You may like to read the story together, look closely at the illustrations, and pay attention to all the little details they provide. You may enjoy finding the father and dog who are accompanying the little boy on every page. Did you find any of the illustrations amusing? Did you guess where the little boy was headed?
Just around the corner from Grandma’s house, the little boy starts counting to ten. You may enjoy searching for the digits the illustrator hid among the pages. Did you notice a match between the number of items in the illustration and the number the boy says? Can you count how many pigtails the little girl has? Or how many birds she feeds? And how many cats are being sold?
In the illustration depicting grandma’s house, what do we see as the door opens? What and who are waiting for the little boy? You could ask your child what they think the little boy will be doing while at his grandmother’s house. What would he eat? What and who would he play with? You may want to use puppets to act out the encounter between the boy and his grandmother, and add another page or two to the story.
Perhaps you would enjoy going for a walk outside your own home and taking a fresh look around: what does your own front door look like? And the handle? Do you also have a road behind your door? Go outside, stand still for a minute and listen. Can you hear the cars going past? Birds tweet, or cats meow? What do you smell? Who do you see? You could also play a guessing game, taking turns to describe a sight or sound encountered on the way, while the other tries to guess what it is.
On the final page of the book is a heart-shaped map of the route from the little boy’s house to his grandmother’s. Perhaps you would also enjoy drawing such a map, be it heart-shaped or otherwise, of the way from your house to kindergarten.
Sometimes we cannot walk to our grandmother’s house, to a close relative or much-loved friend, because they live too far away. How, then, do we keep in touch with them? You may want to think together of ways of keeping in touch – telephone calls, sending photos or videos, letters and greeting cards.
The poems in this book present small moments in life. Every time you read together, we recommend selecting one poem, and reading it together. Does the poem remind you of something that once happened? This may be a good opportunity for you, parents, to share a childhood experience with your child, creating closeness and intimacy with them.
Many of the illustrations in this book depict machines. Perhaps you would enjoy leafing through them and finding illustrations of machines and machine parts – Can you tell what each of them does? Perhaps you could be inspired by the part you found to invent a new machine, and imagine what it is capable of doing.
It is worth sharing the reading of the story with the toddlers: Where is the key? What do you do with the string, and what are the crumbs for? What surprise is hiding in the small pocket?
You may want to read the story several times, enjoying together the rhyming games and opposites, and accompanying Miriam on her quest for the sea. After several readings, your child will probably be able to complete the sentences, and “read” the story themselves.
Who is Passing By?
The Dinner Bell
Noisy Nuni
Things That Aren’t
Lost Puppy
The Grand Prize
