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Hey, y'all! Today I'm going to take a break from posting recipes or simple DIY projects and I'll be putting on my teacher hat to share one of my favorite authors with you. Eric Carle has been one of the top-selling children's authors for as long as I can remember. The man is a legend! I remember reading several of his stories growing up, and I'm sure that you do too.
Eric Carle's stories are just as loved by children today as they were when we were young(er). If you have a young one at home, you should most definitely consider picking up some of his classic tales to share with your little one. It'll be a great way to teach your child a love of reading and reminisce about your own childhood.
Below I came up with a list of 4 Reasons You Should Be Reading Eric Carle Books to Your Child if you need a little more convincing.
1. The Repeated Lines Help Builds Confidence in Young Readers
Many of Eric Carle's books have repeating lines or predictive text. This format allows for young readers to predict what comes next and allows them to "read along" when they pick up on the pattern. This gives them the sense of reading and helps build confidence to help them start to read independently.
Be sure that you point to each word as you read it to demonstrate one-to-one correspondence. The more the child sees the word, and associates it with the lines, the easier it will be for them to begin to recognize the word.
You can also try to make a couple of index cards (maybe 1 or 2) with one of the repeated words. Talk to your child about the word and have them touch each of the letters to "spell it" out. As you read along, pointing to each of the words in the text, have your child listen for this new word and hold up the card when they hear it.
Many of Carle's books follow the same pattern. Baby Bear, Baby Bear What Do You See?, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear, for instance, follow the same cadence as Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
By introducing your child to these books, they'll start to really get the sense that they are reading along!
2. The Illustrations Trigger the Imagination
Eric Carle is a master when it comes to illustrating children's books. His child-like illustrations are jam-packed with bright, bold colors that stimulate your child's brain and trigger their imagination.
The mixed mediums and a collage-like effect of the illustrations add a sense of whimsy to the story that your child will love!
3. They Teach Important Lessons
One of my favorite thing about Carle's books are the lessons taught in the stories. Whether it is the life cycle of a butterfly (The Very Hungry Caterpillar), the life cycle of a flower (The Tiny Seed) or stories about loving yourself just the way you are (The Mixed-Up Chameleon), the stories hold many teachable moments.
My favorite Eric Carle story is The Grouchy Ladybug. In this story, the ladybug is looking to pick a fight with absolutely everyone she encounters. The characters grow larger and larger until she goes from another ladybug to a blue whale. This book is excellent for teaching manners and for showing how to treat others properly.
His stories are also great for teaching colors, body parts and other essential skills for pre-school age children.
4. The Crafts that Go Along with them are Endless
Eric Carle's stories are a great starting off point for an afternoon of crafts with your kiddo! There are like a gazillion different kid-friendly projects for all ages on Pinterest. You can find several activties for each story!
You could easily incorporate the story with your afternoon snack. Pretzels go along great with Walter the Baker, edible butterfly life cycles (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) and mini pancakes for Pancakes, Pancakes!
Eric Carle is one of the greatest children's authors of all times. His stories are educational and entertaining for children of all ages. Do yourself, and your little one, a favor and pick up some of these iconic books!
