiss on our prince to get this grump out of his slump. This charming tale, The Pout-Pout Fish, is filled with strong vocabulary, rhythm and rhyme with stanzas to be sung with your little one.
Tips to Build Language and Literacy:
Model putting words to your emotions throughout your daily experiences. “I’m frustrated, I can’t get this lid open” or “I’m tired and grumpy. I need a nap.” “Please be patient, I can’t help you right now.” Identify and name emotions in stories that you read aloud to your child. “The little girl is selfish—always wanting her own way” or “Grandma is disappointed in her behavior.” Brainstorm words that describe the main character and see how many you can list. After reading a story to a first grade class, I collected fourteen words to describe the “bossy, impolite, ungrateful” little girl. Our little pout pout fish is “glum,” “mopey,” “dreary,” with an “unattractive trait.”
Point out repeated words that are isolated in the text, “Blub, Bluuuub, and Bluuuuub!” Your child will begin to associate the sound with the letter as you stretch out the word and even “read” the word next time you encounter that page.
No child gets bored with this kaleidoscope of colorful objects, animals and people gathered into categories by theme–getting dressed, visiting the farm, making music, or playing on the beach. Each category in Maisy’s Amazing Big Book of Words is introduced with a full-size picture and flap to invite your preschooler into a world bursting with 300 words that are related by theme. Whether your child is at the stage of pointing to hear you label the picture, naming the illustrations or narrating a little sentence, she will delight in this feast of words, all relating to a little one’s experience.
Take the time to name the pictures, describe them, “the three swimming ducklings,” and talk about how they all belong to a group–things we use on a rainy day, animals in the sea, food in the kitchen, or objects for bath time. Naming the category builds your child’s language as she learns to group words by their use or function. Talk about what we do with the items–”We dry off with a towel,” or “we wash with soap,” or “we float the duck.” Talking about the function of objects, helps your child link concepts and builds language skills.
Traveling through the alphabet with Max is quite an adventure. Our beloved Max, who managed to empty the contents of his room into his pocket in Max Cleans Up, is at it again. This time, his Ants escaped looking for Birthday cake and manage to follow a trail down Max’s pants in search of anything sugary like Cranberry juice, making their way through the house with Ruby in pursuit. Unlike many other alphabet books that highlight a letter with a word on each page, this clever storyline links the letters of the alphabet so seamlessly that it can stand alone as a storybook.
Young children’s literature should have rich stories, stimulating concepts within the content, and a storyline your child can relate to. Max’s ABC introduces large colorful letters on each page but also presents a story full of concepts appropriate for your preschooler. Ants climb “on,” juice is poured “onto,” pants come “off” and “on,” popsicles are “in,” ants try to nibble “through” and a trail goes “underneath.” Words that describe spatial relations are all part of a preschooler’s world as she explores inside and out. And what child isn’t fascinated with bugs?
One reason Rosemary Wells’ books are so popular across age groups is because she pours lots of content into a short text. I have seen a two-year-old and a six-year-old enjoy the same book because as the child gets older he is entertained by the humor and innuendo in her books. So your eighteen-month-old can enjoy the bright colors, vivid pictures and two to three lines under each picture, while your 3-year-old will be drawn in by the whimsical illustrations, letters to learn and adventure.
Parents are often proud when their child knows his letters but the next step is to know that a letter represents a sound. As you are reading Max’s ABC, you can point to the word beginning with the highlighted sound and spend a little more time making that sound. A two-year-old can have fun imitating your sounds while a four or five year old can have fun thinking of other words beginning with that sound too.
