Beyond Reading Aloud, part 3

The Dragon & the Turtle, part 3

by Donita K. Paul and Evangeline Denmark
Illustrated by Vincent Nguyen

Initial Art and Text:

• The Problem
• The Plan
• The Obstacles

The Problem: All good fiction has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Quickly, normal is established and then interrupted. Normal for Padraig is leisurely hunting for bugs for his snack. Normal for Roger is playing and then going home.

The Problem is that Roger is lost. Padraig chooses to help him find his home. Roger’s problem has become Padraig’s problem. Incidentally, Padraig’s problem will develop out of the situation. He’s hungry, and he’s frustrated by using a lot of time and effort to find Roger’s house.

Roger’s problem is of importance to children. Being lost is something that catches their attention. Many children’s classics explore this theme.

Examples:

The Story of Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese (Ping’s family)

Corduroy by Don Freeman (lost button)

Corduroy Lost and Found by B. G. Hennessy and Jody Wheeler (Corduroy is lost)

The Man Who Lost His Head by Claire Huchet Bishop and Robert McCloskey (a man’s head)

Lost by David McPhail (first a bear and then, a boy)

Padraig offers sympathy to Roger for getting lost. He doesn’t tell him he’s foolish for not knowing where he is, and he doesn’t make fun of playing pirates alone. A child observes the dragon being gracious, although the child would not use the word gracious to label the dragon’s actions. But the child engaged in the story will feel relief and hope when Padraig demonstrates he is going to help.

Identifying with the character is another part of the learning piece that is so important to comprehension. If the child tackled this book without first having had it read to him, the focus on the business of reading would obstruct the business of responding to the story. Children are concrete thinkers, and they need exposure to develop symbolism. In this preoperational stage (Piaget’s second of six child developmental stages), the child recognizes a picture represents a thing, a word represents something, and the character in a story represents a person. And the person could very well be him.

The Plan: In the simple tale of a picture book, the plan emerges without much ado. Padraig asks the color of Roger’s house. The dragon says wait here and off he goes. The child recognizes that Padraig has the advantage of seeing all the houses from the air. It does not need to be explained. The picture part of the picture book deftly answers any questions that might arise.

Padraig will scout. They will walk to the house he’s found. They will try again until they achieve their goal. Roger’s role is to provide new clues.

The Obstacles: We are in the middle of the story. In a longer piece of fiction, written for one of maturity, the hero’s goal would be established, and he would pursue his desire while overcoming obstacles and discouragement. Aha! It is the same in the picture book adventure. Each time Padraig finds a house, he and Roger make the slow trip, walking to the new destination. Of course, it is the wrong house. Discouragement. Padraig is remembering he is hungry. Obstacle.

The obstacles are child-size. The lesson is understated: Stay calm and keep going.

Beyond Reading Aloud, part 2

The Dragon & the Turtle, part 2
by Donita K. Paul and Evangeline Denmark
Illustrated by Vincent Nguyen

Initial Art and Text:

• Introduction of main characters
• Engages child: Anticipation
• Arouses curiosity

Introduction of the main characters:

The text gives us the dragon’s name. The picture and the text tell us what he is doing. For some children, a dragon is a new concept. This child will begin to associate dragon with the animal pictured in the book.

Padraig is having a snack in a tree. The snack is a bug that is crunchy on the outside, squishy on the inside and tastes like nuts and oranges.

Readers’ reaction to this treat? A little bit of eww! A little bit of wonder. And a little bit of attraction. Eating a bug is humorous and icky. Humor engages the child. Look how quickly that happened. A good read-aloud book cannot be slow in starting.

With all books: Watch your child react to what is on the page. Don’t interrupt the story to discuss the feelings evoked as you read aloud unless it is a book you’ve read several times. Remember the story is paramount, not the things we want our child to learn through the exposure. Pleasure first. A happy, not frustrated, child will learn more than you can imagine from the printed page.

Snacks are a favorite topic for speculation in most younger kids (and lots of adults). Pick a book that dwells on something the child is fond of: familiar games, familiar toys, familiar places, and activities.

The bug is eaten, and Padraig wants more. This is another situation that a child is familiar with. For the child, Padraig searching through the tree is humorous. Cute pictures help! The child looks for more snack in the kitchen. The idea of finding a bug to eat is funny.

Padraig finds a grumpy turtle instead of finding a bug. This is the first point of conflict in this simple story. Padraig would rather have more to eat, but an unhappy turtle catches his attention, and his desire for nutty orangey bugs is put aside. If you want to go all deep and psychological here, Padriag does not selflessly forgo snacks to help the turtle. His interest is more of a distraction. He forgets the treat as he satisfies his curiosity about the turtle.

BIG WORD ALERT: exasperation. A good reader (reading aloud) will heave a huge exasperated sigh in between the lines. As long as there are not too many challenging words, use of a full vocabulary stretches a child’s repertoire. After the book has been read to the child numerous times, don’t be surprised when he picks it up and “reads” it through, including the gynormous word that’s flagged “can’t be read by little ones.”

The fact that Padraig enters into polite conversation shows how he has been conditioned to respond to another’s distress. At some point you can discuss that if you practice being soft spoken and courteous, it is not hard to do the same in a crisis.

On the next pages, Padraig and Roger model an introduction. Of course your child isn’t thinking, “Oh, this is the correct way to introduce myself.” But we all know a child learns by observing.

Engages child: We’ve already covered a few points in these first two pages that inspire the child to anticipate the action in the story. Finding another bug, finding out why the turtle is grumpy, finding the Roger’s home, and becoming friends are all waiting for the child to enjoy.

Anticipation is important in a read-aloud book. Anticipation is key in reading. The next step is prediction. These are important brain-developing, problem-solving skills.

Curiosity: The child who knows nothing about dragons is primed to discover something new.

Beyond Reading Aloud

The Dragon & the Turtle, part 1

by Donita K. Paul and Evangeline Denmark
Illustrated by Vincent Nguyen

Cover Art:

• Sparks imagination
• Mixes familiar with unfamiliar
• Arouses curiosity

Imagination: In order to comprehend the written word, a child must conjure up images, sounds, tastes, smells, and tactile experiences. Memories provide the foundation of assigning meaning to a word. The word cat brings forth memories that differ from those elicited from the word dog. Corn tastes different than spinach. If a child has tasted both, a clear distinction is branded in his memory. A dirty diaper is an unpleasant smell. Apple pie is a pleasant smell. These two words not only present an image, but often an emotion as well. All these complex reactions solidify comprehension.

If I said to you, “Loktod tib assoramanation” you would have no comprehension. These nonsense words are not linked in memory to something concrete. Take into consideration that giraffe and escalator may sound like nonsense syllables until the child has received enough experience to establish meaning. And even after a child has seen a giraffe and an escalator, practice is needed to set those concepts firmly in place. Then if the text says the giraffe rode the escalator to the second floor, another leap of mental prowess must be made.

Children benefit from the practice of imagining. Spoken words must be associated with memories before the more complex performance of associating letters to sounds, individual sounds to words, words to meaning can take place.

Mixing familiar with unfamiliar: This activity takes first place when it is necessary to add new information to a child’s store of memories. If a child has a concept of a farm, the introduction of different animals is easier than if the backdrop is not established. The best example of this would be the flap-lifting books. The page says “where is the sheep?” and the child lifts the flap to find a wooly animal.

On the cover of The Dragon and the Turtle, many images are familiar to the child. The dragon is probably not. And perhaps some children are unfamiliar with the sea and ships so close to where the characters are walking. The mixture of familiar and unfamiliar helps a child assimilate new information.

Curiosity: Curiosity is behind any exploration, whether it be adventuring to new lands or turning the page in a book. Curiosity spurs a young reader on to “find out.”

Questions:

Don’t ask a lot of questions, just one or two at a time. The child wants to hear the story, not be grilled. But a new question when you pick up the book is handy. These are examples to use here and to give ideas to be applied to other books.

Ask questions on different levels. Expect fact answers to some and thinking answers to others.

Fact:

• Have you ever been on a boat?
• How many cookies are in Roger’s hand?

Thinking:

• Would you like to sail on a boat to Grandma’s house?
• Is there water to sail on all the way from our garage to Grandma’s front porch?
• What are some other ways to travel?
• Could we fly to Grandma’s? Take a train?
• Does Padraig want a cookie?
• Does Roger know he wants a cookie?
• What would you do if you had three cookies?

Even a minor part of the picture can stimulate conversation.

Fact:

• What color are the leaves on the tree?
• Is it a big or little tree?

Thinking:

• Could someone live in the tree?
• Is someone in the tree now?
• Can you imagine someone in the tree?
• What is that someone doing?

Remember: First and foremost, a book should be enjoyed just as a delightful time of shared satisfaction.