Ahhhh... getting kids to sound out words can be a tricky thing oftentimes. Sometimes the sounds they hear don't match the letters they need to spell a word correctly. Today's book highlights that fact and shines a light on the way kid's feel when learning to read and spell out words.
Unwrapping...
"Phoebe Sounds It Out"
Authored by Julie Zwillich
Illustrated by Denise Holmes
Ages 3-6
Unwrapping Illustrations for you to enjoy...
About the book...
A sweet little girl named Phoebe, dons her rainboots (even though it's not raining) and heads off to school. Once there she is confronted with a challenge from her teacher Ms. Martha to try and write her name. Her classmates will do the same.
Ms. April, a teacher assistant, struts around the room playing her guitar to calm and encourage the kids as they write by singing:
"Just sound it out."
Phoebe tries, she really does. She consults the alphabet chart hanging in her classroom and tries her hardest to figure out why the letters she needs for her name and the sounds she hears don't match up properly. Oh my! She doesn't give up, she is determined to write her very own name just the way it sounds. She does her very best but alas the proper spelling does not coincide correctly with the audio she hears.
Ms. Martha wisely allows her students to crown their hard work with shiny, red glitter and then she hangs their efforts up for all to see and to celebrate. Ms. Martha doesn't criticize or belittle the evident errors but is encouraging to all her students and smilingly says:
"What a great start."
Kudos to her for instilling positivity, a wonderful sense of self-worth and pride into each child. The reader understands that with Ms. Martha's patience and loving care these kids are going to excel.
I love the aspects of encouragement and acceptance that both teacher and her assistant showed to the fledgling class. The illustrations, although simple, are kid-friendly and very expressive. This is a wonderful book to share with those who are beginning to read and write. It also imparts valuable information for parents who now can understand better what their child is going through when kids process their reading and writing skills.
I love the aspects of encouragement and acceptance that both teacher and her assistant showed to the fledgling class. The illustrations, although simple, are kid-friendly and very expressive. This is a wonderful book to share with those who are beginning to read and write. It also imparts valuable information for parents who now can understand better what their child is going through when kids process their reading and writing skills.
Storywraps rating: 4 Hugs!!!!
About the author...
Julie Zwillich was raised in Denver, CO, where the mountains are beautiful, and Hershey, PA, where the air smells like chocolate. After studying film at McGill University she immigrated to Canada, where the people know how to drive in winter. Her first book, Phoebe Sounds it Out, arrives on shelves in 2017. She’s currently working on a second Phoebe book as well as a middle-grade novel.
When she's not writing books, Julie hosts and writes television programs. She’s best known for her shows on Food Network (Summer’s Best), CBC (Surprise! It’s Edible Incredible!), TSN (SWEAT) and TVOKids. She also does animation voices (Beyblade, The Blobs) and long-form commercials (KitchenAid).
Julie lives in Central Oregon with her husband and 9-year-old twins. Follow on twitter @juliezwillich
About the illustrator...
A native of the Detroit area, Denise's passion for illustration goes all the way back to the age of three, when she would draw portraits of her enormous extended family. After earning her BFA at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, she worked every job from a server to sales associate, freelancing on the side and always dreaming of illustrating children's books. She got her break in 2012, with If I Wrote A Book About You by Stephany Aulenback (published by Simply Read Books). Since then, her projects have included two children's activity books and The Yoga Game Series written by Kathy Beliveau. This coming year she will have three books published; The Yoga Game in the Garden (Fall 2016) Simply Read Books, Where Are The Words? written by Jodi McKay (December 2016) Albert Whitman & Co. and Phoebe Sounds it Out by Julie Zwillich (April 2017) OwlKids Books. Denise lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter.
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