At the Studio with Matthew Van Fleet
About Matthew Van Fleet
Matthew Van Fleet’s innovative books have been introducing children to basic concepts for over twenty years. His unique formats invite toddlers and preschoolers to touch, press, pull, lift and even sniff as they explore colors, shapes, numbers, letters, opposites and more.
Matthew’s books include the #1 New York Times bestsellers Tails and DOG as well as the New York Times bestsellers CAT, Alphabet, Heads and MOO. His perennial favorites have sold more than 8 million copies and children in fifteen countries across the globe enjoy his books each day!
At the Studio
In this world of technology, I miss face to face communication! After discovering that Matthew and I live very close to each other we decided to meet in person. He invited me to his wonderful studio where I experienced how he creates his children’s masterpieces!
Meeting Matthew in person was super special to me because his books were an important part of story time with my children when they were young. How did they learn about dogs? Matthew Van Fleet’s book, Dogs! My children and I spent countless moments reading and interacting with all of the different multi sensory components of each of his books. His books are so unique in how they are created and seeing this in person was wonderful!
Language Implementation
Matthew is dedicated to teaching children basic concepts with the use of his unique books. The combination of words, pictures and tactile components gives children a different type of experience when reading. I also love how he combines the use of photographs, line drawings and words to give children the most optimal learning experience. Matthew also perfectly aligns textures with language! For example in his beloved book, Chomp Goes the Alligator, the fuzzy texture has the words “Nine fuzzy, yellow…”. As you are reading the book, make sure to align new vocabulary with the textures. This is a wonderful way to expand vocabulary for your child and give him/her an interactive experience. His books are also ideal for children with various speech and language delays and deficits. Learning language through interaction is key! For children who seek sensory stimulation, having a texture component to the book can be very motivating. His books can be read over and over again since there are so many embedded concepts on each page. To check out my review of Chomp Goes the Alligator, click here.
Watch them in action!
His new book, Oscar the Octopus
Matthew’s newest book, Oscar the Octopus, A Book About the Months of the Year helps teach children about the months of the year, texture, colors, and sea creatures. As your child interacts with Oscar the Octopus, they will also be learning new words and the months of the year. On each page is a new opportunity to expand vocabulary. For example, on the November page, “the air turned chilly and cold, when Oscar caught something shiny and gold.” When you open the flap is a picture of a shiny goldfish with textures that your child will love!
