In a recent post, Janet talked about Mr George Baker, in which a child goes to school with someone from an older generation who, even if it isn’t articulated in the book, is courageously taking the plunge and overcoming the stigma attached to not knowing how to read and write. In the process he becomes an icon not just for other adults but for the children: Aline commented that her daughter was very struck by the notion of older people going to school when she had Jeremiah Learns to Read read to her.
When children see the adults in their lives reading, they are more likely to pick up a book for themselves. When adults and children learn together, the rewards can go far beyond the actual learning.
In Grandfather Counts by Andrea Cheng, illustrated by Ange Zhang (Lee & Low, 2000), which I included in my recent Personal View for our Literacy-themed update of PaperTigers, Helen’s grandfather comes to live with them in the US from China. Everyone has to adapt and language difficulties have to be overcome. Gong Gong (Grandfather) is clearly horrified that his grandchildren don’t speak Chinese and Helen is resentful that she has had to move out of her bedroom with its view of the train tracks at the back of the house. One evening Gong Gong joins Helen as she sits waiting for the trains to pass by. He counts each carriage/car as it goes by and soon they are sharing and learning how to count in each other’s language. Soon the ice is broken and that evening at supper, all three children start to show an interest in learning Chinese.
The story leaves young readers/listeners with a warm feeling that Helen and her Gong Gong will become close and each will continue to help the other to learn. This is by no means a preachy story but it does remind us of the difference it can make to a child’s desire to learn if they see adults around them who are doing the same thing. Helen and her brother and sister had tried attending Chinese Sunday School but had dropped out because the other children already knew much more than they did. However, because Gong Gong was willing to let Helen help him to learn English, she wanted to be able to communicate with him in his language too.
It’s a wonderful story, too, for children whose parents come from different cultures but who may be struggling with the notion of being bilingual; and because the story requires both the English and the Chinese to run alongside each other, it’s also a great way to introduce the beginnings of counting in Chinese to English speakers.