Reading Picture Books With Children

"Developed in conjunction with the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and during the author's graduate work in children's literature at Simmons College, the Whole Book Approach is a practical guide for reshaping storytime and getting kids to think with their eyes. Traditional storytime often offers a passive experience for kids, placing the adult reader in the role of entertainer or sage. With the Whole Book Approach, picture book expert and educator Megan Dowd Lambert redefines storytime as an interactive event that gets kids thinking critically. Using the entire book, Megan asks kids to ponder why the trim size of Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline is so generous or why the typeset in David Wiesner's Caldecott winner, The Three Pigs, appears to twist, wrinkle, and scatter. The dynamic discussions that result from this shared reading style range from the profound to the hilarious and will inspire adults to make children's responses to text, art, and design an essential part of storytime."