Adventures and the Promises of the Future in a Beautiful Picture Book to Encourage Young Readers to Dream

Kiley Frank's first book for young children is a beautiful picture book that encourages young readers to begin to explore their world and to dream about what each day holds. Tomorrow Is Waiting invites young children to look around at their world to see things that they might not see. A little girl wakes each morning and goes out into the world to fly her kite, to explore a forest, and learn to be courageous in learning about the world. She encounters a little forest creature to offer friendship. She walks across a fallen tree to get to the other side of a river with waterfalls all around. She discovers that she is brave! She takes time to listen and learns that she is actually very small when she compares herself to the huge mountain with a waterfall. She visits the ocean. Young readers will want to explore their own world after reading about the little girl's adventures in exploring her world. Tomorrow Is Waiting is written in a type of poetic text with short sentences for easy reading for beginning readers. Aaron Meshon contributes his talents as an illustrator with brightly colored illustrations that fill each page. Tomorrow Is Waiting has a life lesson for young readers in teaching that each day holds an adventure. Life is to be explored and treasured.

Tomorrow Is Waiting was published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group. It is recommended for ages 4-8 and has an ISBN of 978-1-101-99437-5.

My favorite activities with my pre-k and kindergarten students always began with a beautiful picture book and story during our story time sessions. I used picture books and the variety of subjects that could be found to enhance a reading experience. Kiley Frank's Tomorrow Is Waiting offers a wealth of ideas for enhancing a reading experience for young children. The text is short and appropriate for very young readers. The brightly colored illustrations will engage young readers when reading.

*Read Tomorrow Is Waiting in a group story time session. Call attention to the beginning when the little girl is sleeping and dreaming about what tomorrow might hold. Engage young children in a discussion with their ability to express their ideas about what they think about while falling asleep each night. What kinds of things do they think about doing when tomorrow comes?

*Call attention to the idea that the little girl must decide to be brave when moving around in her world. Provide an opportunity for children to express their ideas about being brave when they encounter something different in their environment.

*Call attention to the little girl's feeling of being very small when she encounters a mountain and a large waterfall. Provide an opportunity for children to express their ideas about something that makes them feel small in their environment.

*Provide drawing paper, crayons, markers, and colored tissue for children to create a piece of artwork that reminds them of an adventure that they have had. The colors of Tomorrow Is Waiting is of special interest in that it will inspire young readers to create a colorful work of art about something in their environment that they have explored. Children might also be encouraged to use colorful paint to paint a picture of one of their adventures.

*Call attention to the illustration of the ocean and the creatures that inhabit the ocean. This illustration can spark an interest in learning about the ocean. Extra material added to learn about the ocean could be added to enhance the reading experience after reading Tomorrow Is Waiting.

*The illustrator chose to illustrate scenes where he would like to take a nap. This is a fun fact that could spark a discussion with young children about choosing a special place for them to take a nap.