The summer holidays are coming soon, and they are a perfect time for parent-child reading sessions, so don’t miss out. Parent-child reading benefits children hugely, as it develops their independent thinking and expressive abilities, while broadening their horizons and cultivating their aesthetic sentiment. Hopefully, thanks to the combination of enjoying reading both at home and nursery, our children will develop a lifetime habit of avid reading. Many parents focus too intently on the practical gains associated with their children’s reading and neglect other potentially positive influences of the reading process. As a librarian , I truly hope that children choose to read books purely for the reason that they love them rather than reading for the sake of reading. Hopefully the following recommended books may give you and your children a great place to start looking for fun and enjoyable reading sessions during this summer break. EY4 Little Green Wolf
By René Gouichoux “Grey wolf, grey wolf.” People get used to calling so because wolves are more common in grey. Can you guess what happens if a green wolf appears in a group of grey wolves? Will it be laughed at, bitten, isolated or expelled? Anything is possible. In this story, Little Green Wolf is laughed at by the other grey wolves whenever he wants to fit in. Booed and jeered by the other wolves, Little Green Wolf is determined to change himself. Firstly, he wears grey clothes to cover his natural body colour while he carelessly shows his green tail. Secondly, he applies ash to his body. Unfortunately, the rain comes and his green fur reveals itself again. He finally covers himself with grey oil paint while the scorching sunlight nearly burns him. Even the fairy who can use magic is unable to help the green wolf. She turns him into goldfish and then a bird, before he decides to be himself. He exclaims: “Yes, I am a green wolf, but it doesn’t matter.” Sometimes, it is difficult for us to accept who we are, though it sounds easy. Believing in yourself and listening to others’ suggestions may work and help you to accept yourself. Greedy Bean
By Barbara Bennis A stubborn child keeps growing bigger and bigger because he eats all the candy beans in the jar. There is no place for him to stand. His home, the street, the basketball court and the football field are all too small for him. Professor Nell comes to help and cures the boy who doesn’t dare to eat so randomly from then on. The book describes an amazing world from the perspective of children. The engaging and vivid plot definitely can stimulate children’s boundless imagination. Meanwhile, the simple illustrations give them aesthetic experience which also benefits their gradual development of emotional intelligence, thinking patterns and cognition. Besides, the original English version of the story and its repetitive sentences are conducive to basic English learning. EY3 The Giant Hug
By Sandra Horning A piglet named Owen finds an inventive way to mail a special birthday present to his granny who lives far away — ‘a giant hug’. Accompanied by his mum, he goes to the post office and tells postal employee Mr Nye that he wants to send a giant hug to his granny. When Owen’s mum finishes writing down granny’s address, he gives Mr Nye a giant hug and stresses: “The hug you send to the postal personnel should be as giant as the one that I gave to you.” Thanks to a special delivery, each employee provides a link in the hug-passing chain. When granny finally receives her special post, she sends something equally interesting back to Owen. Could you guess what this gift is? A hug. Coming from a simple idea, this story serves up a goodwill boost to all readers. The Lion Who Always Said “No”
By Christine Beigel Chicken Mama urges her chicks go to bed while her chicks respond ‘no’. Then, Chicken Mama tells a story about a lion who always said no. The little lion was misunderstood by a herd of zebras because he always said no. He was sent to an island by a cheetah, where the most dreadful animal lived. The lion would be kept there unless he learned a different word. The narration of the Chicken Mama is both humorous and engaging. The story begins with things that need doing before the chicks go to sleep, naturally leading to the narration of Chicken Mama. When she finishes the lion story, she links it to her lesson of urging chicks to sleep. EY2 Rosie and the Nightmares
By Philip Waechter
The bunny Rosie is haunted by monster nightmares and the situation has lasted for a few weeks. She asks for help from an expert who specialises in studying nightmares. From the books that the expert recommends she knows various tools to tackle night monsters and is determined to confront her fears. Rosie goes to a haunted house and manages to defeat monsters in it. The method to ‘tame’ the largest monster is, surprisingly, a kiss. In the end, she does not walk out of the haunted house until she beats all the monsters. Now, she is no longer afraid of any of them.
Wake Up Do, Lydia Lou
By Donaldson, Julia A little ghost tries to give Lydia Lou a scare, but he cannot even wake her up. So, he fetches his noisy animal friends to help: kitty, cow, owl, cockerel and many more. They all make their own unique animal noises. Wake up do, Lydia Lou! Will anything ever wake her? The reading process is full of fun sounds which children will love to join in with time and time again. Lydia Lou finally wakes up because of a feather. The little ghost and his animal friends expect she will be frightened, only to find… EY1 Hi, Butterfly!
By [日] 五味太郎 A little boy raises his net to catch a yellow butterfly on the grass. But, when you turn a new page, you will find it is actually a yellow flower. Look, another yellow butterfly appears! Catch it! How could it be a yellow balloon? Must yellow ones be butterflies? Open the book and chase the butterfly with the boy. Children and parents can guess together what the butterfly that the boy caught will become, allowing them to enjoy the excitement of discovery. The Mommy Book
By Todd Parr The book celebrates all different kinds of mothers and emphasises their uniqueness. Whether mums go shopping or fishing, work at home or far away, have short hair or long hair, they are all distinctive and filled with love. There are no two mums exactly alike in the world and they all want you to be who you are. This book not only contributes to the development of children’s emotional intelligence by appreciating cultural diversity, it also strengthens family ties.
