It’s always fun to test out my PAL Award winners with the grand kids so I brought along three of my recent favorites to test out with Caroline. Mom and Dad took a much deserved vacation alone, while Pop Pop and Sheshe held down the fort with one giggly, cuddly 3 year-old girl, a 15 month-old mountain goat who views his world as a big obstacle course to overcome, and two sweet dogs.
First I must say that grandparents should always bring along picture books that THEY enjoy because they will be reading them repeatedly throughout the visit. We stayed with “Hands Off, Harry! by Rosemary Wells, “I’m Not” by Pam Smallcomb and Robert Weinstock, and “Art and Max” by David Wiesner, all recent PAL Award winners that Caroline enjoyed just as much as I did. It was fun to see her take in the stories and absorb a little more of the relationships, inferred concepts, and main ideas as we read them over and over. She was especially fascinated with “Art and Max,” and could articulate some of the more abstract concepts such as when Art’s outline was pulled apart and slowly unraveled into a messy tangle of a line, I asked her, “Where is Art? to which she replied, “He’s in the line!”
Each of these books is a winner because it presents a creative story that invites kids to stretch their language as they ask, probe and re-tell the story.
Oh and by the way…we did indulge a little with the chocolate donut with sprinkles. Don’t tell the parents!
Here are my reviews:
“Art and Max”: Click here
“I’m Not” Click here
“Hands Off, Harry!” Click here
