Author: Gauri Kshirsagar
There is no doubt that books like ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?’ are beloved by millions of readers around the world. While you may think these books are entertaining and simply written to capture a child’s attention, there is much more going on under the surface.This is why I recommend teaching with Eric Carle books and other predictable pattern books like these as anchor texts beginners.
Predictable pattern books help children predict. This is a key comprehension skill. As readers make sense of the text and master the process of reading for comprehension and meaning, one thing we all do is predict. Some of the first board books which I introduced to my twins when they were around 2, were a huge ‘The very hungry caterpillar’ board book, ‘The very hungry caterpillar’ little puppet book and a set of Learning library of ‘The world of Eric Carle’. Children need to learn the skill of predicting as well. Predictable pattern books help them do this from an early age. The predictability of following the caterpillar through the days of the week, helps children learn that stories follow a sequence and they can use clues to determine or predict what may happen next in the story. This not only engages the child as she/he reads, but it also helps her/him create meaning from the text. There are plenty of sight words too, found in the repeated pattern books, and other high-interest, quality children’s literature. Exposure to words like: what, do, you, see, hear, from, to, under, over, etc. You can see just from the title of ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?’ how many sight words you are working with!
Now coming to the book set of which this article is all about. This is a Eric Carle electronic ‘Me Reader’ Story Reader and eight hardcover book boxed set. This set was introduced to my twins when they were around 3 and were just recognising sight words. This set actually helped them with their phonics, sight words and pattern recognition. The e reader is excellent; it reads all 8 books, works great with very clear sound not at all loud or noisy. I like that there are animal sounds along with the words for the stories.
Beginner readers will love taking that first step from being read to, to reading on her or his own, with choosing a book of their liking, pressing the matching book and page buttons on the module, and hearing the whole story being read aloud along with fantastic sound effects. Though the books are not actual Eric Carle titles, they do have the illustrations and lines from the originals. Each page is just about 1 to 2 sentences long with a symbol on top to match with the exact button on the e-reader.Rich music and illustrated stories immerse the kids in the action and bring the World of Eric Carle characters to life.
I absolutely recommend this set for pre-readers, associating words with pictures and sounds builds sight-word recognition, and for children on the verge of independent reading, “books that read themselves” enable them to listen to a story, follow along in the book, and actively participate in the story, all on their own! This set is a perfect fun addition to any library children’s library.
Product details:
- Box: 8″ x 9.25″ x 3″ with handle
- Books: 6.6″ x 7.9″
- Module: 4.4″ x 5.85″ x .7″
- 8 hardcover books, 24 paper pages per book
- The Stand-alone electronic pad resembles an eReader, contains: 18 sound buttons: 8 book ID and 10 spread ID with 8 LEDs and needs 3 replaceable AAA batteries.
- To hear text read aloud, press the book ID button followed by color-coded spread buttons
- For ages: 2 and up
- Published: 26th June 2015
- Cost is around approximately 3000/-
All the books mentioned above are available on Amazon.IN and flipkart.
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