To be more specific with details and descriptions, encourage your son to "read" wordless picture books to you. You can also use picture books with text, as long as the pictures are detailed / expressive themselves. This works best with Caldecott Medal / Honor Books. These books won the Caldecott Award because a child who can not read, can tell the story on his own, just by looking at the pictures. Caldecott books can be found at your local library or where children's books are sold. Try: Books of Wonder or the Bank Street Bookstore in Manhattan.
Caldecott Favorites
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems
Flotsam (This is also a wordless picture book) by David Wiesner
The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster, Illustrated by Chris Raschka
When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang
No, David! (Essentially wordless) by David Shannon
The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey
Rumpelstiltskin by Paul Zelinsky
King Bidgood's In The Bathtub by Don and Audrey Wood
A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams
One Fine Day by Nonny Hogrogian
Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Umbrella by Taro Yashima
A Tree Is Nice by Marc Simont
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
The pictures in books by Leo Lionni and Ezra Jack Keats are incredibly descriptive.
Wordless Picture Books
The Frog Series by Mercer Mayer
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
Changes, Changes by Pat Hutchins
Pancakes For Breakfast by Tomie DePaola
Carl Goes Shopping by Alexandra Day
Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
Hug by Jez Alborough
Listen to your child tell the story. If you feel he leaves out important information, ask an open ended, leading question (e.g., "OOOO - What's happening over here?"). If he can't describe what's happening, describe it for him. Perhaps this will increase his awareness that he needs to be more specific, or when he reads it to you tomorrow, or next week, he'll include that information. Have fun!
Stephanie is a speech pathologist in NYC. Labels: Bilingual, Language, Language Delay, Parent Friendly Activities, Speech Therapy
