Tag Archives: reading technique

Boo Hoo Bird by Jeremy Tankard

5 Aug

Bird and Raccoon are playing catch when, suddenly, “BONK!” A throw goes awry and Bird is hit in the head.  He wails in pain and unhappiness as, one after one, his friends try to find a way to make him feel better: a hug?  A cookie?  A band-aid?  Nothing works, causing Bird’s friends to burst into tears as well.   Surprisingly, that’s just what makes Bird realize he’s fine, really.  Reading this book aloud provides the reader with a great opportunity to really ham it up; pretending to moan and wail.  The kids will love it (trust me, they cracked up when I did it), and the more fun we have with books, the more motivated our kids are to become readers.

Tankard, Jeremy.  Boo Hoo Bird.  New York: Scholastic Press, 2009.  ISBN: 9780545065702

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Why I do what I do…(ie. act like a total goofball)

6 Jun

This quotation* was the tagline to a recent e-mail I received.  I thought it was a perfect summation of why I really “perform” when I’m reading a book aloud to children:

“They may forget what you said, but they will never  forget how you made them feel.” Carl W. Buechner

I have no idea who this Carl Buechner guy is, but what he said makes sense.   The kids may not remember exactly what book I read, but if it made them laugh, feel good, or otherwise have a positive experience, then they will remember that books are fun.  And that’s the goal.  If books are fun, we want to learn to read them.  And the more we read, the better we get.  Young children are very non-judgemental.  So be silly, do the voices (if you can), make the character sound sad if the text says he is.  The kids will love you for it.

*Look, Mr. Moore, (my college Shakespeare professor) I used it correctly!  It’s quotation, not quote, that’s the noun, he said.

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