Thursday, October 9, 2014

Book Buddies!

I think one of my favorite library activities is the introduction of the book buddies to kindergartners. Due to a generous donation of beanie babies by my mother-in-law years ago (by way of my children who played with them first), I have a large basket filled with book buddies.

Because the children have not yet learned enough words to truly read a book, and since many are still working on how to sound out letters, I begin with a word-less book: Deep in the Forest By Brinton Turkle. This wonderful picture book turns Goldilocks and the Three Bears around as a bear cub enters a house and eats the food, messes up the chairs and beds, and falls asleep.

Once the story has ended, we talk about how you can use the pictures to tell the story. Students check out their books and the fun begins! Each child is randomly given a book buddy to whom they tell their story. Several students in each class get very into it, making sure the book buddy has a view of the pages and then talking to them as they turn the page. Other students need a little more encouragement before they get the hang of story-telling.

Naturally, they always ask if they can keep "their" book buddy.