Success! Neve, my three year old niece can't yet read, yet Neve has memorized the complete text of my books Big Electric Cat and The Ugg and the Drip. She can be heard reciting the text aloud while she plays with her toys. "Dr. Yes is a crazy fool!" she'll declare. And she makes noises in rising volume to mimic the increasing size of the text. The dialogue is printed in different colours to help children discern between characters, potentially reveal a character's mood, and to make reading a little more fun. What I didn't think of was how the shape of the text on the page, which is very identifiable with the illustration, allows a child to more easily memorize the text that belongs to the corresponding picture. When Neve asked me to read The Ugg and the Drip to her, I sat with her. When I began to read she immediately began reciting the text. I was only there for comfort. She read the entire book to me! What a nice surprise. I'm honoured to have my books memorized, two of the dozen or so she has completely memorized.
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