CM Magazine: At Home; At the Market.

________________ CM . . . . Volume V Number 2 . . . . September 18, 1998

At Home.

Jinny Johnson. Illustrated by Sue Cony.
London, Eng: Marshall Editions (Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books), 1997.
21 pp., cloth (includes reusable stickers), $7.95.
ISBN 1-55192-086-7.

Subject Headings:
French language-Vocabulary-Juvenile literature.
Home-Juvenile literature.
Toy and movable books.

Preschool / Ages 3 and up.
Review by Joan Payzant.

*** / 4

At the Market.

Jinny Johnson. Illustrated by Sue Cony.
London, Eng: Marshall Editions (Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books), 1997.
21 pp., cloth (includes reusable stickers), $7.95.
ISBN 1-55192-088-3.

Subject Headings:
French language-Vocabulary-Juvenile literature.
Food-Juvenile literature.
Toy and movable books.

Preschool / Ages 3 and up.
Review by Joan Payzant.

*** / 4

excerpt:

Inside this book you will find five market scenes and four pages of stickers. First choose one of the stickers, then look at the scenes to see where it belongs. You will find an outline of the sticker on the correct scene. Place the sticker on its outline and read the English and French words beside it. Then add another sticker and learn the French word that goes with that. By the time you have filled every page with stickers, you will have learned 35 French words.

At Home contains illustrations on five double pages of different rooms in a house with everyday objects in each room labelled in both English and French. On the sticker pages, the objects are labelled in English only, with the child's task being to press them out and transfer them to the appropriate spot within an outline on an illustration.

In the same way, At the Market has its five scenes and fitting items as stickers to complete its illustrations.

Activities, puzzles and a 35 word vocabulary are found on the last pages of each book. The books are sturdy and most attractive. Sue Cody's illustrations and cartoon-like characters will appeal to children. How useful the books would be in a classroom situation is doubtful because of the difficulty of keeping track of the stickers, even though they are reusable. Probably the books are best for individual purchase and use, and even then adult help would be useful in removing the stickers and reading the phonetically spelled pronunciation guide at the bottom of each illustration. Although recommended on the back cover as suitable for Ages 3 and up, a three-year-old would need a great deal of adult participation.

Recommended with reservations.

Joan Payzant is a former teacher and teacher-librarian in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - SEPTEMBER 18, 1998.