Reading aloud with my favorite neighbor kids has been one of the joys of this summer. Whatever I choose, they snuggle next to me on the window seat, listening, giggling, pointing, and considering. Yesterday we shared many Arthur books by Marc Brown and Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie. Though I always read the author, title, publication date, and any information about how the artwork was created, my two-year-old friend - halfway through the book - said, "Wait. Who wrote this book again?" I told her it was Holly Hobbie. When Toot had returned to Woodcock Pocket and all was well with the two pigs again, we turned to the end papers and the dust jacket. "Ahh. There's Holly Hobbie," she sighed, pointing to the author's photograph.
ahh, magic.
ReplyDeleteI love Toot and Puddle. I still have my Holly Hobbie doll, the last doll I received as a child. She accompanied me to college!
ReplyDeleteI still have the Holly Hobbie Colorforms!
DeleteTerrific that you are making the author real to them!
ReplyDeleteI am always a bit amazed when readers sometimes do not recall the author's name of a book. Seems a bit disrespectful ... or perhaps it's just age! Great way to demonstrate the importance of author, bio, etc. by starting the introductions at any early age.
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