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[CCBC-Net] Books for Babies and Toddlers
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From: robinsmith59 at comcast.net <robinsmith59>
Date: Sat, 03 Aug 2002 08:59:15 -0500
Though I do not work with toddlers, I am fascinated by books for the youngest readers. As we encourage parents to read sloud to their babies and toddlers, I am often asked for lists of "good books" for this age level. Though we cannot ask the same thing of a book for a child with a very short attention span as we do of books for other age groups in the way of plot and character development, there are some characteristics that make a book for young children especially laudable.
I, too, love the books of Donald Crews. The bold artwork, familiar situations, and brief text work together very well indeed. The size of the book spreads across the laps of adult and child and the trains and trucks and school buses to draw both readers together. I love books that include traffic signs and other natually-occuring text. Crews also includes unusual words ("trestle" pops to mind) that children love to learn, even when their vocabulary is limited by their ages.
When we look back on the photographs of our children, there are a few books that reappear regularly in the background of the photos. Cordouroy (Don Freeman), Are You My Mother? (PD Eastman), Goodnight Moon, The Little Fur Family, The Runaway Bunny (all by Margaret Wise Brown), Each, Peach, Pear, Plum (Ahlbergs), Moo, Boo, Lalala (Boynton), and Pat the Bunny (Kunhardt) and its parody Pat the Preppy. By reading these books hundreds of times, they remain the fabric of our lives. These were the first books our children could read by themselves and their tattered, chewed covers can still send all of us into a swoon of nostalgia. Most of you can probably recite many of these books by heart. I know I can.
I am still on the lookout for new books that I think will stand the test of toddlers and time. Recently I found Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora. The bold paintings, simple repetitive text and comforting situations are magical. I imagine today's babies looking at the right-hand pages for clues of who or what is hiding on the next page. It reminds me of Vera Williams' brilliant Lucky Song, another wonderful book for the very young. There the youngster is, firmly in the center of each page and in the center of her family's life.
Though this is not part of this month's conversation, I know of one teacher who brings these books which are meant for babies and toddlers to her first grade classroom. She has children construct their own very early readers and stories with very few words, usually celebrating family life or simple pleasures. She has an instant supply of books that her new, sometimes struggling, readers can successfully read on their own and her students love a return to the books of their younger days.
Robin Smith Nashville, Tennessee
Received on Sat 03 Aug 2002 08:59:15 AM CDT
Date: Sat, 03 Aug 2002 08:59:15 -0500
Though I do not work with toddlers, I am fascinated by books for the youngest readers. As we encourage parents to read sloud to their babies and toddlers, I am often asked for lists of "good books" for this age level. Though we cannot ask the same thing of a book for a child with a very short attention span as we do of books for other age groups in the way of plot and character development, there are some characteristics that make a book for young children especially laudable.
I, too, love the books of Donald Crews. The bold artwork, familiar situations, and brief text work together very well indeed. The size of the book spreads across the laps of adult and child and the trains and trucks and school buses to draw both readers together. I love books that include traffic signs and other natually-occuring text. Crews also includes unusual words ("trestle" pops to mind) that children love to learn, even when their vocabulary is limited by their ages.
When we look back on the photographs of our children, there are a few books that reappear regularly in the background of the photos. Cordouroy (Don Freeman), Are You My Mother? (PD Eastman), Goodnight Moon, The Little Fur Family, The Runaway Bunny (all by Margaret Wise Brown), Each, Peach, Pear, Plum (Ahlbergs), Moo, Boo, Lalala (Boynton), and Pat the Bunny (Kunhardt) and its parody Pat the Preppy. By reading these books hundreds of times, they remain the fabric of our lives. These were the first books our children could read by themselves and their tattered, chewed covers can still send all of us into a swoon of nostalgia. Most of you can probably recite many of these books by heart. I know I can.
I am still on the lookout for new books that I think will stand the test of toddlers and time. Recently I found Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora. The bold paintings, simple repetitive text and comforting situations are magical. I imagine today's babies looking at the right-hand pages for clues of who or what is hiding on the next page. It reminds me of Vera Williams' brilliant Lucky Song, another wonderful book for the very young. There the youngster is, firmly in the center of each page and in the center of her family's life.
Though this is not part of this month's conversation, I know of one teacher who brings these books which are meant for babies and toddlers to her first grade classroom. She has children construct their own very early readers and stories with very few words, usually celebrating family life or simple pleasures. She has an instant supply of books that her new, sometimes struggling, readers can successfully read on their own and her students love a return to the books of their younger days.
Robin Smith Nashville, Tennessee
Received on Sat 03 Aug 2002 08:59:15 AM CDT
