Asma Balfaqih
Joyful learning
Learning to read pictures
When reading aloud, adults often turn the page too quickly. The text is finished, so the next page comes. Children work differently. They are still looking while we already want to read on.
This is why, when I read with children, I stop briefly at every picture and ask one single question. What is the little brother doing here? Who looks tired? The answers almost always surprise me, because children notice details that I did not plan while writing.
These moments are not lost time. A child describing a picture is practising language, attention and empathy at the same time. That is why the illustrations in my books are given plenty of room on purpose.