Reading

Jonathan's reading ability is improving by leaps and bounds. He's reading The Hobbit with Gabe, Ginger Pye with me, and all sorts of books by himself. This morning we all piled into bed to read together, and Jonathan asked to read the first book (chosen by Josiah). Isn't it great?

Easy readers: frequently enjoyed baby books!

You know how you read those little board books to your kiddos over, and over, and over, and over, and over again? I just discovered a happy result to all those repetitions. Jonathan has gone back to the board books that I was almost ready to put away (I'm glad I hadn't gotten around to it yet!) He's reading them to himself. They have quite a few words in them that aren't technically "easy reader"
language, but because the books often rhyme, and because he remembers how they're supposed to sound, he's able to figure it out. There is a whole new level of enjoyment for him in picking up a book because he wants to, and reading it without asking for help all the time. :)

Besides, who doesn't enjoy books that include lines such as:

Pajammy to the left.

Pajammy to the right.

(Jamma jamma jamma jamma P! J!)

It just makes you smile!

Reading in Puddle Lane

Touchstone recently started publishing a column by Kathie Johnson entitled "First Books". Kathie has a deep love for children's literature, and she has a truly amazing library in her house, available to children in Berkeley. In this month's article, she reviewed some of the "just-beginning-to-read" books that she has found the most children to respond to, and discussed why different children might be drawn to different kinds of beginner books. One of the series' was Puddle Lane, by Sheila McCullagh.

Puddle Lane books are written specifically to be read together with an adult (or older sibling). They are small hardcover books with wonderful illustrations, easy to hold and very attractive. You just want to pick them up! In "Stage 2" (where we're currently reading) the left hand page holds the adult text, which reads like a good children's story. The right hand page has one or two sentences of the same part of the story, the same or very similar to part of what was just read. The beauty of this is twofold: you get a real story, and the beginning reader gets some help from his memory as he reads his page. This allows him to read more fluently, which is far more rewarding than sounding everything out all the time.

And the stories are just a lot of fun! They include such delights as talking mice, Griffles and Gruffles, a Magician, various townspeople, and children with names like Peter Puffle ("Hey, it rhymes with Gruffle!" says Jonathan.) I'm not worried about the magical elements, as we've been reading fiction since Jonathan was about 2 years old, and he has a firm grasp on real vs. story. Besides, eventually I want him to read C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. :)

Learning to read has been a struggle for Jonathan after the first week of "wow" wore off. He's very bright, and he can pick things up quickly, but he hated the slogging along. As he informed me, "it isn't really reading, not like Daddy does!" To some extent, we just had to muddle through that part...but Puddle Lane has come along at just the right time. Jonathan is watching for the mail to arrive to see if a new Puddle Lane book comes. He asks to read them with me. And after only a few days, he's realizing that he knows more than he thinks he does, and that it transfers. This afternoon he asked me where The Big Red Barn (another wonderful book!) was, and sat himself down to read it.

Thank you, Kathie, for your heart for children and their books. And thank you, Touchstone, for publishing her wisdom.