About the Holiday
Today’s observance was established in 1994 to promote family and community involvement in teaching and supporting children to read more. Family members can make reading a priority at home by sitting down together every day with a wide range of books and other reading material. By taking trips to the library and bookstores, children will also naturally pick up a love of reading. But families can’t do it alone. Kids acquire a drive to read when they see connections between books and their wider world. Fun book-related activities at schools, libraries, science centers, museums, and other places capture children’s attention and make them curious about reading more. Whether children are attracted by fiction or nonfiction, picture books or chapter books, novels or graphic novels, they should be encouraged to read. Universal literacy is a goal that can be accomplished.
About Small Talk Books®
Ellen Mayer’s Small Talk Books® feature young children and adults conversing (or adults speaking to children who are not talking yet) while they have fun, do chores, shop, and bake together. Their conversations demonstrate the kind of excitement and close relationships that encourage learning and language advancement. Each Small Talk Book® includes an accompanying note from Dr. Betty Bardige, an expert on young children’s language and literacy development and the author of Talk to Me, Baby! How You Can Support Young Children’s Language Development. The introduction discusses how children connect actions, words, and meaning as adults speak to them while doing particular jobs or actions.
Other titles in the Small Talk Books® series include Cake Day and Rosa’s Very Big Job. Each book makes a wonderful gift for baby showers, new parents, or anyone with young children in the family. They would be a welcome addition to any young child’s bookshelf as well as libraries and preschool classrooms.
A Fish to Feed
Written by Ellen Mayer | Illustrated by Ying-Hwa Hu
Dad plans a fun trip into town with his young child to buy a pet fish. He says, we will get “a fish to swim in our bowl. A fish we can look at and feed.” The pair are excited to go together and have time to “walk…and talk.” The two head out and soon pass a store. In the window the child sees a T-shirt with the picture of a fish on it and points. “Look—fish! Fish! Fish!” Dad reinforces the observation—“Yes, I see the fish on the T-shirt too.”—and further explains: “That’s a fish to wear, not a fish to swim in our bowl.”
Going into the store, Dad and his youngster find another item with a fish on it. On a shelf is a backpack with a picture of a gold-and-yellow fish on the front pocket. This is a “fish to wear on your back,” Dad says, before going in search of a “fish to feed.” Next, the two come to a toy store. The child points to another fish—a fish on a mobile. “Look—fish! Fish! Fish!” the toddler exclaims. Dad affirms his child’s remark and expands on it using complete sentences that model conversation and increase vocabulary. They linger in the shop, finding other examples of fish.
“‘Now let’s go find a fish to feed,’ says Daddy.” They head out of the store and continue down the street. As they come to the Pet Shop, the little one shouts, “‘Look—fish! Fish swim!” Daddy echoes the excitement while praising his child. “‘You found a fish that swims!’” They take the goldfish home, where it swims happily in their bowl—a pet they “can love and feed.”
A Fish to Feed contains die-cut holes in the pages that kids will love peering through as they shop along on this adventure to find a special pet.
Ellen Mayer’s story of a dad and his child out for an afternoon together as they look for a pet to love offers adults and children such a sweet way to spend time with one another. The story, set in the familiar environments of home and stores and revolving around a close parent-child relationship, will engage even the youngest readers. The back-and-forth conversation between Dad and his child as they shop models ways in which adults can follow a child’s lead while providing language and literacy development. The abscence of gender-specific pronouns makes this a universal story.
Ying-Hwa Hu’s illustrations are vibrant and joyful. When Dad bends down to be at eye-level with his toddler as they talk, the close bond between them is obvious in their smiling and laughing faces. The shops are full of colorful toys, clothes, backpacks, and other items that will capture kids’ attention. Spending time looking at each page allows adults and children to point at the various items, name them, and talk about them.
Ages Birth – 5
Star Bright Books, 2015 | ISBN 978-1595727077
Written by Ellen Mayer | Illustrated by Ying-Hwa Hu
It’s laundry day and the clothes are all dried and soft and ready to wear. “‘Here is your blue shirt, with the goldfish on it,’” Mama says, pulling the top out of the basket and bending down to eye level to show it to her baby. Next, Mama describes the “yellow and white striped pants” she puts on her child. “‘Let’s see what else is in the laundry basket,’” she says.
Mama pulls a tiny red sock from the basket, but—“UH-OH!—where is the other red sock?’” Now it’s the baby’s turn to help. With a look down, the toddler shows Mama where the sock is. “‘You found the other red sock. Yay!’” she says, giving words to the baby’s action. She continues explaining while pointing to the sock poking out of the baby’s pocket: “‘It was hiding in your pants pocket!” Once the laundry is folded, Mama tells her child exactly what they will do next while she playfully slips the other red sock on the baby’s wiggling feet. “‘Let’s put that other sock on your foot. Then we can go play outside.’” As the baby flies in the swing outside, the red socks are brilliant dots against the blue sky.
Ellen Mayer’s simple and charming story of a particular moment in a mother and child’s day will immediately appeal to even the youngest reader. Familiar words coupled with clear, vivid illustrations will engage toddlers who are pre-talking and just learning language and concept development. The mother’s use of complete sentences as well as step-by-step descriptions of the activities the child sees and is involved in demonstrates how adults can converse with their babies and young children to encourage strong language and literacy skills. Free of gender-specific pronouns, Red Socks is a universal story.
Ying-Hwa Hu’s illustrations show a mother and child interacting on a typical day while they complete common chores and go outside to play. The mother and child portray a range of emotions and gestures, giving further depth to the understanding of the ideas and conversation presented. Kids will giggle at the adorable puppy who causes a bit of mischief on each page.
Ages Birth – 5
Star Bright Books, 2015 | ISBN 978-1595727060
To learn more about Ellen Mayer and her Small Talk Books® (including other titles: Cake Day and Rosa’s Very Big Job) as well as to find activities to accompany each book, visit her website!
Discover more about Ying-Hwa Hu and view a portfolio of her illustration work on her website!
Red Socks and Too Small to Fail
Red Socks was chosen by Too Small to Fail, an early literacy initiative of The Clinton Foundation to feature in their Wash Time is Talk Time project. Wash Time is Talk Time serves underserved communities and provides resources to turn time spent at the laundromat into an opportunity for families to talk together, read together, and learn together. Language-rich literacy resources will be delivered to more than 5,000 laundromats across the country.
Here’s a video from one fun afternoon with families, Ellen Mayer, and Ying-Hwa Hu during wash time!
National Family Literacy Month Activity
Child’s Sensory Board
Toys or objects that provide many opportunities for sensory experimentation and observation stimulate a baby and young child to learn while having fun. You can make a sensory board for your own child using household items and that have a variety of textures, sizes, shapes, and movement. When you create your own sensory board, you can personalize it for your child by adding their name, pictures of family members, and other special items. While you play with your child, take time to talk about all of the objects on the board, what they do, and how they work. Count the objects. If you include words or your child’s name, spell them outloud and say them. There are so many ways to use a sensory board. Even if children can’t yet talk, they are listening and soaking in the rich language learning you are providing!
**When making your board always ensure that you use items that are not a choking hazard or can catch tiny fingers. Make sure that items are firmly attached to the board. Never leave a baby unattended while playing.**
- A board large enough to hold the items you want to attach. Boards that can be used include: those found at hardware stores or craft stores; large cutting boards; shelves; old table tops; etc.
Sample items for your sensory board can be age appropriate and include:
- Large swatches of various textured material. (I used fur, a scrubbing sheet, and a piece of carpeting)
- Wooden or thick cardboard letters and numbers, painted in a variety of colors. Letters can be used to add a child’s name to the board.
- Figures cut from sheets of foam or wooden figures found at craft stores in a variety of numbers that you can count with your child (I used sets of 1, 2, and 3 fish cut from foam to go along with the numbers 1, 2, and 3)
- Push button light
- Chalk board to write on
- Castor or other wheel
- Door latches
- Door knockers
- Mop heads
- Paint rollers
- Drawer handles
- Hinges (I attached a tennis ball to a hinge that children can push back and forth)
- Paint in various bright colors
- Paint brushes
- Nuts and bolts
- Super glue
- Assemble your items
- Paint wooden or cardboard items
- Arrange item on the board so that your baby or child can easily reach or manipulate each one
- Attach items with screws, nuts and bolts, or super glue
- Push button lights or other objects that take batteries can be attached with strong Velcro. Ensure items attached with Velcro are large and not a choking hazard.
- Set up board where you and your baby or child can enjoy playing with it together
Picture Book Review