News
The Grimsdell Children’s Library Book of the Week has been chosen by the Junior Librarian, Ivanka from 2YM.
Ivanka recommends ‘The Flying Bath’ by Julia Donaldson.
Ivanka’s reason for her choice:
“Julia Donaldson is one of my favourite authors. I hope you enjoy this fun adventure!”
We hope you agree! This book and many other stories written by this prolific author is available to borrow from our Grimsdell Library.
Mrs Harvey would also recommend Ivanka’s book choice. Julia Donaldson has written some of the most popular and best-loved children’s stories including The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and Stick Man. She wrote her first book, A Squash and a Squeeze, more than 25 years ago! Her books are a regular favourite amongst the Grimsdell children, who are drawn in by not only her story lines but the rhyming style of the text.
The Flying Bath is a great story to read aloud and share with your little one, with its simple rhyming speech-bubble text. The adventurous story is brought to life by the richly detailed artwork of the award-winning illustrator, David Roberts.
When everyone has left the house in the morning, the bath toys spring into action and head off on exciting adventures in their magical flying bath! From giving a muddy piglet a shower to putting out a fire for a frightened baboon, they have water at the ready for any emergency – but they are always home for the children’s bath time at the end of the day…
The repetitive and rhyming style of the text has many benefits to literacy development. The repetition of a phrase/phrases encourages participation and engages children’s minds. It also encourages them to make predictions by successfully anticipating the next word or sentence. In addition, repetition is a powerful force in fiction – it encourages us to explore the author’s intent: repetition can emphasise setting, highlight a character trait or draw attention to a seemingly minor detail.
I have already written in previous newsletters about the importance of rhyme in early literacy development and its crucial role in helping children to read. Rhyming teaches children how language works; helping them notice and work with the sounds within words and to experience the rhythm of language. As they recite rhymes, they learn to speak with animated voices – this is the precursor to reading with expression. When children are familiar with a rhyming book or nursery rhyme, they learn to anticipate the rhyming word. This prepares them to make predictions when they read, another important reading skill.
Happy Reading!
Mrs Harvey
