Pet Dinosaur? You Bet!

On Tuesday January 27, Family Literacy Day 2015, Wee Read unveiled the winner of its fourth annual Preschool Reads Award! 

The Preschool Reads Award was established in 2011 by the Wee Read Committee - of which Action Read is a member - as a way to promote early literacy, while highlighting quality Canadian children’s literature and illustration. Wee Read is a committee of Wee Talk, Wellington-Dufferin’s Speech and Language Service System and is made up of organizations in Wellington and Dufferin counties whose work supports families and child care services to develop early literacy skills in children. Through the award, Wee Read hopes to encourage families and communities to come together to celebrate the love of reading. Wee Read has also created resource sheets filled with fun and engaging games and activities to go with each book.
 

This year’s nominees included: Little You by Richard Van Camp; Starring Me and You by Geneviève Côté; Goodnight Canada by Andrea Beck; and If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur by Linda Bailey.  Staff at Child Care Centres, Early Years Centres, libraries and literacy organizations across Wellington and Dufferin read the nominated books to children in their programs, recorded their responses and tallied the votes. In total, over 725 children participated in both counties. On January 27, National Family Literacy Day, Wee Read was delighted to announce the winner: If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur!

 

If your child has ever wondered what life would be like if you had a pet dinosaur, then Linda Bailey’s 2014 book is for you! Published by Tundra Books, this fun and playful tale ignited the imaginations of young readers across Wellington and Dufferin.  Children loved hearing about the silly ways dinosaurs could be put to use – from opening cans and nuts, to offering shelter from the rain, to becoming a pillow to lay their heads upon. Oh the possibilities! Colin Jack’s illustrations are detailed and vibrant - their humour coming into greater focus with every read. This is a wonderful and engaging book that created much excitement and conversation among the children. One thing is clear - with 53% of the votes – children across Wellington Dufferin love dinosaurs! For more information on the author or her work, visit http://www.lindabaileybooks.com/. Also, check out Colin Jack’s blog at http://jackomtablet.blogspot.ca/ for more information on his work.

Wee Read would like to congratulate all of the nominated authors and encourage support for their fantastic work.

Wee Read agencies include Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, County of Dufferin Children’s Services, Early Years Centres and Action Read Community Literacy Centre of Guelph. Wee Read members offer fun, hands-on programs for children, parents, caregivers and childcare staff. Wee Read believes that language and literacy are interwoven, and acknowledges the important role of parents and educators in supporting early literacy skill development.

 

 

These beautiful Canadian books will enchant young readers!