TEY 13.2

Children are motivated to read and respondmore deeply to books with strong human themes personal, social and emotional skills, particularly post-pandemic, which teachers considered an educational priority. Notably, very young children were demonstrating increased empathy and inferential understanding of character behaviour because they were supported to relate it to their own experience. STORIES TO EXPLORE IN DEPTH Zeki Goes to the Park by Anna McQuinn and Ruth Hearson (Alanna Max) Anna Hibiscus’s Song by Atinuke and Lauren Tobia (Walker) Jabari Tries by Gaia Cornwall (Walker) We’re Going to Find the Monster by Malorie Blackman and Dapo Adeola Astro Girl by Ken Wilson-Max (Otter-Barry Books) Lulu’s Nana Visits by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw (Alanna Max) Errol’s Garden by Gillian Hibbs (Child’s Play) STORIES TO SUPPORT READING & WRITING: Too Green by Sumana Seeboruth, illustrated by Maribel Castells (Barefoot) Sand Between My Toes by Caroline Cross, illustrated by Jenny Duke (Child’s Play) The Perfect Sushi by Emily Satoko Seo, illustrated by Mique Moriuchi (Barefoot) Quiet by Kip Alizadeh (Child’s Play) 21 BOOKS THAT REPRESENT AND REFLECT of contemporary, quality children’s literature to be able to create a diverse and representative classroom book stock. One project teacher commented: “I have been interested to go through our core texts for the year and unpick whose stories we are telling, and which pupils in the class we may, or may not, be representing in our stories. I realised that often the central characters in the stories I use as my core teaching texts feature animals or fictional characters as their main protagonist. I began to think about what a missed opportunity this was in helping our children to relate to texts personally and see themselves in books.” When children do see themselves and their lived experiences reflected in the books they read, it promotes inclusion and encourages more children to engage in reading and in literate acts. In this way, we can ensure that all children are engaging deeply with high-quality books throughout their journey to becoming literate. Scan the QR code to find out about CLPE’s Power of Reading training and membership. Where’s Lenny by Ken Wilson-Max (Alanna Max) POETRY, RHYME & SONG TO SHARE: Blow a Kiss, Catch a Kiss by Joseph Coelho and Nicola Killen (Anderson) Caterpillar Cake by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Krina Patel-Sage (Otter-Barry Books) Big Green Crocodile by Jane Newberry, illustrated by Carolina Rabai (Otter-Barry Books) A Great Big Cuddle by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Chris Riddell (Walker) NON-FICTION LINKED TO INTERESTS How it Works DIGGER by Molly Littleboy, illustrated by David Semple (Little Tiger Press) Our Very Own Dog by Amanda McCardie, illustrated by Salvatore Rubbino (Walker) How Big is Our Baby? by Smitri Prasadam-Halls, illustrated by Britta Teckentrup (Wren and Rook) Martha Maps It Out by Leigh Hodgkinson (OUP) Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis (Scallywag Press) The books chosen for the class pack were centred around human themes that were universally appealing to EYFS children. When also featuring high-quality ethnic representation, it had a profound effect on some children. When teachers in the first year of the project used such a book to support a sustained sequence of work, children were both delighted and surprised to see a protagonist that looked like them and became deeply invested in the character and the story world they inhabited. In turn, they became more animated and eager to contribute during book talk. By the second and third years of the project, teaching teams were actively choosing such texts to support their curriculum and planning ways to build on these encouraging responses. Children enjoyed being able to recognise aspects of a character’s life in quality depictions, while still relating to universal themes. This allowed more children to have a voice within literacy sessions. It also enabled teachers to assess children’s existing vocabulary knowledge and strengthen communication and language development by building on their enthused and knowledgeable starting points. These were the books that were frequently revisited, often becoming firm favourites. TEACHER KNOWLEDGE IS CRUCIAL The project also showed that teachers need a sound knowledge Teachearlyyears.com 51