My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

Friday, May 4, 2018

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

Written by: Fredrik Backman

First line: Every seven-year-old deserves a superhero.

Why you should read this book: Elsa, an unreliable child narrator with a love of literature like Harry Potter, Spiderman comics, and Wikipedia knows that she's different, and while she suffers at school, she thrives in the love of her rebellious, unconventional, story-telling best friend, her grandmother. When Granny dies, Elsa finds herself cut off from the fairy tale land of her grandmother's invention, which had always sustained her through difficult times. Meanwhile, her grandmother has charged her with a quest of finding and delivering a series of posthumous apologies to people from her past, and Elsa begins to find magic again in her newfound understanding of who her grandmother was, and who she wants to be.

Why you should read this book: You're an educator who discourages imagination in children.

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Studies show that children who regularly hear books read and see adults reading books have an easier time learning to read. If your children do not realize that books are fun and contain interesting ideas, they will be less motivated to learn how to read and write. Children who do not learn to read and write have difficulty succeeding in school and at life.

Even infants can enjoy books. You can check baby board books out of the library. Your baby will enjoy sitting on your lap as you read the words and point to the brightly colored pictures. If your baby wants to chew on the book, that's OK too.

Toddlers and pre-schoolers should understand how to hold a book (right side up) and how to turn the pages (left to right in English). Even if they're not ready to read, you can help your child prepare for school by teaching them how to talk about the stories they've heard. Pre-schoolers should be able to tell you something about character, setting, conflict, and resolution. After reading a story, prompt your child to tell you who the story was about, where it happened, what the problem was, and how it was solved.

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You can learn more about children's books at the American Library Association website. Your public library is a great place to introduce your children to books. They will have special programs and incentives for kids of all ages to love reading. In most systems children are entitled to their own library cards from the time they are old enough to write their own names. It's a great way to teach responsibility as well as foster a lifelong love of learning and books.

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Dragon's Library

Friday, May 4, 2018