My World: A Book of First Words

My World: A Book of First Words is a fun and engaging visual dictionary for toddlers, depicting things in their world or of particular interest to them. Objects are labeled and categorized by themes (Bugs, On the Farm, Things to Wear, Pets, Playground, Prehistoric Creatures, Things That Go, etc). Each theme gets a two-page spread jam-packed with items related to the theme. The illustrations are cute and whimsical (every object has eyes), and use bold colors on a white background, which really makes them pop. My World: A Book of First Words, by Frann Preston-Gannon, is sure to be a toddler favorite, one that will be requested over and over again!

Guest post by Allison C. 

Invented Words (And Why We Love Them)

Most children will mispronounce certain words as they’re becoming more comfortable and proficient with spoken language. Sometimes their "mistakes" sound very close to the original or correct word, with just a slight variation. At other times they’re not even in the ballpark. Babies and young children take great pleasure in experimenting with sound and cadence in language, often without even realizing what they are doing. Predictably, they believe they’ve done something very clever when they make unusual sounds (and indeed they have) because the new words can be close to the original but they’ve added some additional content to make them more personal and unique. These moments should be celebrated rather than corrected, because our young linguists are truly inventing as they go, trying words on for size as they master the art of verbal communication.

Anyone who has ever read Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Roald Dahl, or J.K. Rowling knows there are lots of words that have been invented by authors to represent the inner workings of the stories in their minds. Most of these words connote something out of the ordinary, many don’t look or sound familiar, and they all boast unique meanings that have become part of our shared language experience. Think "Muggles," "jabberwocky," or "gobstoppers." While scholars continue to debate the volume of Shakespeare’s contributions to the English language, we do know that he effectively used many previously unfamiliar word combinations to share the comedy and tragedy of his creations, and the history of the time, with his audiences. All of this serves to show that invented language is fun and educational for the reader or listener, and can also fulfill a very specific purpose for the inventor.

Keeping a record of unique words in your child’s vocabulary can be a fun way to track language development. These inventions might also serve as a secret coded language among family members. When our children were young, we started a dictionary of the words and phrases they used experimentally at first, but which later became fully integrated as a part of the family's history. Our two-year-old grandson has started inventing some of his own special words, like "mookits" for music, and we can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. Encouraging word play in all of its forms, such as rhyming, replacing one letter at a time to come up with a new word, and silly sounds, will benefit both the children and the adults in the house, while almost always adding some lighthearted humor to the day!

Guest post by Bridget W. 

Building Early Literacy Skills with Preschoolers

Recently I came across a great early literacy article online entitled "5 Tips To Build Language & Early Literacy Skills With Preschoolers During Book Reading." Written by Sarah Holden, a speech-language pathologist who has worked with children in both private practice and in schools, the article recognizes the “hurry up” nature of modern life and the push for teaching children to talk and read faster and earlier. The author advocates for slowing down and spending time on developmentally appropriate early literacy and language skills that are foundational to reading.

The article gives the following five simple tips to remember when reading to children:

· Slow down – Read just one or two books at a nice pace instead of rushing through four or five. Children need time to process the words being read. Take time to look at the pictures, ask questions, talk about the story.

· Be dramatic – Use your voice to highlight new vocabulary. Point to the pictures as you read a new word. If the word isn’t depicted by the illustration, make the word come alive with actions and gestures.

· Re-read – Children need to hear new words more than a couple of times to increase their vocabulary, and children with the richest vocabularies become the best readers. It may drive you crazy to read the same story over and over, but it is good for your child!

· Describe often/ask questions occasionally – Ask questions that encourage your child to predict, describe, and make inferences about the characters' thoughts and feelings instead of yes or no questions. For example, you can ask "What do you think will happen next?" before turning the page. Spend more time talking about and commenting on the story than asking questions. You can predict what happens next, relate something in the story to your own life, relate a character from the story you’re reading to one from a book you read previously, etc.

· Draw attention to the words – Call your child’s attention to the words in the story. Read the title of the book and point to it. Point out words in bold or color or large type in the text. This will help your child understand that the words on the page have meaning (print awareness) and that oral and written language are connected.

These are just the highlights from the article. For more information, the full article can be found here.

Guest post by Allison C.

Let's Go to the Hardware Store

In this charming picture book by Anne Rockwell, a family with young children has just moved into a new, bigger house. When they get there, everything needs to be fixed, at least a little. Daddy takes the older children to the hardware store while Mommy stays home with the baby. As they walk through the aisles of the store, they pick out different tools and supplies. The book accompanies these selections with simple pictures that show different vocabulary based around tools. For example, one page shows different kinds of hammers. The next has a simple illustration of the difference between a nail and a screw. Children interested in using tools and fixing things will want to read Let’s Go to the Hardware Store over and over again, discovering new vocabulary words each time.

Guest post by Sarah H.

Talk to Me, Baby!

Building your child’s vocabulary is an important part of learning to read in the future. Studies show that the number of words and range of vocabulary heard by a child in their early years can have a dramatic effect on their language skills. John Medina, the author of Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five, says that kids spoken to more frequently in their first three years have an IQ that’s one and a half times higher than those who aren't.

The easiest way to build vocabulary is to talk to your child as much as possible, but what do you talk about? The answer is anything! Anything and everything that you see, hear, or do you can describe to your child. Remember, they don’t know what anything is yet! Make sure to describe the things you’re doing in detail. Are you peeling an orange? What does it feel like? How does it smell? What colors do you see? How does it taste? Talking out loud may feel silly at first, but soon you’ll fall into a routine and your child will respond as they grow.

Guest post by Sarah H.

More Than Just Scissors and Glue Sticks!

Here at the Washington-Centerville Public Library, we offer numerous opportunities for artistic play. We have Family Storytimes on Saturdays throughout the month that include a storytime followed by a craft. In the winter, spring, and summer, we have themed activity centers for budding artists. And, we include art activities in a variety of children’s programming. But what do arts and crafts have to do with reading? As it turns out, they are more connected than you might think!

· Artistic play promotes language development. A whole new vocabulary of creative words is introduced through arts and crafts projects.

· Artistic play inspires narrative skill. Preschoolers can make up stories or songs that go along with their artwork. Write down their stories so they can tell them over and over again!

· Artistic play encourages critical thinking and decision making. Our little ones must decide on colors to use, ways to cut and glue, where to position the facial features, and how to solve problems that arise.

· Artistic play builds motor skills. Cutting, gluing, and coloring help build fine motor skills that are important precursors to writing.

· Artistic play forms strong hand-eye coordination. The integration of vision and motor skills is critical to the physical process of being able to turn pages and follow the words on the page.

So come and join us this spring for our Spring Break Activity Center now through April 10th and for our April Family Storytimes: “Sneaky Ninjas” on April 16th and “Hop to It” on April 23rd. It’s a lot more than just scissors and glue sticks!

Guest post by Jo C. 

Creature Features: 25 Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do

If your children are curious, I’ve got just the book for you! Creature Features: 25 Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page is a fun look at why some animals have strange and interesting physical characteristics. Each page features a beautifully drawn (but not always beautiful…) animal, a question for that animal, and its response. For instance, on one page there’s a frilled lizard. The question states: “Dear frilled lizard: What are you wearing around your neck?” The frilled lizard’s response is: “That’s my frill—extra skin that I unfurl when I feel pretty threatened. Pretty scary, isn’t it?” Not only are there some really neat, lesser-known animals to admire and learn about, there are also tons of great, new vocabulary words. You and your inquisitive kiddos will love it!

Your Little Wordsmith

Since research shows that children have an easier time reading words with which they’re already familiar, enriching their vocabulary is a great way to help your children become successful readers. Here are a few ways to increase your kids’ vocabulary:

-Speak with your children in the language that you know best and are most comfortable speaking. That way you’ll be able to use more complex language and ideas.

-Use facial expressions and gestures to help your children understand the meaning of words.

-Repeat the same words and phrases. Children learn through repetition.

-Use books and stories as a way to introduce different words and ideas. Books are full of new vocabulary words for kids!

-Discuss a word or idea before reading a book. When you do that, hearing the word again during the book helps to reinforce the meaning.

-Explain an unfamiliar word rather than replacing it with a familiar one.

-Pick out a word from a book, rhyme, or song. For an unfamiliar word, explain it. For a familiar word, tell your child a less familiar word.

Weird & Wild Animal Facts

Did you know that a penny is heavier than a hummingbird? Were you aware that an adult giraffe’s kick is powerful enough to decapitate a lion? How about the fact that naked mole rats can run backward and forward equally fast? These are all fun facts (Ok, maybe the giraffe one isn’t fun, but it sure is interesting!) that can be found in our new book, Weird & Wild Animal Facts by Jessica Loy.

Reading books like this one, with incredible photographs and fascinating information, is a great way to get your kids excited about reading non-fiction books, which are great vocabulary-boosters and curiosity-builders. Some non-fiction books, like this one, help to pique kids’ interests about certain subjects. For instance, if there’s one particular animal fact that they find really interesting, they might want to check out other, more in-depth books about that animal. From there, they might find a particular series of animal books or author that they love and then branch out even further into non-fiction.

If you want to start reading some non-fiction with your kids and don’t know where to start, we’re always happy to help steer you in the right direction; just ask!

Rhymoceros

Rhymoceros, by Janik Coat, is a fun, new board book that features an adorable rhyming rhinoceros. The words on each two-page spread rhyme and are illustrated on the pages. On one page, the rhymoceros is lifting heavy weights with the word “strong” underneath. On the adjacent page, music notes flow from the mouth of the rhymoceros, representing “song.” The illustrations are cute; some, like “bumpy” and “furry,” have neat touch-and-feel effects.

Since this is a board book, it’s sturdy enough to use with your littlest readers, but it’s a fun one for preschoolers or even kindergartners, too. Some of the rhyming words might be new ones that will help build vocabulary, like “frilly,” “daring,” “quilted,” and “mossy.” Plus, working on rhymes with kids of all ages is important, since hearing rhymes helps kids break down the sounds in words.

If you like Rhymoceros, you might also like Coat’s other book, Hippopposites. Can you guess what that one’s about? J

Start the Conversation!

Talking, one of the five early literacy practices, is crucial for vocabulary-building and overall reading success. Because children learn words by hearing them, it’s important to talk often to your little ones of any age. Even tiny babies’ language development is greatly improved by having someone talk to them frequently. Here are a few ideas of ways to start more conversations with your children:

-After reading, ask your child questions about the book you’ve just finished.

-As you’re driving in the car, talk about what you see on the road or where you’re going and what will happen there. Be descriptive!

-When going about daily routines, like dressing, bathing, cooking, or brushing teeth, talk about everything you’re doing and why.

-If your child goes to a day care or school, ask questions about his day. If he responds with a yes, no, or couple-word answer, re-phrase your question or ask follow-up questions to keep the conversation going.

Don’t forget to give your child a chance to chime in or respond. Since children generally require a longer response time than adults, make sure to be patient while your little one is coming up with an answer!

Nursery Rhymes: Creating a Solid Foundation

These days, it seems that reciting nursery rhymes is a little less commonplace than it has been in the past. This is unfortunate, since learning nursery rhymes has many early-literacy benefits for young children.

First, nursery rhymes expand children’s vocabulary by exposing them to a variety of words that are not used in everyday conversation. What a great, easy way to build your child’s vocabulary!

Through nursery rhymes, children also hear rhyming words, which helps develop phonological awareness. Research shows that children who know rhymes find it easier to learn to read because they are better able to break down the sounds in words.

In addition, most nursery rhymes follow a clear sequence of events. This helps your child start to develop narrative skills and learn the way in which most stories are organized.

Finally, nursery rhymes are so easy to repeat that they can, often times, be some of a child’s first sentences. Even when children are struggling to string together words to form a sentence, they can repeat a nursery rhyme that they've heard often enough to memorize.

If you’re just starting to introduce nursery rhymes to your children, start with shorter ones, like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” or “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.” Make sure to be animated to hold your children’s interest. When your children start to learn the rhymes, let them help by stopping to allow them to fill in a word or line. Best of all, since nursery rhymes are recited, you can say them anytime and anywhere—in the car, at the store, while cooking, or before bed. Use your imagination and have fun!

Check out these books for some great nursery rhymes:
My Mother Goose
Will Moses Mother Goose
The Cat and the Fiddle: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes
Mary Engelbreit’s Happy Mother Goose
Hickory, Dickory, Dock and Other Favorite Nursery Rhymes

Chickens Don't Fly: and Other Fun Facts

Non-fiction books are great to read to kids; not only are they often filled with rich vocabulary, but they’re also a great way to help your kids develop general knowledge about the world around them. One of my new favorite non-fiction books looks more like a picture book than a typical non-fiction title because of its cute, amusing illustrations, but it has all kinds of interesting information inside.

Chickens Don’t Fly: and Other Fun Facts, by Laura Lyn DiSiena and Hannah Eliot, is filled with fun animal facts that will keep you and your child entertained (I know that I was!). Not only are these animal facts incredibly interesting (Did you know that elephants have such a good sense of smell that they can detect a water source from 12 miles away?!), but there are so many new vocabulary words to introduce to your children. Amphibians, nocturnal, predators, and camouflage are just a few of the book’s many vocabulary-building words.

So, if your children tend to be drawn more towards picture books than non-fiction ones, this is a great book to introduce them to non-fiction. I hope you like it as much as I did!

Sports Illustrated Kids Rookie Books

For all of the mini-athletes out there (or children of sports-loving parents), we’ve got some new non-fiction books that are part of the Sports Illustrated Kids Rookie Books series by Mark Weakland. And, I must say, they’re pretty fun. The first one, Football ABC, goes through all of the letters of the alphabet using football terms. Not only does each letter represent a football word—action, ball, coin toss, and so on—but with each word comes a description that is really helpful in learning about the sport and building vocabulary. For instance, the F page says: “F is for fumble. Uh-oh! When a player drops the ball, it’s a fumble.”

Hockey Counting is set up similarly. In this one, it follows the numbers 1 through 12 and provides hockey lessons and photograph descriptions on each page. For number 6, it says: “Each hockey team is allowed six players on the ice at a time. Five skaters and one goalie wait patiently for the game to begin.”

And if all that wasn’t enough to sell you on these books, there’s more; they both include a glossary, an index, a list of other suggested titles about football and hockey, and information about a website that has links to other sites (researched by the SI staff) related to the books. Not too shabby, eh? And apparently if you spend too much time with that hockey book, you start speaking like a Canadian… J

Prescription to Read

Hats off to the American Academy of Pediatrics! This group’s new policy, in which pediatricians will tell parents to read aloud to their children starting at birth, has the potential to have a HUGE positive impact on children all over the United States! A recent article in the New York Times described the motivation behind the new plan: “With the increased recognition that an important part of brain development occurs within the first three years of a child’s life, and that reading to children enhances vocabulary and other important communication skills, the group, which represents 62,000 pediatricians across the country, is asking its members to become powerful advocates for reading aloud, every time a baby visits the doctor.”

According to the article, though the academy has issued recommendations on things such as breastfeeding and screen time, this is the first time it has addressed early literacy education. Personally, I couldn’t be happier! Check out the rest of the article here.

Non-fiction? Non-problem!

Reading non-fiction books with your child is a great way to help him develop background knowledge and critical thinking skills, and it really boosts his vocabulary and sparks his curiosity. Plus, considering the latest push to read more non-fiction in schools, it’s certainly not a bad idea to expose your child to these books at an early age. If you think of non-fiction books as simply tools for writing research papers, they certainly don’t seem too exciting. You might be surprised, though, at how fascinated your child might be if you find some about topics that are of interest to him. We have tons of non-fiction books that cover a wide range of topics. So, whether your child is interested in dump trucks, dogs, planets, or dinosaurs, we have books he’s sure to love. Remember, we’re always happy to help you find books on a specific topic or ones that are age-appropriate—just ask!

Boosting Vocabulary: The How and Why

Studies have shown that children have an easier time reading words that they already know than words that are foreign to them. In addition, the more words a child knows, the better she is able to comprehend what she’s reading. So, it's quite clear that building a child’s vocabulary is an extremely important part of early literacy.

Reading to your child often is one of the best ways to improve vocabulary (and I’m not just saying that because I’m a librarian! J). Once you come across a word that your child doesn’t know, you can help her learn it. First, define the word, making sure to use simple terms that your child will understand. Next, give an example of how the word is used. Then, ask your child to come up with her own example. Finally, you can reinforce the new knowledge by using the word often in the days and weeks after your child has been introduced to it.

Making a conscious effort to help boost your child’s vocabulary at a young age will undoubtedly help her when she begins to learn to read and well beyond.

More Than Words

When we’re reading to a baby who is unfamiliar with most of the words and pictures in books, we tend to naturally stray from the text, pointing out the objects that we see on the pages. As kids get a little older and already know the names of everything in the illustrations, it’s easy for us to just stick to the words on the page. Adding your own commentary and discussion, however, can be really helpful in developing vocabulary and narrative skills, both of which are extremely important in getting your child ready to read.

When you’re reading, talk about the pictures and describe what’s going on. If you can, relate it to something familiar to your child. For example, if it’s a zoo book, talk about a time you and your child were at the zoo together. Give your child time to respond and add his commentary. Ask him to make predictions about what will happen next in the book.

To boost vocabulary, talk about any new words you may come across in the book and define each new word, rather than replace it with one that your child already knows. This is also a great opportunity to use new vocabulary words to describe objects or events in the book.

No matter what age your child is, spending a little extra time with a book--reading more than just the words on the page--can have a huge impact!

20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street

 

Truck lovers (and parents of truck lovers), rejoice! Mark Lee’s new book, 20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street, will surely have you singing its praises. This counting book begins as an ice cream truck breaks down in the middle of a street, blocking the road. The narrator, a little boy watching everything unfold, sees one truck after another line up behind the ice cream truck, unable to move. Finally, with twenty trucks stuck in the road and lots of people in the streets wondering what in the world to do, the little boy suggests that they use a crane to move the ice cream truck out of the way. His plan is successful, and all of the trucks are finally able to drive away. All except one, that is: “Just one truck on the side of my street. An ice cream truck selling everything sweet.”

 

Your truck-adoring little one will enjoy seeing and reading about all different types of trucks, from mail trucks and garbage trucks to cement mixers and tow trucks. You’ll love all of the new vocabulary words, the rhyming text, and the counting practice! So, unless you’re stuck behind a bunch of stationary trucks on the road, there’s no excuse for waiting to get to our library to check out this new book!

Adding Books to Your Adventures!

 

Over the summer I live vicariously through you and your children. It’s true; while I’m here at the library, I get to listen to stories about all of your amazing summer adventures. From vacations, to camps, to trips to the zoo and amusement parks--you all certainly sound like you’ve been busy having fun!

One thing that you can do to enrich your summer adventures is to read about them. It’s an easy thing to do and can make a huge impact on your child’s learning. For instance, if you’re going on a trip to the zoo, read a few zoo books--The Zoo, Out and About at the Zoo, or Zoo Ah-choo--before you go. This will allow you to prepare your little one for what he’s going to see there. When you’re there, he’s likely to be extra excited about seeing animals that he’s just read about in the books. Then, after your trip, these books will take on a whole new meaning and will be fun to reread, pointing out familiar things from your own experience as you read. If he had a favorite animal at the zoo, he may even want to get more books, specifically on that animal.

Reading picture books about your adventure is great, but it’s important to read some non-fiction ones, too. Since reading non-fiction books is a great way to build vocabulary and gain background knowledge, it’s incredibly important for your child to read them often. Starting with non-fiction books at a young age is important, too, because it will prepare your child for all of the non-fiction he’ll read when he gets to school (there's a big focus on that these days).

So, whether you’re taking a day trip to the zoo, going on vacation to another state or country, or just hanging out at a local park, reading about where you’re going or what you’re doing will make your child's experience so much richer! And, don’t forget to come back and tell me all about it. Yep, I’ll still be here working…