Teach-Early-Years-14.1

F ew books exemplify the power of the shared reading experience quite like interactive books. Whether read aloud to a group or enjoyed one-on-one, they possess the ability to create meaning and humour, invite verbal or physical engagement, build empathy, and even demonstrate how a book is put together through an eclectic mix of techniques. Here are some of my favourite examples… Familiar favourites Fairy tales and traditional tales are frequently some of the earlier encounters that young children have with literature – by design these stories are often particularly engaging and memorable due to their repeated and predictable story shapes. A book like Please, Mr Magic Fish is a strong example of this, as the main characters visit a magical wish-granting fish four times, calling out the repeated song- like refrain “Please, Mr Magic Fish, will you grant us one more wish?”, which the audience can be invited to join in with while also tracing the verbal and visual differences between each fish encounter – the sea growing stormier, the fish getting angrier, etc. Exciting sounds Sound effects and onomatopoeia are another key way of inviting interaction from young readers. Quiet! follows a young child through a day in the life at home – they move from room to room, accompanied by the refrain “Sssh! Listen, what’s that noise?”, and within each room the onomatopoeic sounds of each object – the “rumble burble” of the kettle, the “brrmm zooom” of the toy car – appear written PHOEBE DEMEGER IS THE LIBRARIAN AT THE CENTRE FOR LITERACY IN PRIMARY EDUCATION Invitations to engage Both educational and entertaining, interactive books are an invaluable tool in our efforts to support early literacy, says Phoebe Demeger … Interactive books may be enjoyed by readers of all ages, including our very youngest next to that object. Quiet! is a lovely book for speaking to the experiences of a young child and building awareness of the built environment. Similarly Snap! , told entirely in onomatopoeia, is great for exploring environmental sounds, while also encouraging predictions through rhyme and repetition: in one example of this soundscaped adventure, our hero, Frog, “tap tap tap”s on a crocodile’s snout, which on the next spread erupts with a “SNAP!”. Getting physical Some interactive books take things a step further and playfully illuminate the notion of a book as a physical item to be interacted with while still telling a story. This Is Owl makes a great read-aloud: using direct address, it introduces the audience to an owl and invites them to interact with the character by calling aloud, tickling, tipping and turning the book, and more. Another example of this, recalling the classic Book With No Pictures is The Quickest Bedtime Story Ever , which similarly speaks directly to the reader and invites them to take part in interactive instructions – a silly vocal warm-up, a big stretch, making sure every teddy is tucked in – during the wind-down towards bedtime. Key concepts It would be remiss not to mention Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! , a fourth-wall-breaking modern classic about persuasion, in which an increasingly desperate pigeon uses a variety of rhetorical tactics to convince the reader to let him drive the bus. Interactive, metafictive books like Pigeon introduce even the youngest reader to the concept of writing with a purpose, and the existence of an audience. In a more subtle, but no less effective way, Chris Haughton’s picturebooks use repeated and/or patterned text as an exposition of how narrative and meaning is constructed. Both tension and humour are built through repeated refrains and either meeting or subverting expectations: in Oh No, George! we have the refrain “What will George do?” followed by a spread of inevitable naughtiness (accompanied by the Interactive information Interactive elements can be a useful tool in information books, encouraging embodied engagement with the subject matter. Dig Dig Dinosaur takes this perennially popular topic and incorporates repetition, descriptive vocabulary and peep-through lift-the- flap elements, allowing young children to guess which dinosaur is going to be unearthed next. Meanwhile Body Detectives is a helpful tool for exploring self-regulation and sensory signals: this interactive board book uses flaps, pull-tabs and activities to encourage young children to interpret their body’s sensory cues, such as hunger or needing the toilet, to name their feelings and how to act upon them. 50 Teachearlyyears.com