I no longer lead regular storytimes in my professional life, but I get to read at home with my kids every day (the photo above is from a few years ago and pictures me and five of my kids, long before my newest baby was born). Whole Book Approach questions are a natural part of our family reading life, but I still miss leading storytime as a part of my job. Happily, now that READING PICTURE BOOKS WITH CHILDREN is out, I’m starting to hear from people who are using Whole Book Approach techniques at storytime, and that’s feeling pretty wonderful. A school librarian from CT wrote the following:
“Your approach made for the best library time I’ve had in over 20 years. The conversations were rich, insightful, organic and allowed the children to really experience the art as a part of the telling experience of the story…
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for such an eye opener written in a format that isn’t stuffy, but approachable.”
This email made me so very happy, and I’m eager to hear more from readers. For now, feel free to leave comments on this post if you’d like to share your experiences or questions.
Happy reading!
I don’t have your book yet (it’s on my wish list), but I did watch your book trailer video. I’ve always read to my kids, and I worked in an elementary school library for a few years. But that video made me see that I could be doing so much more. And perfect timing too, as I’m recently published and have started doing school visits and story times. I’ve used your techniques in my last few readings, and it’s made a big difference in how the kids and I interact. Thanks!
Thanks for your comment Rebecca! I’m glad to know that the video is inspiring you and would love to hear more about how WBA techniques impact your storytimes after you read my book. I took a peek at your website and saw that Dan Santat will illustrate your next picture book–how exciting!