Thursday, March 24, 2016

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KiDS: You Read - I Read Books

If you have a beginner reader at home, I'd recommend picking up the new "You Read - I Read" books from NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KiDS.  These soft cover books filled with great photos of wild life and natural settings take a co-read approach that encourages parents and children to explore reading together.  These books are setup so "you" the parent reads a page followed by "I" the child reading the next.  Reading through these books together provides a sense of working together in developing a child's reading abilities rather than him or her just listening to you read or your sitting back monitoring a child's independent reading.  My kids often whine about a book being too long or too hard when they are supposed to be doing their twenty to thirty minutes of reading homework each night.  By partnering with my kids in reading these books I found them more confident to delving into the pages and more open to asking for help with pronouncing or understanding a difficult word.


NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KiDS currently has two Level 1 "You Read - I Read" books available for kids who are just beginning to read on their own.  Day and Night explores how as the sun rises and falls its impact on animals, fish and plants in the environment.  Follow Me! Animal Parents and Babies shows how even animals in the wild need to learn lessons from their parents when it comes to surviving in the world. Both of these books are filled with wonderful photography that enhances the reading experience and helps maintain the interest and attention of young readers.

On each page of these books is a bolded word that is meant to be a point of focus for helping a child build their vocabulary.  For every two pages the same word will be bolded on both the "You Read" and "I Read" pages.  All of the bolded words in each chapter of a book will have a similar theme.  For example in Day and Night all of the bolded words in Chapter 1 relate to times of day while in Chapter 4 they are all action words. Parents are encouraged to engaged in an expanded discussion at the end of each chapter on how each of the bolded words relate to one another and to the topic of the chapter.  At the end of each chapter there is also an activity to do together that reinforces that chapter's educational message. For instance in Chapter 3 of Follow Me! Animal Parents and Babies readers match pictures of animals, birds and fish to photos of their homes.  I really appreciated how these books expanded beyond just being an exercise in reading to provide an enhanced educational experience.


With photographs and interesting trivia that will capture a child's attention and educational elements that will enhance  children's reading and vocabulary skills, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KiDS "You Read - I Read" books get A Geek Daddy's nod of approval.


To help you sustain your child's excitement about reading after going through the "You Read - I Read" books together, I'd recommend enrolling in the free NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KiDS SUPER READER program.  Parents can download and print out a poster based upon a child's reading level that is filled with images of appropriate National Geographic children's book that are available at book stores or public libraries.  As kids read these books the images can be checked off the poster to earn specially designated prizes like stickers, bookmarks and fun fact cards. The SUPER READERS website also includes free learning activities, educational games and other fun stuff!



A Geek Daddy is a member of the National Geographic Kids Insider blogger program.  Insiders get a behind-the-scenes look at National Geographic’s resources, activities, content and projects for kids and families. They also review copies of books, magazines and toys, and are offered interviews with authors, explorers and editors. I do not receive any financial compensation for my participation as a National Geographic Kids Insider.

10 comments:

  1. I loved National Geographic when I was younger! This would make a great gift for a little one!

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  2. We are BIG fans of National Geographic books in our house. We have a ton of them & my kids love them.

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  3. WOW those look like GREAT books to read with your kids. I am ALL about reading...we do it with our grandchildren ALL the time.

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  4. My kids love these books. They are a perfect addition into our daily homeschooling.

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  5. My son grew up on National Geographic. Such wonderful books.

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  6. These are a great series of books and magazines. They get children interested in variety of subjects and make it easy for them to learn to enjoy reading.

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  7. National Geographic is a favorite publication of mine since I am a science teacher. Adore it!

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  8. I am a long time Nat Geo subscriber and we like their tv station, too. Such a great pic of you and your daughter. She is so ensconced in that book!

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  9. My kid are nature and animals lovers! These would be such a great gift for them this Earth Day! Thanks for the idea!

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  10. oh my gosh - my daughter LOVES the kids Nat. Geographic. As a matter of fact I can still remember the first time she discovered it and freaked out - she loves her animals. Thankfully her aunt agreed to get her a subscription so she loves it

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