What has figured into your decision when choosing children’s book? Traditionally it may have been bright colors, cute characters, a magical storyline, or a book you read as a child that coaxed you to the checkout counter. The books you selected had something “shiny” that you conceived to be gold or golden. It was that something that made it easy for you select and purchase it for your children. But upon closer examination, you may have gotten more glitter than gold. Now there’s a way of choosing children’s books from amongst the glitter based on criterion. Sure, there may be an endless checklist of pros and cons, but there are essential general components that sparkle of gold in children’s books.
The first essential is the entertainment component. This is the glitter, especially when it makes up much of the books appeal. The glitter is fool’s gold and maybe just as harmful in the hands of children as an electric plug-in toy. But as part of the broader whole, they serve a very important role. The entertainment component must grab the attention and imagination of the child and hold it captive so the book’s content may be listened to, read, and leave the children with a positive early reading experience. The entertainment component maybe more important for pre-, beginner and intermediate readers but gives way somewhat to content importance as the readers advance.
The second essential is the educational component. Although children’s books may find themselves in the toy box, they are practical educational tools. So, in addition to lessons of morals, virtues and character children’s book should have specific and practical educational lessons. A special section should be dedicated to stimulating, enhancing, and even evaluating such things as vocabulary, event recall and story comprehension. Having an educational component instills in children a confidence that books are allies to learning, growing and succeeding.
The third essential is the empowerment component. Although rarely obvious in children’s books, it is extremely important. This component takes the form of pointing to other books, resources, practical exercises, experiments, or adventures on the subject matter. It takes the children into history, nature and even into the future. With these essential components, children can find joy in reading, build a foundation of knowledge and skills, and have the confidence that they can find and learn the answers to most any question through reading.
These three essential components are built into the design of Astoryplus children’s books. In Astoryplus children’s books all the essential component figure prominently and they sparkle of real gold! Astoryplus Children’s Books Blog… astoryplus.com
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