I am a Big Brother

I bought this book for Sarath just to get him comfortable about talking about the baby and the fact that he is going to be a big brother. This is a very nice book. Sarath loves it. He has memorized the entire book and reads it aloud himself.

The good part about the book is that they do not mention if the baby is a boy or a girl. The book focuses on the big brother playing with the baby. It also talks about all the things that babies cannot do like not able to eat pizza or apples or ice cream or play outside but, the big brother can do all those things. That makes the elder sibling very happy and proud. The one thing I specifically liked is the part where the baby cries and the big brother knows that it is crying for a reason. We are constantly telling Sarath to stop whining and crying and use his words if he wants something. So, now Sarath understands the fact that the baby will cry because he/she cannot talk.

It is a wonderful book and is very apt for ages 2-4. I also like the size of the book. It is just right for the little minds and best for bedtime (although we end up reading the book twice or thrice every night).

My mother tongue

I came across this interesting question at the Tulika Books about mother tongue.

How different are the written and spoken forms of your first language? If you want children to become familiar with their first language, which form would you look for in children’s books – formal or informal? Why?

My mother tongue is Telugu. I can read, write and of course speak the language. Yes there are differences between the written and spoken forms of the language. Written form is more formal and professional compared to the spoken form. There a lot of dialects which affect the way the language is spoken. When I was learning the language as a kid, I made an effort to learn the language that I spoke day and night. But, learning both forms of the language is equally important.

I would prefer kids books to be informal. That sparks interest in the kids and is also easier to understand. We live in the US and my son speaks Telugu at home. We read him books in English and Telugu and he loves it. These books have simple language and really simple stories (which may seem even silly to us).

Raising a Reader

I was always fond of books for as long as I can remember. As a kid I read books regularly. I used to go to libraries with my uncle and I loved it. So, when I had a son, I wanted him to be a book lover. Books are always great companions.

My son showed interest in books since he was around 7 months old. He always liked to look at books (even the ones with out pictures). So, we bought him simple board books which were easy for him to handle. We read to him almost everyday. When he was around 1 year old, books were his favorite. When he was throwing tantrums or was very upset about something, books always instantly soothed him. Books were a part of any trip we took whether a 20 hour trip to India or just a 3 hour drive to Chicago.

Now books are a part of life for him. I take him to the local public library every week. We get new books every week. We bought a book shelf and keep all the books accessible to him. He loves that. He even manages to fit all his books in the shelf better than me This helps him to choose the books and read them when ever he is bored. I never thought getting kids to read books is so easy.

Last year during our trip to India, his grand parents gave him lots of books. There are a couple of Telugu books in that pile, that he loves to read. He always asks for those books at bedtime. He has memorized the stories and keeps telling them all day. So, on my next India trip, I am going on a hunt to find new books for him. You would think finding Telugu books in a Telugu speaking state would be a piece of cake. Unfortunately it is not. All the big book stores have English books for children. Not many Telugu books for kids around the age of 2 – 3 years old. I am going to get him as big a collection as I possibly can. I am sure that will be one of the best gifts I can ever give him.