Final

The most important visual literacy component of learning to read is what is known as the alphabetic principle. The alphabetic principle is the understanding that words consist of letters that correspond to sounds. Once children have learned to map their phonemic awareness onto specific letters, they can then use this knowledge to sound out simple, regular words by recombining the sounds in the word from left to right. As you share stories and dialogic readings of picturebooks, you are always reinforcing the sounds of words implicitly, but the alphabetic principle, like an understanding of reading itself, must be taught explicitly. Children’s literature is helpful here in two ways: through alphabet books and through books with limited vocabulary.

Alphabet Books

Alphabet books have come a long way since the New England Primer. Artists and authors use alphabet books to play with a seemingly unlimited array of concepts, so you can find an alphabet book to fit almost any interest or context that is relevant to your group of children. For instance, Stephen Johnson’s Alphabet City (1995) features photo-realistic paintings of common sights in a city that happen to resemble the capital letters of the alphabet. A capital A, for instance, can be seen in a side view of a sawhorse, while a C can be detected in the rose window of a church. Arthur Geisert’s Country Road ABC: An Illustrated Journey Through America’s Farmland (2010) uses the alphabet to organize a detailed portrait of modern farming in Iowa. Chock full of delicious big words, it may seem too sophisticated for children just learning the alphabet, but they will enjoy the pictures as well as the rich vocabulary. Just about every landscape and region boasts its own alphabet book, from Mary Azarian’s A Farmer’s Alphabet (1981), to Jo Bannatyne-Cugnut and Yvette Moore’s A Prairie Alphabet (2009), to Margret Ruur and Andrew Kiss’s Mountain Alphabet (2009). These help develop visual acuity, spatial literacy, and an enhanced vocabulary in addition to expanding cultural and alphabetic awareness.

Advanced Alphabet Books

The newer the child to the concept of the written alphabet, the simpler the book should be. For example, DK Publishing’s ABC board books for little hands, with photographs of familiar objects set against white backgrounds, are helpful for establishing the alphabetic principle for preschoolers. But any books for toddlers that introduce an object accompanied by a label can continue to be useful to kindergarteners as they learn sight words for familiar objects. Tana Hoban’s 26 Letters and 99 Cents (1987) is an example of a book that has applications across several age and ability levels. Preschoolers can name the objects and trace the upper- and lower-case letters with their fingers. Children in kindergarten and first grade can interact with more complex concepts, such as naming the various photographed objects based on their first letter, and adding and subtracting coins. The materials photographed in the book are no longer available for purchase, but the book is successful without them, and of course coins are readily available when sharing the number section of the book.

For children ages 2 and up, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), by Bill Martin, Jr., John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert is simply a must because of its rollicking rhythms and bold colors. The popularity of the book has spawned versions for specially targeted audiences, such as a Spanish-language version, and numerous toys that engage multiple literacies. For instance, there is an alphabet block set, a board book version, a book with magnetic letters, and a fabric tree with letters that stick to it so children can enact the story as it’s being read. The audio version of the book is performed by the legendary soul musician Ray Charles.

Other rhyming alphabet books include Alphabears (1984), by Kathleen Hague, and K is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo (2002), by Giles Andreae, and There’s a Zoo in Room 22 (2004), by Judy Sierra. Monsters ABC (2012), by Julie Richards, and Silly Monsters ABC (2011), by Gerald Hawksley, are rhyming alphabet e-books.

The goal of rhyming alphabet books is to make the text easy to memorize, but it is also important to have children focus on the shapes of the print letters as well. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom even introduces both upper- and lower-case letters and links them visually as the “grown-up” letters escort their “little” counterparts home. But all of these books demonstrate a recognition of the sequence of steps involved in learning to read, from rhyming awareness to phonological awareness to phonemic awareness to the alphabetic principle.

Once children have a basic understanding of the concept of the alphabet and what letters correspond to what sounds, there are plenty of books to expand their experiences. Rich, complex illustrations direct children’s attention to new words and develop visual discrimination and acuity. For instance, Graeme Base’s Animalia (1986) is a visual and verbal feast that children will want to linger over. The “L” page, for instance, features the text “Lazy Lions Lounging in the Local Library” accompanied by an illustration rich with objects and books whose names start with L. Finding and labeling the objects challenges children’s growing vocabulary skills as it reinforces the sound of /l/ as an initial consonant.

Many books use the alphabet as an organizing or sorting principle, which reinforces the order of the letters as well as their use in words. For instance, some poetry books, such as There’s a Zoo in Room 22 mentioned previously, and picturebooks, such as Allison Murray’s Apple Pie ABC (2011) and Audrey and Bruce Wood’s Alphabet Adventure (2001), take the alphabet as a frame for their story. While the poems and stories are what matter most to younger children, children who understand the alphabetic principle can take delight in relating the alphabet to its storied context and making predictions based on what they know about how the alphabet works.

Other books reinforce and expand children’s knowledge of the alphabetic principle by calling on that knowledge to solve puzzles and play with words and pictures. Jan Garten’s The Alphabet Tale (1994) and several books in Jean Marzollo’s I Spy series offer visual mysteries to solve by finding either the letters themselves or objects or animals that start with the letters. Kelly Bingham’s and Paul O. Zelinsky’s Z is for Moose (2012) is a hilarious play on the order of the alphabet for children who already know which letter comes next and where Moose should be in the line-up.

Explore and Reflect: Alphabet Book Variety

Search the catalog of your local library for alphabet books. Locate and read at least one example of each of the following types of alphabet book:

· a simple, straightforward book that matches letters to the names of objects that start with them;

· an alphabet book for learning sight words;

· a rhyming alphabet book;

· an alphabet book that builds vocabulary; and

· an alphabet book that features a puzzle or a mystery.

Ask a librarian to share his or her favorites. Keep an annotated record of your finds.

Leveled Books for Early Readers

Once children have a basic understanding of how the letters on the page relate to the sounds they hear, they are ready to start putting those skills to use in independent reading. As we noted in Chapter 1, most major publishers who have children’s divisions have book series known as leveled books or easy readers that are designed to help children move from an understanding of the alphabetic principle to the decoding of words. These leveled books feature a few words on each page with oversized, easy-to-read type and lots of white space so that new readers gain the confidence of moving quickly through the book. The vocabulary in the books is limited to high-frequency words and words that follow tradition rules of phonics so that they can be sounded out. The sentences are short, simple, and repetitive and do not extend beyond a single page. The books are also illustrated, so the multiliteracy skills that children have acquired will all be put to good use as they strive to decode print.

Particularly for children who struggle with learning print, motivation is key. One way to motivate students to want to read is to present them with characters they are already familiar with. Publishers contract with authors and franchises that have proven popular with children, and merchandise those characters across their products. The Random House Beginning Reader series, for instance, uses Barbie, Sesame Street characters, Disney characters, Arthur, the Berenstain Bears, Thomas the Tank Engine, DC Comics superheroes, and the Cat in the Hat as characters in their books. HarperCollins features Amelia Bedelia, Little Bear, Harold and his purple crayon, and the charming characters created by Syd Hoff. Simon and Schuster’s list of popular characters and authors includes Dora the Explorer, Spongebob Squarepants, Olivia, and Eric Carle.

Historically and oftentimes even today, the genre of early readers has been dominated by White, middle-class, suburban characters. To address this lack of early readers featuring realistic multicultural characters, independent publisher Lee and Low and education publishers Scholastic and Pacific Learning have developed early reader series with a focus on children of color.

Books for new readers use limited vocabulary and are often leveled according to various readability formulas, such as those by Fountas and Pinnell or Lexile Measures. As we noted in Chapter 1, books earn their level according to objectively measurable factors such as word count, the number of different words used, the prevalence of high-frequency words, the number of low-frequency words, and sentence length. These types of books are convenient for teachers in that they allow relatively easy assessment of children’s progress through standard grade level development. However, they can be limiting for the same reasons they are useful: The short, choppy sentences, repetition, and limited vocabulary sound very different from the smooth flow of language that children are used to hearing through quality picturebook readings and storytelling, so be sure to continue reading aloud a variety of quality stories with rich, challenging vocabulary to inspire them to become proficient enough to approach more challenging texts on their own.

An important consideration in evaluating leveled readers for use in your classroom is the richness of pictorial support, which is crucial from a multiliteracies perspective. The artwork in books that feature characters from popular culture will certainly be appealing to children in its familiarity, but you need to evaluate whether it helps children understand unfamiliar words or concepts through the appropriate use of gesture and space to illustrate those concepts.

Additionally, the quality of the storytelling is important. Stories should be internally consistent and have a solid structure, which can make them predictable, but there should also be some occasional surprises to satisfy the brain’s desire for novelty. Leveled readers are often divided into short episodes or chapters. This helps children follow the narrative while they are working on their decoding skills and gives them convenient stopping points when they tire. It also readies them for early chapter books, which we will discuss in Chapter 9.

While many of the leveled books published in series are bland, some authors manage the format and requirements of early reader books quite successfully. Dr. Seuss, as we noted, pioneered the contemporary genre of beginner books, and his works remain popular. P. D. Eastman is another successful author of early readers that have stood the test of time, such as Go, Dog, Go! (1961), Are You My Mother? (1960), and The Best Nest (1968). Else Holmelund Minarik’s Little Bear books, illustrated by Maurice Sendak, were made into a TV series in 1995 after having been enjoyed by children since 1957. Arnold Lobel has created timeless characters through his Frog and Toad series, as well as his Mouse books and others. Contemporary series by Newbery Medal and Theodore Geisel Award winning author Cynthia Rylant include Henry and Mudge, Annie and Snowball, and Mr. Putter and Tabby, all of which focus on people and their beloved pets. And of course, Mo Willems’s Elephant and Piggie series now has nearly 20 books chronicling the friendship dilemmas of that unlikely but charming pair. These early reader books are sure to please because of their superior attention to quality storytelling and supportive illustrations.

For quality books for beginning readers that include these elements but are not usually included in leveled series, consult the list of the annual Theodore Geisel Award (http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/geiselaward) and the Gryphon Award (http://ccb.lis.illinois.edu/gryphon.html). Additionally, encourage children to read picturebooks on their own. Generally speaking, picturebooks that children can read independently have many of the same qualities that quality leveled readers have: large print, few words per page, rich pictorial support, and motivating storylines.

Recommended Books: Picturebooks for New Readers

Aardema, Verna. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears. 1975. A retelling of a traditional West African tale that reveals how the mosquito developed its annoying habit. Illus. by Leo and Diane Dillon.

Arnold, Tedd. Hi! Fly Guy. 2005. When Buzz captures a fly to enter in The Amazing Pet Show, his parents and the judges tell him that a fly cannot be a pet, but Fly Guy proves them wrong.

Carle, Eric. Have You Seen My Cat? 1987. A young boy encounters all sorts of cats while searching for the one he lost.

Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 1969. Follows the progress of a hungry little caterpillar as he eats his way through a varied and very large quantity of food until, full at last, he forms a cocoon around himself and goes to sleep.

Carle, Eric. The Very Quiet Cricket. 1990. A very quiet cricket who wants to rub his wings together and make a sound as do so many other animals finally achieves his wish.

Johnson, Crockett. Harold and the Purple Crayon. 1955. Harold goes for an adventurous walk in the moonlight with his purple crayon.

Keats, Ezra Jack. The Snowy Day. 1962. The adventures of a little boy in the city on a very snowy day.

Klassen, Jon. I Want My Hat Back. 2011. A bear almost gives up his search for his missing hat until he remembers something important.

Klassen, Jon. This is Not My Hat. 2012. A tiny minnow wearing a pale blue bowler hat has a thing or two up his fins in this underwater light-on-dark chase scene.

Krauss, Ruth and Johnson, Crockett. The Carrot Seed. 1945. Despite everyone’s dire predictions, a little boy has faith in the carrot seed he plants.

Martin, Jr., Bill, and Carle, Eric. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? 1983. Children see a variety of animals, each one a different color, and a mother looking at them.

Martin, Jr., Bill, and Carle, Eric. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? 1991. Zoo animals from polar bear to walrus make their distinctive sounds for each other, while children imitate the sounds for the zookeeper.

Soto, Gary. My Little Car. 2006. Teresa loves to show off her shiny, new, pedal-powered lowrider car from Grandpa, but the toy soon looks old when she neglects it.

Tafuri, Nancy. Have You Seen My Duckling? 1984. A mother duck leads her brood around the pond as she searches for one missing duckling.

Viorst, Judith. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. 1972. On a day when everything goes wrong for him, Alexander is consoled by the thought that other people have bad days too.

Waddell, Martin. Owl Babies. 1992. Three owl babies whose mother has gone out in the night try to stay calm while she is gone.

Wood, Audrey, and Wood, Don. The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. 1984. A little mouse is determined to keep the big hungry bear from eating the strawberry he picked with much effort.

Seek out early reading books that address some of the criteria Bruno Bettelheim suggests for stories that enrich children’s lives:

Does the book or poem stimulate children’s imagination?

Does the book or poem help children develop their intellect?

Does the book or poem help children clarify their emotions?

Is the story or poem attuned to children’s anxieties and aspirations?

Does the story give full recognition to children’s difficulties?

Does the book or poem suggest solutions to the problems that perturb the character, and, by extension, the readers?

(For the detailed list, see the box “Characteristics of Quality Children’s Literature” at the end of Chapter 4.)

Arnold Lobel’s early readers remain popular because they address common problems in child-friendly ways through the use of entertaining characters. Frog and Toad, Mouse, Uncle Elephant, and Owl deepen children’s understanding of the concepts of friendship, bravery, loss, and family. The Teaching Children Philosophy website (http://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/), recommended as a Website to Save and Explore in Chapter 7, features discussion guides for many of Lobel’s books as well as other books that new readers can read on their own, such as Morris the Moose (Wiseman, 1991) and The Giving Tree (Silverstein, 1964). The discussion questions are specifically designed to get children thinking about the deeper issues the books address in ways that they can understand.

Most importantly, the concepts presented in the book should be relevant to the concerns of children who are newly learning to read, which requires a knowledge of what’s happening, developmentally speaking, in terms of the anxieties of children entering school, and two of their most important coping mechanisms: imagination and humor.