Attention Preschoolers! Vote Now! « Missouri Humanities Council

Attention Preschoolers! Vote Now!

by Julie Douglas, MHC Family Reading Program Director

Julie Douglas The campaign is on. No, I am not talking about the politicians who are vying for our attention as summer turns to fall. I’m referring to the election where the candidates include a dog, a pout-pout fish, a horse, rabbits, pigs, and dust bunnies (to name a few!), and the voters are preschoolers. The race for the 2010 Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award is on, and your child can be a part of the excitement.

Started in 1996, the Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award is awarded each year to the picture book voted most popular by preschoolers across the state. Children who have not yet entered first grade are encouraged to explore at least five of the ten nominees and then vote on their favorite. Votes can be cast at the library, or online at http://www.kclibrary.org/kids/missouri-building-block-picture-book-awards-nominees-2010 . The voting ends on December 31, 2010, and the winner will be announced in February 2011.

Because the voters are, for the most part, children who are pre-readers, the contest encourages parents and caregivers to read aloud. Listening to the ten nominated books is loads of fun for the kids, but little do they know it is also GOOD for them! The Missouri Library Association gives 17 great reasons for reading to young children:

1. Creates an interest in books and a desire to learn to read.

2. Develops a taste for fine literature (high literacy and artistic quality).

3. Expands vocabulary; provides opportunity for children to hear, understand and adopt new works; hear familiar words used in new contexts.

4. Develops listening skills.

5. Familiarizes children with the “sound” of written language; they gain some sense of the relationship between oral and written language.

6. Encourages children to see reading as a pleasurable experience and books as a source of delight.

7. Broadens children’s experiences to things they might not have the opportunity to do or to places they have not been.

8. Introduces children to and prepares them for new situations they are likely to encounter (e.g. a new baby in the family, moving to a new neighborhood).

9. Teaches that all people share similar feelings and needs and that other children have similar
experiences (e.g. starting school, having a birthday party).

10. Allows children to imagine, dream and laugh.

11. Helps children learn new ideas, concepts and information.

12. Provides opportunity to learn group skills (taking turns, sharing, respecting rights of others, contributing to discussion).

13. Fosters motivation, self-esteem and self-confidence.

14. Improves comprehension and visual skills; increases attention span.

15. Teaches concepts about “story” (beginning, middle, end; characters; plot; setting).

16. Teaches concepts about print: printed works have meaning; spoken words can be printed; pictures go with words; spaces between words; signals/punctuation marks and capital letters help reader know when to start, pause, and stop; pages have numbers; we read from left to right and top to bottom; read from bottom of one page to top of next; turning pages from front of book to back.

17. It’s FUN for the reader and the listener.

I Can Do It Myself! by Diane Adams, illustrated by Nancy Hayashi (2009, Peachtree Publishers)