Watch: You do not read to kids, you read with them, says author Jerry Pinto

"I am hoping that poetry for children will bring back rhythm and bring back the fascination for language and music," Jerry Pinto said.

Children respond very differently to learning when they do it in the form of a story, said author Jerry Pinto, who realised it while working as a teacher.

In an online video chat with Express Parenting, Jerry went on to talk about how he came up with the idea for his children’s book A Bear for Felicia after he came across a family who sold a teddy bear for an exorbitant price to raise money for the grandmother. He also spoke about his other books like When Crows are White, Anya and her Baby Brother and his first book of poems for children titled Tickle Me, Don’t Tickle Me.

Read| How to introduce your child to reading and storytelling

“I am hoping that poetry for children will bring back rhythm and bring back the fascination for language and music,” he said.

Talking about how you can get kids interested in reading, the author added, “You do not read to kids, you read with them. Let them make a lot of noise, let them bounce around. After every reading, I make everyone stand up and throw a tantrum…If they can participate in the process of making a story, the entire exercise will be child-centred and would inspire them to imagine…Reading will become a much more wonderful, vibrant space.” One should take caution to not kill the curiosity in kids and push them to ask questions instead, he emphasised.

Pinto also shared his Lockdown Lyric, for these quarantined times. Here are some lines from it; for the rest, you can hear him read it out on the video: “My home sweet home isn’t large at all. | I have to say it’s very small. | It’s a one-room kitchen in a chawl. | Family members? Five in all. | Pa and Ma and my two sisters | Who are sometimes cute but often blisters | And with the virus in the city | Everyone’s home and that’s a pity | Because we do get a little cramped | Our spirits can get a little damped. | So when I want some space I look | Into the pages of a book. | For ever since I met Br’er Rabbit | I’ve developed a reading habit. …”

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