1000 Books: Jez Alborough

In honor of Children’s Book Week, I thought I’d mention a favorite author my son and I have discovered through our project of reading 1000 picture books together: Jez Alborough. Alborough has fun, quality picture books. Some rhyme. Some have a precious little gorilla that reminds me of my own little monkey boy. Most are ridiculous and imaginative. Continue reading »

Kids Corner (1000 Books): Emergent Reading

When I decided, in December, to read 1000 books with my son before he started kindergarten, I thought it was going to be difficult. I thought we’d have to force ourselves to read. I thought 1000 picture books was a lot.

To my surprise, it’s going very fast. We both love this project. My son actively seeks out picture books that he wants to read. And then, I love being the Mommy for this project. When we began, he was a picture book listener. Now, he sits down and reads books to himself all the time. It’s delightful to watch, and I can see him learning at little bit every day.

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Poetry Speaks to Children

I own an adult poetry anthology, with accompanying CDs of the poets reading their work, called Poetry Speaks. While I haven’t read it cover to cover, I have listened to some of the poets and flipped through the book. I have enjoyed it. When I saw Poetry Speaks to Children on the juvenile nonfiction shelf at the library, I picked it up. I am always looking for a chance to introduce my son to some of the great poets too. Continue reading »

Kids Corner (1000 Books): Growing Pains

It’s been a long time since I’ve written about my son’s books. Since I’m reading longer novels myself this month, I’ll use this opportunity to jump in and say something about what we’ve been reading together.

I’ve been skimming over The ABCs of Literacy (reviewed here; that book inspired my 1000 Books Project) for ideas on helping use books as a tool in my sons’ stage of life and learning, and some of Ms. Dollins’ ideas have been very successful for us.  I am not using books as a “preschool” curriculum or anything of the sort: I’ve just been trying to think out of the box and applying the books to my sons’ needs more than I had in the past. And we’ve both, I believe been enjoying that approach.

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Narrative in the Life of Frederick Douglass + The Listeners

In his narrative of life in slavery and what led him to escape, Frederick Douglass captured the chief dilemmas that slaves dealt with, including slavery of the mind. Douglass’s slavery in Baltimore and surrounding areas was horrendous, and yet it was, as he admitted, quite tame compared to those experiences that slaves on plantations in the South dealt with.

As I read, I was struck that the main obstacle that Douglass had to overcome was not the freezing weather, the starvation, the humiliations, and the beatings, but rather a broken will. Of course, all of the former abuses directly contributed to the later, but it is his will that allowed him to be himself amidst the horrors of slavery. Continue reading »

Harlem Renaissance Poetry

Yesterday began Black History Month in the USA! The Harlem Renaissance-themed Classics Circuit began yesterday as well, and I hope you follow along as bloggers unite in reading classic works by African-Americans.

Although this post is not for the Circuit, in preparing for that Classics Circuit, I did a lot of preliminary reading about the era and I really wanted to dabble in the poetry. I meant to post this weeks ago, but it never happened and now it’s already February! It works well, though, because I’d like to write at least one post about African-American literature each week in February.

In my library shelf searches, I could not find a comprehensive collection of Countee Cullen and Claude McKay and any of the other, less well known African-American poets of the Renaissance. I still haven’t really found a comprehensive Harlem Renaissance poetry anthology at my library, but I did find an out-of-print 1941 anthology of poetry for children that met my needs. (Thank goodness for my library’s reciprocal borrowing program with 15 other libraries!). This allowed me to read a number of different poets who were writing during the Renaissance and before.

Although Golden Slippers was edited and prepared for a “young readers” audience, it’s applicable to all, and while the poetry in it is not my favorite, it seems to have an important overview of some of the poets of the near-contemporary age to the Renaissance. Researching online, I found more poems by each poet. I also focused on Langston Hughes a little bit in the past few weeks. Continue reading »

1000 Books: A Little Clarification + The First 80 Books or So

I created the 1000 Books Project for myself when I reviewed an inspiring book about infant and toddler literacy, and I picked that book up because I felt bored with the picture books I’d been reading and rereading and rereading with my son. There, I said it: I was getting bored reading with my son.

Besides, reading the children’s books that I wanted to read (like Newbery or Caldecott winners and historical children’s literature) wasn’t always at the right level for my young son: my son is only two. I needed a way to be motivated to read with my son.

I read a lot of books myself (as my 2009 in stats might attest) and yet, a good part of my day before, after, in between my reading is taking care of my young son. My new goal is to read 1000 books with my son in approximately four years. Not just any books: different books. (Note: Before, I intended 1000 books by his fifth birthday. I have since decided on his sixth birthday.)

A few people have questioned the reasons why there is a number: Why not just spend time reading? I think that’s a great goal for any parent. Although I am not a professional by any means (and please don’t take my comments as if I were), I think reading and rereading is what a kid needs most, and I intend to continue rereading with my son all the time.

But as I mentioned, I was getting bored. I really didn’t look forward to the ten minutes before bed when we read because I’d already read The Little Red Caboose five to ten times that day.

My goals in this project is to go beyond togetherness time and make it fun for both of us. My goal is that in seeking out new books every few weeks, we will find new favorites, my son will find new concepts that interest him, and as a result, he will develop new vocabulary and understanding of the world around him. At some point, I anticipate reading together might help him when he needs to learn to read, but for us now, when he’s two, it’s to help him learn about the world around him.

Current goals:

• Find new favorite books (books we reread five times a day)
• Learn new vocabulary and concepts
• Try to find an interest beyond trains and trucks because Mommy is getting bored

Our First 80 Books (or So)

The running list of 1000 books in progress is on the 1000 Books Project page. Below, I will mention books that have not been mentioned already elsewhere on this site.  Because this first batch of books includes books we own and already reread many times a day, it was much easier to get to 80 books than the next ones will take! I will have to seek a bit more carefully for the next group of books. Finally, a number of books we own that we’ve read did not make it on this list so I’ll make sure to count them next time.

Also, this post is incredibly long. I’ll have to post about children’s books more often, I guess, because I have so much to say! Continue reading »

Kids Corner: What Are Your Children Reading? 22 October

Welcome to What Are Your Children Reading?, a weekly meme started by The Well-Read Child. I have the privilege of hosting it this week. If you participate on your blog, leave a link to your post in the comments.

For those who may not know, I have a son who turned two this month. Most of our current reads are therefore not very intellectual. To keep my sanity, though, I keep getting some picture books just for me. Continue reading »

Kid’s Corner: Birthday Books (Age 2)

My mother-in-law got word (and spread it) that I would love for my son to get books for his birthday, and I, of course, got him a couple books (among other things), so he had a rather bookish birthday this year. (Are you surprised?)

I consider books that he owns to be bonuses for me, since I have to read them every night. I’m glad I really like them all! Continue reading »

Kids Corner: Winnie-the-Pooh Books Inspired by Milne and Shepard

Whenever I see a copy of Winnie-the-Pooh in a store, on a shelf, anywhere, really, I pick it up and hold it. I flip the pages. I pause over the pictures (whether they are in color or not). I wish I could own it.

But why? I already own a lovely hardcover in color (along with Pooh Corner) and a volume of The Complete Tales and Poems of Pooh. If I want to read it, I can just go home and read it!

Yet, there is something about this Bear of Very Little Brain that makes me want to own him.

My recent poetic attempt may illustrate how much I enjoyed my recent reread of these classics. So I searched out other Pooh books from the library this month. Continue reading »