3 September - my blog should be
finished by now – what to write? What to write?
And then Rosemary (just after we’d
finished a pigs and elephants Storytime at the Supermarket session
with some lively three-to-five-year-olds) – said ‘What about
Elephant & Piggie?’
We had enjoyed the story; the children
had enjoyed the story; the grandparent and carer present had enjoyed
the story; so I thought that was a good idea….
How many of you are familiar with this
series, written by Mo Willems? He also wrote the Don’t let the
pigeon drive the bus series and the Knuffle Bunny series,
but to me, Gerald (the elephant) and Piggie (the pig) are totally the
best.
The books are right for reading to and
with pre-readers, and for first efforts with new readers. The
language is simple, the vocabulary is limited, with a good proportion
of phonics-based words that can be deciphered by ‘sounding-out’.
The illustrations support the text, especially through emotions shown
emphatically by the facial expressions and body language of Gerald
and Piggie. And visual clues such as size of letters, bolding, and
italicizing also assist in understanding the text.
But a particular advantage of these
titles is the opportunity they provide to discuss the emotions and
feelings shown by the characters, an essential part of the
development of empathy in young children. For some children, it is
not easy to ‘read’ the feelings of their peers, and the books
provide plenty of scope for initiation of discussion of body language
and facial expression.
And the books are witty and very funny
– you will laugh out loud in parts of them and this will, of
course, enhance your enjoyment of the reading session, whether it’s
with your children, your grandchildren, or your students.
You can find these books in the State
Library, so have a look at them. They may also be on the shelves of
a school library near you.
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