Name: Peggy Kaye
Background: In “Games With Books” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $16), educator Peggy Kaye describes how parents can use 28 classic children’s books to help children from preschool to 3rd grade learn important skills. Kaye, originally a classroom teacher, is a private tutor and consultant in New York City.
Q. A lot of your games are based on books from the 1940s and ’50s. Do these classic children’s books have something in common?
A. Undoubtedly there’s something about these books that resonates for children. With “The Carrot Seed,” there’s a little boy who’s defiant. His parents tell him something’s not going to happen, but he thinks it will. He’s independent within the context of something completely safe and secure, and sure enough, it pays off. Psychologically that has a deep meaning. The remarkable thing about that book is that the author, Ruth Krauss, manages to do it in 101 words.
I think all the classic books have some aspect like that, though sometimes it’s more about fears, such as Emmy Payne’s “Katy No-Pocket.” There, the underlying question is, “Can my mother really take care of me?” And Katy does. She comes through. She makes sure she has a pocket for all the animals in the forest.
Q. So the books are true to children’s feelings, and everything works out in the end?
A. Exactly. And, of course, these particular books are brilliantly written. To be able to write a classic children’s book is a spectacular talent.
Q. Are some of these books your own childhood favorites?
A. Every single one from the ’40s and ’50s was one my mother read to me, and I can remember in a couple of cases begging to hear them again, or pretending to read them myself. They’re timeless. And they obviously bear up under much repetition. The aspects of childhood they tap into have nothing to do with what’s popular at the moment.
Q. And they don’t have much to do with marketing.
A. They don’t have anything to do with marketing.
Q. Do kids notice these books are from a different era? How does that hit them?
A. Certain books show their age more than others. In Betty MacDonald’s “Mrs. Piggle Wiggle” books, you have this suburban world where every dad goes off to work and every mom stays home, and the girls bake the cookies and the boys play pirates. That’s a little grating, except that I think MacDonald recognized it, too, and is making fun of it. And in any case, the stories are terrific. The childhood problems that get conquered in humorous ways are so wonderful to hear, the outdated stuff is easy to pass by.
Most children don’t raise an eyebrow at anachronisms, though they do notice, as they get older, that some things don’t have the sleek quality of a modern book. And speaking of that, I have a peeve about movies that modernize classic children’s stories. I think that’s reprehensible even if the movies are good.
Q. Can movies made from children’s books work in the same way as your games based on children’s books?
A. I think it’s quite a different experience. I would say, if nothing else, never ever see the movie before you read the book. But I don’t really see the reason to exploit these characters that were designed to be in books, not on a screen.
Q. What does playing games with books have to do with reading?
A. One aspect of reading is the creation of a relationship between the child and a character that’s as real in its own way as any other reality in the child’s life. Their imaginations become so deeply involved that they’re able to create that story inside of themselves, which is what movies pretend they’re doing, but they actually aren’t. Playing games based on characters in books makes those characters come into your life. It adds another dimension to the book.
Q. The games deepen the experience beyond the moment of actual reading?
A. Exactly. If you make a blueberry recipe after reading Robert McCloskey’s “Blueberries for Sal,” it gives those blueberries a special meaning in your life.
Q. What are you looking for in a good game?
A. First of all, I know the range of skills–reading, writing, math, motor development, logical thinking, imagination, creativity–that I know children need. So I look for a game that’s going to help a child master something that’s important to be mastered. And then I look for something that I think is fun. And I play it with children, to make sure they agree.
I have some games that are physical, some that you can play on a bus ride, some that take a few minutes, some that are projects. All of them are very simple. Many don’t require more than pencil and paper. It’s an old-fashioned, low-tech way to be involved with your child’s education, without becoming a taskmaster.
For the parent, it’s an enjoyable way to spend time with your child. It’s not about drilling your child on number facts or counting skills.
Q. And your games are mostly non-competitive.
A. A few are competitive, but some of those are set up for the child to win, which I think is fine for young children.
Q. What about getting kids to make up their own games?
A. That absolutely happens, and it’s wonderful when it does.
