Susan Schlimgen 1st grade teacher at Edgewood Campus School
...a story that encourages children to make connections to their own lives and the stories that they possess...
Book Description
It’s Springtime In My Backyard is a read-aloud picture book about a little girl’s relationship with two wild ducks that come and nest in her backyard at the first signs of spring. The large photographs with whimsical water colored illustrations provide the reader with a fun, true to life reading experience. Written in the young girl’s voice, this story is about her developing relationship with the wild ducks. A CD recording of the author’s daughter reading the text accompanies each hardcover book. At the end of the story are two mallard fact pages and a child’s springtime photograph album designed to encourage dialogue about springtime.
At four years old, Lauren, the author’s daughter, began speech therapy twice a week. The plan was to strengthen Lauren’s communication skills before she entered kindergarten. The following spring, Ms. Mazur began to witness and write this story. Her goal was to engage her daughter in the storytelling process through a pictorial format that with Lauren she could create and share. After taking the photographs and discussing the story with Lauren, Ms. Mazur decided to make a professional recording of her daughter reading the story, an idea that brought boundless rewards.
Lauren’s awareness of the world around her and her delight in developing a tender, fragile connection with nature through It’s Springtime In My Backyard opened the door to her growing desire to read, create, and write.
This book is the celebration of Lauren’s journey into the wonderful world of reading, writing and storytelling. The author’s wish is that all children who enjoy this book will discover the joy of communicating and expressing their thoughts and imaginations, for they too have stories to tell.
About the author
Kathy Mazur, a Madison native and full–time mother, graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a Bachelors Degree in Communication Arts. She has a love for watching and photographing birds and is an accomplished illustrator. Her eight–year–old daughter Lauren, featured in the book's accompanying audio CD, is in the third grade in Madison. It’s Springtime In My Backyard is Kathy Mazur’s first book.
