Children's Books May Become e-Books

Today I read an interesting article that Random House may offer certain children's books as e-books. I'll give you a hint......Elmo may be in one of them. I think it is a marvelous idea to make books available to children everywhere. Think of all of the possibilities to introduce children to new books, classic books, how-to books, etc. I am not sure I would have loved ebooks when I was a child and must admit I would be hard-pressed even now to give up my "real" books for ebooks. The dust jackets, the illustrations, the feel of quality paper, and the spines lined up on bookshelves are all things I would miss. I suppose it is a good thing I am not a child any longer because today's children will find e-books exciting and normal for the era of their childhood.

The Cow Jumped Over The Moon

Nursery rhymes are an important part of childhood. The same nursery rhymes I learned as a child were later learned by my own children, and then again by my grandson. The cadence of nursery rhymes can be soothing to a baby or toddler. Illustrations that accompany rhymes in books can create indelible impressions on children. Recently I was selecting flannel fabrics for our line's receiving blankets, and smiled to myself as I picked up fabric with a repeat pattern of a cow jumping over the moon. Immediately the nursery rhyme came back to me: Hey diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to see such a sight, and the dish ran away with the spoon. There are so many things you can do to create happy memories with your children. Teaching them nursery rhymes will help them as they learn to talk, and memorizing rhymes will help them as they grow to pre-school and elementary school ages. Sometimes early artistic attempts will be images they have seen with the rhymes. Your public library is a great place to find nursery rhyme books to borrow. I remember teaching my son nursery rhymes when he was learning to talk. We reached a point where he could finish each line. I was very excited to have him share his new-found ability with his father at dinner that evening so we practiced throughout the day. You can imagine my disappointment when I said, "There was an old ________ (he immediately said, "woman") who lived in a _________" and instead of saying "shoe" he said, "garage" ... a word he had never said before and one which we were unaware he had ever heard since we did not have a garage. As a family we laugh over that anectdote from time to time and all because of a nursery rhyme. Sometimes small things create great memories so nursery rhymes are a good place to start. Enjoy!