One interesting perspective I get in reading to school age children on a daily basis is that children follow the lead of their classroom teacher in the way they respond to picture books. Classroom teachers often fall into one of three camps. There is a group that reads movie theater style. For their students a book must be shared in one sitting without interruption. Inviting their students to look for things as we read together is as much a turn off as having someone tell the plot of a movie complete with its surprise twists and its ending. These students genuinely appreciate quality story telling and catch literary elements such as onomatopoeia, alliteration, and rhyme. They enjoy beautiful pictures but can miss those instances where the illustrations are providing information that the words do not share if they are not paying close attention.
There is a second camp that asks students specific questions with easily discoverable answers before a book begins. Their students wait to be told what to look for and want to know why I have chosen a particular read aloud. If they engage with a text without prompting it is usually to make predictions about plot. They often pick up clues in a book that I have missed. These students are also very good at retelling a story in their own words. These are both very important skills but they are not always the hokie pokie of why I read a particular book to a particular group of children. It is NOT what it is all about. Often they lose out on the idea of reading for pleasure or the idea that a story exists that you want to know what is going to happen on the next page because you are invested in the plot for its own sake.
The third camp of teachers invite inquiry without limits throughout the read aloud. They do a fantastic job ensuring the comprehension of their students. The students feel empowered to share when they have insights and to ask when they are unclear. These are very important things but sometimes it can be hard to set limits. Without setting expectations for our time together I face a class that interrupts every line of every book with “I notice a ..” “What is that?” “Why are they..?” It could take ten minutes to complete the first page. While I love these students dearly and admire their curiosity, if I only see them for 45 minutes a week and would also like them to check out, I’d better be pretty selective in only choosing VERY SHORT books! They also miss the rhythm of the text. They may also miss the phonemic awareness components of alliteration and rhyming that help create the building blocks for becoming readers. These students frequently miss the plot for the details.
There is a place for each of these styles of reading with children and an importance to creating balance. To that end I would like to share more information about two very different pedagogical approaches to picture books that I like to balance.
Lester Laminack in his book The Ultimate Read Aloud Resource: Making Every Moment Intentional and Instructional With Best Friend Books advocates choosing several books throughout the year to make what he calls, “best friend books”. These readings are done a week or two apart and each time focus on a different aspect of the story. The first time the book is read movie style without interruption and discussion is main character based. The character is thought about in other scenarios throughout the week. If, for example, your best friend read is the Ezra Jack Keat’s classic Peter’s Chair, one might ask “How would Peter approach this question?” as students go about their typical days. Each subsequent reading has a different focus with new insights each time, just as one would go about getting to know a friend. Other books including the character such as The Snowy Day or Whistle for Willie could be read or reread with that “getting to know my friend” insight in mind. Here he is, describing this approach to parents.
On the other end of the spectrum and another personal pedagogic bible is Megan Dowd Lambert’s book Reading Picture Books with Children. Megan encourages students to use the illustrations as the primary driver of her picture book readings. They are given open opportunities to explore illustrations to add meaning to books. A great example of her work can be seen in this short Youtube video looking at the Donald Crews classic Freight Train.
Please share in the comments your preferred approach to sharing picture books with children. As I grow as a reader and as an educator I would love to know what works best for you and why.