Children’s picture books are meant to be read out loud and enjoyed together. Many are designed to help young children learn how books work, how words work, and to engage in the fun that reading creates. They are meant to introduce children to new word meanings and rich vocabulary. The best of children’s books do all these things while developing a child’s imagination.
Children’s picture books are also meant to be read many times. Kids like and learn from the familiarity of the story, the words, and the illustrations they analyze. It is through this repetition that children learn new vocabulary and begin to recognize basic story elements such setting, characters, and conflict.
Finding ways to engage young children in the story not only creates more enjoyment during reading time, but also greatly enhances children's reading ability.
When reading with young children who are just learning new words and how books work, one way to involve them is to get them to say the repeated words or phrases at the appropriate time. Children generally pick up on this repetition easily and these are naturally the parts of text that young children enjoy saying. Soon your child will begin to recognize a pattern in the story and look for this phrase as each page is turned.
You likely recall those repetitions in stories from your childhood, such as Dr. Suess’ Green Eggs and Ham, Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? written by Bill Martin Jr. There are many others. When shopping for picture books with repetition, you can easily flip through the pages to see if repetition is a story characteristic.
Be sure to check out each of the following books on my Shop that include repeated phrases that children find engaging. Potatoes, Papaw, and Me, written in verse and snapshots of a full day’s work harvesting potatoes, where a variation of “Papaw and Me” ends each page. Each page of What Farm Boots are For, ends with, you guessed it, “what farm boots are for.” It is delightful story of how a young girl imagines adventures on the farm in her new farm boots. When your kids are ready for an engaging winter story, Sled Ride Down Unrue Street will take them directly into the adventure. Unrue Street is the repeated phrase using a variety of prepositions, as the fast-paced ride takes readers down, on, above, or even beside Unrue Street.
Whichever book(s) you chose to read with your child, enjoy quality time reading together and helping your child become a good reader!
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