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Surprisingly my 1st grader is really disliking Reddy Fox. I am struggling with it too. She likes everything else. Does anyone know if the first book is harder to follow than the others?

With my oldest, I found that the first book was hardest because all of the characters are new. Since the others a similar, it was easier for us. With my youngest, we used the audiobooks from Librivox. Many of the readers use voices or have multiple people involved, so it also made it easier and more enjoyable to listen.

Some do say it is harder, but I wonder if it is simply the nature of it being the first.

Has your child listened to other books with more complex, "older" English syntax (word choice and order) before? Have you mostly read children's books to her or has she heard books read aloud to an older sibling or heard you listening to adult audio books?

A lot of the comfort with the Burgess books comes from previous exposure to similar wording and vocabulary, so if she hasn't had that, then it may take a while for her to understand them well enough to enjoy them.

BUT, they are so worth it! They are the perfect books to begin learning oral narrations with! And the lessons learned along the way are great, too.

My kids love these books, but I know part of it is due to Daddy's enthusiasm - he received our copies of them as gifts from his sisters as a child, so even though he's not involved in our school day, he likes the books and occasionally reads some of the non-HOD ones to the kids. (My next to start LHFHG next fall is also #8, so they daily have heard me reading aloud books above their comprehension level.)

I hope you decide to persist. Don't be afraid to model narrations for your child and make it fun. (I tend to add in the odd elephant when I'm first modeling narrations- they're usually quick to correct me, and so learn what is acceptable in narrations and what is not. )

Blessings as you pursue ways to help your daughter understand and eventually enjoy the content. Praying you'll have a wonderful year,

I think this is going much better! it was difficult to get used to all the characters without much introduction to them, but I am so glad we kept going. She doesn’t love it yet by any means but I can tell she is starting to follow the story much better and tolerate it. I am liking it a lot more. We finished Reddy Fox and can’t wait to start Peter Rabbit.

Mgs wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 20, 2022 12:03 am

I think this is going much better! it was difficult to get used to all the characters without much introduction to them, but I am so glad we kept going. She doesn’t love it yet by any means but I can tell she is starting to follow the story much better and tolerate it. I am liking it a lot more. We finished Reddy Fox and can’t wait to start Peter Rabbit.

I'm so glad to hear this! I hope each book is better and better for both of you as you get to know the characters and anticipate their responses, as well as simply getting used to the older syntax that is used!

Thanks for the update!
Blessings,