陪孩子玩书:Playing with Books
by Jing Liu ~ May 16th, 2006. Filed under: Children's Literature.书是人们获取知识的主要来源,那麽不会读书的婴幼儿们如何从书中获益呢?他们可以听大人读书,也可以自己玩书。在宝宝还没出世前,他的听觉系统已经发育,这时便可以给他读书啦。六个月以前的婴儿视力有限,但也可以由大人陪着玩书。我的朋友,儿童作家叶珊瑚曾说过:“要让孩子从小就玩书,一旦上瘾,他们长大就是爱书的人。”对于一周岁以前的孩子,好玩的英文书可多啦!它们主要可以被分为五类:一、布质书( Cloth Books )
这类书的材料是棉布,布层里装有蓬松棉,所以既软又轻,孩子容易抓住,或抱在怀里。小家伙们玩书或吃书的时候不会受伤。如果脏了还可以清洗,洗后书上的颜色和字迹依旧清晰。书里面的主人公经常可以与读者互动。我家老二出生前收到的礼物里有本布质书,是Mandy Stanley的BABY。直到今天老大老二还抢这“BABY老三”。老大想要当妈妈的成就感,玩这本书是出于照顾“BABY”。老二玩弄“BABY”是一种亲切的自我安慰,还喜欢带“BABY”睡觉。
1、BABY / BY MANDY STANLEY
讲述的是一天从早到晚的经历。小读者要动手把封面上裹在毯子里的BABY取出,再放到想要他呆的地方,不必按顺序。让妈妈背著去散步、回家打秋千、坐在高椅上吃午饭、坐在摇椅上小憩、下午坐推车外出观景、去游泳池玩耍、晚上洗个热水澡、最后上床睡觉。每个动作,父母可以引导孩子将“BABY”放进特定的袋子里。整本书的画面生动、线条简单;强烈的立体感让孩子有种身临其境的体验。
2、I ALWAYS TAKE MY MOUSE WITH ME / BY MANHATTAN TOY
书里的主人公生动滑稽。调皮的小老鼠会叫,跟着老猫一页一页地跑。小读者还可以让老猫藏起来,逗小老鼠玩。当然也少不了红花绿树等美丽的陪衬。
近年,一些儿童书大腕儿们开始认识到婴儿市场的潜力,竭力将他们的作品植根于幼小的心灵,所以纷纷推出布质经典书。如:英语文化里人尽皆知的Peter Rabbit(作者Beatrix Potter), 还有深得幼儿喜爱的Maisy(作者Lucy Cousins)等系列。
二、塑料书(也称洗澡书,Bathtime Books)
由无毒的塑料制成,不怕咬,可以飘浮在水面上,因而孩子洗澡或游泳时最爱玩,大人可予教于乐。当然宝宝们吃东西的时候也可以玩这类的书,随时可冲洗。
1. WHALE BABY / BY JOY LABRACK, DANA REGAN
在蓝蓝的大海里,小鲸鱼与小章鱼、海星等朋友们玩耍,与敌人们周旋。他快乐地成长。一位妈妈对此书作了如下评价:“儿子九个月时拥有了这本书,他可以此磨牙,没想到两年后,他依然对这本书爱不释手”;“这是一本连大人都会喜爱的书,每读一遍,我对蓝色的小鲸鱼都有新的认识,我不觉得他只是蓝色大海中的巨型哺乳动物,而是和人类一样有着灵魂。”
2.ELMO WANTS A BATH / BY JOE MATHIEU
ELMO是《芝麻街》里的红毛人物,他现在迫不及待地要跳进泡沫飞扬的澡盆里。这本仅十页的塑料书,把洗澡的乐趣发挥至极。
三、有声书(或伴唱书,Sing-Along Storybooks)
多数的此类书是根据儿歌改编而成。除了书上的图画、文字外,按下旁边的小按钮会有音乐和各种声响。以下两本都是由Publications International公司制作的。
1.OLD MACDONALD HAD A FARM / BY THIERRY COUTIN
根据古典儿歌改编。麦当劳爷爷的农场有小鸡、鸭、牛、羊、马、狗等动物。小读者可一起唱他们喜爱的歌,也可听到每种不同动物的叫声。宝宝们的小手一按,就能听到愉悦的声音,实在是很开心的事。
2.WINNIE THE POOH SING-ALONG SONGS
包括一些孩子熟悉的儿歌,带著小话筒。每按下按钮便有音乐出来,孩子和书中的小熊Pooh一起卡拉OK。这本书会让你的孩子玩得不亦乐乎!
四、纸板书(Board Books)
由厚纸版做成,每本也就是十页左右,因为纸版厚且四周裁剪得很圆滑,所以不会划伤孩子的手。这类书在公立图书馆可以借到。
1.THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR / BY ERIC CARL
讲述的是小毛毛虫如何变成美丽的蝴蝶的故事。文字简洁、图画生动。小读者可以自然地从书中学到数字和时间的概念。作者还有好多本类似的书,以各种形式出现,深得孩童们喜爱,并被翻译成多种文字。
2.MY FIRST BOARD BOOK SERIES / PUBLISHED BY DORLING KINDERSLEY BOOK
是一套非常棒的最畅销的学习丛书,包括My First ABC Book; My First Word Book; My First Number Book和My First Body Book 等。以白色为背景,书中的物体画面都是孩子日常生活中经常遇到的东西。玩这套书,孩子可以增加词汇,为今後独立阅读打下基础。
五、捉迷藏书(Lift-and-Flap Books)
顾名思义就是玩捉迷藏游戏,当孩子每翻一页,都有一小块被挡住,一定要掀开才会有惊奇的发现。此类书的文字简单,且通常是重复相同的句型。
1.SPOT SERIES / BY ERIC HILL
小狗Spot系列是这类书中的大名牌。包括Where’s Spot?; Spot’s Baby Sister,Spot’s First Walk, Spot’s Favorite Colors 等。小狗Spot玩捉迷藏,在门后、床下、盒子里等地方发现许多可爱的小动物。孩子们很快就会和大人一起有问有答地玩这些书。
2.WHERE IS BABY’S BELLY BUTTON? / BY KAREN KATZ
让孩子和书中的Baby玩捉迷藏游戏,寻找Baby的手、眼睛、肚脐等。此书文字虽少,画面却是人见人爱。孩子们尤其爱不释手。
曾刊登于《环球华报》
Originally published in Global Chinese Press
May 17th, 2006 at 10:12 am
Really an eye-opener! That explains why I like outdoor exercise so much better than reading books – my parents never gave me such a book when I was a kid! Instead, they let me play with balls and toy cars all the time.
May 17th, 2006 at 10:37 am
I can’t agree more with what Jing said. I started to read to my daughter when she was one month old and took her to Storytime since she was four months old, and now the library has become a Disneyland for her.
May 17th, 2006 at 11:15 am
Hi Lei,
If you love outdoor activities so much, take a book with you to Trial 4, and then read on the beach after the hike and walk.
I went down to the beach around 2 pm, very low tide and looked like I could walk on the sandy beach all the way to Shanghai! I even saw three crabs, and was really scared when I tried to flip one of them over. They were all alive! Too bad I didn’t have my camera with me.
May 17th, 2006 at 11:19 am
Good for you Mindy! When I was doing storytime at RPL, I saw lots of babies, and then I saw them turned to toddlers, and now school kids, they are still going to the library.
May 17th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
Other than Bathtime Books, VPL has all these books, in Chinese even. Especially Sing-Along Storybooks and board books, we are trying our best to develope this part of our Chinese J collection. So, if anyone is interested, please feel free to check them out, or if you know any good sources for purchasing these types of books (in simplified characters particularly), please let me know.
In terms of storytime, I love cloth books best. I just find it works very well with Chinese kids here, even for older kids. VPL has a small but very nice collection of cloth books. These books are hand made and donated by a group of Japanese Moms. I have made a few Chinese scripts for these books. But unfortunately, thess cloth books are for staff use only at the moment. If anyone knows where I can purchase these type of books in Chinese, I would love to buy for the library.