Pre-kids I didn't see the point in board books, but now I love them. I love that they allow my wee one to interact with text at any early age- turning pages, understanding how we hold a book, pointing to pictures/illustrations that interest her, etc...
Today we read Feast for 10, by Cathryn Falwell. We picked it up at the library last week.
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Sandpiper (February 1, 1995)
As a mom, this is a book I would want to read to my child again and again. It gently teaches good family values (cooperation, responsibility, and sharing). It's a counting book and I like that it goes through 1-10 twice, once while the family is shopping for the feast, and then when the family is preparing the feast.
As a teacher, I see how the book encourages early literacy skills and number sense (it is a counting book, after all!). How does it teach early literacy skills? The rhyming scheme builds phonemic awareness (awareness of sound patterns in words), which is a foundational literacy skill. The words Falwell uses builds your preschooler's ever-expanding vocabulary (for example: cart, grocery, fry, bunches of greens, dill pickles, ripe, plump, peel, platters, jar, hungry folks). Building your child's knowledge of words early on will help them to be a better reader later on.
I think this book makes a great read aloud for any preschooler.
The only caveat I have is the absence of the father in the book. I feel like this book is trying to be modern(the family does recycle after all), but the father is at home while the mom shops with 5 kids. Does that really happen anymore? My husband shops, cooks, and cleans just as much as I do-- and if I had 5 kids, I'd make sure I would have my husband around to help at the store. Also when the family is in the kitchen the dad is taking out the trash and the mom is baking- hmmm, a little too stereotypical for me. I don't want to scrutinize the book too much, because it's a great read (and nitpicking is no fun)...I just wish it was a little more in sync with the changing roles of the modern family.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
p.s. Reading aloud is one of THE BEST ways to make your child a reader. What have you read aloud to you child/students this week?
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Be well! Read on!
