One of Tsia's friends gave her this adorable matching game for her birthday.
The illustrations are done by Melissa Sweet, who also has a number of books to her credit. As much as I like our original matching game, I adore these cards because they're really thick and chunky. It makes them fun to handle. And the illustrations are so charming: the bear on a bicycle is my favorite.
The cards also feature a group of characters who re-appear in a variety of situations, so in addition to playing matching we use the cards to make up stories about the characters in the illustrations. I've been working with Tsia to develop some story-telling skills, which has also resulted in some very amusing handmade books I'll show you sometime. I write down the story that she tells, and then she illustrates it. But these cards have been great for quick little tales on the fly, just to help her learn a bit about narrative.
Oh! I used to do exactly that with my mom when I was little-- illustrate stories, and she would write them down. There was one called Megan's Adventures that went on and on and on... it's in a box in our attic, somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see some of Tsia's books!
I love Melissa Sweet.
ReplyDeleteOur matching game is from the 80's and has photographs of household items and animals and things. We play a game that goes like this: if you find a match, you get another turn, but if you don't find a match, you have to make a sentence about the things in the cards. Sometimes simple, sometimes very hard and requiring quite a stretch of the imagination. Sounds like your Melissa Sweet cards would be great for our game. If only we needed one more toy around here. Then again, did I mention how much love Melissa Sweet?
We just discovered Melissa Sweet's Carmine and Tupelo Rides the Rails. What a talented illustrator and story teller! I especially appreciate that she doesn't limit the vocabulary possibilties. I'm looking forward to finding the cards. Thanks Liesl.
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