Welcome to a new season and a new addition to this blog. Several friends and fellow grandparents have requested that I provide some tips and book suggestions for younger kids. The start of summer seems like a good time to honor this request. Summer offers the space to try out some new ideas and explore books that will motivate and support our kids. Together, let’s avoid the “summer slide” and help our kids soar as readers this summer. Hope you find this new content useful. As always, I welcome your comments.

If your child is in pre-school or the primary grades, taking a “picture walk” before reading is a great way to motivate and begin to help them make predications (an important reading skill). The process is simple but powerful:

1. Choose an appropriate picture book that is new to the child.
2. Read the title aloud and encourage the child to view the cover and share his reaction.
3. “Walk” through most of the pages in the book. If the book has a surprise ending, I would try not to spoil it. As you page through the book, focus on the illustrations, encouraging the child to share what he thinks is happening, how a character might be feeling, where the story occurs and what he predicts might happen.

These three simple steps can prepare your child to be more focused and engaged as you (or the child) begin to read.

You can’t go wrong offering these favorites from Eve Bunting and Cynthia Rylant…

Yard Sale  and Pirate Boy by Eve Bunting

 The Day the Relatives Came and The Woman Who Named Things by Cynthia Rylant