Mary Ann Hoberman's delightful picture book series of story poems, You Read to Me, I'll Read to You, is an excellent resource for beginning readers of all ages. When children (or adults) are beginning readers, it's important to provide them with opportunities to read aloud. Reading aloud can help them to become more fluent readers and can help you to identify areas in which they may need help. Most children enjoy all of the positive attention that reading aloud can bring and picture books can help. However, for some children, particularly the child who is struggling with reading, reading aloud can be stressful.
The You Read to Me, I'll Read to You Series: A Happy Solution
The nation's second Children's Poet Laureate,
Mary Ann Hoberman, provides a happy solution with her
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You series. The books in the series generally follow the same format. As of 2008, there were four books in the series:
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read TogetherYou Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together,
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Mother Goose Tales to Read Together, and
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together.
Let's take a look at the first book in the series, You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together. According to the author, the book grew out of her work with Literacy Volunteers of America.
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Rhyme, Rhythm, and Repetition
Each of the dozen story poems in the book features rhythm, rhyme, and repetition, as well as humor and lots of illustrations. The book is designed to be read aloud by two people, as if, says Hoberman, it's "a little play for two voices." Each two-page story on facing pages follows the same format. To make it easy to know who is supposed to read each line, the text is in three colors and three columns. One person reads the purple words in the left column, one reads the magenta words on the right, and they both read the blue words in the center. The two readers go back and forth to the end of the story. Each story ends with their reading in unison some version of the title, "You read to me/I'll read to you."
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: The Illustrations by Michael Emberley
The illustrations by Michael Emberley greatly add to the joyous mood of the book. The artwork was done in ballpoint pen, watercolor, and dry pastel in a lively cartoon-like style. Many of the pages feature a number of small illustrations, each illustrating a different part of the story. The characters range from animals in colorful clothing to a diverse group of children; they differ from story to story.
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: My Recommendation
In her Author's Note, Mary Ann Hoberman makes it clear that the book's purpose is promote literacy. She sees her audience as "...either a pair of beginning readers (two children, or a child and a parent who is in a literacy program) or one beginning and one more-advanced reader (either an older child or an adult)."
Having shared You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together with both children and adults, I can attest to Hoberman's success. I was particularly pleased to find that reading this book aloud was a source of giggles, not stress, for a young friend who is not a fluent reader and who tends to become very nervous when reading aloud. I recommend this book and all of the books in the You Read to Me, I'll Read to You series for all of the audiences the author was targeting and one more.
I also recommend the series for ages 3-5; young children will not only enjoy the story poems, but hearing the poems frequently should help them with phonemic awareness. Being able to recognize beginning, middle, and ending sounds is very important in the literacy process. For ideas about how to use the series in the classroom, see the publisher's You Read to Me, I'll Read to You teacher's guide.
No comments:
Post a Comment