Has your child ever wondered what your pets do while they’re away at school? Jean Reidy and Lucy Ruth Cummins’ Truman imagines a turtle’s worries about his girl when she leaves home for the day. This delightful read-aloud offers up a fun story, charming illustrations, and even some vocabulary boosters!
Never fear big words in picture books like this one! You may be tempted to skip over words like “pensive,” “uncharted,” or “unsettling.” Don’t! Picture books like Truman are the perfect opportunity to introduce new and unfamiliar words to young listeners. Sometimes they will figure out what new words mean as you read the story and other times you need to give them a little explanation.
Take the word “pensive.” I once read this book aloud to a group of young kindergartners and asked if anyone knew what that word meant. They offered some cute and fun answers (I love their creativity!) but since the word was new, they didn’t know! I explained to my young audience that pensive meant to be thoughtful, thinking. I tapped my head and encouraged them to do the same when I read aloud that word while reading the story. By the end of the book, the whole classroom had a new word added to their vocabulary. (I demonstrate this skill in this video on the Tulsa City-County Library YouTube page, starting at around 11:27.)
Whether as a vehicle for new vocabulary or just a fun and inventive tale, Truman is a lovely story and a joyous read!
- Sarah Davis, MLIS, Youth Librarian, Herman and Kate Kaiser Library