Last week I wrote about the value of Thomas the Tank Engine toys characters in making children more aware of human emotions and facial expressions. This week I am going to write about how I choose book for children when I buy books on the internet or in bookshops. I live in Australia, and here people are very fortunate to have a public library in almost every suburb. Children books abound. Reverent W. Awdry’s Thomas the Tank engine books are definitely very popular because to be able to borrow one from a public library we have to reserve them. So Thomas the Tank Engine books are always in short supply in the public libraries. So I decided to buy a couple of Thomas the Tank Engine books and I surveyed the books online. One of the books which I found worthwhile to have is Thomas the Tank Engine’s Big Lift and look the Flap book.
Thomas the Tank Engine's Big Lift - And - Look Book
Thomas the Tank engine’s Big lift the Flap book has Interactive features
I like to look for interactive features when I buy books for children because this gives the element of surprise to the book. An adult or a child, who knows how to read print, will spend hours on a book. However, toddlers obviously rely on pictures to enable them to enjoy books for a long time. I like to buy books which people will go back over and over again and still find pleasure in reading them. Thomas the Tank engine’s Big lift the Flap book is such a book.
Thomas the Tank engine’s Big lift the Flap book Pictures
The pages are beautifully illustrated with vivid colours. The settings are in an older style, which I think grandparents will find very interesting to share with their grandchildren how things were before electric trains and the internet. The pictures are simple and bold which are very suitable for toddlers. Most flaps are big enough for little hands to lift and they open the doors to their imagination.
There are many doors and boxes in this book which when they open, create wonderful chuckles of joy in toddlers. When they lift the flaps, this gives them the impression of three dimensions in a two dimensional flat picture. People especially children are very curious by nature and children cannot wait to open the flaps. These flaps make the book alive and more entertaining thus creating a positive experience for children as they read. They help children to enjoy the book independently. It has wonderful little surprises which I myself find delightful.
Educational Activity Ideas with Thomas the Tank engine’s Big lift the Flap book
An educational activity which parents can play with toddlers is to ask them to guess what is behind the flaps. Children quickly learn what is behind the flap and it gives them a sense of achievement when they have been able to make the right guess. My son could quickly learn what were behind the flaps and it is a pleasure for me to see that he is able to easily remember small details. Each time I make him guess, I ask him to give me more and more details about the pictures. It reinforces the positive “can do” attitude and that learning is easy. The Thomas the tank engine big lift and Look the Flap book finishes with an alphabet activity which is useful for toddlers to start learning phonics.
You can buy Thomas the tank engine big lift and Look the Flap Book here.
This is a delightful entree into the world of lift-flap books. It makes good sense what you say and now I am more inspired to buy an interactive book for a toddler rather than a plain picture book.
Thank you Julia for your comments. They are very encouraging. When I was little I always wanted to have picture books. They were rare in those days. Now I see them everywhere. Your comments reminds me that I should not take those picture books for granted.