Sunday, October 14, 2012

‘Monstersaurus’

‘Monstersaurus’ is a book written for children by Claire Freedman, and it is wonderfully illustrated by Ben Cort. First published in 2011 by Simon and Schuster, 1st Floor, 222 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8HB, it follows the very popular, ‘Aliens Love Underpants’ by the same author. These types of books are adored by five to six year olds; they appeal to both boys and girls.

Here’s an extract from Claire’s website’s telling of her passion for writing:

‘For me, writing is the best job ever. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. I love to create worlds for young children to enjoy and escape into – whether the stories are educational, bedtime, problem solving or just plain good fun. It’s also very exciting to see the first picture roughs, as my wonderful, talented illustrators bring the text to life.’

Why I am featuring Claire’s books is because I came across ‘Monstersaurus’ at my daughter’s house. In her lounge she has a bookcase full of children’s books for her three boys. Up until the present time, stories from them have been read to the children by their parents and me and my wife when we have had opportunity.

Today, I found one of the boys studying Claire’s ‘Monstersaurus’. Like his brothers he is at the stage of almost mastering phonics and he can sound out simple words. He can just about recognize and say a three letter word without sounding individual letters. In time he will be able to read longer words composed of two or more syllables. Eventually he will grasp clauses and phrases, and so on. With practice he will become fluent, being able to read with comprehension and expression. At least, that’s my hope!

Reading is a key factor to gaining knowledge, and a child without the ability to read has little hope of academic achievement. Dyslexia is a curse, because it can hold back a child’s development. As a victim of it I suffered to the extent that I could not read or understand the easiest of books until I reached the age of ten. Even today, I struggle with certain words. If only when I was young I had had wonderful books like Claire’s, readily available in a bookcase, things may have been different. 

Links

Claire Freedman’s Website


Claire Freedman – Simon and Schuster Books


Claire Freedman, Children’s Author


Amazon - Claire Freedman Books


YouTube Official Trailer – Monstersaurus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lKF0Gmv9Ao
 

2 comments:

Bursledon Blogger said...

"He's big, he's hairy but is he scary?" - great book, the current favourite in our house is "Rhino what Rhino" - the great thing about these books (Gruffalo is another) is the lyrical quality - it's so nice to read out loud - our 3 year old has 3 or 4 read every night and he asks for the same ones over and over again

William Serjeant said...

Thanks Max,

I've looked at the reviews, and I like the sound of 'Rhino? What Rhino?'. The storyline has a bit of subtle teaching about not being greedy, selfish, and the virtue of owning up to doing wrong - A good book for my grandchildren, although they are older than your 3 year old.

Cheers,
Bill.