Learning About Books (ages 3-7)

Owl Moon is a beautiful book; therefore, it is a great book to use to teach concepts about books and spelling.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Owl Moon
Author: Jane Yolen
Illustrator: John Schoenherr
Publisher: Philomel Books

Here’s what you do:

Before reading Owl Moon with your child, show him the cover.
Point to the title of the book, the author’s and illustrator’s names, and the Caldecott medal.
Discuss the picture on the cover and ask your child to predict what the story will be about.
Read to him the title page and the dedication page.
Flip through the pages in the book, making new predictions with each picture.
Read the book to your child, running your finger under the text as you read. (This will show him print is read from left to right.)
Let your child stop and talk about the story, his prior predictions, or the pictures as he wants to.
After reading the story, open the book to the first page and ask your child to point to the following:
- The first word in the story.
- The last word in the story.
- Any capital letter.
- The word, “I”.
- A period.
If he has trouble locating any of the above, show him the answer and say something like, “I’ll bet next time you can find it on your own!”
After reading the book, ask questions such as:
- Can you find the word __ on this page?
- Can you find a word on this page that has a short “e” sound in it?
- Can you find a word on this page that has the word “eat” (such as “treat”, “cheat”, or “meat”) in it?