Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers: TCBR AWARENESS TOUR: Letter Sounds Abound by Catherine S. Young

Hi guys!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're teaming up with The Children's Book Review as we steal away a spot on their current AWARENESS TOUR starring a book that aims to help build confidence in the wee ones as they learn, grow, and become the next generation of readers! Sound like a lot to accomplish for a Picture Book? I suppose it might, but, from the sound of things, it casts its wordy spell rather well...and if that wasn't enough to incite, I've got a special GUEST POST for you from the author herself featuring her FAVORITE WORDS FOR BEGINNERS AND BEYOND, which is SUCH a fun post, if I do say so myself. So, gather round, and prepare to learn as we take a walk between the pages of today's title in the spotlight...

Letter Sounds Abound

Catherine S. Young

Illustrated by

Victoria Gesner

9781778066702

Practice Reader Books

About the book...

Letter Sounds Abound is a friendly alphabet book that highlights big ideas about how written language works for preschool and kindergarten children. It focuses on the most common letter-sound relationships while helping children tune in to the fact that letters can make different sounds in different situations to avoid confusion for beginners. The rhyming text makes it fun for parents to read to their children time and again, while simple line drawings inspire imagination without competing for attention with text.

AMAZON

Practice Readers Books

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~~~ GUEST POST ~~~

My Favorite Words for Beginner Readers and Beyond

My favorite words for a beginning reader would be the ones that allow them to practice the alphabetic knowledge they have (decode) to develop fluency, and those words that help them unlock a new aspect of the alphabetic code. The term ‘beginner reader’ is pretty general and can mean a lot of different things to different people. When writing books for beginners I often lean on Linnea Ehri’s phases of word learning, as the phases are readily recognizable and help me imagine how a book will be read. I believe certain kinds of words can have special appeal for beginners at each phase.

Bearing all that in mind, here are my top words (or at least word types) for beginner readers… and beyond.

Fizz! Pop! Tick, tock, clock!

Readers at the partial alphabetic phase can match some letters of the alphabet to sounds, and already start to enjoy the rewarding experience of reading short silly sound words. Onomatopeias (sound words) have a certain universal appeal both before and after reading begins (my middle son was almost entirely unwilling to sit through any book that did not contain animal sounds for almost a year). What’s great about sound words is simply that they sound like what they mean, which is both silly and meaningful. At the same time, they tend to be read in an exaggerated way which, in my opinion, may make them especially helpful for honing phonics and phonemic awareness skills. Pepper in some text emphasis (e.g., bold/font size/caps/punctuation) or repeated sounds and you’ve got the makings of some irresistible text.

Great authors who get this?

Mo Willems. Who can read “Fr-ip! Br-ip! Vr-ip!” in Listen to My Trumpet without having a bit of fun?

Robert Munch. It’s hard to sit still reading lines like this from Smelly Socks, “So Tina got in the boat and rowed slowly SPLISH SPLASH SPLASH. and the boat went in slow circles SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!”

Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss). Sometimes the English language hasn’t come up with the word you need yet. Highly decodable words like zizzer-zazzer-zuz add great humor, while also taking some of the pressure off a child to recognize all words automatically. Interestingly, researchers have even been able to quantify how funny a nonsense word is based on how close it is to existing words.

Best not eggspect a slithy lupper.

A little nonsense is suitable for all ages, but in my opinion the judicious use of portmanteaus, or word blends, start to get traction with children at the full alphabetic phase (matching all letters of the alphabet to sounds, while still engaged in slow, conscious sounding out of words). This phase can be a tough slog, and learning any new skill requires taking risks and making mistakes. It can embolden kids to have a fun reminder that they are developing the skills to read unknown words, and that it’s OK to stop and take a minute to think about what they’re reading – reading is not about fluency at all costs.

Moreover, encountering a word like ‘eggspect’ is a great opportunity to model playful curiosity. How is the word similar or different from other words? Is this suspiciously recognizable word a conventional one we can find in the dictionary? What makes a word real or made up anyway?

Lewis Carroll is well known for bringing us some great sensical non-sense words like slithy (slimy + lithe) and frumious (fuming + furious) in Jabberwocky among other works. The words are a reward in and of themselves.

May-bee lawsuits? Maybe law suits?

Last, but not least, there’s nothing more sofishtocated than a good pun. Call them corny, but there’s a reason why this kind of word play is perennial. And for the consolidated alphabetic reader (reading by letter chunks and learning more advanced spellings), they’re a great way to have fun exploring spelling conventions and word meanings.

So, the next time your beginner reader is feeling frustrated with a text, be sure to remind them to take a deep breath or break and try again. You know they’re going to snail it.

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About the author...

Catherine S. Young has spent her career putting research insights into practice across the spheres of education, public health, and electronics. The proud mother of three delightful developing readers, she founded Practice Readers Books to provide evidence-aligned books to support the unique needs of fledgling readers (and their parents) at school and at home.

For more information, visit https://practicereaders.ca/collections/alphabet-books.

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About the illustrator...

For more information, visit https://practicereaders.ca/collections/alphabet-books.

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Enter for a chance to win a signed copy of Letter Sounds Abound, the companion practice book Alphabet Print and Colour, a beginner’s notebook, and a set of alphabet letter magnets!

One (1) grand prize winner receives:

- An autographed copy of Letter Sounds Abound

- A copy of Alphabet Print and Colour

- A beginner's notebook

-A set of magnetic alphabet letters

Two (2) winners receive:

- An autographed copy of Letter Sounds Abound

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Special thanks to Bianca at The Children's Book Review for the chance to bring this tour to you and to the author for the guest post. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. Be sure to check out the rest of the stops on the tour for more bookish fun!

TOUR SCHEDULE

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

The Children’s Book Review

A book review of Letter Sounds Abound

Thursday, June 23, 2022

The Momma Spot

A book review of Letter Sounds Abound

Friday, June 24, 2022

Writer with Wanderlust

A book review of Letter Sounds Abound

Monday, June 27, 2022

The Review Wire