I started this feature in order to not only give children's books more time and space, but to hear from a child about the very books they should (or should not) be reading. Eleanor often pretends to be blogging on her own 'laptop' and I thought this would be a fun way to combine the two things I love most: my daughter, and books.
While I try not to blog too much while Eleanor and I are both home, she knows that I write about books I love and loathe, and that I have a blog. I asked if she would like to tell people what she thinks of kids' books, and if we could put her ideas on my blog too. She liked this idea a lot. I explained to Eleanor what the star-rating means, and that she can say anything she thinks about the book, that nothing is wrong; she can talk about things she did or did not like, as well as how the story made her feel. She now asks as soon as we finish a book if we can talk and write about it.
Here are Eleanor's thoughts on a few of our recent reads, straight out of her five year old brain:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eleanor Says: I did not like the tornado because it almost killed them. I liked that Jeb was mean at first but then they became friends. If you want to become friends with someone, be nice and say hi. And then if you see each other a lot more times you might become friends. Jack and Annie and Jeb became friends.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eleanor Says: They were freaking out because of the big wave. It came from the ocean because of the earthquake. They were safe. I didn't like when they laughed at Jack. I liked when they were all happy and friends again at the end. They told their story of everything they did with a hula dance.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eleanor Says: It was funny when the gorillas played with Jack and Annie. I didn't like when Jack scared Bu-Bu. I liked when they all played together. Big Guy was happy, he patted Jack on the head after Jack scared the black leopard away.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eleanor Says: I liked it because Otis and Olive helped Jack and Annie. They helped them since they got kicked out of the game. They helped them with secret shortcuts. I didn't like when the not nice people said mean things to Jackie Robinson.
The Magic Treehouse books for some reason kinda remind me of the old Choose Your Own Adventure books, maybe because they present so many different scenarios. Although I imagine the Treehouse books are a little more educational and probably better written- I loved the CYOA's but I don't think they'd win any writing awards, from what I remember lol.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED the Choose Your Own Adventure books too! I also do not recall them being stellar literature, but they were fun. The Magic Tree House books are definitely not the greatest either, everything is 'said', even when asking questions. I usually substitute in words like 'asked', 'replied', 'wondered', etc so there is more variety. Eleanor is also reading them out loud to me, so said is fine for now in that regard.
DeleteThere are SO many great children's books out there now. Not so much when I was growing up which might explain why I was a kinda late starter. Making up for it now though!
ReplyDeleteAgreed! I am glad that there has been such an explosion in childrens' lit in the last thirty years (perfect for me anyway, as it happened right around the time I was really getting into reading on me own). While these will not win any literary prizes, they are such a great way to introduce young readers to such a wide variety of world history.
DeleteRaising a blogger! I wonder what form blogs will take when Eleanor is grown.
ReplyDeleteEleanor, once again I enjoyed your reviews.
I wonder the same thing! Perhaps it will all be vlogs and we will move away from the written word altogether - though I truly truly hope not!!
DeleteEleanor says thank you :)