Suzy Davies's Blog: Book News - Posts Tagged "meaning"
How Reading A Book To Your Child Benefits Your Child, You, and Your Relationship!
People often remark that my new Children's Book, "Snugs The Snow Bear," is aimed at a wide audience - children aged from 4 up to 10 years old. However, each child is unique, not all children develop at the same pace, and, of course, younger children will be read to, rather than reading a book on their own.
What are the benefits to your child, when you read a book to them out loud?
*Children have fun with the sound of words, and make a connection between the image of the word on the page, and what it sounds like. My book has repeat word patterns, to facilitate recognition of "social sight words," so that they become familiar to the child. I make no apologies for introducing some unusual words, to help a child build new vocabulary. Children learn that they do not need to understand each and every word to get the overall meaning, and gist of the story.
*Many parents read stories to kids at bedtime, to help them sleep. Each chapter of "Snugs The Snow Bear" ends on a happy note, so the book may be read a chapter at a time, with the child feeling happy and relaxed. Books do not always have to be read just at bedtime. Why not read to your children at a regular time during the day, to help cultivate a routine, that makes your child feel secure, with a good reading habit?
*Reading together, pointing at the pictures to elicit meaning, and understanding, first of all, before reading the story to the child, helps cognitive development. The child is sure to be engaged with the colorful, animated characters, and have fun "guessing" who "Snugs" and his menagerie of animal friends are! This works particularly well for younger children, and can spark a conversation, and beneficial interaction, when you share with your child.
*It is well known that reading helps to stimulate a child's imagination. Reading also helps a child know what is real, and what is "just a story," or make-believe!
*Children's Literature can be read on many different levels of meaning, so that an older child, say from 7 to 10, would understand subtle inferences from what he/she read alone. It is good to encourage older siblings to read to their younger brothers and sisters to help them along, and make reading a family time activity.
*When you have read a book to your child, encourage follow-up activities that link the book to different subject areas such as Geography, Science, Art, Drama, Languages, and Music. Each child has different interests and strengths, so play to these to engage your child, and get the most out of my book!
*My book series, "The Snugs Series," will help your child grow with Snugs. Ideas and words that are introduced in story Book One, will be repeated in later books, from time to time, to help your child understand, and remember, the story and the message. New ideas will be introduced at a gradual pace, which helps absorption of new ideas and vocabulary, alongside what is already familiar. Reading to your child aloud creates an association between reading, social activity, and pleasure, which will instill confidence, and encourage your child to share what he/she has read with peers.Your child will develop a love of reading, which will last a lifetime, not only giving your child enjoyment, fun, and entertainment, but knowledge and education, too!
What are the benefits to your child, when you read a book to them out loud?
*Children have fun with the sound of words, and make a connection between the image of the word on the page, and what it sounds like. My book has repeat word patterns, to facilitate recognition of "social sight words," so that they become familiar to the child. I make no apologies for introducing some unusual words, to help a child build new vocabulary. Children learn that they do not need to understand each and every word to get the overall meaning, and gist of the story.
*Many parents read stories to kids at bedtime, to help them sleep. Each chapter of "Snugs The Snow Bear" ends on a happy note, so the book may be read a chapter at a time, with the child feeling happy and relaxed. Books do not always have to be read just at bedtime. Why not read to your children at a regular time during the day, to help cultivate a routine, that makes your child feel secure, with a good reading habit?
*Reading together, pointing at the pictures to elicit meaning, and understanding, first of all, before reading the story to the child, helps cognitive development. The child is sure to be engaged with the colorful, animated characters, and have fun "guessing" who "Snugs" and his menagerie of animal friends are! This works particularly well for younger children, and can spark a conversation, and beneficial interaction, when you share with your child.
*It is well known that reading helps to stimulate a child's imagination. Reading also helps a child know what is real, and what is "just a story," or make-believe!
*Children's Literature can be read on many different levels of meaning, so that an older child, say from 7 to 10, would understand subtle inferences from what he/she read alone. It is good to encourage older siblings to read to their younger brothers and sisters to help them along, and make reading a family time activity.
*When you have read a book to your child, encourage follow-up activities that link the book to different subject areas such as Geography, Science, Art, Drama, Languages, and Music. Each child has different interests and strengths, so play to these to engage your child, and get the most out of my book!
*My book series, "The Snugs Series," will help your child grow with Snugs. Ideas and words that are introduced in story Book One, will be repeated in later books, from time to time, to help your child understand, and remember, the story and the message. New ideas will be introduced at a gradual pace, which helps absorption of new ideas and vocabulary, alongside what is already familiar. Reading to your child aloud creates an association between reading, social activity, and pleasure, which will instill confidence, and encourage your child to share what he/she has read with peers.Your child will develop a love of reading, which will last a lifetime, not only giving your child enjoyment, fun, and entertainment, but knowledge and education, too!
What is The History Behind The Teddy Bear?
Look in the children's section in any library almost anywhere in the world, and one thing is for certain - the "Teddy Bear" is a popular enduring symbol of love, caring and all those touchy-feely emotions about family, friends, loyalty, and belonging. There are hundreds - thousands even - of books where the main character is a Teddy Bear. Songs have been written about them. Films have been made featuring them. We give Teddy Bears to our children. We keep some for ourselves. The Teddy Bear is a popular gift for Valentines, Birthdays and Christmases. We are obsessed with bears! But where did it all start?
Well, in a nutshell, it all started with a president - Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. He was on a hunting trip in 1902 in the Mississippi area. Some guides on the trip wanted him to kill a bear, who they had trapped and tied to a tree. The president showed compassion and declined. Although the bear was dispatched, the story of the president's kindness quickly spread, and a famous political cartoonist depicted the incident in a newspaper cartoon.
Shortly afterwards, a shopkeeper, Morris Michtom, made a toy bear and displayed the bear in his shop window in Brooklyn. He named the bear after The President.
Far across the globe, at around the same time, the Steiff family, in Germany, also started to make bears, and they went on to manufacture the bears in 1906. These bears are collectible today, and famous all over the world.
One of the early Children's Bear Book Series in America was written by author Seymour Eaton. I stumbled upon him just recently after writing the first three books of The Snugs Series.
Imagine my delight, when I discovered that Eaton's bears were also bears who liked to travel and go on adventures! I like to think that Snugs The Snow Bear, my Children's Book, will carry on this spirit of adventure, and combine traditional values with a modern message!
So what is it that makes bears so endearing? A bear toy or a bear book is not just for special occasions. It seems that when we take a bear into our hearts, he or she is our constant faithful friend. He or she is a good listener, and good for a cuddle. Rupert Bear, Paddington Bear, there are all kinds of bears we still adore into adulthood. Now, what does a bear mean to you?
Well, in a nutshell, it all started with a president - Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. He was on a hunting trip in 1902 in the Mississippi area. Some guides on the trip wanted him to kill a bear, who they had trapped and tied to a tree. The president showed compassion and declined. Although the bear was dispatched, the story of the president's kindness quickly spread, and a famous political cartoonist depicted the incident in a newspaper cartoon.
Shortly afterwards, a shopkeeper, Morris Michtom, made a toy bear and displayed the bear in his shop window in Brooklyn. He named the bear after The President.
Far across the globe, at around the same time, the Steiff family, in Germany, also started to make bears, and they went on to manufacture the bears in 1906. These bears are collectible today, and famous all over the world.
One of the early Children's Bear Book Series in America was written by author Seymour Eaton. I stumbled upon him just recently after writing the first three books of The Snugs Series.
Imagine my delight, when I discovered that Eaton's bears were also bears who liked to travel and go on adventures! I like to think that Snugs The Snow Bear, my Children's Book, will carry on this spirit of adventure, and combine traditional values with a modern message!
So what is it that makes bears so endearing? A bear toy or a bear book is not just for special occasions. It seems that when we take a bear into our hearts, he or she is our constant faithful friend. He or she is a good listener, and good for a cuddle. Rupert Bear, Paddington Bear, there are all kinds of bears we still adore into adulthood. Now, what does a bear mean to you?
On Writing The Truth
There is an old adage, "The truth is stranger than fiction." If we believe this, then as writers, how can we write about "strange" things, and convince people that what we state is true?
Some people say that the art of writing fiction is the art of telling beautiful lies, based on the truth, in such a way that people still believe the stories. And beyond the artifice, fiction, when written well, by playing with the facts, will reveal deeper truths, which are universal.
It is my belief that what we writers write about is often the emotional truth or our own personal truths.
For me, the veracity of our words will move people when we use simple, unadorned language. Think about the lie. The bigger the lie, the more elaborate the telling of it will be. Think about the truth, simply stated, often in words of one syllable, it will hit home. Readers do not have to work to "register" the words, which frees the mind to do work at a subliminal level.
This means that the work of the reader is in their own personal interpretation to discover the deeper meaning.
Poetry is a good medium for writing about emotionally volatile subjects. A good poem, like a snapshot of film, will tell part of a story, in such a way that the reader will feel the emotional impact of the entire story within that small frame of time and space.
When writing poems, I refer to an old book of wisdom, The Tao, which states that what is not there, is as important as what is there. The spaces "in between" are portals for the reader to discover, in their re-reading and reinterpretation, their own emotional truths.
Indeed, there is such thing as truth in the objective world, but in the subjective world, we each perceive the world in a similar way to others, but in a way which is unique to us as individuals.
Some people say that the art of writing fiction is the art of telling beautiful lies, based on the truth, in such a way that people still believe the stories. And beyond the artifice, fiction, when written well, by playing with the facts, will reveal deeper truths, which are universal.
It is my belief that what we writers write about is often the emotional truth or our own personal truths.
For me, the veracity of our words will move people when we use simple, unadorned language. Think about the lie. The bigger the lie, the more elaborate the telling of it will be. Think about the truth, simply stated, often in words of one syllable, it will hit home. Readers do not have to work to "register" the words, which frees the mind to do work at a subliminal level.
This means that the work of the reader is in their own personal interpretation to discover the deeper meaning.
Poetry is a good medium for writing about emotionally volatile subjects. A good poem, like a snapshot of film, will tell part of a story, in such a way that the reader will feel the emotional impact of the entire story within that small frame of time and space.
When writing poems, I refer to an old book of wisdom, The Tao, which states that what is not there, is as important as what is there. The spaces "in between" are portals for the reader to discover, in their re-reading and reinterpretation, their own emotional truths.
Indeed, there is such thing as truth in the objective world, but in the subjective world, we each perceive the world in a similar way to others, but in a way which is unique to us as individuals.
Moment
I often see her, still.
True, she is beautiful.
I wonder about her,
in her youth.
She gazes out toward the river
life’s journey before her.
We share.
“It’ll rain soon.”
Her eyes, green grey.
The faraway-look, again.
I often see her, still.
In pictures. In movies.
They are less than her.
I do not see reflections
in her eyes.
She gazes out through windows -
mist shrouds the mountains.
She laughs, shaking her curls
that spiral.
Cascade.
I do not hear the breath
in her voice.
I sometimes see her, still.
In moments,
as if alone together.
The laugh, the voice, her eyes, the breath.
Reflections.
I wonder as she breathes through me
if, without her,
this moment
will let me live.
Copyright Suzy Davies, 2018 All Rights Reserved.
True, she is beautiful.
I wonder about her,
in her youth.
She gazes out toward the river
life’s journey before her.
We share.
“It’ll rain soon.”
Her eyes, green grey.
The faraway-look, again.
I often see her, still.
In pictures. In movies.
They are less than her.
I do not see reflections
in her eyes.
She gazes out through windows -
mist shrouds the mountains.
She laughs, shaking her curls
that spiral.
Cascade.
I do not hear the breath
in her voice.
I sometimes see her, still.
In moments,
as if alone together.
The laugh, the voice, her eyes, the breath.
Reflections.
I wonder as she breathes through me
if, without her,
this moment
will let me live.
Copyright Suzy Davies, 2018 All Rights Reserved.
Book News
"The Flamingos Who Painted The Sky," our new picture book is NOW fully available to bring in #Christmas #sunshine, #flamingo #sunsets, and #happiness #worldwide Illustrated by the talented Shirin Mass ...more
- Suzy Davies's profile
- 647 followers
