Blog | Kirsten Schilder - My first animal book

Kirsten Schilder, mother of 3, has written a blog for Little Dutch about My first animal book.

It may not be Jackie's first animal book, but it certainly is her newest and prettiest! I will admit that I was a little doubtful whether our youngest daughter, aged 5, would still like a new picture book. Isn't that something you only buy for the very youngest kids? From the moment I flipped the first page, my doubts were gone completely. This book is absolutely suitable for older children.

The wonderfully illustrated pages filled with animals both familiar and unknown immediately sparked my enthusiasm. I couldn't wait to get on the couch with my daughter, pour a nice glass of lemonade and start enjoying this picture book together. I would never have expected that we'd end up doing this every single day after school.

Jackie is a real animal lover. There isn't a single ladybug in Volendam she hasn't met yet, and she knows pretty much every butterfly by name. Given her love for animals and vivid imagination, it hardly came as a surprise to me that she was soon making up stories in which the animals from the pages played a prominent part. Giving voice to all the animal sounds together was quite the challenge for me, too. I admit that I had no idea whether a narwhal makes any sound to begin with. Long live Google!

Playing the familiar games also resulted in even more interactive mother-daughter moments.

As we leafed through the book, these games and questions turned out to be a great success.

• I spy with my little eye...
• I'm thinking of an animal. You've got to ask questions and guess what it is!
• Which animal starts with … ?
• Which animal ends with …?
• What are these animals called if there's two of them?
• Which animal makes this sound?
• Which animal has scales, feathers or soft fur?
• How many animals do you see with 2 legs? And which ones have 4?
• Are there any animals with hooves or nails?
• Do you know which animal loves grass?
• Are there any animals that lay eggs?
• Are there any animals you really shouldn't pet?
• Which animal has the biggest teeth?

I had not expected that I'd spend almost an hour doing this with Jackie. She had such a great time that she now asks me to “read” her new animal book with her almost every afternoon, after school or after dinner.  I have to admit that I quite like this, too. By now, she regularly grabs this book when she has friends over, and I can hear her repeat the very questions I asked her before.

Since the summer vacation is just around the corner, I've reserved a spot for the book in our hand luggage. I'm almost certain Jackie will want to bring this book on vacation. It's ideal for trips. I'm absolutely sure that the (flying) time will just fly by.

Inspired by Kirsten's story? Take a look at our collection of children's books here.

Kirsten Schilder is the wife of singer Nick Schilder. They have three children; Nikki (11), Julian (9) and Jackie (5). The family lives in Volendam. Kirsten writes columns for Flair magazine, is an influencer and gives tips about children and family life during Koffietijd. @kirsten_schilder