Francois Bissonnette's Blog, page 4

Give the love of reading to your child

If you want to give the love of reading to your child, you have to do more than just read the words page after page, book after book. How you read and what you do during the reading determines how much your child gets out of that reading time. So, how do you read so your children will fall in love with books? Here are some suggestions:

1. Engage children in the story whenever opportunity permits. Some stories allow for some acting along such as roaring like a lion or mewing like a cat. Show children that with books they can be active participants rather than just passive listeners.

2. Read with expression. You can use different voices for different characters (children love that). Also vary the way you read: loud, soft, sadly, happily, excitedly, scarily etc… according to the text. Let your voice and face bring out the emotions of the words. Spark their imagination by making the story come alive for them.

3. Ask questions. There are several types of questions you could ask:

To bring their attention to certain details. For example, “Can you see where Pafoo is hiding?”

To increase comprehension. For example, “Why do you think the Big Zoroo is sad?”

To have them predict what might happen. For example, ask “What do you think will happen next?”

Just be careful not to turn the reading session into a quiz session. Don’t ask too many questions or it will disrupt the flow of the story.

4. Enrich the reading with follow up activities and discussion. It could be as simple as having your child draw his favorite character or favorite part of the story. How about identifying new words to expand vocabulary. Another idea would be to talk about similar experiences your child may have had. For example, if the story was about going to the doctors, you could remind your child about the time he went to the doctors. Discuss your child’s feelings and views about the story or illustration.

To get more out of a book, here are some finer points to remember:

1. Allow children to handle the book by encouraging them to help turn the pages. Don’t be afraid to let them explore the book on their own before or after you’ve read the story. They may not know how to read yet but they can still enjoy the illustrations. And if they know the story well enough, you might catch them pretending to read, just like you.

2. If you are reading to toddlers, don’t forget to introduce them to the make up of the book. Show them which is the front of the book, which is the back and where to start reading. Point to the words as you read so they know that reading is done from left to right, and from top to bottom of the page. Of course, all these are absorbed better when done in fun and silliness. For example, attempt to read a book upside down and your child will only be too eager to correct you.

3. Don’t rush through the book. Read slowly and clearly. Create a relaxed atmosphere, free from stress and anxiety. Just for that few moments, free your mind from the 101 chores you have waiting for you.

So, if you want your child to love reading, show them first how enjoyable books can be. To get the most out of a book, you need to engage them and draw them into the story. If you can do this, you will heighten your child’s love for books and reading.

http://magicalchildrenbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/How-to-Read-with-Your-Child-Reading-Lessons.mp4

Walt Disney and I

Walt Disney inspired me. When I say that he inspired me, I’m not talking about the way I write my children’s books or the way I draw. Walt Disney was a great story teller, and like him, I love fairy tales and talking animal stories. But what inspired me was the way he lived his life and how he realized his dreams.

Like him, when I was young, I had to deliver newspapers. I don’t remember exactly how old I was when I began my paper route, but I know that I was not older than 7 years old. The bag of newspapers was almost bigger than I was. Like Disney, I had to get up really early, around 5 am, to deliver the papers before school.

Walt Disney said that the paper route traumatized and haunted him; forty years later, he was still having nightmares that he had missed some customers. I don’t have nightmares about my paper route, but I remember that sometimes, after finishing my route, I still had one or two papers in my bag, and I had to do the entire route again trying to find out which customers I missed. Yes, it was hard for a little boy.

In the beginning of his career, Walt Disney didn’t have a lot of money and his first  company, Laugh-O-Grams,  went bankrupted. But Disney never gave up; he overcame obstacles and achieved his dreams. My favorite Disney quotes are:

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

“ The difference in winning and losing is most often… not quitting.”

Seven months ago, one of my friends asked me why I was still working on my children’s books when I could make more money by doing overtime at my day job. Well, first, I like writing children’s books and second, I got big rewards by writing stories for children.

When a mother tells me that her kid loves my stories and my characters, that’s a big reward for me.

Or when I receive a review like this one:

“My daughter said ‘I like the book, dad’ and she’s NOT a reader. So, for her, that’s practically like inviting the author over for tea and a sleepover! Well done! ” – P. Repage, physician in NYC

That kind of review is a big boost to continue writing children’s books.

Or when a teacher sends me an email like this one:

“I want you to know I had the privilege of sharing your stories with my sixth graders this past week.  We have started our unit on Myths, Fairytales, etc.  I opened my kindle on my computer and shared just one of your stories with each class as an introduction.  I had your book link on Amazon posted on my board.  No class heard the same story.  They loved them.” – Sandra Stiles

These kind of comments are my big rewards!

I’m not Walt Disney and I will never be. But when one of my book brings happiness to a child, when it makes a kid dream and smile, I’m happy to be me.