Developing language and literacy with young children - Marian R Whitehead

`Marian Whitehead forces the reader to attend to the "voice of the child against the encroachment of inappropriate curriculum demands. Her total fascination for children's language development captures the reader in an enthusiastic and informed voyage through "the most exciting and important aspect of human development - language in the early years' - Early Years

`This is an excellent read for all parents and workers with young children. The style of the book is friendly and accessible, with beautifully produced of photographs of children and indeed of their own work. Marian Whitehead is not ashamed to draw on her experiences as a grandparent, as well as highly competent theoretical researcher; she does both with competence and humour. This will prove an excellent source book for those involved in course design from childminders to university lecturers' - Child Language Teaching and Therapy

`This is an excellent book. It is well organized and deals effectively with the many issues relating to early language and literacy development.

The book provides a wealth of practical strategies with the theories and research that underpin them, for developing a learning environment, rich in positive and stimulating language and literacy experiences. It reminds us that children who are struggling with literacy needs more, rather than fewer, of these. This makes it a very useful text for early years practitioners struggling to challenge the imposition of inappropriate practice themselves and the children they work with, in order to `raise standards'.
It should be read, not just by them, but everyone involved in primary education' - Nursery World

`I particularly like the assertion that "only in a workshop setting can the range, variety, flexibility and full challenge of relevant literacy be ensured". Marian Whitehead stresses that to learn to read, children "need to know that someone who loves them believes in them totally and knows that one day they will be a reader" - Emma Hertzberg, Goldsmiths Association for Early Childhood

This accessible book is about the most exciting and important aspect of human development - language in the early years (0 - 8). It is a book for carers, parents, teachers and other professionals who work and play with young children and share in the emergence of their language. It will support early years carers and practitioners by giving them a confident understanding of children's language development in the years from birth to age eight.

The book works with the rich mixture of thinking, feeling, imagining, talking, listening, drawing, writing and reading that is typical of all our language activities. The author reasserts the importance of children's relationships and communications with people, who care about them, spend time with them and share in the excitement of their developing languages and their investigations of literacy. This holistic approach covers:

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early communication and language

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the achievements of young bilinguals

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the significance of stories, narrative and
language play

- the emergence of literacy in homes, early years settings and classrooms.