親子共讀推薦 Parent-Child Shared Reading - 2023/6
1/ Macca the Alpaca
推薦跟 3-5 歲的小朋友共讀
圖文：Matt Cosgrove
版本：精裝，24 頁
類別：勇氣、仁慈、智慧
—> 點我購買 Macca the Alpaca
Recommendation for reading with children aged 3-5
Author & Illustrator: Matt Cosgrove
Hardcover: 24 pages
Category: Courage, Kindness, Smarts
—> Click here to purchase Macca the Alpaca
Macca 是一隻身形細小的羊駝，有著愛好和平的個性和靈活的腦袋。可是無論你是一個多好的人（或羊駝），總無法讓所有人都喜歡你，甚至有些人就是愛跟你找碴，就像圖中棕色的大羊駝 Hammer，為了證明自己比 Macca 優秀而下戰書！
小朋友都一面倒的支持 Macca，希望他能贏過 Hammer。而 Macca 亦為小朋友作了一個很好的示範，就是不被眼前的挑戰牽著走，不硬碰，而是動動腦筋，思考如何運用自己的特質和資源來達成目標。小朋友除了很讚嘆 Macca 那些不硬碰也贏過 Hammer 的妙計，另一個讓他們很投入的原因是他們和 Macca 一樣都很細小，而書裡的一個重要信息：「細小不等如弱小」，給了他們勇氣去面對生活中的挑戰。
在故事的最後，可以問問小朋友，如果你是 Macca，為了 Hammer 的挑戰而折騰了一整天，你會給他一拳，還是一抱泯恩仇呢？
Macca is a small alpaca with a loving, peaceful personality and a flexible mind. However, no matter how good a person (or alpaca) you are, you cannot please everyone, and some people love to pick a fight with you. Just like the big brown llama, Hammer in the picture, who challenged Macca to prove that he was better than him!
The children all supported Macca, hoping he could win against Hammer. Macca also set an excellent example for the children by not being led by the challenges, not fighting head-on, but using his unique qualities and resources to achieve his goals. Besides admiring Macca's cleverness in winning the challenge without confrontation, children also resonated with Macca's small size and the important message conveyed in the book: "Small does not mean weak," which gave them the courage to face challenges in life.
At the end of the story, we could ask the children, if you were Macca and had been bothered all day by Hammer's challenge, would you punch him or hug him?
2/ Nope. Never. Not For Me!
推薦跟 3-7 歲的小朋友共讀
圖文：Samantha Cotterill
版本：平裝，32頁
類別：自閉症、高敏、感官處理、偏食
—> 點我購買 Nope. Never. Not for Me!
Recommendation for reading with children aged 3-7
Author: & Illustrator: Samantha Cotterill
Paperback: 32 pages
Category: Autism Spectrum, Highly Sensitive, Sensory Processing, Picky Eating
—> Click here to purchase Nope. Never. Not for Me!
我們對於食物都有不一樣的喜惡，小朋友在嘗試不同的食物時亦然，尤其是部分有自閉症特徵或高敏的小朋友，他們的感官輸入傾向被放大，因此容易只能接受某一類食物，同時嚐到不喜歡的味道或質感時會異常難受，所以會大哭大鬧也不足為奇。
本書作者本身也是自閉症譜系人士，因此對於無法接受一些食物，以及宣洩那種難受的需要特別感同身受。但她並不是主張小朋友要和不喜歡的食物老死不相往來，而是鼓勵小朋友嘗試用不同感官去體驗那種食物，用盡方法直至確認自己真的不喜歡，至少是努力過才（有禮貌地）拒絕。
另外，書中亦傳遞一個對小朋友心理發展很重要的概念 — 喜惡不一定是非黑即白，可以是有分深淺程度，例如是很喜歡，可以接受，最好不要吃等等。當小朋友能跳出二元思維，不止食物，會發現他們對很多事物的接受能力都有所提升呢。
We all have different preferences when it comes to food, and this is true for children as well. This is especially the case for those who are on the autism spectrum or are highly sensitive. Their sensory input tends to be amplified, and they may only accept certain types of food. They may also feel extremely uncomfortable and upset when they taste something they don't like.
As the author of this book is also on the autism spectrum, she understands the need to express these feelings and the difficulty in accepting certain types of food. However, she does not advocate for children to avoid foods they don't like altogether. Instead, she encourages children to use different senses to experience the food and to keep trying until they are sure they don't like it. At least they should have tried before declining (in a nice manner).
Moreover, the book conveys an important concept crucial for young children's psychological development - preferences should not be black or white. There can be different degrees of fondness, like ‘I love it’, ‘I’m okay with it’, or ‘no, thank you’ types of food. When children start to think beyond the duality, they will find that they can accept things more easily, even those that they used to find difficult.
3/ A Stack of Alpacas
推薦跟 3-5 歲的小朋友共讀
圖文：Matt Cosgrove
版本：精裝，24頁
類別：言行舉止
—> 點我購買 A Stack of Alpacas
Recommendation for reading with children aged 3-5
Author & Illustrator: Matt Cosgrove
Hardcover: 24 pages
Category: Manners
—> Click here to purchase “A Stack of Alpacas”
因為學生很喜歡這個 Macca the Alpaca 的系列，所以又來推薦了（笑）。沒想到 Macca 已經是三個小孩的叔叔！
暑假將至，相信很多家長都會在暑假期間帶小朋友到處去玩，拜訪朋友的家，甚至是睡過夜。這些時候我們都會特別緊張小朋友有沒有表現出良好的家教，可是他們通常都會跟朋友玩太嗨，別說家教，家人都給忘了。
書裡 Macca 的侄兒們到 Macca 家拆床、玩食物、不收拾的場景等等似乎都是小朋友在一起太興奮的時候會做的事，不過當小朋友跟我們看書的時候，卻都能指出這樣是不對的。這時候我們可以問問他們：「那麼那三個小孩應該怎樣做呢？」他們就可以藉此提醒自己，到別人家或者是跟其他人玩的時候應有的行為舉止。然後，性格溫和的 Macca 跟侄兒們的暖心結局，也提醒了小朋友如何反省跟道歉。
Macca the Alpaca 系列的叢書眾多，都是簡單易讀而且押韻的，非常推薦家長給小朋友朗讀之餘，也可以練一下 sight words。
My students love the Macca the Alpaca series, so I recommend it again (lol). Surprisingly, Macca is now the uncle of three kids!
As the summer holiday approaches, many parents will take their children to play, visit friends and even stay overnight. We often worry about whether the children will behave well during these times. But they usually get too excited playing with their friends and forget their manners.
In the book, Macca's nephews are shown doing things like bouncing on Macca’s bed, playing with food, and not tidying up, which children do very likely when they get too excited. However, they can point out this doesn't seem right when they read the book with us. We can ask them, 'What should those three kids do instead?'. This will remind them to behave appropriately at someone else's home or play with others. Moreover, Macca's gentle personality and heart-warming ending with his nephews remind children how to reflect and apologise.
There are many books in the Macca the Alpaca series. They are all simple, easy to read, and rhyming. I highly recommend that parents read them aloud and encourage children to practice sight words.
