Recommended for children 18 Months to 3 Years
Author
Stein, David Ezra
Publisher
Penguin USA (ISBN: 9780399250514)
Description
Joey the kangaroo leaves the pouch and begins to hop about the land, where he makes new discoveries and friends. It is one very eventful day, and he continues to return "home" to his Mama who waits nearby.
Why raising readers Has Selected This Book
We liked how Joey had both a need to explore and a need to feel safe in Mama's pouch when the new experiences became too much. This may be very much like your two-year-old, who may be exhausting you with all his adventures, but still needing to be held and comforted.
Activities
Turn to the back pages of the raising readers edition of this book for different ways to use this read-aloud with your child.
Theme
Animals
Separation
Separation
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From the 2011 Early Literacy Calendar:
At age two, children are at a push me/pull you stage of development. They want to establish their independence from their caregivers, but not too much. The story of Pouch is about a baby kangaroo named Joey (which is, by the way, what we call baby kangaroos), who wants to explore but runs back to his mother as soon as he encounters the unknown. This theme always gets the attention of children at this age and is a great jumping off point for talking about Joey’s feelings when he gets too far from him mother. In addition, the introduction and repetition of the word “pouch” provides a great, most likely new, vocabulary word for a two-year-old. Tell children that a pouch is like a pocket. They can even find pockets on their own clothes. When vocabulary is attached to emotion (Joey is safe in his mother’s pouch), often children will learn it more easily.
Other books to share with this age group:
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Mama Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse
Papa Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse
At age two, children are at a push me/pull you stage of development. They want to establish their independence from their caregivers, but not too much. The story of Pouch is about a baby kangaroo named Joey (which is, by the way, what we call baby kangaroos), who wants to explore but runs back to his mother as soon as he encounters the unknown. This theme always gets the attention of children at this age and is a great jumping off point for talking about Joey’s feelings when he gets too far from him mother. In addition, the introduction and repetition of the word “pouch” provides a great, most likely new, vocabulary word for a two-year-old. Tell children that a pouch is like a pocket. They can even find pockets on their own clothes. When vocabulary is attached to emotion (Joey is safe in his mother’s pouch), often children will learn it more easily.
Other books to share with this age group:
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Mama Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse
Papa Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse
1 Reader Review:
This is one of my daughter's favorites! We have to read that one every night. She loves pointing out "Mama Kanaroo" in the background and we have to count out however many hops Joey is taking. Definitely a winner in our house!
- Jan 12, 2012
