I must tell you … this book is HILARIOUS!
There’s a BIG SURPRISE in the middle and no, I am not giving it away! You’re going to have to get it and read it yourselves!
When I first saw it on the “new books” shelf at my local library I grabbed it right away. We are BIG fans of Leslie Patricelli books in our house. Have been since my guy was a wee one. Her books have always been winners for us. And this one was no different.
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Thoughts On Reading Easy Books With Children
So this is how things went when I brought the book home from the library.
We read it before bed one night. I should note that I read this book to an 8-year old who was in second grade at the time … and was reading above his grade level.
He loved it. He adored it. We laughed. We found the surprise and were so impressed at the brilliance of this little book.
Which leads me to an important point for all of us grown-ups to keep in mind when selecting books for our children.
Kids want and can and should should be reading books from many different reading levels. Especially for their book reading that happens at home (versus in school). For my child I kept the focus on the books that he enjoyed. We never ever read “for practice”. In spite of what his public school teachers asked us to do. Instead we always, always read for enjoyment. My focus was to raise a child who loved reading. At the time I felt that wasn’t possible if reading was work for him. How would he ever discover the fun side of reading.
My child is now a teenager. He has homeschooled since fourth grade. He loves to read. He has a stack of books in his room at all times that he is reading from. He reads broadly – different types of books, different genres, fiction, and non-fiction. He reads far above his grade level. His success is only one point of data in the world of research. And taken by itself it doesn’t tell you that what I did will work for you.
That’s where the research findings come in. Mary Gallagher, who ran the education website “Teach a Child to Read” often stressed the point of reading for enjoyment. She encouraged parents to focus on real books (rather than text books or leveled reading books) and books that were enjoyed by kids. She always said to have kids read easier books rather than more difficult. She supported that advice well with research. Her website is no longer active, but as of the publication of this article you can still view her Facebook page and find many helpful tips.
Jim Trelease’s book (one of the “bibles” of teaching reading) The Read-Aloud Handbook also includes research findings that support what happened in my personal experience. You can read more about this book and why it is so helpful to parents at my review here.
In addition to the recommendations of Gallagher and Trelease, a general guideline you can follow is look to read hard books, easy books, baby books, magazines, catalogues, DVD covers. Read anything you find to be interesting and appropriate to the age of your child. If your child needs help with words they will let you know.
Keep reading aloud with your kids. There is research that says we should keep reading to our kids until they are as old as 14 – and that this strategy will help them to be strong, life-long readers. Interesting idea isn’t it.
Fun Facts
Author/illustrator Leslie Patricelli is brilliant at what she does. Here are a few fun facts that will help you with your child’s reading journey.
- Her books are very funny – for both kids and adults. Visit your local library and check out every single Leslie Patricelli book they have on the shelves. These books will equal lots of read-aloud enjoyment and memories with your child.
- Many of Patricelli’s books feature a particular beloved and bald baby character. Is the character a boy or a girl? Is that character in the book Bigger Bigger? Might be … you’ll need to read the book to find out.
- She creates illustrations with rich and vibrant color – very appealing to little ones. Many of her books are published in board book format but Bigger Bigger is published in large picture book format. I felt that the paper used in that book format made the illustrations even more robust with almost a three dimensional feel to them.
- Cats: There’s a picture of a cat in this book. To be honest there always seems to be a cat in picture books. It’s a thing; probably of interest to cat lovers. Watch for them. Someday I may write a little book listing all the children’s books that include pictures of cats.
Book Facts
Author / Illustrator: Leslie Patricelli
Copyright: 2018
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Age Range: Little Ones – Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers, Ages birth to 5
About the Book Art: The book is hand-lettered. The illustrations were created using acrylic paints.
Additional Resources
- Candlewick Press is the publisher for Bigger! Bigger!. They are an excellent publisher of children’s books and have published many great stories.
- Leslie Patricelli’s website is www.lesliepatricelli.com. Visiting her site is a great way to “meet” her and read what she says about her own books. She also has some fun stuff to buy directly from her in her online store. I have my eye on one of her art prints!
Get This Book
Bigger Bigger is available both new and used. It comes in paperback and hardcover editions. Many of Leslie Patricelli’s books also come in board book format.
Buy this book NEW from:
Buy this book USED from:
* When you buy from Bookshop and Biblio you support “indies” aka “independent booksellers”. Your purchase helps keep the independent and diversified voices of book curation alive and well! Learn more here.
This book is also commonly available at thrift and consignment stores.
BORROW this book from your local library:
Visit your local library to borrow a copy of this book. Your local library will also likely have additional books by Leslie Patricelli on their shelves.
Bigger! Bigger! is only available as a picture book at the time of this article; however, many of Leslie’s books are available as both picture books and board books.
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Back to School 2023 and How I Buy Books This Year