Two Books on Literacy (Growing a Reader from Birth and The ABCs of Literacy)

My son is only 26 months old, but he’s beginning to learn at the speed of light (from my perspective). After twenty minutes of a Sesame Street “two” episode, for example, he knows he has two hands, two eyes, two feet, and that there are two apples, two spoons, and two bowls on the table. He learned circles just as fast and loves finding circles everywhere we go. “Look, Mommy! Circles!” is a frequent comment.

Because he’s so ready to learn, I’ve been pondering how to introduce him to the world of letters, the world of reading, and a pre-preschool world of him and me. I know he’s not ready to learn to read, but what can I do now to help him be ready in another year or two?

I decided to seek out some books that might help. While I checked out dozens of books, I only read two in the past few weeks. Growing a Reader from Birth by Diane McGuinness was fascinating, but I was disappointed that the majority of the book focused on baby language learning rather than learning to read (as the title would suggest). The ABCs of Literacy by Cynthia Dollins, on the other hand, was just what I was looking for, and I’ve even ordered my own copy I loved it so much. Both books were geared toward parents and childcare givers, and the second is one every parent of a toddler should read. Continue reading »

The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman + Happy Halloween

I admit: The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman is the first Neil Gaiman book I’ve read. And it is a clever one. While it’s clearly a children’s book, it has an element of spookiness to it and somber, spidery illustrations that make it just right for adults too. Continue reading »

Abecedaria (aka Alphabet Books)

In medieval children’s primers, the alphabet was the main tool of learning and was often portrayed in a way that also taught religion (Seth Lerer, Children’s Literature, page 61). Poems and teachings would be in the order of the alphabet. This had biblical precedence, as the 22 stanzas of Psalm 118 “use the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order” (page 61). This group of books has the really cool name “abecedaria.” I love that word!

Our kids still use alphabet books to learn. I had a fun time reading children’s alphabet books to see how we learn the alphabet today. While all of these “teach” the alphabet, some encourage critical thinking, and some of them have specific purposes for further teaching. Continue reading »