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Vera Williams books
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From: Sulman Family <dsulman>
Date: Sun, 7 Apr 1996 23:32:28 -0600
One thing I have loved about Vera Williams' books is how much I and my children have enjoyed the stories and been able to identify with the situations described. My three boys are from a white, middle-class, two-parent family, but they were really caught up in the stories of Rosa and her mother and grandmother collecting coins in a jar to buy a new chair after a fire destroyed all their belongings. They could identify with the need to save pennies for a long, long time to gain something special. This was a book they were first introduced to on "Reading Rainbow" and asked to own. They could identify in the same way with the difficulty of making the right decision in a very important choice, in "Something Special for Me." The joy in the adult?by interactions in "More, More, More..." is really universal. Children love when a book reflects the feelings, experiences and everyday objects they know. But books also serve to enlarge their knowledge of the world and other people, and I think they like that too. I think that "More, More, More..." is able to help young children appreciate what we all have in common and teach us to cherish our shared humanity, no matter what skin color we have, what family constellation we live in, how much money we have at our disposal. The same is true of "Three on a River..." and "Stringbean's Trip..." And of course, the pictures are wonderfully appealing to kids and adults of all ages, with details to invite studying them many times over.
One more comment - When we read "Scooter" aloud at our house, we tried all the directions (such as for making pom-poms, etc.) and found that they really worked. We have had plenty of experiences with other books where the crafts or recipes didn't really turn out and children ended up frustrated and disappointed. Vera Williams' ideas really worked well and were explained in ways that real child readers could follow and delight in. This is another book that I have seen lots of boys enjoy even though the main character is a girl. So I think Williams is able to find the common shared experiences that pull in many readers of both sexes, a wide range of ages, and a variety of backgrounds.
Just my two cents' worth.
Anne Altshuler, parent and school library volunteer
Received on Mon 08 Apr 1996 12:32:28 AM CDT
Date: Sun, 7 Apr 1996 23:32:28 -0600
One thing I have loved about Vera Williams' books is how much I and my children have enjoyed the stories and been able to identify with the situations described. My three boys are from a white, middle-class, two-parent family, but they were really caught up in the stories of Rosa and her mother and grandmother collecting coins in a jar to buy a new chair after a fire destroyed all their belongings. They could identify with the need to save pennies for a long, long time to gain something special. This was a book they were first introduced to on "Reading Rainbow" and asked to own. They could identify in the same way with the difficulty of making the right decision in a very important choice, in "Something Special for Me." The joy in the adult?by interactions in "More, More, More..." is really universal. Children love when a book reflects the feelings, experiences and everyday objects they know. But books also serve to enlarge their knowledge of the world and other people, and I think they like that too. I think that "More, More, More..." is able to help young children appreciate what we all have in common and teach us to cherish our shared humanity, no matter what skin color we have, what family constellation we live in, how much money we have at our disposal. The same is true of "Three on a River..." and "Stringbean's Trip..." And of course, the pictures are wonderfully appealing to kids and adults of all ages, with details to invite studying them many times over.
One more comment - When we read "Scooter" aloud at our house, we tried all the directions (such as for making pom-poms, etc.) and found that they really worked. We have had plenty of experiences with other books where the crafts or recipes didn't really turn out and children ended up frustrated and disappointed. Vera Williams' ideas really worked well and were explained in ways that real child readers could follow and delight in. This is another book that I have seen lots of boys enjoy even though the main character is a girl. So I think Williams is able to find the common shared experiences that pull in many readers of both sexes, a wide range of ages, and a variety of backgrounds.
Just my two cents' worth.
Anne Altshuler, parent and school library volunteer
Received on Mon 08 Apr 1996 12:32:28 AM CDT
