Did any of you catch this article in the Times last week? A friend passed it along and I really enjoyed it: NY Times article. It's basically a celebration and deeper look at works by Sendak, Seuss, and Silverstein. Before these authors were writing and publishing for children, stories for this age-group were primarily didactic, rather than playful and pointlessly absurd -which children love, of course. The other night my daughter asked me to read The Snowy Day - though the weather has been getting colder lately, I almost said, "no, that's a winter book," but quickly censored myself. It was fun to read about winter at the end of summer. Perhaps she's looking forward to the change of seasons as well. I am kind of getting sick of reading the literal First Day of School -which she still wants every day, so this article reminded me to keep searching for stories that will expand her imagination and force her to question what is and isn't real.
Right now my oldest is three, and my youngest is still at the eating books, phase. He seems to like to chew on age-appropriate books, but still watching him gnaw away reminds me to try not to take all of this so seriously. It's hard - as a serious reader, writer, and teacher (currently on a prolonged sabbatical, as I see it), to imagine my kid won't love reading as much as I do one day - but of course that's an option. So, I'll try not to over-think it and keep reading the books that they gravitate towards. Last night my daughter wanted to revisit the Elmo counting book I thought she'd outgrown. I bit my tongue and then enjoyed watching how much more she understands now, about a year later since we'd last read it. Perhaps tonight I'll find my winter books and we can anticipate the snow together- maybe, The Mitten, or Winter Walk.
What we're reading now: Wheels on the Bus
Why: My daughter likes to "read" this to the baby.
What I'm looking for: More books with absurd premises.
Hey Liz, I put you on my list of Sites That Inspire in my new art and design blog, Inspiration Source Files at www.natashajansz.com
ReplyDeleteAlso, I thought of your blog today when I was catching up on my New Yorkers....in this article about the relevance of college these days...this highlights the importance of starting early to instill a love of reading in our children..."Professor X is shrewd about the reasons it’s hard to teach underprepared students how to write. “I have come to think,” he says, “that the two most crucial ingredients in the mysterious mix that makes a good writer may be (1) having read enough throughout a lifetime to have internalized the rhythms of the written word, and (2) refining the ability to mimic those rhythms.” This makes sense. If you read a lot of sentences, then you start to think in sentences, and if you think in sentences, then you can write sentences, because you know what a sentence sounds like. Someone who has reached the age of eighteen or twenty and has never been a reader is not going to become a writer in fifteen weeks.
ReplyDeleteRead more http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2011/06/06/110606crat_atlarge_menand#ixzz1YXKxcUpR