Italian Potpourri

Dear Readers,

My wife, Anna and I have just returned from an incredible two week Perillo tour of Italy. If you decide to take a trip to Italy, go with Perillo. Everything is done for you-plane reservations, hotels, breakfasts and dinners, sightseeing, bus tours, and you have a bus driver and tour guide accompany you during the whole trip.

In two weeks, we covered the following cities: Milan, Capri, Venice, Sorrento, Pisa, Naples, Florence, Pompeii, Rome and Lake Lugano in Switzerland. We saw the beautiful Alps in the distance. Even though it rained 12 out of 14 days, we did everything. Do not let weather mess up your plans.

"What does all this have to do with Reading for my child?" you may ask. Does your child know or want to know about Italy? Does he know the sights to see in the different cities? Have him go to the library and get a picture book on each city. He will be fascinated from what he reads.

"Where does one take a gondola ride? Who is the gondolier? In what city is the Leaning Tower? Why does it lean? How is glass-blowing done in the factories of Florence? How did the city of Pompeii become ruined? Why is the bronze door in the Vatican opened every 25 years? What does it mean if you throw a coin over your left shoulder in the Fountain of Trevi in Rome? What did Michelangelo paint
and what statues did he sculpt?" What is a gelato? Where can you buy it? What is a water taxi?

Picture books bring all these questions to life. "Read, read, read," is my motto.

When your child reads about Italy, he will learn some interesting vocabulary:
Mt. Vesuvius, Tiber River, gondola, tower, Vatican, fountain, sculpt, tour, vacation, weather, directions, euro, gelato, arrivederci, pronto, pregho, entrata, uscita, il toilette, buona sera, aqua minerale. These are some of the Italian words I used while in Italy. Is your child taking Italian or another language in school?

Do you encourage your child to read? Do you take him to the supermarket and have him read the labels on Cereal boxes and soup cans? What else can you have him read? Do you read in front of your child? Do you have children's books in your home?

Reading affects everyday living. You know, as I do, that if your child can't read,
he will not be able to fill out job applications, bank deposit slips, address an envelope, read books and magazines, read street signs, read the newspaper, do math, science, history.

Next week, I will list some picture books on vacation.

Arrivederci,

Sincerely,

Ravenous Reader (a.k.a. Frankie)