"This Old Man" Makes for a Great Picture Book

This Old Man
Illustrated by Pam Adams
ISBN #9780859530262

       Perhaps the biggest difference between children's books and adult's books are the wonderful illustrations we see in children's literature.  Ask any random kid what their favorite part of a book is, and chances are he will tell you something to do with an illustration.  When children are young, illustrations are their key to unlocking the words.  A good author will match important words on each page to a corresponding picture.  So now, if the child sees a picture of a dog, she can better sound out d-o-g.  The even better authors use the "Three R's," (rhyming, rhythm, and repetition) in their work as well.  This allows the children to follow the same pattern throughout the book, and use the pictures to just match up the words that are changing.
     For the majority of my teaching career, albeit short-lived, I have worked with mostly children in grades 1-5.  That is approximately ages 6-11, for those of you that have forgotten.  This past summer, however, I had the pleasure of teaching in a pre-school.  The children in my class were between 2 and 4 years old.  Is 2 to 7 years a big age difference in the adult world? Not at all.  My boyfriend and I are 5 years apart (and guess who is more mature... yeah).  Collegiate classmates may be decades apart, yet still do the same work.  But in the wonderful world of children, a few precious years can make all the difference.  On my very first day, I read through the alphabet chart with my kids and asked them to write the letters of their name.  All I got were a bunch of blank stares and a few dirty diapers.  Being the typical teacher that I am, I knew I had to come up with activities that these kids not only could understand, but would be educational as well.  I found my answer in big picture books.
     I would read the class the same few books each day, but our favorite was This Old Man.  You probably remember this as a song.. "This old man, he played one.  He played knick knack on my drum, with a knick-knack patty whack - give a dog a bone - This old man came rolling home."  Pam Adams, who is the book's illustrator, really did an amazing job.  What makes this book so special are, in fact, the illustrations.  The words are simply the same song that we all sang at some point in our childhood.  "This old man" knick-knacks his way up to playing "ten on my hen."  Cute, yes, but nothing out of the ordinary.  What Adams created is called a "book with holes."  That means that each page has a cut out through which you can see a portion of the next page (in this case, you can see the next old man). 
     Each page spread (2 pages that are next to each other, like pages 2 and 3) describes the man playing one number.  The numbers are on the left side and are printed big and bold; very appealing to the eye.  There is a scene drawn on the right side of each spread, that not only depicts what the old man is doing on the current number, but shows what he has already done as well.  The children would love to look at the picture to find what the man is up to now.  In addition to being so engaged, my kids would participate as well.  Sometimes they would all sing along with me, other times I would point to one child and have him say that part, then another child, and so on.  You would be surprised how many different ways there are to read the same book!
     Pam Adams did a remarkable job illustrating the classic This Old Man.  Every element that a good children's picture book should have is incorporated into this book.  I found it to be extremely motivating and enjoyable with young toddlers, however I imagine that children of all ages would love it.  Not only will the children love the bright, colorful pictures, but they will feel so much happiness and importance when they can sing along with you, an adult that they look up to.  I strongly suggest adding this book to your library!