Growing Readers: Begin Reading Early!
Guest Blogger: Stacie Narlock
I love books. I always have a book with me, one at home, in my car, in my CD player, on my iPod. I am never without a book. Before I am anything else, I am a reader. As a Librarian and a mother of an 18 month old, 100% pure boy, I am always concerned that my son, Oskar, will not be a reader. Of course my husband is concerned that he will not like football, but we all have our priorities!
When I was a child I loved books that would tell the story through the picture. My favorite set of books ever was Sweet Pickles. For those of you who do not know these books, they take place in the town of Sweet Pickles, which is inhabited by animals. The animals each have a book that tells their story. The end flap of each book had a map of the town. I can’t wait to share these with Oskar. These books really created a sense of place for me and I find that is something I still look for in a book.
When Oskar was born, I began reading to him immediately. In fact, those first sleepless months, I spent reading to him. His first book was World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. I know, not exactly baby friendly but what did he know and by the way, it was a fabulous book. I continue to read to him everyday and he has more bookshelves than I do but guess what? It has paid off. He spends more time playing with his books than anything else. That is not to say he is not climbing all over the place like a monkey but he loves to just sit and look at his books and babble like a maniac at them!
The most important thing you can do for your children is to spend quality time with them, sit and listen to them, know who they are and what they like. Read to them, let them see you reading. Make reading innate in your life and it will be in theirs!
Leave a Reply