Buzz

Wong, Janet S. Buzz. Illus. Margaret Chodos-Irvine. Orlando FL: Voyager Books/Harcourt, Inc., 2000.

This is the kind of book I like reading with my grandson, Mason. He is 27 months old and has been signing since he was about seven months old. When reading, I teach him new signs and we review those he has already learned.

I think it's important for children, especially very young children, to be able to relate to the characters in the books they read. This story was easy for Mason to relate to (and sign)—Daddy shaving, airplane flying, a kiss for Grandma (Guela), etc. The only thing he was confused with was, the "bee". He insisted it was a butterfly. Butterflies he has seen, I don't believe he's been close enough to a bee to get a good look.

When I first picked up this book, I thought Mason and I would be reading a book about bees and honey. It was interesting to see where Wong went with this; I'd never considered the different buzzes we experience during the day. By the end of the story, Mason had learned the sign for bee and the fact that he insisted it was a butterfly, did not stop him from "buzzzzzzzz"ing around all afternoon.