Not Really Getting Into Thorton Burgess Books

[Samnem]

Hi,

We are enjoying Heart of Dakota, but my daughter is doing LHFHG for first grade and she is not really enjoying the Thorton Burgess books. She just kind of tunes me out when I read them. Does anyone have any suggestions of what we could do?

[moedertje]

I am so sorry to hear this.
We have just started reading Reddy Fox with ds 5 and my kids love it. Even my older one in Bigger begs me to wait for him to do story time for LHFHG. I know 2 other ladies with just girls who could not get into these books either, don't know what they did. Than my friend has a girl who loved the books as well. We go around the neighborhood looking for places to re-name like in the book and we even have a "bad" dog who chases golf carts in the neighborhood and we named him "Bowser the Hound".
The beauty of it is that Carrie has all the activities to go with the stories and they build on the other guides written. So just for the activities it is worth finding a way to draw your daughter into the stories.
Perhaps you could at least try to finish the book you are in now, read it very animated and maybe she will catch up with your excitement.
Unless you have tried this and it has not worked.
I hope you find a way and success!

[psreit]

My dd 7 in first grade loves these books. I try to use different voices for each character, although that is hard to do when there are several in one chapter. I don't know what draws her to them, but I think it may be that dd thrives on make-believe and it becomes realistic to her. It may also be the suspense, as she can't wait to find out what will happen to Reddy Fox or Peter Rabbit. There are good character lessons in them, so don't give up on them. Maybe you could read a little and then try asking questions or talk about the section read. That may help her to understand it, so maybe it will interest her more. HTH

[Bramble]

More love here! all my kids run to hear Reddy Fox. I'm so sorry your dd is having trouble with them. I hope you can figure out a way to make it work. Does it help if she draws or colors while you read? I read somewhere about a mom making stick puppets of the characters so the child could act out the story while it was being read. Maybe that was on the yahoogroup?

[mamanlait]

My dd5 had a hard time in the beginning. It took a few chapters, some silly English accents, and some name recognition of the characters before she was excited. Honestly, it may have been a month or more. I would encourage you to keep on going! Another idea might be to really limit TV/movies if you haven't all ready. I've noticed in my own household that books seem like drudgery if I pull my child away from a show to read. We've actually thrown our TV out all together because I got so tired of the battles (and sad that they seemed to need all the lights and action to get interested in a book)...but that's a whole 'nother topic
Amy

[MomtoJGJE]

Mine don't like them either... I just keep going. They have to be polite and answer the questions, but they don't like them. None of mine have ever liked being read to though. The only time they like to be read to is at bedtime as they are falling asleep.

[Carrie]

Samnem,

I'm so glad that you are getting a chance to use and enjoy Little Hearts! Don't get too worried about your daughter not seeming to love Thornton Burgess right now, just keep going and give it time. I'll link you to a past thread that will really encourage you in this area. Make sure you read the thread to the end, as Dorla had the same question, and it's great that she checked in to update the thread 4 months later.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=126

Another fun thing is that many of the ladies who posted on the thread that I linked above have now enjoyed going through the Burgess books too and have moved onto the next HOD programs. It is definitely a growing experience and one that will help mature your child as a listener, which is such a necessary skill.

Blessings,
Carrie

[rainsong]

is your child a visual kid who has a hard time with the lack of pictures? I have 2 very visual kids and they had a hard time transistioning to books w/o pics (not just Burgess) here are some things we have done:

color copy the little character on the front of the book to make a stick puppet (already mentioned)
I illustrate the story on the whiteboard as I read
pick a child to be the illustrator to draw on whiteboard or paper while you read
have the child lie on the floor with eyes closed and listen, tell them to make a "movie" in thier mind as you read
have them act out the story as you read

[moedertje]

Samnem,

I just found this old post on how one Mom helped her kids make the books more interesting. Perhaps it will help your dd as well. I have not been successful myself at finding the characters online yet, but you may be more search savvy.
Blessings and success with this:D
Forgot to add link
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2673&p=19796&hilit= ... ers#p19796

[shaffer96]

My dd (5) is doing LHFHG and she really did not like the books either. A lot of the vocabulary was way above her head and I felt like I was always trying to explain the meaning of the words to her. We read them for a few weeks and she had no interest at all in them, so now I help her choose her own chapter books from the libary for me to read to her. She picks topics she is interested in and it has made all the difference. She loves storytime again! I think maybe when she is older she will really enjoy these books, but she was so not ready for them, or interested in them right now. You have to do what works for your kid, so if you have given these books a fair shot and your child really doesn't enjoy them or get anything out of them, then I don't think you should feel obligated to keep reading them. Help them choose a book they are interested in and enjoy!

[south5]

Hi,

We are enjoying Heart of Dakota, but my daughter is doing LHFHG for first grade and she is not really enjoying the Thorton Burgess books. She just kind of tunes me out when I read them. Does anyone have any suggestions of what we could do?

Here is a link to some coloring pictures: http://www.thorntonburgess.org/ColoringPictures.htm
I allow my son to color as I read. The pictures really help him imagine the characters. I also do funny voices. Ol Mistah Buzzard has an exaggerated slow southern draw that we giggle over.

[MommaK5]

Here is one way to get some of the Burgess characters pictures. If you use the Project Guetenburg site http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
and look up the book you need pics for then you can scroll through the book and get them. If you click on the book picture most of them enlarge. You can copy and print and color
them.
Here is the link for Danny Meadow Mouse to give you an idea of what I am talking about. Scroll through the book there are quite a few pictures in each book.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25529/25 ... 5529-h.htm

HTH!
Blessings,
Kathy

[pjdobro]

You've gotten such great ideas of how to make the books come alive for your dd. I hope that something works and you are able to enjoy the books as much as we have. We loved the Thornton Burgess books so much in LHFHG. The activities that went with them and the discussions that ensued were so meaningful. Perhaps it's an acquired taste, but we just can't get enough of the critters of the Green Meadow! We have continued to read these books for bedtime stories just for enjoyment. I love the Mother West Wind stories since they are short and each little story is self-contained. They make wonderful bedtime stories and they allow us to share more time with our favorite characters. Even though we just read them for fun now, we still get lots of great discussions that contribute to excellent character development. They really are great stories. I'm hoping that something here will help you and your daughter enjoy them together!

[Samnem]

Thank you everyone for all of the wonderful suggestions. It is so nice to be able to come here for advice. We are going to stick with the books and try some of the the things that you all have mentioned. I will try to give an update a little later.