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Book of the Week: James and the Giant Peach

Book of the Week

One of our newest Junior Librarians, Max, from class 2YM, recommends a book by the highly acclaimed author, Roald Dahl.

Dahl is one of the most popular and beloved children’s authors in the English language. His innovative and quirky stories have stood the test of time and enraptured children and adults alike.

Max’s favourite Dahl book is James and the Giant Peach.

Max’s reason for his choice:

”Roald Dahl is such a brilliant storyteller and this is my favourite book by this author. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!”

Mrs Harvey would also recommend incorporating chapter books into your child’s reading repertoire. James and the Giant Peach would be a chapter book to explore with and read to your child, to ensure good understanding of vocabulary and concepts covered.

Roald Dahl also has written some early chapter books, The Magic Finger and Picture Books,  The Enormous Crocodile, that would be suitable for Grimsdell children.

Early chapter books are simple, short, illustrated fiction. They are written and designed to help newly independent readers build their reading stamina, strengthen their confidence in book selection and develop a sense of themselves as readers.

As a child transitions from a beginner reader who needs to sound out each word to a more advanced reader who is starting to decode faster and follow longer, more complicated stories, early chapter books often tend to become the reading material of choice when a child is around the ages of 7 or 8.

These stories can be read independently but they should also be shared with an adult, so that your child is encouraged to think about the plot/character and to make predictions about what might occur in the following chapters. This helps to build a sense of anticipation.

Variety is key in establishing a lifelong reader and picture books still have a vital role to play in the development of Key Stage 1 readers. Research shows that picture books have a direct and positive impact on children’s literacy. Children who are given opportunities to read and respond to picture books throughout their primary years learn about sophisticated narrative structure, plot and character development in an accessible way. A focus on reading illustration helps to develop children’s deeper comprehension skills, allowing them additional opportunities to infer, deduce, think critically and empathise.

Author of the Week

Libby Butterworth, who is our Author of the Week, has already made an appearance this term in the library section of the newsletter.

Her book, The Animal Alphabet, which was a joint venture with her husband (an illustrator,) started off our new academic year as the Book of the Week.  It has been regularly on loan ever since its first appearance!

Libby Butterworth is a grandparent from our school and her granddaughter Lara from 2YM, has donated the book Life with Loopy.

The story is about the antics of a much loved family pet.  Loopy the dog gets up to lots of mischief and his adventures will resonate with dog lovers everywhere!

The simple rhyming text creates a lovely pace and gives a melodic feel to the story. The abundance of adjectives will encourage children to use this literary device in their own writing and Libby hopes it will inspire children to create their own rhymes.

The bright illustrations support the momentum of the story and provide opportunities for further exploration and discussion.

The book is available to borrow from our library and I am sure that it will spark the imaginations of the Grimsdell children.

Happy Reading!

Mrs Harvey