All About Grooming & Encouraging Good Reading Habits
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clare:
tamarind:
I was merely comparing her death with the way the 6 year old boy Ramo died in the book Island of the Blue Dolphins. Perhaps nowadays adults and children like this type of sensational death scene better ?
Tamarind, I don't understand why you asked \"Perhaps nowadays adults and children like this type of sensational death scene better?\"
Charlotte's Web and Island of the Blue Dolphin were both written in the 50s/60s; both are still in print and enjoyed widely today. I doubt people read IoBD to get a kick out of Ramo's death, nor do teachers introduce IoBD to grade schoolers for that reason. Just because not everyone adores CW doesn't mean that people prefer gory death scenes instead. I don't think how Charlotte died is the deciding factor whether one likes the book. Certainly CW is popular enough - all time best selling children's book is something!
Personally, I don't feel that Ramo's death scene is any more sensational than the deaths in the Harry Potter books. Now, if the world likes Harry Potter because of the death scenes and shuns CW due to C's 'tame' death....
My son hasn't read CW, and if and when he does, I would not ask him which death scene he prefers. And no, he's not a bloodthirsty kid just because he doesn't freak out over descriptive death scenes. He's a sweet, loving little boy and I'm not saying that just because I'm his mom. :lol:
clare,
I was only responding to earlier comments that some kids are not touched by the death scene in Charlotte's Web. I assumed that kids nowadays probably watch too much violence on TV, and so they are insensitive to the low key manner of Charlotte's death. I certainly do not mean that any child or that your son is bloodthirsty. Different children are affected by death scenes in different ways. Your son does not have a younger brother, and he is not a girl, so he will not imagine himself as Karana. But a girl with a younger brother at that age may be more deeply affected when she reads the book.
You are absolutely right that Charlotte's death is not the deciding factor whether one likes the book. The most important parts to me, are when Charlotte explained to Wilbur why she wanted to save his life, her compassion, and the final part when her children flew away in the warm wind, a whimsical tale of the cycle of life and death. When I asked my girl whether she understood why Charlotte wanted to save Wilbur's life, her answer was \"everyone has to die one day\", she knew that Charlotte was just trying to prolong his life.clare:
I believe that it is easy for children under the age of 5 to learn to speak 2 or more languages. Both my kids understand English, Mandarin and Cantonese. But learning to read and write competently are much more difficult than speaking the languages.
Well, over here public schools don't usually offer a second language at kindergarten and grade school level. Private schools do, but the kids are not saddled with the same kind of expectations like in the Singapore system; i guess that takes the stress factor out and they are more keen to learn? My son has European, Russian and Mexican classmates of mixed parentage who are very competent in two or more languages (e.g. Russian, German, AND French) and they can still pick up a foreign language with ease . :shock:tamarind:
In Singapore most kids are already very stressed with 2 languages : English and Chinese, especially when they have to know how to read and write in both languages by the age of 7.
So you are teaching your son Chinese at home ?clare:
I don't trust kids who are 5 years old and below to read silently, no matter how good she is. I want to make sure that she is reading and pronouncing every word correctly. Even when reading aloud, my girl tends to skip 1 or 2 words on each sentence. It is perfectly fine to skip words when reading silently, but at her age, I still want to make sure that she reads every word correctly. I don't mind my girl reading her fairy books silently, but I make sure that she reads my compulsory books aloud :mrgreen:
Hey Tamarind, that's a good way to motivate children to read; I'm glad you mentioned this cos I've run out of ideas to get my daughter to read to me... If this works, a big thank you!tamarind:
I tell her that I love to listen to her reading, and that she makes me very happy when she reads to me.
Mums and dads, i'd like to ask how long, in general, does it take for kids to master reading well silently? -
Hi Clare,
Don’t worry, these Chinese books are picture books (绘本) and so they are not wordy. Many primary schools are now introducing 绘本教材 to arouse kids’ interest towards Chinese and I think it’s a very good idea. At least, I see it working for my kids. Also, they appeal to beginning readers from aged 3 (need to be read to) - 9 (can be independent reading), quite a big age group.
是谁嗯嗯在我的头上? was great fun and I remember I was made to read it over and over again that night I introduced it. Kids laughed so hard they had tears and stomachache. -
Picolo:
That sounds like a wonderful book ! Is it available at Popular bookshop ?
是谁嗯嗯在我的头上? was great fun and I remember I was made to read it over and over again that night I introduced it. Kids laughed so hard they had tears and stomachache. -
Hi Tamarind,
No, but you can find it in our public libraries, or purchase from bookshops (Lingzi media, Maha something..) that sell books from China. After browsing through these books, you probably never want to buy Chinese children story books from Popular again
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Picolo:
I cannot seem to find good chinese children's books at our Jurong West library. Where is Lingzi, Maha ?Hi Tamarind,
No, but you can find it in our public libraries, or purchase from bookshops (Lingzi media, Maha something..) that sell books from China. After browsing through these books, you probably never want to buy Chinese children story books from Popular again -
玲子传媒私人有限公司. LINGZI MEDIA PTE LTD. 48 Toh Guan Road East, #06 -106. Enterprise Hub Tel: 6293 5677
You can call them up to see if they have stocks, otherwise you may be able to pre-order it. If you have problems getting it, I can check with the Chinese teacher if she can bring it in.
To borrow from the public libraries, you can approach the librarians for help on reserving the book. I borrowed it before but it’s not always on the shelf. -
玲子传媒私人有限公司. LINGZI MEDIA PTE LTD. 48 Toh Guan Road East, #06 -106. Enterprise Hub Tel: 6293 5677
You can call them up to see if they have stocks, otherwise you may be able to pre-order it. If you have problems getting it, I can check with the Chinese teacher if she can bring it in.
To borrow from the public libraries, you can approach the librarians for help on reserving the book. I borrowed it before but it’s not always on the shelf. -
Tried to PM but it doesn’t work? Any idea? Is it cos I’m a newbie? Or you can PM your email add to me.
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Wow! I’ve just been upgraded to a Yellow Belt now…heeheehee.
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clare:
I always identify myself with a character, the best ones are 黄蓉, 小龍女 and 王语嫣 :lol: May be girls are more likely to do so.Tamarind, thanks for your clarification, I was worried there for a while.
Actually I have a younger son too, so I appreciate your point about identification with a character. Good reminder that I have to watch out for my daughter who seemingly identifies with every protagonist, male, female or animal!
Picolo,
Thanks for your information. I have just called up Lingzi, will pay them a visit today
clare,
Lingzi is a bookshop where we can browse the books.
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