What Are Your Favorite Picture Books?

How to Use Picture Books

It's the start of a new year and Be the Best Nanny Newsletter suggests nannies and au pairs make a New Year's Resolution to read more to their charges.

According to Bank Street College's Guide to Literacy, young children can greatly benefit from reading experiences that use picture books with an easy-to-follow narrative sequence or storyline.

Use quality picture books to encourage budding language arts skills in the young child. Encourage discussion about the pictures and story. Remember that pictures, like letters, are symbols.

Reading Strategies for Picture Books:

1. Hold the book facing out so that the child (or children) can see both the words and the pictures clearly.

2. Start at the title page and read each passage. Stay on each page long enough for the child to adequately look at and process the information.

3. Use an interactive approach at each page. Instead of simply allowing the child to look at the picture and move on, ask questions and encourage a variety of responses. These may include questions about the character, setting, or sequence of events. Some questions can refer to what is happening on the current page and others can be predictive questions.

4. Point out the print words that accompany the pictures. Correlate specific words or vocabulary with the picture. For example, show the child to word "dog" and ask him to read the letters, say the word, and point out the matching picture.

5. Follow the picture book reading session with a discussion. Ask the child to recall specific narrative elements. This may include the story sequence, pictures viewed, or both.

Reference: Bank Street Guide to Literacy

What are your favorite picture books to read to children?