A Nice Complement to A Great Book

One of Han's favorite books is The Very Hungry Caterpillar (by Eric Carle). I read this book to her when she was just a few months old and it still remains as one of her much-loved books. She loves to say "tiny caterpillar" and "big caterpillar" when the story is read, and she goes into an excited frenzy when she sees the big and beautiful butterfly at the end. A few weeks back, I found this fantastic The Very Hungry Caterpillar Colorforms 3D Deluxe Playset at the Robinsons Expo sale.

Left to right: Book and Playset

Contents of the playset

It costs less than $9 after a 50% discount and I thought it's a super good buy! I really really like how this playset complements the story. What I did was to read the story once to Han. After that, I read it a second time, this time passing her the colorform pieces that represented the respective part of the story I was reading. They could represent the tiny caterpillar, the different food it ate, the big caterpillar, the cocoon etc. She then stuck the pieces onto the storyboard included. She was very engaged throughout the whole process and I felt that Han's handling and sticking of the colorform pieces really helped to illustrate the growing quantity of food that the very hungry caterpillar ate progressively! It was a visual effect that became more obvious compared to just seeing the book illustration, I feel.

I think it's a great idea to have complements to the books you are reading to your child, whenever possible. It does not mean every complement has to be stored-bought though because we can be creative in coming up with our own versions using existing materials or toys available. For example, if I am reading a story of ducks, I could make use of the bathing rubber duckies as complements. If I am reading a story of a bus, I could use a used tissue box to make a bus as a complement. The stories will be so much more alive when children can take part in and have more than their visual or auditory senses stimulated.

Have fun complementing your reading!