The short (or long or tall) of it: A concept book is a picture book that teaches a broad concept to young readers. Examples? Alphabet books, number books, books about c o l o r s , opposites, books about feelings and emotions. A concept is an idea, an abstract notion. Here's the rub. Very young readers are concrete thinkers, very "here and now." Luckily concept books do not have to teach the alphabetic principle, or algebra, or color theory. They teach what toddlers and young preschoolers can see, hear, touch, and feel - the upper and lowercase, quiet and loud, and happy and sad face of things. Three concept books by DENISE FLEMING: LUNCH (1998) from Henry Holt and Co. Concept: Colors. A toothsome mouse, called Mouse, eats his way through the primary and secondary colors and then some. The pictures are deliciously big. Bon appetit! The emergent literacy bent: The text is sparse and the letters large, fostering print awareness. Point out a few words as yo
I've always adored The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and The BIG HUNGRY BEAR. Great book.
ReplyDeleteI love it as well and can't believe I did not know about it when my kids were little. It is available in board book format for babies and toddlers, but I prefer the original hardcover. The pictures are big and luscious and FUNNY.
ReplyDelete