Good Children's Book Should Have a Surprise

A good children's book for the beginning reader needs to entertain the child with some bit of surprise, twist or delight. Children's books that are predictable or have a monotonous cadence are not going to engage the beginning reader who is struggling with the book in the first place.

"Mouse Soup" by Arnold Lobel is an I CAN READ book that has the spark to engage the beginning reader. Lobel's other books have the same qualities, yet "Mouse Soup" is illustrative of the traits a child loves in a book. Lobel, who died in 1987, wrote more than 70 children's books including "Frog and Toad are Friends" and "Fables," a Caldecott Medal book.

Lobel's writing is a sweet passage for children into a simpler time prior to Xbox and Star Wars. Yet, even for children whose tastes have matured with light saber action and the force, Lobel's writing and illustrations slow these children down and draw them in to a book that is certain to bring a surprise.

The writing level in Lobel's children's books is around a 2 or 3 if you are selecting reading material for a new reader. An example passage from "Mouse Soup" is,

"A mouse was walking

through the woods.

A nest of bees

Fell from a tree.

It landed on the top of his head."

The simple adventure goes on to describe how the clever mouse outwitted the beehive to moving from the top of his head. Such as this bee story, a good children's story should be a bit unpredictable or out of the box for the child. Who would guess that the mouse walked into a mud puddle over his head under the pretense that the mud puddle was his home simply to be rid of the bees. For a child, this is very funny to see someone intentionally covering his body with mud.

A children's book for the early reader should also have enough short words that the beginning reader does not struggle too much. While at the same time there should words with a bit more difficulty sprinkled in to continue challenging the early reader. It is a great balance to challenge the early reader yet keep the reader moving forward without wanting to quit out of frustration.

Lobel's books illustrate this balance because he incorporates surprise, humor and animated drawings. His characters also have a bit of sarcasm and wit to their personalities, which children can appreciate.

For grown ups, Lobels children's books have been incorporated into curriculum to help children read as well as study other topics, for example, while reading "Frog and Toad are Friends" a class may also be studying the lives and habitat of frogs and toads.

Other titles by Lobel include "Small Pig," "Owl at Home," "Uncle Elephant" and "The Rose in my Garden." Lobel's books are often used in grades 1-3, but the characteristic of them as good children's books is that adults can read them over and over and also be entertained.