WTF Are We Going To Do Now

“Henry loves books, but not like you and I, not quite. Henry loves to EAT books. And here is the best bit: the more he eats, the smarter he gets.

Big books, picture books, reference books– you name it, Henry eats them up. And the more he eats, the smarter he gets. (You knew that was coming, right?) Henry keeps eating and getting smarter, knowing one day, he’ll be the smartest in the world. However, all the fun catches up to him and one day poor Henry feels sick to his stomach. Eventually, all the information Henry’s digested gets so jumbled, he needs to find a new way to enjoy books.

Even though the story is predictable for adults, kids will literally eat up The Incredible Book Eating Boy. I have to admit, even though the story was predictable, I still found myself wanting to read on. The clever illustrations make this book truly unique. Using old book covers, and pages from books, Jeffers’ collage-style will have you oohing and aahing! The best part? When you get to the end of the book, we find out that Henry hasn’t changed his ways and has taken a bite out of the lower rear corner of the final pages– Funny!

Parents, teachers, and librarians will love the positive moral of the book about the importance of reading and children’s literacy. Young readers will enjoy the cartoon illustrations and young and old will enjoy the low-key humor.

Author/ Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Publisher: Philomel, April 2007
Reading Level: Ages 4-8

Lori Calabrese is a freelance writer who specializes in parenting and children in both her personal and professional life. Lori’s publishing credits include Boys’ Life, Odyssey, Appleseeds, Focus on the Family Clubhouse Jr., Stories for Children Magazine, and The Institute of Children’s Literature’s Rx for Writers. Lori is a graduate of The Institute of Children’s Literature and a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

To learn more, please visit http://www.loricalabrese.com

Author: Lori Calabrese
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

Books for boys can be hard to choose.

Parents who want to encourage the reading habit can sometimes feel that they are fighting a losing battle when their kids eschew books for all the other distractions of the modern boy’s existence.

Video games, play station, TV, computer games, football, playing with friends, judo, swimming club, chatting on the mobile, surfing the net…. there are so many more activities to occupy boys attention nowadays than in the heyday of Arthur Ransome.

Yet the more the modern child is bombarded by multi-media, the more children appear to be affected by attention deficit disorders, finding it hard to concentrate on a paragraph, let alone a whole novel.

So what do parents need to look out for when choosing a book for boys.

1 Exciting stories.

2 Well defined, colourful characters.

3 Writing style which is neither wordy nor inaccessible.

4 Writing style which does not talk down to kids.

5 A male protagonist.

6 A setting which provides excitement.

7 Fast pace.

8 A central character with whom boys can identify.

9 A story in which boys take central stage in the action and are not controlled by adults.

10 Cliff hanger chapter endings.

Today’s children can often feel isolated by the seeming chaos of modern life. Children’s books can help them realise they are not alone in this and in the isolation of the character in the novel, they can see their own reflection.

When I started writing, I realised that several of my own main characters, particularly boys, were locked into this isolation, a feeling of being different. In my first novel, “The Boy From The Hills,” Jamie is a lonely boy who wanders the hills near his home when he meets a strange boy near a standing stone. Kai, who has been transported through time from the Bronze Age, also reflects the loneliness of modern life when he becomes trapped in a century he cannot understand nor identify with.

In “The Guardian and the Goddess,” my main character is even more isolated. In “The Boy From The Hills,” Jamie and Kai become friends and learn from each other, easing the loneliness of both their existences. However, Tom in “The Guardian the Goddess,” has no friends. He is a bright kid from a poor estate, his classmates from backgrounds very different to his own. He gains his solace from his relationship with the landscape and the spirits who inhabit the parkland he loves.

Books specifically for boys have always had an important place. In the early decades of the 20th century, Biggles, Jennings and William captured the imagination of countless boys. Today a browse through the bookstore will uncover up-to-date races through time, space and life relevant to the modern child. Harry Potter’s appeal lies in his normalness. Hermione is a far clever magician than Harry but Harry is the Hero; the boy who could so easily live down your child’s street, or be your child.

So have a browse in the bookstore, or on the internet. Read the many excellent children’s literature blogs. Take a look in the children’s library at Books for Keeps and the Times Eductional Supplement which review the new releases. Take a look at the websites of those of us who have books specifically written with boys in mind, with boys at centre stage, taking the lead in adventures.

A gift of an excellent book will give a boy entry to other worlds, new friends, an escape from day to lifeand a realisation that, however confusing and isolating the modern world may seem, with a good book in his hands, he is never, ever alone.

Cara Louise

Cara Louise Children’s Books

http://www.caralouisebooks.com

Author: Cara Louise
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Tissot virtual reality

By the time my son was born, he already had a bookshelf full of books. What else would you expect from a baby whose mother teaches English? Since he was my first child, I really had little knowledge of what one was “supposed” to read to a newborn. As far as I can tell, it doesn’t matter if you read Sports Illustrated, The Economist, The Bible or the dictionary to a newborn; they just love to hear your voice, and I operate under the theory that limiting a baby’s exposure to new and challenging words (assuming that he will not understand) is to do him a disservice. Neither my husband nor I have shied away from books that were “too advanced” for him, and I can see that it is paying off.

Having now praised the benefits of high-level texts, let me go back to the basics: those building blocks to communication: letters. ABC books. I confess to having no fewer than fifteen different alphabet books, and that’s not counting the Sesame Street series of 26 books (one for each letter). By the way, those books are incredible, and Xander loves them: the familiar characters, the rhymes, the silliness, everything, and I give that series of books a lot of credit for Xander’s interest in words and reading.

A few other ABC books for super young readers that you won’t mind reading over and over:

Animal Action ABC by Karen Pandell, Handprint Books- I love this one for several reasons. All of the ABCs match up to action words. Kids are inundated with nouns; it’s wonderful to provide a book of 26 great verbs like charge, inflate, and leap! Each letter/action word is accompanied by a full color photo of an animal in action, in addition to a picture of a child doing the same thing. In our family, reading this book would often require all of us attempting the suggested action, as well. This was, and still is, one of Xander’s favorites.

The Elephant Alphabet by Gene Yates, Kidsbooks- This one is really funny. Every page depicts a boldly colored elephant trying to mold himself into the shape of a particular letter. The caption for each picture contains several words containing the particular letter: “G elephant gulps garlic and turns green.”

All of these books have enhanced Xander’s ability to hear letter sounds. Early on, he was able to identify the first letters of words he didn’t even know. To encourage this, we enunciated letter sounds, played quiz-type games, looked at other books and fun flash cards, and showed him what words look like as we read. I also have to give props to a DVD from Leap Frog called The Letter Factory. Xander loved it, and the songs stuck with him.

Last, if you’ve had it with a particular book, just put it away for awhile. “Find” it again later; your child will be excited and happy, and you may even like it again, yourself.

Christie Stockstill

Author: Christie Stockstill
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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