How to introduce your child to picture books by Leanne Dyck

"A work in progress"

Rock art by my husband; photo by me.

Let's start at the beginning... 

Why is it important to read to babies?

-helps with language acquisition 
the more opportunities to hear words being spoken, the more likely it is that your child will repeat these words.
-helps increase attention span
but remember the book is there for your child, not visa versa
-helps build a bond between mother and child
-helps instill a love of books

More:
A link to an article I wrote on the importance of reading to infants and toddlers--and the conclusion to this article. 

On the web:  10 Reasons Why You Should Read to Your Kids

Board books are especially designed to appeal to babies.

Pictures are the most important element in board books. [They help to keep the young listener engaged.] There might be one sentence on a page ... sometimes just one word. (Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul p. 7)

The main difference between board and picture books is the number of pages. Picture books, for children two to five years of age, are typically 32 pages long.

More:
An article on the importance of reading to your 2 to 3 year old child.
On the web:  Literacy Skills:  Ages 2 - 3

How do you help your child make the transition from board to picture books?

First, read the picture book the way you would a board book--by focusing on the illustrations. Then try reading some of the text. Is your child engaged? Is the child interested? Continue reading. If at any time the child shows any signs of being uninterested in the text, stop reading and refocus on the illustrations. Remember books are there for the child--not visa, versa. The goal is to keep storytime fun. 

Next post:  (Sunday, April 17th -- around 5 p.m. PST) Do authors influence you? How? Who? I will discuss this topic as I review Margaret Atwood's novel Cat's Eye

Bim sporting his new sweater--hand knit and designed by me.

First time in a long time that I returned to my knitting needles.

But, hey, Bim was cold--so it had to be done, and it was fun. 

Sharing my author journey...

Some people love to sleep. Some authors have a strict no writing in 

Storytime (short story) by Leanne Dyck

How do you make children listen to you read books? You don't. You invite those interested to listen.

(all photos by Leanne Dyck)

Storytime

by Leanne Dyck

Updated June 9, 2020

I was young; I was naive; I was just another practicum student passing through that day care centre.

The staff tried to warn me. "These kids don't like books. They won't sit still."

But I didn't listen...

I walked over to a group of four children who were colouring at a small table. 

"A little mouse went creeping, creeping, creeping," I chanted as I crept two fingers across the table. "A little mouse went creeping across the kitchen floor.

The great, big cat went stomping, stomping, stomping." I hit the table like a drum, and the children joined me. "The great, big cat went stomping across the kitchen floor."

"The little mouse ran away." I ran my fingers off the edge of the table, and the children laughed. "Would you like to hear a story?"

One of the children said, "Yes," and followed me to the library corner. She was joined by two other children. 

The girl who'd accepted my invitation forced a book into my hands. "This one. Read this one."

I held the book in the air and called. "Storytime."

Most of the children ignored me, but a boy who'd been playing with a car parked it and came to the circle. He pulled a book off the shelf. "Read this book."

"I'll read this one first, and then I'll read yours," I told him.

"Sometimes it looked like split milk, but..." I began—that brought a few more children to our group.

"I have a bunny," a girl said, loudly.

"No, you don't," another girl said.

"Yes, I do."

Their debate drowned out my reading.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the staff exchange a smile. 

"What do you think this is?" I asked the girl who thought she had a rabbit.

"An airplane," she guessed. 

"No, it's not," a boy said. "It's a bird."

We continued to tell the story together, and more and more of the children were drawn into the circle until they all were engaged in storytelling. 

I flipped from one page to another until... "Sometimes it looked like split milk, but it wasn't split milk. It was a..." 

I waited for the children to call out the answer, and I was rewarded with a chorus. 

"Read another one," the children said, and I'm still reading.


More...

Toddler Story Time (YouTube video)

Why Story-Time Rocks

And in 2015 I wrote an article about my most recent experience sharing books with a group of children. Here's the link.

Next post (Sunday, April 10th -- published after 5 P.M. PST):  Your preschooler loves board books and you're wondering when and how you should introduce your child to picture books. I was an Early Childhood Educator working with preschoolers in Day Care Centres for over fourteen years. I read tons of picture books to groups of children and I'm delighted to share my tips in my next post.

Sharing my author journey...

Some writers love to do research.