We began reading The Trumpet of the Swan by EB White this evening. After a week or so with only picture books for our Read Alouds, I knew the kids were itching for something a bit longer for their night time listening.
We read the first four chapters tonight. Abigail loved realising that, "Mummy, there are two Sams: one in the story and one here in our family [pointing to Samuel sitting listening intently next to her]... and there is another Sam that we know as well..."
The character Sam writes in his diary at the end of each day something of the day's events. As soon as I announced that was enough for tonight, Anna headed off to get her "diary" - a lined book we gave her for Christmas back in 2007 - and began "writing" in it. When she "writes" like that, it is just a line of up and down zig-zag scratchings, but she says aloud what she wants the writing to say. She explained to me as I looked over her shoulder that I couldn't read what she had written, but she knew what it said. I asked if she wanted me to write it down in her diary in normal handwriting, and she said yes. This is what she dictated to me:
I like the book because it had baby eggs in it. They hatched in Chapter 4. It was very nice because they hatched and went over to Sam. They all, but except one, said "Beep", but one just opened its mouth but it couldn't say anything. But it just pulled his shoelace until it was untied.
(In case you are wondering, Anna read the chapter titles for me for each chapter, that's how she knew it was Chapter 4 when the eggs hatched. Technically it was Chapter 3, but Sam only discovered the newly hatched chicks in Chapter 4.)
Anna even asked me if I could write it out for her into one of her writing books (with 18mm ruled dotted thirds lined paper) for her to trace tomorrow. What a perfect penmanship exercise for her! It is slightly longer than her usual tracework tasks, but because it is her own words, I don't think she will have any problem with enthusiasm for the task, even if physically she needs to take it in two sittings.
[Cover image from Dymocks.]
Sunday 5 April 2009
And Loving Literature
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3 comments:
We love this book, as you probably know. The kids have listened to E.B. White's reading many times. I love that when Montana or swans or Boston or night clubs(!) come into the conversation, the kids say, "I know about that because of The Trumpeter of the Swan.
It would be a good time to pull out Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings when you get to the part about Boston, for another story that touches on the Boston Public Garden, with wonderful illustrations.
Thanks for the recommendation. I will ask for it at the library.
~Sharon
After I posted the comment above, I was doing something totally different, not thinking about this at all and then suddenly---"It's Trumpet of the Swan, not Trumpeter! I wrote 'Trumpeter'!"
I'm forever getting that title mixed up with The Trumpeter of Krakow. The two books have nothing in common, but the titles mix up in my mind.
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