Welcome My first post in my first blog – It’s been an incredibly difficult decision. What comes first?
Why am I so enthusiastic about singable books?
It’s not the research, though there’s lots of that. It’s not the opportunity for a quiet moment or the skills learned being an audience. It’s not even the artistry in producing a picture book so beautiful in word and image that you want to enjoy it over and over, discovering something new each time. It’s not the bond you can feel in the air, as children let the primitive parts of us revel in the safe space it creates.
For me, it is that everyone gets to do this.
To look, listen and take in, at their own pace and in their own way – this moment. Look if you can’t listen. Listen if you can’t see. Let it envelope you in a blanket of inclusion.
Shoulders drop as a child realises they understand what is being sung, because the pictures explain it. Breathing slows as the sounds and sights light up the brain. The gift is given with the only expectation that you try to listen, with all your senses, as deeply as you can.
I have watched the magic over and over and every time it brings me to tears.
