Children's Lit
Introduction
A woman walks into the children's section of a bookstore, searching for a book for her eight year old Grandson. She has been told that he likes "chapter books" but she isn't certain what a chapter book is, or even what kind of book he would like. With nearly five thousand new children's books being printed each year, and close to ten times that many children’s books in print, trying to make sense of what you're looking at seems equal to trying to make sense of a foreign language. From the day a child is born, (and even before) books should be a part of his life, and it is our job as adults to put them on the path to becoming readers. Can a baby learn to talk if he is never exposed to language? Of course not, so how can we expect children to read if they are never exposed to books? A baby isn’t born with an innate vocabulary. They learn by seeing and hearing the people around them. A child doesn’t wake up one day able to read Tolstoy. The passage from chewing on soft cloth books to reading War and Peace begins with children’s books. There are books to read aloud, and books to read alone. There are books for babies, and books for Tweens. Knowing the right time for each of these books, and what books to choose, are the skills you need to help get them there. Journeying into the world of Children’s books can be a wonderful voyage once you learn how to navigate it. The availability of quality books for children has never been better, and thanks in part to books like Harry Potter, children are interested in and enjoying reading. Who is this book appropriate for? What should I read to my child/What should my child be reading? Where do I begin? When is the right time for cloth/board/picture/chapter books? Why should I buy books for a baby? How do I know the age appropriateness of a book? Getting a Grip on Children’s Lit will guide you through the stages of reading at different ages, and provide you with tools to answer some important questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how, when it comes to children’s books.
Lessons
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