Wonderful jungle journey: Interactive books promote language development!

Wonderful jungle journey: Interactive books promote language development!

Today there is exciting news from the world of children's literature: Two creative minds from Winterthur, Karin Sauter-Singh and Karin Schmid, have published their second picture book entitled "Journey through the Jungle". This work is not only a fun adventure for little ones, but also a valuable tool for promoting language development and motor skills. As the Winterthur newspaper reports, the authors rely on interactive elements, such as a hidden leopard that jumps into view when a flap is opened. The idea behind it is simple and ingenious: children should become active and discover the world of language in a playful way.

But why are motor skills so important for language development? Sauter-Singh explains that motor skills such as crawling strengthen the core muscles and therefore also promote language development. In their first picture book, "Three Animals Travel by Train", published in 2023, the mothers and writers already laid a foundation for the core vocabulary of a maximum of 50 words - a strategy that contributes to language development.

Inclusive approaches to language education

A central aspect of the new books is inclusivity. The works are aimed at all children, regardless of their linguistic background or level of development. Foreign-language children and late talkers should also be included in the reading pleasure. This approach is not only promoted by the authors themselves, but is part of a larger trend that the latest pedagogical findings support. The books also contain sign language pictograms from the Porta Sign collection, which help to visually support the words. This is also reflected in the current publications inclusive language education, which address the issue of dealing with multilingualism and disabilities in early childhood education.

The importance of making the language accessible to all children is also illustrated by an article by Avemarie, Becker and Müller, which will be published in 2025 and deals with inclusive language education approaches. New concepts and didactic guidelines are presented that shed light on reading to deaf, hard of hearing and hearing children. Such initiatives are crucial to providing diverse and inclusive language education that addresses the individual needs of each child.

Support language development

The importance of language development for children's identity formation cannot be overestimated. In today's early childhood education, it must be a given that no language is ignored. Every child should be valued for their communicative skills. With integrated language education based on children's interests, experts show that they have a good knack for helping children develop their language skills.

The further education initiative.de has published a groundbreaking report that describes the requirements for specialists in inclusive language education. This provides tips and shows how professionals can optimally support children from different backgrounds.

With "Journey through the Jungle", the likeable authors Sauter-Singh and Schmid make a valuable contribution to this important topic by giving children and their parents the opportunity to learn through play and discover the joy of the language. Her books are more than just stories – they are invitations to journey together through the world of words.