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.