National CHildren´s author & illustrator week

While a good chunk of the country was experiencing the polar vortex of -15 degrees last week, here in Texas, we experienced cold temperatures in the 40s. Al beit, I craved turning on the fireplace and settling in with one of my favorite books, Emma. While you may be thinking, ¨What a wonderful Jane Austen novel to revisit with Valentine´s Day just around the corner!" To quote ole Sweet Brown, ¨Aint nobody got time for that!" At least not during show week around our house. 

Did you hear? This week is National Children's Author and Illustrator week! Whomever began this celebration week must be an SLP kind of person. The devoted week was created to boost literacy rates and increase engagement in our children. Did you know the Barbra Bush Houston Literacy Foundation found that 43% of adults with the lowest level of literacy live in poverty? Suddenly, reading catapults a leisurely activity into a life changing one.

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Have you seen Jennifer Adams Babylit Primers? These books, illustrated by Alison Oliver, are the ¨practically perfect¨ (can you guess which show we just wrapped?) feature or National Children´s Author & Illustrator week! This particular favorite book of mine is a board book devoted to the emotions of Emma´s subjects of love. Adams is an author after my own heart - combining classic literature with fundamental concepts (perfect for speech therapy!) like colors, shapes, emotions and oh-so-many more. I was beyond thrilled to discover just how many classics Adams has created and couldn't wait to stock my library full of her targeted concepts and beautifully illustrated books. 

Emma also pairs perfectly with Social Thinking´s Zones of Regulations for our preschoolers.  These books help elicit natural opportunities for discussions about each other's feelings (more about the Zones next week!). Oliver´s charming illustrations lend themselves to exploring what our own faces look as though we are surprised like Mr. Weston or sad like Emma´s dear friend Harriet.

So, how can you celebrate this wonderful week of lovely literature?

VISIT your local library or favorite book store and discover a new favorite author. My mother taught kindergarten for 20 something years. She was always discovering new children´s authors and taking us to book signings. I remember how exciting it was to visit local book stores with new stories to uncover.

ENJOY watching you or your child's favorite celebrities read children's literature over at www.StorylineOnline.net including Kristen Bell, Oprah Winfrey and Chris Pine (just to name a few!). 

GET CREATIVE write and illustrate a book with your child. What better way to celebrate than becoming your own author and illustrator. When I was a kid I remember being fascinated with the idea of publishing my own book. You can easily do this with pencil and paper using a simple binding technique like these. But if you want take it up a notch check out Lulu's Illustory Book Making Kit!

​CONTACT your child´s favorite author or illustrator. Most author´s have their own websites with contact. However, on the off chance they do not you can always reach out to the publisher for additional contact information. 

​LISTEN to audio books and podcasts about the inspiration for children's books and "behind the scenes" fun at All the Wonders. ​

This past fall, my mother brought me a bag full of yellow paged books from my childhood. There was once a time I kept those books thinking my own children would read them, but their worn covers and brittle pages were not as appealing to my kids as they once were to me. I think I´ll celebrate this week with a book from that bag- a book that takes me back to a time where my biggest obstacle to overcome was staying up late enough to finish my book.

Hope you all enjoy celebrating authors and illustrators this week!

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