I have always loved books
and stories. I delight in reading stories, getting lost in
lands far away and right down the street. I like becoming
acquainted with new characters, meeting strangers and making
them a part of my world. I adore opening a new book. The
crisp feel of the pages as you open the book for the first
time; there is nothing like it.
I do not remember my
first book; I just know that they have been around since my
earliest memories. One of my favorites was Make Way for
Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, a classic children’s
story about a family of mallards trying to cross the
treacherous streets of Boston in the 1920s. Since I spent
many days in Boston, I related to this children’s story like
no other. I also have fond memories of my Sesame Street
collection, 26 different books, each focusing on a different
letter of the alphabet. And then of course, the Little
Golden Books, a collection that I regrettably lost in a move
years ago.
Today, children’s
literature is a thriving enterprise with classic authors
like Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) and Leo Lionni
(Swimmy) to more modern authors like Mo Willems (the Pigeon
books), Ian Falconer (Olivia) and Audrey Penn (The Kissing
Hand). Topics for children’s literature also range from the
commonplace, color and shape books by Tana Hoban and vehicle
books by Donald Crews, to the imaginative titles like The
True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf.
In all of our Pre-School classrooms,
we read books, we tell stories, and we do finger-play
nursery rhymes. In our older classes we write books and
journal our experiences. On Monday afternoons,
we focus on books and stories,
planning projects and units around an author or an old
fashioned tale. On Friday afternoons, we read bible stories
and create lessons around them.
November
brings the Ohev Shalom Pre-School and Kindergarten Book
Fair. This huge event serves two purposes – the first is to
raise money for the PTO. But the second and more important
is to bring books into the homes of all of our students.
Scholastic provides us with all of the classic secular
titles and Enjoy-a-Book Club will be providing all of the
Judaic books. Open to the whole community, the sale will
run from Monday, November 12 until Sunday, November 18. It
will be open during Pre-School and Religious School hours.
See you then!
- Lori-An
