This week, I was delighted to hear the news that David McKee had won BookTrust’s Lifetime Achievement Award. His wonderful stories and illustrations have played a memorable part in the lives of my children. I will continue to treasure one story in particular…
We found David McKee’s ‘Isabel’s Noisy Tummy’ back in the day when Ledbury children’s library was tucked away in a tiny corner of the Barrett Browning Institute building. My children and I had been sitting on the red plastic seats and sifting through the picture books, which filled the wooden boxes in the centre of the room. As the only reader, it wasn’t just the vibrant illustrations that caught my eye. I leafed through the book and, when I reached the end, I was convinced this one was a keeper.
Later, we cuddled up on the settee at home to share the story. We all knew about rumbling tummies, but my eldest child had started school so was able to draw on her experience to bring even more meaning to the pages. We enjoyed the excitement of Isabel’s class trip to the zoo, but the ending was the icing on the cake. All of us chortled with glee.
This was the book that my daughter then asked for time and time and time again. This was the book that she memorised word for word. This was the book that led her to start actively (and independently!) matching her growing letter-sound knowledge with the text in front of her.
Thank you, Mr McKee, for the many brilliant books you have given us and for unlocking the world of reading for my soon-to-be 22 year old.
Would you like to listen to the story?
Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin…
This post was prompted by a tweet…
Read with Julia 