hello

Hello - Dad here...

Valerie and Jessica are out at the moment so I thought I would take a rare opportunity to add something to the blog. Much of my time these days seems to be taken up with reading, making up stories or being 'the second best dancer in the world' (Jessica is the best!) so not much time to get on line. Note to self - must buy a laptop.
Jessica's enjoyment of books and stories is undiminshed. She gobbles them up like an 'incredible book-eating' girl. As Val has already mentioned she has moved on to wanting Mummy and Daddy to make up stories with various toys. She even makes a decent effort at inventing some herself when prompted. Her stories usually involve a car, or some such like, going to the local supermarket and observations made on the way (bridges, car parks,animals etc). In addition she includes her typically British fascination of the weather conditions! It's a lovely phase.
I am particularly enjoying the following books with Jessica at present:
'Again' by Ian Whybrow and Sebastien Braun. Lovely rhymes and pictures. It's lovely to see a male character reading to his cub and friends. The authors understand the magic of books.
'Wriggle and Roar' by Julia Donaldson and Nick Sharratt. Jessica has lots of fun joining in with some of the poems and listening to others.
We also enjoy anything by Lynley Dodd. I love the character of Scarface Claw.

I thoroughly endorse the views of Val over the Michael Rosen programme. Why show it at 10.30pm on BBC4? If it had been about cooking/diet it would have been on a mainstream channel at 8pm. It was good to see Caitlin Moran make a similar point, albeit briefly, in The Times yesterday. The other point I would like to make about this topic is that cookery programmes are generally based on adding to consumers fear that they need to eat healthily or their (and their children's) arteries will clog and they will die. It's a horrible, draconian way of trying to get a message over. There's none of that with books - it's more of a try it and, after a while, I can almost guarantee you will like it! It won't hurt you particularly if you don't read but there is so much to be gained if you do. The only fear is in the content of certain books!

Talking of fear, I recently read 'Duma Key' by Stephen King. That is an excellent, page turning and often creepy story. I am enjoying Stephen King novels again after quite a few years off them. He is a master story teller and actually a very good writer as well as being hugely popular.
My next book is 'Only Forward' by Michael Marshall Smith - suggested by a friend. Looking forward to reading something by an author previously unknown to me. I'll let you know how it goes! As part of this exchange of authors I have got my friend into Neil Gaiman who, I believe, is one of the finest imaginative authors around. He is thoroughly enjoying 'Neverwhere' at present which is a fantastic fantasy based in and under London. Those who enjoyed the way Phillip Pulman creates a world that is alien yet familiar would love it.

Lastly, I can't believe my daughter is already 27 months old. Time is flying and I intend to savour every moment I can so I'd better be off. Games to play, books to read!

Book of the week...

...this week it has to be the stupendously brilliant Wriggle and Roar by the splendid Julia Donaldson. Jessicat loves the rhymes and the bright illustrations that accompany them. This book could appeal to a child from about 18 months to 5 years old; it really is that versatile, and can work on several levels. Well worth trying with children who think that they won't like poetry.

The Micheal Rosen programme was as inspiring as I expected it to be. His advice to parents - take your kids to the library and read to them a bit more - was hardly earth shatteringly novel, but one that's well worth repeating as a lot of people still haven't got the message. Disappointing to see so many spanking new computers in a school, and such an impoverished and uninspiring library. Wish the programme could have been shown on terrestrial channels, where it would surely have reached a wider audience.

Jess continues to plague us for stories. Every morning, she comes into bed with us for a cuddle, and demands "Make up a story, Mummy" (or Daddy). Not as easy as it sounds when you are bleary and tired at 7am. But she would listen to made up stories ALL DAY LONG. I find I can't keep manufacturing them at a rate to keep her satisfied, even though I can still get away with a simple narrative and few characters.

As of February 2009, these are some of Jessica's favourite things:

Books - really difficult to choose, but she seems keen on poetry at the moment. And any books involving Thomas the Tank Engine (ugh).
TV Programme - Higgeldy House, Nuzzle and Scratch, Peppa Pig
Meal - sausages with baked beans followed by jelly.

A book all parents should read

As I seem to be plugging things today, let me recommend the book Baby Talk by Dr Sally Ward. This comprehensive and approachable book gives detailed advice on how to help and support your baby's developing communication skills. Refreshingly, it has a lot of advice on how to encourage children to listen - what a neglected skill this is - as well as how to talk. It's a great book and one that should be given to all parents when they leave the maternity ward. One moan: a lot of the advice given seems rather obvious (eg. don't always have the TV on in the background; read to your child; talk to your child as you play together etc), and much of the advice should be things that come naturally to the vast majority of parents. But it's still a worthwhile read simply down to the amount of detail included for each age and stage, and it's certainly a book I find myself going back to again and again.

Programmes to watch on BBC4

Really excited about a new series of programmes starting on BBC4 tonight. The first one is called Just Read and it's presented by the inimitable Michael Rosen (his presence alone guarentees something of interest), and shows him trying to get a group of primary school children excited about reading. Apparently, some of these children have never visited a library before, and Michael has to persuade the education authorities that it's worth interrupting normal lessons to get his book loving message across. How depressing to think that isn't seen as something crucial to primary school education. It's part of a season of programmes called Why Reading Matters, and I am hoping to write more about this later on.

Blog coming back to life...

I've taken a lenghty break from blogging for a few reasons. Firstly, and mainly, I've been busy with work, with caring for Jessicat, and I have much less free time now her naps have become so much more erratic. Also, I was concerned that the blog was becoming just a list of books that Jessica and me were sharing, so of limited interest to anyone else. As the blog is about Jessica's reading adventures, I'm always going to want to reflect what books we have on the go, but now I'm planning to broaden our topics to include literacy related issues and parenting issues.

A lot has happened over the last 3 months. Jessica had her second birthday (and was very excited to receive a garage and a road mat), and of course, we have had Christmas celebrations as well. It was an utter joy this year to see her excitement about the lights, decorations, family visits and, of course, Father Christmas.

2009 will have a lot of challenges for us. First up looks to be potty training. Then there's the thorny issue of pre-school: both when to start it and where to go. I hope to do some more detailed entries in the future about Jessica's development, her social life, our family activities and provide some tips on how to promote a love of reading in children.