Kids Know It All Blog

There was another sad loss to the children's book world today when we learned the news that Jean Craighead George had passed away at 92 years of age.  She had an amazing career, publishing over 100 books, winning the Newbery award for Julie of the Wolves and the Newbery honor for My Side of the Mountain, and inspiring generations of children.  She will be dearly missed.  School Library Journal has posted an obituary worth reading here.  If you would like to remind yourself what made her so special, or to discover her work for the first time, check our catalog here.

On Tuesday, May 8, Maurice Sendak, beloved children’s author and illustrator passed away at the age of 83. Although Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak’s most beloved book, was never a favorite of mine as a child (I preferred the rhyming stylings of Dr. Seuss and the collage art of Eric Carle), I do have fond memories of Max and the wild things. I’m sure most of us can probably recall a favorite book or character from either our own childhood or from reading out loud to a child.

Picture books are an integral part of childhood. They introduce concepts and themes, visually stimulate the eye, and invite interaction between adult and child. It is not surprising that many of them have been the inspiration for films. A number of these picture books, like Mo Willems’ Knuffle Bunny and Don Freeman’s Corduroy, have been made into short films released through Scholastic Storybook Treasures and similar companies. Some, however, have been given the red carpet treatment and released in theaters. Either way, there is something magical about seeing a beloved picture book re-imagined on screen.

I hope that everyone has a beautiful Mother's Day.

Here are a few books that you might enjoy reading this weekend.

Parents often ask me what they can do to support language development.  Of course, my immediate response is that they should read with their child.  It does not matter if your child is an infant or a student in elementary school; they will greatly benefit from this one on one time.

The next thing that I recommend are wordless picture books. I understand that this idea may seem strange to you.  So, I would like to explain why. Words are not the only way in which we communicate.  Our world is filled with visual images and the ability to understand and communicate using a visual medium is an important pre-reading skill.