A Read-Aloud with Sarah L. Thomson: Around the Neighborhood
May 25, 2020 | Reading Aloud, Children's Books, 20th Anniversary
This post is part of a series of videos by Maine-based children’s book authors and illustrators reading aloud. This week, we’re featuring Sarah Thomson, author of Around the Neighborhood. Doctors in Maine gave Around the Neighborhood to 2-year-olds back in 2014.
Sarah wrote to tell us a little more about how she was inspired to write Around the Neighborhood: A Counting Lullaby. Here’s what she said!
Around the Neighborhood is based on an old counting song that I used to sing with my daughter, Over in the Meadow (you can sing it as well as read it if you can find the tune.) It’s such a simple little song, but it carries so much inside it–a love of the natural world, a sense of exploration and adventure, and a loving and teaching relationship between a parent and a child.
My daughter liked “Over in the Meadow,” but the animals it references –foxes, turtle, fish–weren’t ones that we say on our daily walks around our own neighborhood. So I wrote her a version with her favorite animals. I have to admit though, that my girl was not a fan of the new song at all! If I tried to sing it to her, she cried. Really. Every single time. But I still liked the song, and so did my editor, and with the help of Jana Cristy’s gorgeous and clever art, we turned it into a picture book that I hope parents and children everywhere will enjoy singing and reading together.
Head on over to our Facebook Read-Aloud Group by clicking here (or click on the image below) to see Sarah reading aloud her colorful and catchy picture book.
