Using Picture Books to Support Young Children's Literacy‪.‬

Five-year-old Levi is listening to his teacher read Why Epossumondas Has No Hair on His Tail (Salley, 2004). This richly woven and engaging tale includes several unfamiliar words, like "lollygagging," "skedaddle," and "persimmon." It also contains phrases that Levi has never heard before, including "my sweet little pattootie" and "no sirree." Because the art and text so beautifully express the joy of eating a persimmon, Levi asks questions about the fruit once the teacher has finished the story. The next day, the teacher brings several persimmons to class. As the children examine them, cut them, and taste them, they recall the events in the story, sing the song that is part of the story, and remember such rich descriptive terms as "powder-puff tails." Later, in the art area, Levi draws a sketch of a persimmon and tries to write the word, coming up with "PRSMN." The children ask to sing the song about persimmons for the next several days. The teacher suggests that they change the words to create their own version. She writes their version on large chart paper. In the library area, two weeks after the initial whole-group story reading, three children are making the "RRRRRR" sound of Papapossum's stomach as they point to the text in the book that matches the sound. Two of them decide to go into the art area and make puppets to act out the story. As the teacher watches them glue wiggly eyes and a tail made out of yarn onto a large oval shape they have cut out from cardboard, she asks, "What do you think are some good things about not having hair on your tail?" This example shows the multiple ways in which a picture book can support literacy in the classroom. Literacy skills can be embedded when using an engaging children's picture book, as in the example above, instead of focusing on skills in isolation (as in "letter of the week" types of activities).