This morning Elaine and I read A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln. She really is fascinated with Honest Abe. I may have been reading just a teeny weeny bit more about him that I really need. But it's a delight to see a child become interested in something and to go wherever her imagination and curiosity takes her.
We also read How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which believe it or not, I've never read before - or rather, read so long ago I had forgotten it. It's a delight. Elaine kept wanting to tell me what came next and I explained to her the concept of "spoilers." She loved the idea and proceeded to say instead, "You'll never guess what's next." That works.
I also explained the concept of narrative technique as we read one of the best children's books I've read in a long time (and I read three to five children's books a week as you know.) It's called Previously. Here's what Goodreads had to say about it:
Jack was running like mad in the dark woods with a hen under his arm.
Previously, he had stolen the hen and climbed down a beanstalk."
But do you know what was Jack doing before he climbed down the beanstalk?
Or what Jack and Jill were arguing about before they went up the hill? And what happened before that? Every story, every person, and every thing started somewhere, and now the inventive and whimsical Allan Ahlberg explores what all your favorite storybook characters were up to previously, aided by Bruce Ingman’s energetic illustrations.
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