I Hear a Pickle: (and Smell, See, Touch, and Taste it, too! Is a silly concept book to help young readers explore their senses!
The book goes sense-by-sense, providing numerous examples of each sense and different ways the sense is used. Rachel Isadora uses very simple examples to help young readers best connect with the subject matter. She incorporates examples that young readers may have already encountered, thereby offering an excellent transition for them to experiment with new ways of utilizing their senses by drawing inspiration from the book's examples!
Isadora keeps her language at the level of a young reader. She keeps her sentences simple, and her examples clear. She provides excellent art work to accompany all sentences in the book to help young readers understand what is meant by the text.
On the topic of language, certain editions of the book are published in both Spanish and English. Each page offers young readers the opportunity to engage with the familiar text and illustrations we've previously discussed, but in this bilingual rendition, they can delve into the translated words. This dual-language approach is fantastic—it allows young readers to initiate their exploration of a second language. By employing simple words and phrases alongside accompanying pictures for comprehension, it facilitates a rapid grasp of the second language.
Isadora’s watercolor and ink illustration skills are on full display in this quirky concept book. Her illustrations are simple and allow the young reader to immediately connect with what they are seeing.
Her decision to employ vignettes serves to provide the image with the necessary breathing room to stand distinct from the text, borderless, while simultaneously depicting the actions described in the written narrative.
Isadora goes above and beyond, providing the reader countless examples of each sense to ensure the young reader has a grasp on what the sense is that is being discussed and the different contexts in which it may be used. For instance, one can see a flower, but not see the flower grow at a specific time.
This is a perfect book for preschool and early elementary aged kids. It will help to give them ideas on how to explore the world with the senses they have!
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