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From the archives — The Fine Art of Reading Aloud, 3a, Emerging Readers
This was first posted on elizabethannewrites on June 5, 2011. The ages of 5 to 8 years mark a time of great transition in a child’s life. Starting kindergarten and then “real” school, moving beyond the familiar (and even for a child who has been in daycare, school is going to be a different experience),…
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In the Meadow — Perfect Picture Book Friday
I continue my series encouraging people to look closely at nature, with today’s quiet, lovely book choice. Title: In the Meadow Author: Yukiko Kato Illustrator: Komako Sakai Publisher: New York: Enchanted Lion Books, 2008 (originally published in Japan)
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What Do Katherine Anne Porter and The Great American Mousical Have in Common?
Katherine Anne Porter was an essayist, novelist, social critic, Pulitzer Prize winner, who learned to be a survivor from an early age, and whose writings reflected her understanding that no matter how difficult life gets, one must hold on and go forward. As a brief biography on the PBS website states, “Often concerned with the…
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Gratitude
It’s Thanksgiving Day here in Canada. As in the United States, many families have a tradition of taking a moment before the Thanksgiving meal to go around the table, each sharing something for which they are grateful. I’d like to invite you all to join me around my virtual Thanksgiving table, as I share some…
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From the archives — The Fine Art of Reading Aloud, 2b, Books to Read to Little Ones
This was first posted on elizabethannewrites on May 31, 2011 There is no perfect time to read a story to a little one … Any time is the perfect time to read a story to a little one. As I said in my first post about reading to the littlest ones, reading aloud can begin…
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From the archives — The Fine Art of Reading Aloud, 2a, Reading to the Littlest Ones
This was first posted on elizabethannewrites on May 26, 2011. As Emma Walton Hamilton points out in her book Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment, it is never too early to begin reading to a child. Even before the baby is born, reading to him/her can be a way of bonding, of…
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A Closer Look — Perfect Picture Book Friday
As I said in my post on Monday, October 1st, in which I celebrated the birthdays of nature lovers (and authors) Beverley Brenna, Julie Andrews, and Jimmy Carter, my Perfect Picture Book choices for the month of October will focus on nature, and on looking closely at the natural world around us. Appropriately, today’s choice…
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10,000 Dresses by Marcus Ewert, illustrated by Rex Ray
Over a year ago, on my old blog, I posted a series about picture books that deal with bullying in one form or another. Those posts will be appearing on this blog as part of my “Looking Back and Moving Forward” archival re-posts. However, I wanted to focus on one of the books I mention…
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Waiting in the Wings — From Children’s Books to Musicals
Many successful children’s books have received a new life as stage musicals. Peter Pan has been soaring across stages on Broadway and beyond since Mary Martin first enticed Wendy and her brothers to Never Never Land. Mary Poppins began as a movie musical, written by the Sherman brothers, but has found a happy home on…
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I Love Celebrating October First!
For many years (I promise not to say how many), October first has been a special day in our family, as someone who means a great deal to us was born on that date. Over the years, the joy of the day has been added to for me by the fact that two people I…
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From the archives — The Fine Art of Reading Aloud, 1b, Rhyming book suggestions
This was first posted on elizabethannewrites on May 21, 2011. In my previous post in this series, I talked about how to read rhyming-text picture books. In this post, I want to suggest a few books in which the rhyming text works (and one in which it doesn’t, in my opinion). Babies are aware of…
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From the archives — The Fine Art of Reading Aloud 1a, Rhyming Texts
This was first posted on elizabethannewrites on May 19, 2011. When Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies was released, I told my mother about it over the phone, and mentioned that there was a CD of Julie reading some of the poems. (Note: Emma reads some of the poems as well.) I remember…