Isabella: Girl On the Go and Isabella: Girl in Charge
This post begins a new phase for Big Words Matter. My curiosity about and commitment to the idea of harnessing generative language development as a possible panacea to the world’s ills have grown. I’m anxious to find and share books adults can use to teach great vocabulary in loving, playful environments. I’ll still be in search of those books that are fun to read in addition to containing great vocabulary, but my focus is shifting toward the words themselves. Little kids need big words filling their ears in tiny daily doses and playful, loving settings to prepare them for the exciting challenges ahead. Readers have the power to modify and create fun, and the ‘fun to read’ perfection I previously sought is highly dependent on the participants in the moment.
In addition to reviewing and sharing Big Word books, I’ll be using Big Words Matter to ponder the evidence emerging from diverse fields demonstrating that many experts think reading aloud from birth on is the answer to society’s woes.
“Isabella: Girl On The Go” and “Isabella: Girl In Charge” are books I had the privilege of sharing with my adorable and empowered nieces when we met in Washington, D.C. with over half a million other impassioned citizens to protest the denigration of integral members of our society by the newly elected president and his followers. I chose them for their message and their vocabulary and was well-rewarded. My six-year old niece asked, “What is an ‘archaeologist’?” and we had fun imagining and predicting what form Isabella’s side-kick stuffed mouse might take on the next page. My four-year old niece quickly learned the pattern the author uses in both books: responsive parents calling Isabella by her most-recently declared name or persona, to which Isabella declares, “I’m not…….” before enlightening her parent to her newest role. My nieces noticed details in the pictures and humored me as I marveled at the amazing women Isabella imitated in each book.
“Isabella: Girl On the Go” moves our heroine through careers and geographic locations while “Isabella: Girl in Charge” follows her through history and names of women who achieved important firsts in political history. “Girl in Charge” ends with Isabella attending the inauguration of our first Madam President.
These books offer readers options. They have simple, patterned stories that can be completed as quick 5-minute reads. The illustrations are detailed and nuanced with surprises that bring you back for re-reading and new discoveries. At the end, the artists have provided paragraphs on the careers, locations and individuals highlighted in the story, allowing readers to delve more deeply when desired.
Thank you for bringing me back, Isabella.
drawing books from my childhood. I loved to copy his simple steps to create recognizable animals, faces and objects. So I was thrilled to find a storybook written and illustrated by by Emberley and his daughter.
by chance, while searching for books to teach comparison concepts. It was a lucky find. Thesaurus Rex is a great example of the expansion parents can practice with any book. The author uses numerous synonyms or closely related words for many adventures we observe through the story. Author Laya Steinberg gives us four new words for mud:
If you’re in search of books on a specific topic, ask a librarian! The lovely children’s librarians in my home town had the perfect suggestion for my BigWords Books list. Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster is funny and empowering. In this book, the ten-year-old who narrates the story is the wordsmith. She uses great vocabulary to tell the story of a mistake and her glorious recovery. She defines words within the text, and shares her extra credit vocabulary sentences along the edges of the illustrations. To further empower and connect with kids, author/illustrator Debra Frasier ingeniously uses simple lined paper and markers to create fifth-grade-style drawings. Miss Alaineus might be a little long for toddler listeners. Set aside 15 minutes to read it to a relatively quiet, engaged listener. 5-year-olds enjoy much of this book, and older kids will relate to the social faux pas and word play. Definitely check Miss Alaineus out!
Big Words:
We are weevils.
Jennifer Stone 