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Engaging Children in Picture Books

Robin Currie • Apr 04, 2022

Let's welcome author Robyn Currie today as she shares about the important aspect of raising children: introducing them to reading.


"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down!" said the Big Bad Wolf.


Children engage with picture books by hearing the words we read aloud (auditory or hearing) and seeing the pictures we show them (visual or sight). Another sensory opportunity often overlooked is touch/action, often called kinesthetic. That's why generations of children know exactly how to blow down pig's houses!


How can we add kinesthetic dimensions to Christian picture books?


Level 1: Read the story. (all ages)

The majority of books require no engagement other than looking at the pictures and no interaction with the reader other than sitting still to listen.

Level 2: Touch-and Feel (birth-5 years)

Very simple board books may feature items attached to the page or holes cut to reveal textures. Feel the woolly coat. The adult guides the very young child's hand to experience sensations perhaps for the first time.

Level 3: Lift the Flap (6 months to 3 years)

The next level of interacting involves lifting a separate piece of the book to reveal part of the story itself. What's behind the bush? The child and adult physically engage in lifting a flap and determine how the figure under the flap relates to the story line.

Level 4: Engage in the text (6 months to 6 years).

The child is invited to make a noise or motion in response to the story. Touch fingertips together for a mountain. These very simple motions bring the child into the words of the story, increasing engagement between reader and listener.

Level 5: American Sign Language (3-8 years)

A much more significant level of interaction is in using American Sign Language to replace certain words in the text, child actually tells the story with the reader. LOVE The sign for love is to cross your arms over your chest. The child is assists in actually telling the story and often the signs afterwards are enough to remind the listener of the event or concept.

Level 6: Retelling (5-12 years)

Beyond the book methods require children old enough to remember without needing to see the pictures. Let's have three volunteers to be Elijah, the wind and the broom tree. Directions in the book guide reader and listener to act out all or part of the story or tell it in their own words to others.

Level 7: Creative Expression (6-12 years)

Creative expression expands the story experience in drawing, building, or work with craft materials. Draw a mural of creation. These activities can be done by any number of children in a home or Sunday school setting.


Which one to use in the story you are writing? In general, the younger the child, the simpler the language and more immediate the response has to be. But any story for any age can be more memorable with invitations to kinesthetic response.


(This post is an excerpt from Robin Currie’s chapter in Writing & Selling Children’s Books in the Christian Market: From Board Books to YA by Michelle Medlock Adams and Cyle Young, Iron Stream Media, 2020.)

 

The Very Best Story Ever Told shares the Gospel story in a unique and creative way, from God's love for the world to Jesus' life to the Spirit surrounding us today. Each line of this story includes important words reinforced with American Sign Language to engage the whole child. As kids learn the signs and repeat the words, visual learning, auditory learning, and kinesthetic learning are fully engaged to equip them to retell the Gospel story again and again. Winner of 2020 Serious Writer's Book of the Decade Award.

 

About Robyn:

Award Winning author Robin Currie learned story sharing by sitting on the floor, in Children’s sermons and library story times. She has sold 1.7 M copies of her 40 storybooks and writes stories to read and read again!

 

BUY LINKS

The Very Best Story Ever Told: The Gospel with American Sign Language: Currie, Robin, Kurtz Williams, David: 9781506438115: Amazon.com: Books

 

The Very Best Story Ever Told: The Gospel with American Sign Language | Beaming Books


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