Brand New Readers are wonderful books for kids who are beginning to learn how to read. They give parents and caregivers tips for how to introduce the book and help the child throughout the book. Many are funny. There are several books about the same character (usually 8). They are the easiest of series books that exist!
Two weeks ago MMS recruited me to help re-organize Little Boy J's library. She wanted his books to be more easily accessible, to resemble his classroom library at school, and to motivate him to read more at home!
We pulled all of the books off of his shelf. MMS got beautiful new baskets and took out index cards and clips to name the new baskets. MMS, LBJ and I began to sort the books that he had. We asked him, what kind of baskets should we make. Little Boy J came up with, "Books I Can Read", "Star Wars Books", "Creatures", "Books I Want Mom and Dad to Read Me" to name a few. We kept sorting and making piles with him.
What a great idea- to really look for all the books that Little Boy J can read. Now MMS told me that he tries to read other books in other baskets and shelves, because he really wants to re-categorize it and put more books in his, "Books I Can Read" basket.
You might find that you have shelves and shelves of books! In many cases, kids don't even know what they have! Organizing your libraries at home so that kids can find books and sort books in different categories, helps them to read with more variety and purpose. It also helps them begin to see connections between the way their books are organized and how schools, libraries and bookstores organize their books.
Help your kids feel the power of their own libraries. Help them to discover what treasures they have. Help them see themselves as readers.
What kinds of baskets and categories did your kids make at home?
We LOVE Brand New Readers at our house. My daughter is only three months old, but she loves to look at the pictures, and the stories are nice and short - perfect for holding her attention from beginning to end. We especially like Ruby the Sheep, Monkey, and Edna the Elephant!!! I only wish they came as board books - L is starting to reach for the pages!
ReplyDeleteThese books are so great for teaching kids to read - even young kids can figure out the words by sounding them out, thinking through the logical thread of the story, or looking at the picture. The simple stories with funny endings are satisfying for early readers and you can see them gain confidence as they "read" for the first time.
ReplyDeleteWhat your write about organizing books to encourage reading has given me plenty of food for thought. My eldest is just beginning to read and I want to support her every way I can. We've organized her books before and had lots of fun - sorting by topic (cats, dinosaurs etc) but I like the approach which separates out the books that kids feel they could tackle themselves/
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