ReadRead withwith MeMe ©The Basic Skills Agency, Commonwealth House, 1-19 New Oxford Street, London, WC1A 1NU. TEN IN THE BED © 1988 Penny Dale. Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd., London. Translated into the Welsh language by Gwynne Williams. WHERE’S MY TEDDY? © 1992 Jez Alborough. Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd., London. Translated into the Welsh language by Gwynne Williams. ‘Transylvania Dreaming’ from MAKING FRIENDS WITH FRANKENSTEIN © 1993 Colin McNaughton. Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd., London. Translated into the Welsh language by Gwynne Williams. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be photocopied, recorded or otherwise reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN: 1 85990 229 4 Published October 2002 Design: Studio 21 ReadRead withwith MeMe Foreword HIS is a book for parents who want to read with their children. We have produced it as part of the campaign to make sure that all children are well prepared for learning when they start school. This is one of the most important goals of the Welsh Assembly Government’s National Basic Skills Strategy. Parents and other caring adults have an essential part to play in giving children a love of reading and an interest in books which will give them a strong foundation for their education. We hope that the advice in this book will give you the confidence and enthusiasm to read regularly with the children in your care and start them off on a lifetime of pleasure T in reading. The book includes three delightful stories by authors whose books are loved by children and grown-ups all over the world. I would like to thank Penny Dale, Jez Alborough, Colin McNaughton and their publisher Walker Books for granting us permission to use their stories. I’m sure you will enjoy them. I would also like to thank Anne Fine, the Children’s Laureate for her kind words of encouragement which are reproduced on page 3. Please let us know what you think about the book. We have included a postcard which we hope you will return to us with your comments. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Alan Wells Director, The Basic Skills Agency 2 Read with Me Anne Fine Children’s Laureate Dear Alan, I’m really glad to congratulate everyone who is part of this valuable push to remind parents what a pleasure it is to read with their children. The sheer physical closeness is something a family soon comes to value. Shared books offer safe openings: ‘My school’s not a bit like that’; ‘I worry just like he does’; ‘I did that once’. And children who are read to every day do far, far better in school. But most of all, it’s such a shame to miss the sheer enchantment of story. Libraries are free, and I can’t count the number of times my children and I gave up on pouring rain, biting winds, or cold dark evenings, and took to the double bed with a tea tray and a heap of books. They’re some of my happiest memories. So do, please, share them. All good wishes, Anne Read with Me 3 Anne Fine Children’s Laureate Anne Fine is the Children’s Laureate – a role which is awarded once every two years to an eminent writer or illustrator of children’s books. Anne is a distinguished writer for children of all ages with over 40 books to her credit. She has won the Carnegie medal, Britain’s most coveted children’s literature award, as well as the Guardian Children’s Literature award, the Whitbread Children’s Novel award (twice) and a Smarties Prize. She won the Publishing News Children’s Author of the Year Award in 1990 and again in 1993. Her books for older children include the award winning The Tulip Touch and Goggle Eyes which was adapted for television. Her novel Madame Doubtfire was filmed as Mrs Doubtfire, starring Robin Williams. Her books for younger children include Bill’s New Frock and How to Write Really Badly. Her work has been translated into 25 languages. Anne also writes for adults and her books have been published to considerable literary acclaim. We are delighted to have her support for our campaign. 4 Read with Me Introduction ELCOME to Read with Me. This book is full of ideas for helping your child to read and enjoy books. It’s a book for parents and other grown-ups who are willing to find time to share books and stories with their young children. We all want to help our children with reading but we may not be sure how to go about it. We may think that teachers are the best people to help a child with reading and that parents shouldn’t interfere. But parents can instil a love of reading long before a child goes to school and deepen that love of reading as the child grows up. WEnjoyment of books is the most important factor when learning to read. Sharing books with adults helps children with learning to read. This book is not about teaching your child to read. It’s about creating situations where books and reading are associated with happy times. Children who know that reading brings pleasure are more likely to become lifelong readers. In this book you will find stories by authors enjoyed by many young children in Wales – Penny Dale, Jez Alborough and Colin McNaughton. Each story is surrounded by guidance which will help you make the story more enjoyable for your child. Look at the suggestions and decide which ones you would like to use. They are not a list of instructions but ideas to try out. The stories have many features loved by children – rhythm, rhyme, repetition and an element of surprise. They use a combination of humour and scary situations and, like many traditional folk tales, they present children with issues of loneliness, loss and uncertainty – in the security of their parent’s arms. The three stories all have a bedtime theme – one of the best times for reading together and for talking about events in the stories and in the world around them, that children are interested in, or find puzzling. The stories offer children the opportunity to express their fears and concerns and allow parents a great opportunity to give reassurance by answering their questions and by giving explanations. Read and enjoy! Read with Me 5 Introduction The golden rules • Make reading a time of pleasure for you both. • Start sharing books even before your child knows which way up to hold a book. • Learn to accept your child’s efforts with praise. • Read books your child loves and don’t set up a ‘test situation’. • Focus on the things which are right, not on mistakes. • Keep reading to children even after they’ve learned to read independently. • Stop when they’ve had enough – it’s not a punishment! For some children, learning to read will seem to happen easily and quickly. For others, more time and support will be needed. Whatever the case, your help will be a powerful influence over your child’s development as a reader. For all children praise, encouragement, reassurance and pleasure are the vital factors towards becoming a confident reader. 6 Read with Me Getting started Reading with 3 to 5-year-olds At this stage children should learn that books give pleasure. They • Say the catchy bits together, e.g. ‘run, run as fast as you can’, need to handle books, enjoy the pictures and hear lots of stories ‘he huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down!’ and rhymes. This is not the time to worry about testing them on the • Learn rhymes, songs and jingles together so you both know words they know or sounding out words. Just enjoy the time you them by heart and can point to the words as you recite them spend together sharing books. This will give children the best together. foundation for learning to read and love books. Grandparents and big brothers and sisters can be part of this too. • Encourage your child to bring books home from nursery or school and make the time to read them together. • Read to your child as often as possible – any time, any place, • Buy books if you can. Boot sales are a good place for bargains. anywhere – in bed, in the car, in the bath. Also, try to keep a Put them around the house in baskets and boxes – like a lucky special time for reading, when you can cuddle up together. dip that your child can choose from. • Bring stories to life with lots of expression and silly voices. • Go to the library – they are free and have a great selection of books for children. Librarians love babies and children who • Talk about the stories and pictures and play ‘Guess what’s love books. going to happen next’. • Play a game of ‘spot the words’ on signs and labels – on the street, in shops and in your cupboards. • Read favourite books over and over again. You might have had enough of reading Three Little Pigs or Chicken Licken but • Make sure your child sees you reading newspapers, books and young children love familiarity. magazines – show them it’s cool to read. Read with Me 7 Early reading Reading with 5 to 6-year-olds This is the stage when children can tell you about their favourite • Don’t make a fuss if your child can’t read story and when they begin to pick out well-known words or phrases, a word.