Gearhead Mom

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Jamberry

Posted by Missy W. @ 8:52 AM

The first time I took Sy to story hour, the volunteer read Jamberry by Bruce Degen. Sy did her toddler thing: sort of kind of listened, wiggled, giggled, and then wiggled some more. I, on the other hand, was totally charmed by the book. Jamberry highlights the adventures of a boy and his pal, a big brown bear, as they go berry picking. The book was inspired by Degen’s own berry picking escapades with his grandparents and later with his own children.

The book is honestly gleeful, happily spitting out rhymes about berry picking (and some other random adventures). Sy’s favorite line is about fireworks,
“Moonberry
Starberry
Cloudberry sky
Boomberry
Zoomberry
Rockets shoot by”

This book to me is about simple pleasures and completely enjoying what you are doing, which in this case is picking billions of berries for blackberry jamble! The illustrations are filled with colorful movement and the rhyme scheme is infectious. I would read this book every day if Sy would agree to it. When I do get to read it, she loves to finish the rhymes and shouts them out as loudly as she can.

Snapshot:
• This chewable book is delightfully sweet and a great introduction to rhyming.
• Bruce Degen is also known for his illustrations in the Magic School Bus series written by Joanna Cole.
• I find it completely irritating when children’s book publishers (yes, YOU, HarperFestival, subdivision of Harper Collins) say “story and pictures by”. Why can’t they use the word illustrated? Don’t we read books to teach our kids a multitude of things, including new words? I am pretty sure my child can wrap her big ol’ two year old head around the word illustrated. Stepping off soap box now.
• One of my favorite read aloud books.

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