Let’s talk about board books! Authors design board books for “little hands” that are still learning to be gentle. They also target “little minds,” often featuring simple words and stories with bright and vibrant illustrations. Children can easily digest them, since they typically contain 300 words or less, and parents can read them over and over again without burnout because of their short, melodic nature.
The theme that we will be focusing on this month is Sandra Boynton board books. In this post, you will discover four engaging activities inspired by one of Sandra Boynton’s most popular board books, Blue Hat, Green Hat. Following the lighthearted nature of Boynton’s classic board books, this story opens the door to fun and meaningful connection between you and your child, the heart of My Book Bud.
Table of Contents
Blue Hat, Green Hat
Author and Illustrator: Sandra Boynton
Published by Little Brown and Company, 1999
Summary: A naive turkey continue to put his clothes on in all the wrong places, completely oblivious to his mistakes, but the unexpected ending is a twist no reader will see coming!
Skills to Tackle with Blue Hat, Green Hat (and other board books like it):
Inference: Best for ages 3-5
Inferencing is an incredibly important skill and one that will get featured with all the picture and board books on this blog. Inference is when a reader uses clues from the text to figure out something that isn’t directly stated. You may have heard the term “read between the lines.”
Inference Example
Think about ways this has happens naturally in your own life. If your spouse walks downstairs in the morning with bags under their eyes and pours an extra-large cup of coffee, you can infer that they feel tired. You combine your background knowledge of what tired people look like with their eye bags and coffee to conclude that they feel tired.
Inference with Green Hat, Blue Hat
In this story, each page features three animals who appropriately put an item of clothing on and a turkey who keeps getting it wrong. As you read, make inferences with your child by asking them what the turkey did wrong.
Example Conversation:
- Parent: This silly turkey keeps putting his clothes on all wrong! Look at this page, what is wrong here?
- Child: His shirt!
- Parent: What is wrong with his shirt?
- It’s important to not stop at which item of clothing is being used incorrectly and to ask this follow up question because that is where the inference will take place!
- Child: He put it on his legs! A shirt should go on your arms!
- Follow a similar formula with the rest of the book.
- Parent: This turkey can’t figure out where his clothes go! What item of clothing is wrong here?
- Child: His hat!
- Parent: What is wrong with it?
- Child: He put the hat on his feet! Hats don’t belong on your feet. They belong on your head!
Try flipping the activity around and asking which animals have their clothes on correctly. This can also help with color identification by simply asking which animal is wearing “red or blue,” etc.
This is a really wonderful activity as your child should have tons of background knowledge on where clothes typically go. They may also surprise you with their answers.
When I did this activity with my oldest, Gracie, one of her answers blew me away. When I asked her why the turkey was using the shoe incorrectly, instead of telling me it was on his head and not his foot, she told me that he only had one and not two shoes. This wasn’t the answer I was expecting, but she was totally correct! I absolutely loved that she saw something different than I had. We were able to have a discussion that I had not anticipated. So cool!
Look for simple ways to make inferences with your child using other board books like this!
Free Printable!
Now you’re in charge! Use the free printable linked below to dress the turkey. Mix and match the clothes, get them right…or oops! maybe not!
Repetition: Best for ages 2-4
Authors purposefully repeat certain words or phrases throughout their stories, whether in novels, chapter books, or simple board books. The repetition of certain words or phrases may emphasize different story elements such as conflict/problem, theme/life lesson, or resolution/solution. It is important for readers to pay close attention to repetition as it will help them comprehend the text on a deeper level. Authors do everything for a reason, so if there is a word or phrase that keeps getting repeated, it is worth it to stop and notice. Board books offer a great way to practice a skill like repetition because they are short and repeated words will really stand out.
Repetition in Green Hat, Blue Hat
Boynton uses the word “oops” over and over each time the turkey puts a new item of clothing on the wrong body part, a silly yet predictable pattern. The reader is able to easily predict when they will hear the word “oops.”
After reading multiple times, allow your child to “fill in the blank” with the word “oops” when you get to the turkey. This will show your child how often the story repeats the word ‘oops’ and how the author creates a predictable pattern.
Talk about the word ‘oops’ with your child and discuss why the story repeats it throughout.
Example Conversation:
- Parent: What word do you keep hearing again and again throughout the story?
- Child: Oops!!
- Parent: That is super silly! It seems like whenever we see the turkey, we always read the word “oops!” Why do you think that is?
- Child: Because the turkey keeps putting his clothes on the wrong body part . Sometimes when I do something wrong, I say “oops” too!
- This is a great way to steer the conversation because you and your child are now talking about the central conflict or problem of the story in a simple and informal way.
- Parent: At the end of the story, I noticed the turkey finally put all of his clothes on right but it still says “oops!” Why is that?
- Child: Because he jumped in the pool with all his clothes on! You are supposed to wear a bathing suit in the pool!
- At the end, the word “oops” is repeated again because he still “got it wrong.” This goofy twist ending misleads the reader into thinking the turkey understood his mistakes, but ultimately he still fails at getting dressed correctly.
Even though most board books are simple in nature, they often offer an easy and rich way to practice complex skills like repetition.
Story Elements: Best for ages 4-6
Story elements are basic parts of a story, such as characters, setting, and events. Using board books like this to practice identifying several critical story elements such as characters, problem/conflict, and resolution/solution make working on a tough skill less intimating and more comfortable.
Story Elements in board books and other fiction stories:
- Characters: The people or animals in the story. They are the ones who do the actions and talk.
- Setting: The place and time where the story happens. It tells us where and when the story takes place.
- Events: The main things that happen in the story, usually in order from beginning to end.
- Problem/Conflict: What goes wrong in the story or what challenge the character faces. It’s what makes the story interesting.
- Solution/Resolution: How the problem gets fixed or how the story ends.
- Theme: The big idea or lesson the story teaches — what the author wants readers to think about or learn.
Informally discuss some of these story elements with your child.
Example Conversation:
- Parent: Who do you think the story is mostly about?
- Child: Well, there are four animals that keep showing up: an elephant, a moose, a bear, and a turkey. I think the story is mostly about the turkey though because he is the only one on every page.
- Parent: Interesting! Why do you think that is?
- Child: Well, it seems like the turkey is the only one who doesn’t know how to get dressed. He keeps putting his clothes in wrong.
- Without even realizing it, your child has just identified the problem/conflict of the story—a crucial story element. If they don’t get there independently, help guide them there.
- Parent: Yeah, how goofy! Does the turkey ever figure out how to put his clothes on correctly?
- Child: Well, sort of. The turkey finally puts all his clothes on in the right spot, but then he jumps in the pool with them on!
- If your child can point this out, he or she has just identified the resolution/solution of the problem/conflict. Even though the story ends with him jumping in the pool, the main problem is still resolved because he was able to put his clothes on correctly. Most stories end with the conflict getting resolved.
You can introduce these somewhat intimidating story elements in a non-threatening and casual way that will strengthen the development of your child’s comprehension skills through simple board books such as this one.
Expansion Activity: Best for ages 2-5
If your family is anything like mine, getting dressed and ready in the morning is always a struggle. By the time we get out the door, we’ve somehow survived tantrums, power struggles, and endless outfit changes. It’s physically and emotionally exhausting.
Morning Routine:
Here’s an idea to hopefully make just one part of your morning routine go smoother. When your kids are getting dressed, pretend to be the “turkey.” If your child is refusing to put on a pair of pants, a very familiar scenario in my own house, put the pants on your own body in a silly place, like your head. This will hopefully make your child laugh and they’ll say they belong on your legs.
Follow up by saying, “Oops! I was just being a turkey!” They may want to then “be the turkey,” themselves and put the pants on in a silly place. Make sure to say, “Oops!” After laughing together, ask them to “be the elephant or bear or moose” (other characters in the book or even other characters in different board books), and to put the pants on correctly. With any luck, this exchange will lead to a fit of laughter. Ultimately, this may add a few minutes to your morning routine, but you won’t walk away feeling so emotionally taxed.
You don’t have to be actively reading the book to reference the text. Your child will know what you are talking about when you mention the “turkey,” making it perfect to bring up in all kinds of situations. Look for ways to do this when you consistently read other picture and board books over and over again.
To Wrap Things Up
Board books may seem simple, but they are the perfect way for your child to build a foundation of literacy skills. There is a whole world to discover on the pages, but don’t just read the words, go deep into the world of board books! You won’t believe what you’ll find. Snuggle up, and get ready to smile, giggle, and most importantly connect with Blue Hat, Green Hat.
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