Welcome to 2025 PICTURE BOOK CLUB – WEEK SIX
How to participate in Picture Book Club …
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Get the suggested books from your library or bookstore (local or online). See PICTURE BOOK CLUB BOOK LIST for the complete list of books for each week.
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Before reading each of the weekly books to your child, READ FIRST “What Adults Can Learn from This Story.”
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Read one or both books to your child as many times through the week as your child wants to hear them and you have time to read.
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Consider doing whatever activities you think are appropriate for the age and maturity of your child from “Make This Story Come Alive for Your Child.”
WE WELCOME FEEDBACK ABOUT YOUR PARTICIPATION. YOU CAN LEAVE A COMMENT BY USING THE “WHAT DO YOU THINK?” BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST.
Doctor Ted by Andrew Beaty
(about imagination)
Doctor Ted came into being when young Ted plays being a doctor to the fullest. The story is about getting patients for Dr. Ted. He examines many unwilling patients – his mother, friends, teachers, and school principals. The plot thickens when a real live playground accident causes a principal to call for a doctor. Doctor Ted arrives lickety-split and bandages the patient. The emergency workers agree Doctor Ted did a good job. That was just what Dr. Ted wanted to hear. He is now ready to move on to a new job. Can you guess what it is?
What Adults Can Learn from This Story
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Active imagination in children is very desirable. Even if pretend seems very real to children, parents do not usually need to worry. Just like people need to exercise muscles to be able to run a race, children need to exercise the imagination part of their brains to become creative, artistic, innovative people.
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Make-believe allows children to try out different ways to act. Be powerful. Be a follower. How to react to disappointment or excitement. How far they will go to get what they want. Different ways to get and keep friends.
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Pretend allows children to try out adult jobs they want to explore and know more about.
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As children become better and better pretenders, they need to also learn to tell the difference between what is real and what is pretend. No matter how well-developed persons’ imaginations are they need to live in a real world and know what things are real and what things are not.
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There’s nothing better than having adults become part of pretend play. But it is important for adults to let children know when they are willing to pretend and when they are ready to stop. When time for pretending is over adults can say, “I’m done pretending now.” or “We’re not pretending right now, so you need to stop bandaging my arm for now.” For more information about make-believe and keeping it real see That Special Gift-Part 2.
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Children are fascinated by jobs. “Three Men in a Tub” (Mother Goose) isn’t so popular just because of the rhyme. They weren’t just any three men. They had occupations and skills – a butcher, a baker, and a candlestick maker. Even very young children are interested in what people do, and it is never too early to help them know more about careers and the importance of work.
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Humor is good for kids. It is something they learn rather than something they are born with. They develop a sense of humor one step at a time. Very early, kids start to laugh from physical play like tickling or peek-a-boo. Then silly words or unusual sounds make them laugh, like “squiggly wiggley.” Later, all things unexpected or different than usual might make them laugh – things out of order or not true – like backwards, upside down, or inside out things. And after a while, kids start to try to make adults and friends laugh. It is important to laugh with them – funny or not. It is also important to make it off-limits to make fun of others. Let them know it hurts to be made fun of and that there are plenty of funny things all around us without using things that hurt other people.
Make This Story Come Alive for Your Child
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Play pretend about an occupation that interests your child. Make or find dress-up clothes that fit the occupation chosen. Remember, it doesn’t have to be a complete costume – a hat, scarf, a sign, or physical props will do. Ask your child what questions she has about the occupation and search for the answer together on the internet. Do an art project about the occupation – draw, paint, make up a song or dance, or make sculptures (clay or play dough).
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Go to where you can see an occupation your child is drawn to in action. If possible, see what it is like behind the scenes, even if it is just by talking to a person in the profession.
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Ask your child: “What are three things you want to do when you grow up?” This will encourage her to think she has lots of things she can do in the future. If she wants to be a ballerina and a firefighter – she can.
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Take your child to work with you. The official “Take Your Child to Work Day” is in April. You can plan to do that next year, or you may be able to arrange for him to go with you for a short period of time on an agreed upon day – even just an hour would be interesting for him. While he is at your work be sure he gets to see (or maybe even try) the real things that you do at work.
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Talk to your child about what it is you like about your work. If she only hears complaints about your work, she could have trouble understanding why you leave the family to go to work every day or be reluctant to be a worker herself one day.
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Arrange for a field trip or tour of a place where your child can see people (and maybe talk to people) who are working at a job that he plays pretend about or if he is older that he talks, watches, and reads about. It can be a virtual tour by looking for a TV or video that is about that job.
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Have your child talk to grandparents about the work they do now or did before they retired. For grandparents far away, you can write a letter, email, telephone, or Skype. Let your child plan a short list of questions he would like to know about his grandparents’ work. For example, what they liked or didn’t like about their work, why they chose that job, how they learned to do the job, whether the job paid a lot of money. Have your child write them thank you notes for sharing and tell them a couple of things that impressed them about their work. Young children can dictate the notes to you. If grandparents are not available to you, talk with someone among your friends and neighbors who are like grandparents to your child.
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Tell your child some jokes. You can find jokes for kids on the internet. For a very young child, you can be physical (for example, tickle or play peek-a-boo). For slightly older children, try making up silly sounds. For older children, try knock-knock jokes or riddles. And, for the oldest children, try puns and plays on words like “What a hair-brained idea the hare had in the famous hare and tortoise race.” Let your child vote on funniness. You can use thumbs up or thumbs down or numbered signs (1 = very funny, 2 = a little funny, 3 = not funny at all). Let him practice delivering a couple of the funniest ones and have him tell them at dinnertime.
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Play make-believe doctor with your child. Make up silly illnesses like a bumpy tummy or a loosey goosey lip. Give silly treatments and medicines like bug juice or giggle goo. Take turns being the doctor. Be sure to laugh, if she tries to be like you and make up silly illnesses and medicines. Remember to separate what is pretend and real. You can do that by telling her you are having fun pretending, agreeing that you can pretend for a certain length of time, saying you are done pretending when the time is up, and pointing out that you are putting away the dress-up clothes, the table is a table and no longer a bed, or you put away the pretend medicines and are fixing some real food for lunch.
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Watch or read something funny with your child today. You can let her pick out a video or book, or you can pick something out. Pay attention to what makes her laugh so you can help put more laughter in her daily life. See if you find some of the same things to be funny. Laugh together as much as you can.
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Look for something your child says or does that is funny to you. Laugh and let him see you laughing. Tell him what you thought was funny. Thank him for making you laugh. For young children, you will need a way to “turn off” the silliness. Young kids love to make you laugh but don’t know when to stop the fun. Think ahead about how you will signal the child that funny time is over. You could say, “I need to get back to my cleaning, we’ll laugh some more later.” Or “Things are usually only funny the first time. Let’s stop now and try some more later.”
Poe Won’t Go by Kelly Di Pucchio
(about kindness and friendship)
Poe the elephant was sitting smack-dab in the middle of the only road in Prickley Valley. He wouldn’t budge no matter what the townfolk tried – loud noise, tickling, clowns, not even peanuts. Nothing would make Poe go. They tried pushing – still no go. The townfolk were getting mighty irritated about having their road closed down. Finally, a kind little girl named Marigold offered to help. She said she spoke the elephant’s language – which turned out to be the language of kindness. She simply asked Poe why he wouldn’t go. …“he’s waiting for a friend,” she reported. The friend was found in a most unusual place. They reunited and away they went. Where will they go next?
What Adults Can Learn from This Story
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Children know how to be stubborn. At the no-saying ages (usually 2-3) stubborness is quite apparent. It is helpful for adults to think about how they react to their children’s no’s. Embarrassed? Angry? Afraid of what’s coming next? A less emotional response is likely to be more effective. Adults can insist that children do as they are told and to do so calmly. Children’s say no because they are learning to think for themselves. Adults can allow the no “saying,” but not the no “doing.” They can tell children that it’s OK to know what they want and even to complain, but they must do what they are told so they will be safe.
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Understanding what is behind your children’s complaining can go a long way toward diffusing their angry outbursts. Some of that drama is their way of being heard. Anything adults do to show they are listening and understand – which does not mean giving-in – can help calm the situation.
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Problem-solving requires imagination. Anything adults do to encourage children’s imaginations to grow and flourish is groundwork for their being good thinkers and problem-solvers as they grow up. Art of any kind and make-believe are two excellent ways to strengthen imagination and creativity in children.
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All human beings need kindness to survive and thrive. People can offer kindness by words and actions. It is an act of kindness to tell people they care about them, like them, enjoy them, or want to be around them. Hugging, shaking hands, and patting on the back are ways to show kindness. All human beings deserve kindness, but sometimes it is hard for them to believe they deserve it, so they don’t accept it. It is important to remember being kind to others does not mean “anything goes” and that bad behavior is OK. Caring includes having high expectations and holding people responsible for their actions.
Make this Story Come Alive for Your Child
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Ask your child what he might have done to get Poe to go. Ask why he thinks his solutions might have worked?
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Ask your child if she thought asking Poe WHY he wouldn’t go was a good idea? Have her explain why.
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Do an art project together with your child. Make the subject be stubbornness. Make a picture of what stubborn looks like or make a sculpture titles “Stubbornness.” Write a song about it. Tell a story about someone or something being stubborn about something.
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Tell your child in three different ways that you like who she is and enjoy being with her.
Picture Book Parenting 