'You Read it Like What?: And the winner is...

One month to record it. A great deal of interest. A lot of meaning to take part. But how many of you actually managed to get it recorded? And of those of you who did, how many managed to get it to us in time?

First, we take our hat off to all participants...

"Me quito el sombrero" (I take my hat off), by Diego Fournier

... and also to all those who tried but failed to make it. We'd like to remind the latter that we love receiving surprises even when he have no competition on, so please send us your recordings whenever you feel like it. We really enjoy you sharing your readings and ways of reading with us. 

Let's start at the start. In order of arrival, below are the entries for our You Read it Like What? competition. We are so chuffed with all the entries! There is not a single recording that doesn't show some aspect of the pleasure of shared read-alouds. Congratulations to you all!

Wombat Stew, read by Caroline to her almost 3 year old and almost 5 year old

Who: 
Caroline reading to her two children all the way from Australia.

What they read: 
Wombat Stew
By Marcia K.Vaughan, illustrated by Pamela Lofts.
First published in 1984.










Listen here:
What they said: 
Thank you for being the catalyst for getting me to start doing this.  Like blogging, it is a bit addictive.  I am keen to find the time to add some simple animation to these recordings.

I live in Australia with my partner and two wonderful, inspirational, cheeky and hilarious young children who are constant sources of joy and chaos. I am a unix systems admin who aspires to be a published children's picture book author/illustrator and artist. Reading has been a life long love and now it is becoming a shared love with my almost three and almost five year olds. I started a blog at www.robotdinosaurdiggers.blogspot.com.au last year to give me a place to put my art and point publishers at as part of my submission portfolio.  Since  inception I have been drawn into other peoples blogs for sources of recipes, how to's and inspiration for art projects to do with my children and my blog has morphed into one that reflects those interests more than anything else.

It was a very difficult choice to go with 'Wombat Stew' and one that I tried not to think too much about to avoid procrastinating beyond the deadline. We have so many books that we love to read together and many that are a treat to read aloud: 'Monkey and Me', 'The Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek', 'The Eleventh Hour', 'Superworm', 'Jungle Drums', 'Bim Bam Boom', 'Where's My Cow', 'The Highway Rat' and more.

What we like about it:  

We love having discovered a great story we had never heard of. It's funny how classics in one country can be virtually unheard of in the rest of the world.

We like all the chanting and the joining in. We love how the fun they are having reading it is contagious but never interrupts the flow of the story. Caroline is a fantastic reader and her children are wonderful  and evidently very at joining in. We love how they all prolong the word "stew" at the end of the little chanting. 

We particularly love how Caroline reacts to her children's questions. What's that? That's a creepy. And how she turns her answers and their questions into a little game (Crawly. Creepy. Crawly, Slug. Bug. Creepy. Crawly.) before resuming the story. 

We love Caroline's voices, her yawning, her rhythm and her intonation. Guaranteed to capture the attention of listeners of all ages. 

The recording conveys genuine joy in sharing a story together, with kids and mother participating, laughing and enjoying in equal measures.

We can't wait to see any accompanying animation if you get round to it. 

Thank you very much for taking part. Congratulations on such a great entry. We have thoroughly enjoyed it.


Owl Babies read by Imogen to her 2.5 year-old daughter, Inés

Who: 
Imogen reading to her 2.5 year-old daughter in Edinburgh (Scotland)

What they read: 
Owl Babies
Martin Waddell
Illustrated  by Patrick Benson
Walker Books, 1994

Listen to it here: 
Owl Babies



Why we liked it:
Very different from the previous choice of story, Owl Babies is a 'quiet story' with no chanting or rhyming. It does, however, contain lots of circularity and short repeatable phrases.

We love how Imogen integrates her daughter Inés' questions and remarks within the flow of the story, answering her and letting her breathe, but never losing sight of the story.

We like how Imogen asks Inés to do things the owls are doing: 'close your eyes', bringing her right into the story.

We like everything about it, but perhaps that's because Inés is my niece!

Well done Inés! I thought you did very well and asked some good questions, like asking who is who at the start. I agree it is difficult to tell them apart. Perhaps Bill is a bit smaller than his brother and sister, though?

Thank you for sending your recording in! We've really enjoyed listening to it.


Chicka Chicka Boom Boom read by The Shoolbreads

Who: 
The Shoolbreads are a rather nice family from Glasgow (Scotland). Andrew is the father, Katie is the mother, Felix is their seven year old son and Ellis is their very almost four-year old daughter.

What they read: 
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault
Illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Listen to it here: 
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom 

What they said: 
Well, here's our little recording- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault- not a story book but a favourite in this house since Felix was wee. We really enjoy the rhythm of the whole thing- Felix and Ellis got a little bit shy recording so not quite as loud as usual... 

Why we liked it: 
We like the clapping arrangements! We like the musicality of it! We like the joining in! We like the sharing and the enjoying out loud! Thank you Felix and Ellis for recording this for us! We really enjoyed listening to you saying BOOM! BOOM!


Goldilocks "read" by Izzy O'Regan from Dublin

Who: 
Izzy O'Regan is a very nice four year old with a rather special mother called Henri, a just as special father called Conor, a fantastically special twin brother called Cathal and a lovely new baby sister called Helen.

What she read: 
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Ladybird Tales
Retold by Vera Southgate

Watch it here: 
Goldilocks read by Izzy

Why we liked it: 

Izzy, you told the story in a very clear, articulate way, showing us the pictures every now and then so it was easier for us to follow. That's what we call good story-telling skills. 

We also like the way you are enunciating so clearly. That makes it VERY easy for us to follow. 

There's one thing you do that is also great for story-telling. Sometimes, you stop and ask a question. For example, you hold the book up and ask: 'Does she look nice?' That's really nice when you are reading a story because it makes your listeners feel like you are really talking to them.

We also like your intonation. That's very important when you are reading. They way you say: 'She didn't wonder, she didn't ask..." makes us pay more attention to the story. 

It's also nice the way you speak to your listeners to build up the excitement. 'But wait until you see Daddy when he comes home. He's very angry.' That makes us want to see Daddy Bear. 

 So, well done! We are very impressed with your reading of Goldilocks! We really really enjoyed watching you! 

Big Red Bath read by The Shoolbreads 

Who: 
The Shoolbreads are a rather nice family from Glasgow (Scotland). Andrew is the father, Katie is the mother, Felix is their eight year old son and Ellis is their very almost four-year old daughter. Yes! It's them again! Two entries!

What they read: 
Big Red Bath
Julia Jarman
Adrian Reynolds

Listen to it: 
Big Red Bath



Why we liked it:

We absolutely loved this one. It's also a very sing-songy story, like the first entry from the Shoolbreads and Felix and Ellis are really enjoying joining in. We love the laughing, the way they take it in turns, the silly voices. Is it Felix who does the great silly duck voice: "Hallo kids, can I come for a paddle?" We loved that!

It is so contagious it is impossible to not to smile or laugh when you listen to it.

We also enjoyed discovering this story, which we didn't know. So thank you!

We Read it Like This is all about enjoying reading and having fun sharing books. This certainly was exactly down our road!

Thank you very much for sharing this with us, lovely Shoolbreads. Congratulations on such a great entry!


And the winner is...

I know it's a cliché but it's true. It has been sooooo difficult to choose a winner. I thought all of the entries were terrific. I would have liked to give a prize in different categories (perhaps one for adults reading and one for children reading). But that's not what the terms said, so I've had to choose just one. Here it goes!

The winner is...

Caroline and family for their superb reading of Wombat Stew!

Congratulations! You will receive an email with the news and instructions of how to send me your selection of two books from the following list, as a prize:

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Amandina

Beware of the Frog

Caps for Sale

I Want my Hat Back

In the Night Kitchen

 Monkey and Me

 Outside Over There

 Rosie's Walk

 The Boy in the Garden

 The Garden of Abdul Gasazi

The Haunted House

 The Night Pirates

 The Nutshell Library

 The Tiger Who Came to Tea

 Tiddler, the Story-Telling Fish

 We're Going on a Bear Hunt

 Where the Wild Things Are

 Would You Rather...

To all the rest of you, thanks a lot for taking part. It's been great great fun listening to all your super recordings.

The We Read it Like This teal (Iain, Gustavo and Ellen) send you a big wave and a hug. And a big well done for having got your recordings to us in time!