As a mom of a toddler, I’m always looking for quality children’s books with multi-sensory elements to help keep her engaged. Instinctively, I go for touchy-feely books, or noisy books so she can press buttons.
Spring Song by Anetta Kotowicz and illustrated by Nina Ezhik, is a delightful, multi-sensory story to use with preschool aged children. Not only is it a picture book, but there is also a Youtube playlist to accompany the reading, in addition to some great crafts and activity ideas.
I’ve been teaching figurative language with my students for the last nine years, so the teacher in me gets excited when I see these elements used in any type of text. The use of sensory details and onomatopoeia makes this a super fun story to read! When reading this with preschool children, I would have students repeat the onomatopoeias after me because there are so many. It gives kids a chance to practice saying new words and makes them feel like they’re also reading the story.
In my experience as a Reading Specialist, a lot of my students benefit from additional auditory support when interacting with a text. The Spring Song playlist on Youtube provides young readers with four different songs that correlate to the story. Songs are available on Arts Kindred Magic YouTube channel under Spring Song playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVltdElxMWR0dMxq1sVmv3iKhgJ7_m2N9
The e-text does have an icon to click which takes listeners right to the song for that page. Readers can sing along with the story. This is a fabulous way to introduce little ones to reading! If you want to practice reading skills, I suggest reading this text on a tablet and pointing to the words in the songs while singing.
A great surprise is what is included at the end of the book for parents and teachers. There are pages of additional craft ideas and a game. The game involves kids doing an action (clap your hands, act like a bird, etc). This is perfect for a preschool classroom!
Interested in this fabulous book? Check it out on Amazon.
For additional texts and information, feel free to check out www.ArtsKindred.com . Summer Song was just published and there are ones for Fall and Winter!