Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg (Puffin, 4.99) is rightly a great favourite among children and can provide a stimulus for a set of enjoyable language activities.
The story is inspired by a variety of traditional nursery rhymes and the game 'I spy'. Familiar characters cross paths in this tale and interact as they have never done before. Mrs Hubbard is no longer the poor old woman with an empty cupboard. Now she has Tom Thumb inside it and there is plenty for him to eat, while down in her cellar, Cinderella is dusting the shelves.
This is essentially a visual book with little narrative. The illustrations are packed with stimulating detail which children and adults can examine together. The story is written in rhymes which are easy for children to remember, and they can also predict the endings of each sentence. For those children who have not come across the characters before, reading this story will develop an interest in traditional rhymes.
Initial letter
Experiment with the simple game 'I spy' and help children learn the initial sounds of letters in the alphabet.
* Place on a tray a set of objects that all begin with the same letter. For example, a pen, a toy penguin, pig and panda, a pepper mill, a purse, a paintbrush, a pad of paper and a paint pot.
* Ask the children to name all of the objects and emphasise the 'p' initial sound.
* Cover the tray with a teacloth and secretly take away one object.
* Then ask one child at a time to guess what is missing when you uncover the tray.
* Give several children the chance to play the game. Lots of repetition will remind them of the sound of the initial letter chosen.
* Use the game regularly with a different letter each time to strengthen their knowledge of the alphabet
Hidden pictures
The illustrations in the story are full of fascinating detail and lots of surprises. Children can search the pictures to discover the hidden characters. Create a similar experience by devising your own hidden image game.
* Use pictures of any sort, for example photographs of animals or interesting images related to a specific topic.
* Use plain sheets of paper with geometric shapes partially cut into them which can be folded back to act as a flap.
* Place these plain sheets over the images to conceal them.
* Suggest to the children that they lift the triangular, rectangular, oval, circular or square shaped flaps to reveal a small part of the picture underneath and ask them to guess what the picture beneath represents.
* If they need more clues, then they will have to fold back another flap.
* The game can also be played with dice featuring geometric shapes, instead of dot counters. At the throw of the dice each child will be expected to fold back the correct shape and guess the picture.
* Also try this game using blown-up digital photographs of each of the children's faces. Each child in a group of four would need to identify a set of four faces in front of them to be able to complete the game.
Inventing rhymes
Each Peach Pear Plum is easy to read and remember because of the rhyming words. Helping children play with words that sound the same is an exciting way to teach them new vocabulary. Many words used in the story rhyme with the characters' names, for example: Robin Hood with wood.
* Use the same principle with the children's names, taking care not to allow them to become insulting to each other.
* Encourage the children to make up a sentence with a name and a rhyme at the end. For example: Jane likes to travel by train. Personalising games in this way often initiates lots of word play that children can carry on at home with their families.
Alliteration
As an alternative to finding rhyming words, you could look for alliteration using the children's own names. The title of Each Peach Pear Plum uses three words that begin with 'p', and this alliterative effect is used in the book with 'Baby Bunting' and the 'Wicked Witch'. Ask the children to think of a word that begins with the same initial sound to accompany their names, such as Talkative Tony.
This game will broaden children's knowledge of the use of descriptive words. Just make sure that the game is fun and does not deteriorate into insulting behaviour.
