Lecture: How to Play with Picture Books? (Part 3)
Speaker: A‑League
Time: October 12, 2008, 9:30 AM — 12:00 PM
Location: Shenzhen Silver Eagle Second Kindergarten
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（Continued)
We have to talk about some picture books, such as wordless books. But there are many other picture books that deserve discussion, not just reading. For example, books like “Su Wu Shepherding Sheep” and “Jingju Cats” are difficult for the audience to understand without some discussion.
“Miffy’s Dream” is suitable for younger children. It’s a simple, line-based story with no words. Drawing this picture takes a long time, requiring repeated subtraction. This allows children to quickly grasp who Miffy is and what she’s trying to do. Experienced readers can share and discuss the story with children. I think it’s helpful. Of course, it’s not about telling children, “Look, how many bunnies are there?” “Two,” which is meaningless. Instead, it’s about play and storytelling, not just general cognitive learning. Who is Miffy? Why are she different colors? If we ask a child, “What is this?” they’ll respond accurately, saying, “It’s a star.” If they can’t quite grasp the star, they might say, “They’re playing games on the clouds.” This is a shooting star, which can be ridden like a horse. This is the moon. This is a slide. Miffy and her best friend fall asleep together. This kind of fun, beautiful, and heartwarming story is perfect for younger children.
There are also books more suitable for older children, such as “Monique’s Mouse Wordless Book,” which some middle school students are playing with. It’s a long-standing example of illustrated publishing in mainland China, having been published in 2003. A little mouse sneaks into the book, sees the paint, and tastes it to see if it smells bad. It smells terrible, but it has other uses, so it adds another color. It gets more and more excited, and finally, its butt is so full it needs a bath. You have to talk about books like this, but it’s best to invite the children to talk too.
Here’s a book I’d like to share with you. Is this story familiar to you? If so, I won’t elaborate further, as I often share this story with children. It tells the story from 100 BC to 81 BC, about Su Wu’s exile to the Xiongnu. Someone, Jiang Yintang, composed a song based on this story around 1916. Now, an artist named Xiong Liang has adapted it into a picture book. This work contains many symbols, and children won’t understand it simply by reading it, let alone children as young as four or five years old. Even children in fourth or fifth grade might not understand it:
Su Wu herded sheep by the North Sea.
In the snow and ice, I was detained for nineteen years.
Thirsty drinks snow, hungry eats felt,
The wild night is sleepless,
With the Han Dynasty in mind and the dream of saving the country,
After going through all the hardships, the festival has not returned.
Sitting alone in the cold,
Sometimes I hear the sound of Hujia and my ears ache…
These texts actually have allusions. If you are talking to middle school students, you can talk about more allusions. If you are talking to children, you can simply talk about the story of Su Wu herding sheep. There is a very detailed passage in Lin Handa’s “Collection of Chinese Historical Stories”. It is well written. Of course, I have also written about it online.Very detailed explanation of the story of “Su Wu Shepherding Sheep”, I won’t go into details here.
The final passages are somewhat challenging, such as “I entered a dream at midnight… The rams had not yet suckled, yet I never expected that I would eventually return alive with the Han envoy.” At the time, the Xiongnu asked him to herd sheep in the North Sea, giving him a ram and saying that when the ram gave birth or nursed the lambs, he could return home. In reality, they were preventing him from returning. Later, Emperor Wu of Han died, and his son ascended the throne. His son, remembering Su Wu, sent messengers to the Xiongnu Chanyu to request his return, but the Chanyu replied, “He’s already dead.” During a second visit, one of Su Wu’s former subordinates, Chang Hui, bribed the Xiongnu and negotiated with the Han envoy, devising a plan. The Han envoy again sought the Chanyu’s return, but he replied, “Didn’t I tell you? Su Wu is already dead. There’s nothing we can do.” The Han envoy explained that our emperor had recently shot a wild goose while hunting in the Shanglin Gardens. A silk scroll was tied to the goose’s leg, with the inscription, “I am herding sheep in the North Sea — Su Wu.” The Chanyu thought, “If even a bird is moved by Su Wu, what else can we say?” Send Su Wu and others back quickly.
Few people sing this song these days, but it was a very popular song from the 1920s to the 1950s and 1960s. Even after the Kuomintang arrived in Taiwan, they reportedly sang it, citing the motto, “With the Han Dynasty in our hearts, and our old homeland in our dreams.” But is it still appropriate to sing it today? Will children still appreciate it? I think it should be passed down. You’ll notice that I’ve deliberately chosen books on traditional culture in my selections today, hoping to offer some inspiration. We actually have many stories that can be passed down. Of course, they may not be as hilarious, but they’re still worth sharing. Let me sing it for you. If you know how to sing, join me:
Su Wu herding sheep by the North Sea
Detained in the snow and ice for nineteen years
Drink snow when thirsty and swallow felt when hungry
Sleeping alone at night
The dream of the Han Dynasty is in my heart, and my old homeland is in my heart
After going through so much hardship, I still haven’t returned
Sitting alone in the cold
Sometimes I hear the painful sound of Hujia
The geese are flying south, to whom should I send this letter?
White-haired girl leaning against the wooden door
Red makeup guarding the empty curtain
At three o’clock in the morning, I entered a dream, uncertain about safety and danger
Sad and hopeless
There are still many losses in the big festival
Ram not yet lactating
Unrighteousness will eventually lead to life
Return with the Han envoy
We hope to pass on these lessons to children through this kind of approach. We began promoting reading in 2002, including picture books. At the time, picture books were extremely scarce. Even classic Western picture books, such as those found in Hong Kong and abroad, were unavailable in China. But now, if you go to Hongni.com, Dangdang, or Joyo.com, you’ll be spoiled for choice, and every book claims to be a masterpiece. At this time, I believe we must reconsider what we are passing on to our children. So today, I’d like to share with you some books that focus on this topic.
I’d like to interrupt an online discussion where a mother asked: When I read the stories in “Baby Illustrated”, I can’t tell whether my child understands them. How should I read to him?
Mom: My child likes to read, but it seems like he has read everything but can’t remember what he has read. I don’t know how to make him remember. What should I do?
Regarding the first mother’s question, I think we need more picture books of varying styles and types. There are many different types of picture books. “Baby Illustrated” is too monotonous, and it’s normal for children not to feel drawn to it. I haven’t felt the same way either. Domestic and international books, as well as traditional cultural books, are all fine. The key is whether children are truly happy while reading. Whether we are called experts or claim to be experts, we actually know far less about children than we don’t. For example, some people talk about the secrets of three-year-olds. I don’t think Montessori holds more secrets than we do today, because every child is different, and children in the past and future will be different. We don’t need to engage in technical analysis to determine how children are doing or whether we’re benefiting from it, because we don’t need it in our daily lives. Experts need to continue their efforts, and technology needs to develop, but we don’t need to focus too much on these things. The key is whether the child is enjoying it and having fun. Can children understand the poem “Su Wu Shepherding Sheep”? One day she said, “Dad, I’m going to bed. Please sing me a piece of “Su Wu Shepherding Sheep”.” She thought it sounded very nice and it was also good to use it as a bedtime song. My daughter is like this. I don’t care whether she understands it or not. It doesn’t matter. She really likes it. As she listens to it, it brings back memories. People’s learning is supported by things that are constantly retained in their memories, which will help them in the future.
The mother said: If a child misunderstands the content of the book or violates common sense, should it be corrected?
If it is a mistake like the sun rises from the west, of course it needs to be discussed and corrected, but in most cases the child is not necessarily wrong. We should listen more to the child’s ideas, especially his opinions. I don’t think it is necessary to correct them too strongly. For example, in “The Secret of the Magic Gourd”, she thinks it would be great if I had a magic gourd. You say this is a bourgeois idea of getting something for nothing. If this is the case, the child will not talk to you and you will lose the opportunity.
How to help children get into the story?
We will introduce good ideas, good storytelling and other good ways to play later.
The mother said, “My son is five years old. I often read to him, but now he basically doesn’t read by himself.”
Another mother said, “My little girl is in first grade now. She likes listening to adults read stories to her and knows a lot of words. I want her to read on her own slowly, but she is reluctant to do so.
Actually, from listening to stories to reading them, some people are fast, some are slow. Some run like Liu Xiang, some run like me. It doesn’t matter; everyone will reach the finish line. Life isn’t the Olympics; you’ll eventually reach the finish line. And if Liu Xiang ran that fast, he might get injured. Maybe I’ll run more slowly, which is better. As long as we don’t see gold medals as the only criterion, life can be lived any way we want. So, it doesn’t matter if it’s early or late. We should let children read on their own early: “You already know the characters 70%, and you’re not reading on your own?” That child might refuse to read, but you say this book is so fun, “I’ll read it to you.” On the plane here, I read “River Swimming with Uncle Gum” to my daughter. She was delighted. We read it twice, and she can actually read novels on her own. She’s currently reading “The Kingdoms of Narnia.” But it doesn’t matter. The more you read, the more likely she is to pick up a book and read on her own. This is based on repeated research. First, the ability to listen. Reading should be sustained, but ultimately, children must navigate their own journey. This requires some skill. I’ve seen online discussions about reading to children, and some extremes. One group thinks the child is almost there, so let them read on their own, or read whenever they have time, and forget about it if they don’t. Another group reads to their child whenever they have time, eager to finish an entire novel in one sitting. They say, “My child doesn’t like to read on his own; he’s read every book he can.” I say, “He’s too full; you’ve replaced his function.” So, you can’t replace a child. Ultimately, it’s up to the child to navigate their own journey. Five to 10 minutes a day, 20 minutes, even half an hour is enough. Don’t burden yourself with so much. While I encourage everyone to read, I also advise against reading too long. As children grow older, you’ll find that they may “drink” a little each day, but they’re never satisfied. They always want to hear stories, but you only read so much each day, so they have no choice but to read on their own. Balance your mindset, adjust your pace, and maintain a moderate pace, and your child will learn to read on their own.
The first three are the most important, core methods, while the latter are fun. Throughout the reading process, the main focus is on stimulating children’s reading reactions. For example, we’ve included a lot of things in the “doing” section because I found it difficult to summarize. For example, in “Grandma Flower,” they buy a bag of flower seeds and plant them. After reading “Pulling Radishes,” they then play tug-of-war. What if they can’t experience the process of pulling radishes? One by one, someone pulls them together, and they experience strength in numbers. Of course, the purpose of the play isn’t to understand this principle. Examples include “The Little Black Fish” and “A Garden of Vegetables Becomes a Spirit,” among others.
Just now a mother gave me a booklet, which reads “Love, Children, Reading, Life”. When it is opened, it becomes “Welcome to Shenzhen from the Argentine Primera División”. This is a magic book method. I don’t know how to use it, but I know some people are very good at it. Teacher Fang Suzhen is very good at it. Everyone can play to their strengths.
To give a few examples, everyone knows the story of “Pulling the Radish”, which was written by Tolstoy based on a Russian folk tale: An old grandfather planted a radish, and the radish grew up, so big and strong that he couldn’t pull it up, so he called the old grandmother, but she couldn’t pull it up no matter how hard she tried. He called the little granddaughter, and the little granddaughter pulled the old grandmother, the old grandmother pulled the old grandfather, and the old grandfather pulled the big radish, but they still couldn’t pull it up no matter how hard she tried. He called the puppy, and the puppy pulled the little granddaughter, the little granddaughter pulled the old grandmother, the grandmother pulled the old grandfather, and the old grandfather pulled the big radish, but they still couldn’t pull it up no matter how hard she tried… Finally he called the little mouse, and hey yo hey yo hey yo hey yo hey yo hey yo hey yo, he finally pulled it out.
There’s also a song for “Pulling the Carrot” that you can sing along. We played this recently. We put a bunch of kids together, about the same number, and they all grabbed the rope, one at a time, gradually adding more. Then, with music playing, they pulled the carrots out and sang along as they pulled them out.
The story of “Little Black Fish” is a bit long. Little Black Fish’s family, Little Red Fish, was eaten by a big fish. Then, Little Black Fish fled everywhere, only to find another group of little red fish. He discovered a beautiful underwater world, but his fellow fish were afraid to come out. What should he do? Here’s a trick: Line them up like a big fish. Then, using the little black fish as eyes, he transforms into a giant fish. He wanders around like this, scaring away all the big fish.
How can you use this story as a game? Place the stools according to the number of people in the group, removing one stool each round. When the music starts, spin around. When the music stops, grab a stool. The winner is the black fish! This is a game invented by Inspector Carrot.
There is another way to play that requires props, a red hat and one or two black hats. The black hats represent little black fish, and the red hats represent little red fish. Dancing and playing in the music game are all games with relatively low exercise requirements.
Games that require more exercise include “Cat and Mouse”. There is another game I recommend for boys, because I think boys nowadays are not as “fierce” as we were back then. I think I can recommend a game called “Capture the Commander” (Touch and Crutch Game). Divide into two groups, each with a commander, and each group is divided into two groups, one group is the commander’s guard, and the other group is responsible for launching the attack.
Let’s talk about painting. Excellent picture books are like art galleries on paper. They not only allow readers to appreciate masterpieces from a variety of styles and cultural backgrounds, but also naturally stimulate readers to take up painting. However, it’s important to understand that the images in picture books are primarily used to convey stories and emotions. Therefore, for young readers, the most inspiring creative impulses are often not those that adults consider ornate, but rather simple, unpretentious, and straightforward works. This is a child’s work, “Ants and Watermelons,” with simple colors and composition.
This is “Happy Birthday, Moon” drawn by the child himself. The child liked it so much that he had to draw the entire book. This is a child from a school for children of migrant workers.
Let’s make vegetable paintings together, such as “A Garden of Green Vegetables Becomes a Spirit,” using eggplant, bitter melon, lentils, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, etc. You will find that when you really inspire children, they are very creative.
Stone painting—Stone painting is actually very simple. All you need is a piece of ground, some mud, and then you can pick up all sorts of rocks. (Slideshow) This is Peter Rabbit, “You Look Delicious,” “The Giving Tree,” “The Ugly Duck,” “I Don’t Know Who I Am.” As long as you’re creative enough, you can do a lot of things.
Picture books with characters are generally playable. The simplest way to do this is to read them aloud in character, such as “Crocodile is Afraid of the Dentist” and “The Giving Tree.” However, it’s even more fun to add props. The recently released “Pigsy and the Big Bad Wolf” comes with masks for performances, which is quite thoughtful.
Today I brought some props, like the Peking Opera Cats. This is Zhang Fei’s face, this is Cao Cao’s face, and this is Xia Houjie. Recently, I’ve made some good props for the book “Little Red Riding Hood.” The performance can be long or short. For a home performance, you can have fewer characters, but for kindergarten or school, you can prepare more.
Let me show you some stills. These are first-grade children. This is everyone’s “hmm”. “Hmm” is their Baba. They can act it out with just a lump of mud.
This is a performance of “My Dad”. Everyone should act out what their dad is like.
This is a performance of “I Have Friendship for Rent” and this is a performance of “Crocodile Afraid of Dentists”.
These are sixth graders performing “The Gruffalo”.
This was when we were in the disaster area. There were musicians providing accompaniment, picture books, and performances. The children loved it. They immersed themselves in the role, took on a part, and then performed. They knew how the story was structured. It was so simple.
This is the Changbanpo performance at Beihang University a few days ago. It is not that complicated. It does not require costumes and props, and you don’t have to reach a certain level to perform it. In fact, it can be performed in a very simple way.
Eating. This is the most creative activity, as there are so many picture books about food, and you’ll find that picture books that focus on food are often the ones children love most, but there don’t seem to be any that actually involve eating. You need to come up with your own ideas. For example, after reading “Green Eggs and Ham,” perhaps you’d really like to try making a dish? Or “Cloud Bread”—bread is easy, but clouds are hard to come by! I also translated “Stone Soup,” and you can find some stones and boil them. (Photos shown) Like these children’s stone soup, we first washed a bunch of pebbles and then boiled them together. It’s a fun game, perfect for a picnic, and it’s very simple.
Breaking. This seemingly most technical method is suitable for readers who enjoy playing with technology and playing detective games. “Breaking” means to crack or solve a mystery, and “breaking” is a topic that many people are fascinated by. You can examine a picture book from every angle: the cover, the back cover, the materials, the colors, the textures, the symbols, and what each symbol represents. There’s a crucial way to read a picture book: to look for details. This is a common practice. When you don’t find details in a picture book, you’ll find it quite bland, but once you do, it becomes incredibly interesting. For example, nearly every work by Anthony Brown is rich with detail, like “Gorilla.” When we see the gorilla on the cover, we often flip past it. But when you encounter Anthony Brown’s work, you absolutely have to break it; otherwise, it’s boring.
This image tells us the time of the story. It already tells you what time it takes place. This story might be referencing a film, with many symbolic concepts being introduced. Which film can you spot? — “King Kong.” The time is midnight, on a full-moon night, when sorcerers haunt. Furthermore, this is a very strange book; you can’t interpret it with common sense. For example, the figure is on top, with his legs below; the window is a chess game; there are many details, like the figure’s head on top of the hat; there’s a bottle. Everything tells you this is a strange book, and you can’t interpret it with common sense. The gorilla wearing a hat and a bow tie suggests the story is about a girl and her relationship, which could be a reference to a person, clearly a man. This image tells you so much, but you often skip over it when you encounter such books. You might even ask a child what they’re reading after reading it dozens of times, and if you’re not fully engaged, you certainly don’t understand what they’re reading. If we enjoy playing around, we’ll find it full of fun and surreal elements. Of course, this is a surrealist work, “Going to the River with Uncle Gan” is an impressionist work, “Dawn” is a work in the style of Chinese classical culture art, and so on. Each work carries a special symbol, the so-called “broken”, and the fun lies here.
Many people have read the book “Grandpa Will Find a Way.” Grandpa makes a blanket, which becomes a coat. The coat becomes a handkerchief, which then becomes a button. The button eventually disappears, but it’s there in the book. We usually only focus on the story above, and if we don’t decipher it, our enjoyment is limited to the surface. This story teaches a moral or tells a story, but to decipher it, you have to look below, at the details, not in the middle or the focus. This way, we can see how the little mouse family begins their lives, the relationship between the top and the bottom. Focus on the bottom, then look at the top. The mouse has two litters of puppies. This is the first, and then the second. Finally, when the button is lost—a special reminder: it actually reappeared below. It was used for a special purpose. If you haven’t seen this part in the book, go back and take a closer look. We invested so much, bought so many wonderful works, and then missed so many things. What a shame! We must also take a closer look. Finally, the button is made into the top of a chair. While the person at the top reads the story, the mouse below also tells the story. The button will not be lost. When you finish cracking it, you will find that it is another story.
I also need to re-watch “Hen Rose Goes for a Walk”. Last time I shared it with college students from Beihang University for half an hour.
This seems to be the easiest way to play. In fact, people use this trick most often in daily life, but they often don’t use it well.
How to chat with children? This is a complex subject. Chambers once wrote a book specifically titled “Talk About It,” the Chinese version of which is included in “Creating a Children’s Reading Environment.” However, even reading this book doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready to start a conversation. After reading it, you’ll understand that chatting with children is truly a skill. More importantly, we need to be genuinely interested in the book, just as the child is. If we haven’t done our homework and aren’t genuinely interested, it’s best not to chat. In general, I don’t recommend chatting about every book, as it can be harmful. There’s a “Little Big Reading Club” in Taiwan that recommends reading the words when there are words, and quietly flipping through the pages when there aren’t any. They believe that most, if not all, parents would turn this into a quiz. Of course, if you temporarily set aside the idea of “what moral this book is supposed to teach a child,” it’s fine to just chat about anything. For example, if you’re reading a book about wolves, you could start a conversation about a wolf in your hometown in the mountains… That might be a bit exaggerated, but the point is to keep the conversation interesting and relevant to your own life.
Think. Association, imagination, and boundless daydreaming… this is the most personal way to play. Once, at a seminar on reading (obviously, no children were in attendance), the topic somehow came up: “Little Mouse’s Vest.” A friend who studies philosophy excitedly said, “This book is about Lao Tzu’s philosophy: take things as they come, isn’t it?” Everyone was stunned at the time, but thinking back, it made sense. Some might ask, “Can children understand this kind of philosophy?” Everyone should be familiar with “Little Mouse’s Vest”:
“Mom made me a little vest,” said the little mouse, “It looks great, doesn’t it?” Then the duck came and said, “What a beautiful little vest, can I wear it?” Then it was given to him and the duck squeezed in. Later, the monkey came and said, “What a beautiful little vest, can I wear it?” The monkey put it on too, and then the sea lion, the lion, the horse, and then the elephant came. Imagine that the elephant’s vest burst, and the little mouse looked and said, “Oh, my little vest!” The little mouse’s little vest had become a long string of things… If the story ended here, it might be a sad story. The last scene showed the elephant holding the already long little vest with his trunk, and the little mouse was swinging on it. It couldn’t be worn anymore, but it didn’t matter, it could just be a swing. In fact, the same applies to reading. The friend was very excited, “Isn’t this Lao Tzu’s philosophy?”
Of course, in addition to this kind of imagination, there is also the boundless fantasy of children. Sometimes we ask the question: Can children understand? In fact, we may not understand what children understand. If you use children as the standard answer, you will find that children are geniuses. If you use us as the standard, you will think that children are stupid.
Here I would like to share another story with you: “Going to the River with Uncle Gan”.
Coming to the kindergarten today reminded me of something that happened when my daughter was in kindergarten. The kindergarten organized us to go out and play together. I like playing with children, so I rode a tandem bicycle. I was supposed to return it, but I didn’t. So I took a group of children to play. The children got on one by one. In fact, the legal limit was two people, but later there were about ten people on. Among them, there was a very strong boy who pedaled in front with me, and we ran forward as a group. On the way, they saw some kids playing a new game over there, so a group of them ran over. The kid riding next to me was the type that reacted a little slower than the others. I told him he was doing well, because everyone else was playing, and he was riding with Uncle Ajia. But he ran away too, and when he jumped off the bike, a car was coming from the opposite direction. I was stunned at the time. Actually, it wasn’t a big deal. The car stopped when it saw him coming, but the kid bumped into the car himself, but everyone saw it. A kid who got off Ajia’s bike hit the car. His mother was a little excited that day, and later scolded me. I have always felt guilty. Fortunately, the child was fine, but after I went home that day, I thought about it for two days and remembered a book. The book had not been published at the time, and it was an English version. I had a copy, so I said I would talk to the teacher if I could tell the children a story as an apology. So I remembered this book at the time — “Going to the River with Uncle Gan”. Text/Photo: John Burningham, Translation: Lin Liang.
He is Uncle Gan
Uncle Gan has a boat and his home is by the river.
One day, Uncle Gan was about to go boating on the river.
The two children said, “Can we go with you?”
Uncle Gan said, “It’s fine, as long as you don’t make noise.”
The hare said, “Uncle Gan, can I come with you? Is that okay?”
Uncle Gan said, “It’s okay, but you can’t jump around.”
The cat said, “I really want to take a boat ride.”
Uncle Gum said “Okay, but you can’t chase rabbits.”
The dog said, “Can you take me with you?”
Uncle Gan said, “Okay, but you can’t mess with cats.”
The pig said, “Uncle Gum, can I go? Please, please!”
Uncle Gan said, “Come on, but you can’t move back and forth.”
The sheep said, “Is there room for me?”
Uncle Gan said, “There is a space, but you can’t bleat.”
The chicken also said, “Can we go too?”
Uncle Gan said, “It’s okay, but you can’t flap your wings.”
The cow said, “Can you make room for me?”
Uncle Gan said, “Sure, as long as you don’t step on anything.”
The goat said, “Uncle Gum, can I join you?”
Uncle Gan said, “Welcome, welcome, but don’t kick around.”
Everyone was happy at first
But after a while
Goat Kicking
Cow stepping on things
Chicken wings
Mianyang bleating
Pigs swing back and forth
The dog provoked the cat
Cat chasing rabbit
Rabbit jumping around
Children making a fuss
The boat capsized
Everyone fell into the water
Uncle Gan and the goats, the cows,
With chickens, sheep, pigs,
With dogs, cats, rabbits,
Swim to the shore with the children
Then climb ashore and let the sun dry you out
Uncle Gan said we had no choice but to walk home across the grass.
I invite you to my house for tea
(They had a standard afternoon tea)
Uncle Gan said, “Goodbye, let’s go boating next time!”
This story seems simple. Professor Nordmann wrote a long paper about nothing but the first page of this book. He dedicated this paper to this single page. If you were to delve into it, there’s a lot to research. What exactly is this story about? It’s hard for me to judge, but at that moment, I remembered this book and told it to the children. Do you understand why I told this story? This book is very special to me, and I believe it holds a special place in my memory for those children, especially the one I bumped into.
When Uncle Gan got up, he didn’t say, “Why are you like this? I told you not to stop, but you kept shouting. I told you not to make noise, but you kept making noise.” He just said, “Get up. We have to cross the grass and go home. After we have tea, we will play together next time.”
Why should picture books be played this way? To maximize their potential, this includes linguistic, artistic, multiple intelligences, diverse literacy skills, and the development of a healthy personality. But how do we best use them? I’ve only provided a demonstration. At its core, it all comes down to one word: play. Sharing, enjoying, and experiencing the process with children is how picture books are most effectively used.
summary:
Helping children fall in love with reading should be based on happiness. For example, what is the best way to read? Whatever makes you and your child happiest is the best. It seems so simple, but it is really not easy to do.
Picture books provide infinite possibilities for reading; this type of work provides infinite possibilities for reading. You will find that it can be used in kindergartens, at home, in schools and even when teaching at universities. It provides various possibilities. The key is not what book to use, but how we use it and how we play with it.
The joy of reading picture books is not exclusive to children; if you think that my child will like this story, but I will just forget about it, then this story has not really touched you, and it is definitely not the best story. Only if this story is extremely valuable to me, extremely useful, and has a lot to think about, then it is a truly good book, at least very valuable to you.
Of course, picture books aren’t the only thing children can read, but they are undoubtedly the “seeds of happiness”! We should choose picture books of different styles, and when reading books of different styles, genres, and themes, we should also choose different books. Especially in the growth process of young children, picture books are truly the “seeds of happiness!” When he was young, we shared them with him through various ways of playing, and he gained very, very beautiful memories, which I believe are the seeds for his lifelong happiness.
That’s all I want to share with you today, thank you everyone!
(over)
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