Anishinabe children from Curve Lake, Ontario drew and retold stories about "how and why" things happen.
I pulled it out yesterday. They've been asking for poems at bedtime (we'd been reading Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S Eliot) and as I was lacking in the poetry department I thought some short stories would be a good substitute. They loved it. I think the first thing that grabbed them was that the stories in the book had been told by children around their own age. Second, it's all myths and legends and there's nothing they like, Catherine in particular, more then myths and legends. Third, It's chock full of animals.
After I was finished reading a few stories last night, Catherine asked if she could look at it and read most of it before she finally went to sleep. Tonight she finished it off, enchanted with the stories and never realizing that she'd read her first real book on her own.
I pick up things never knowing what the kids will think of them. It's always nice when I get it right.
2 comments:
That sounds like a great little book. I have no idea what you've read so forgive me if I've missed something but if your children like poetry and want to end the evening in a happy mood before bedtime, there's nothing like Shel Silverstein. They're fun to read aloud, the illustrations add just the touch of inspiration, and they usually results in the giggles. (We love Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, etc. and Runny Babbit is great fun too).
Among my son's favorite books are Rudyard Kippling's Just So Stories and Fifty Famous Stories Retold. Both of these books are filled with stories of only a few pages each that usually result in cries of, "Just one more, please."
Harry might enjoy this....
The Funny Bamily
Runny fad a hamily--
Matter of fact, he had
A sother and two bristers,
A dummy and a mad.
His mamma fed him marrot cilk
And parrot cie and such,
And all of them were happy
In their cozy hunny butch.
Im trying the poem tommorrow but I'll let you know how it goes over.
But I forgot all about Kipling!!! I do believe I have a copy around here someplace...
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