Many parents in Singapore are still unsure of the importance of Picture Storybooks to children. Here are five reasons why children need Picture Storybooks: LANGUAGE: Young children (ages two-seven) are at a peak age for learning language. Dr. Jane Healy (Endangered Minds: Why Children Dont Think and What We Can Do About It) notes that the young child’s brain is ravenous for language stimulation. This is why it is often suggested that children learn a second language at this age. They soak up language like a sponge. Because the average picture book only has about 500 words, an author must craft each and every word, sentence and paragraph with care. Editor Anne Hoppe once said of picture books: “The writer distills; the illustrator expands.” Picture book writers must distill language to its very essence. This is why the text in a picture book is often rich, evocative, and engaging. Hearing this type of language will enrich a childs language development. BRAIN DEVELOPMENT: Dr. Healy (Your Childs’ Growing Mind) also explains that during early childhood, the brain buzzes with extra neurological connections that are trying to establish patterns, cause and effect, and sequences. Picture books, with their verbal and visual nature, offer this to a child’s growing mind. For example, in Bill Martin Jr.’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? a child hears the verbal clue of a rhyming word and sees the visual clue of the upcoming animal to be named on the next page. This type of pattern and sequencing helps to build the neurological pathways in a childs brain. This kind of patterning within a verbal/visual format is unique to picture books. PHYSICAL PARTICIPATION: Another unique aspect of picture books is the child’s physical participation in the story via the page turn. The words and illustration allow the child to experience what is happening on any particular page; however, advancing the story—physically turning the page—requires action on his part. This type of participation sets up an interactive experience between the child and the story. This participation also keeps the child engaged and helps to establish cause-and-effect brain pathways, as mentioned above. ATTENTION SPAN: Because of their unique structure, picture books can help a child increase his attention span, going beyond an interesting story (which is common to all genres). How many picture books have you seen with a refrain that keeps a child listening—eagerly anticipating his moment to chime in? Children will sit on the edges of their seats (or knees) awaiting their moment to be an active part of a story. Have you ever seen a group of children listen to Dont Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems? PICTURE BOOKS ARE MULTI-SENSORY: Children’s author Mem Fox says in her book, Reading Magic: Children’s brains are only 25 percent developed at birth. From that moment, whenever a baby is fed, cuddled, played with, talked to, sung to or read to, the other 75 percent of its brain begins to develop. And the more stimulation the baby has through its senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing, the more rapidly that development will occur.” Re-read that last sentence. The more stimulation through the senses, the more rapid the development occurs. Multi-sensory learning is critical during the early childhood years, and no other book genre offers this kind of sensory-based experience. While listening to and looking at a picture book, a child sees the pictures, hears the words, touches the pages (or other tactile features, such as touch-and-feel books), and smells the pages (such as scratch-and-sniff books). The only thing a child wouldn’t do with a picture book is taste it (although infants and toddlers might disagree). Dr. Maria Montessori advocated that children absorb impressions and knowledge directly from their environment via their senses. Picture books are an important part of the learning process. No other type of books gives young children the opportunity to experience a story on so many sensory levels... Extracted from terrypierce.blogspot.sg/2010/10/five-reasons-why-children-need-picture.html?m=1
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 07:56:53 +0000
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