Dick King Smith- The Sheep Pig. Its a school book and DD aged 6 is struggling.

[suwoo]

DD is a good reader and has been a free reader since year 1. Her teacher has given her this book (now year 2 and not 7 until March) as her home reading book and she is really struggling. It has a lot of colloquial Yorkshire/Lancashire speak in it and just seems a bit too advanced. I don't wish to discourage her, but she is struggling to understand it as the language is so foreign to her. We are in Manchester by the way, so this isn't a north/south thing, but she has no concept of 'theseyer' 'twas' 'tis' 'afore' and 't'wont'. I told her I would post here for advice.

Bump please as DD is here and desperate for your feedback.

I think she is quite young for it. I think I first read it at age 9.

'tis Babe - but I'm guessing you know that. The book is far better though.

I hope it doesn't spoil her experience of the book - it was one of my favourites when I was young (along with 'Daggy Dog-foot' also by DKS).

Sorry not much help.

Dd is 8 and would still struggle with that (awaiting dx of ASD and ADD, so reading's taken her a long while). DKS is her favourite author, but we read the stories to her and she has a few on CD. The dialect is hard to read for such young readers I think.

No, I didn't know it was Babe, but being a lifelong vegetarian I had deliberately ignored that film. Where should I go from here then? Let her read it and translate/explain?

Can't she just ditch it and read another book? Or must she read it.

As a teacher, I read it to a class of 8/9 year olds. I think it could well be too hard for even a free reading 6 year old, and I think the presence of dialect provides you with a good excuse to send it back to the teacher unread (or you read it to her maybe?)

Are you really telling us that the teacher picks the books for the children to read? Even when they are still on the reading scheme, all my children have picked their own books (though within levels).

I have read this book with year 7 children in secondary school!

I just asked her who picked this and she said the teacher. I am aware that the children normally pick their own, so was assuming she had selected it herself and would therefore tell her to pick another one and that this one was too hard. She is adamant though that the teacher picked it for her. Shall I just read it with her during holidays and see how she gets on?

Interestingly, even though our primary is pretty academic, even advanced readers follow reading schemes for a lot longer than Yr 1. Free reading is much later in the school. Regardless, I would have thought that book was beyond even an advanced 6 year old.

She is on band 15 for school and 14 for home. Where would this fit in?

Bump

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase

As a teacher I would say it is a bit much for a 6 year old. Can't you just swap it and say it was too difficult for her? No point stuggling on! I used to use it in Year 5 for some of my reading groups!

Shall I just read it to her then? I think DD (and perhaps I) is loathe to admit defeat. Also, I feel in this pushy climate, I should be grateful for a 'hard book', do you know what I mean?

Some of our year 6 children are reading this ATM. Too much for a Yr1 IMHO.

Perhaps the teacher hasn't actually read the book and isnt aware of the words in it.

I feel for your DD Agree that you should read it to her.
Can you give her another book to read instead?

If my dd is struggling with a book, we read a page each, so that she's getting the practice but still getting a bit of a feel for the story IKSWIM?