The lineation of the text in Tony Ross’ children book ‘I
Want a Cat’ aids children to read fluently whilst showing expression. The first
sentence is on a single line, and comes to an end displayed by a full stop. The
next sentence starts underneath the previous, which could be due to a subject
change. Putting this sentence on a below line causes the child to have to move
their eyes, which will create a natural pause which emphasises the previous
full stop. This line ends in the middle of a clause with the word ‘so’. The
reason that the line ends on this word could be because elongating this word
adds exaggeration and emphasis before starting the next line with ‘loudly’.
This gives a build-up effect on what will come next in the story whilst
allowing fluent reading as it gives the child a chance to be looking ahead at
what words follow. The next line may begin with the adverb ‘loudly’ for the
reason that when children read, they tend to pause between lines and when
starting a new line, add more emphasis. The emphasis on this adverb may be an
increase in volume, which links directly to the meaning of the word, adding
effect. Another reason that this adverb may be at the start of a new line could
be because if it was on the previous line following ‘so’, the third clause may be
mistaken for a new sentence, which does not work alone.
