Week One: The Child Responds to Literature
This week I was introduced to the text by reading chapter one. It discusses how adults are responsible for helping their children become interested in literature. My mom read to me as a child and I've loved books ever since I can remember. Chapter one discusses how literature plays a part in helping us understand our cultural heriatage. It stresses the importance of considering children's stages of language, cognitive, personality, and social development when choosing books to share with kids. The differnent stages of development can determine how a child appreciates and understands literature and how they respond to it as well.

This week, I read There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. This book is appropriate for language development in a child. It is very repetitive and talks about different animals. The book uses rhyming words and it is full of colorful pictures. This book gives children lots of opportunities for oral language activities that relate to the story.

I also read Eric Carle's The Mixed-Up Chameleon. This is a great book to use to introduce social development. The book is about a chameleon who visits a zoo and is curious about the other animals. He wants "ears like an elephant and a tongue like a frog." This book encourages role-playing and expands the imagination.