Another silly concept. Obviously reading to your child is important. It's more important than you realize what it comes to creating a lifelong reader. It's simple, but one of the easiest things you can do is read in front of your child. If they see you reading, they are more likely to want to do the same thing. If you make reading time together an enjoyable experience, it will be something that your child will want to continue doing.
I absolutely love sharing my favorite books with my kids. It's an awesome bonding experience and can lead to childhood memories that will last a lifetime. My favorite picture book is Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. I loved reading about the Mallard family with my own family and seeing their journey across Boston. When I found out that Boston was a real place, I vowed to go there one day thus beginning my obsession with Beantown. It was home of not only the ducks and the landmarks they saw, but also Aerosmith, New Kids on the Block, and baked beans, all things I was very fond of as a child and have continued to adore into adulthood along with Matt Damon, Good Will Hunting, The Departed, Fenway Park, the fact that Boston is a split between Italian and Irish (like yours truly), and Dropkick Murphys. Side note, I was at a conference once where I met a super cool librarian who had a playlist of kid friendly Dropkick Murphys songs! That should be a future post! Anyway...for my 30th birthday I made the pilgrimage to Boston for the first time and fell in love. Boston Public Garden is my happy place. For in that beautiful park are statues of Mama Duck and her ducklings! I knew that one day I would share the book with my own family and bring my kids to see the park and the statues. I am happy to say that I have checked this off my bucket list. My girls will have the memory from their childhood that they can share with their own kids and keep the tradition alive. It all started with a book. How cool is that?!?!?!
Books also have the ability to introduce words that don't typically come up in every day conversation, thus building a child's vocabulary. Reading together also allows for conversation where you can introduce new vocabulary of your own. In the Baby Club program that I lead, we call this introducing million dollar words. You can do it all the time and build your child's brain. Bonus! Find out more information about using picture books to building language skills here.
Promoting this magical skill is so easy. Take advantage of your local library! A fact that we share in programs is that the number of books in the home is more predictive of the future success of the child than even the parents' level of education. This includes books you check out from the library! Free books = free learning opportunities = SUCCESS!!! Reading aloud to children is a strong predictor of whether they will be a good reader, so keep on doing it! Even older kids and teens love being read to! Trust me, I've done it during school visits, and many times they enjoy it more than the younger kids, especially if it involves singing, rhyming, or imitating sounds.
Find books with rich language and unusual words that you as an adult may even learn! Bilingual books are a great option too. Fancy Nancy books will even teach you some French! Reading together is the single most important way to help children get ready to read. While you can read anything your heart desires, allow me to share some favorites!
Mainly known for his series A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket created this masterpiece of unusual as only he can. This book came out in 2010, and I fondly recall my children's assistant, Lee and I enjoying it wholeheartedly. It even became a bit of an inside joke of sorts. My library system even had an event where we could meet Lemony Snicket and get a book signed. We had plans to get this book signed, but I was highly pregnant at the time and not feeling well at all. So I missed it. Flash forward to the baby shower my co-workers threw for me. Lee gifted me with a signed copy of this book. Still have it. Still love it. I mean, it has a despondent bird who visits a haberdashery, and you learn what it means to be a mezzo soprano!
Move over, Harry Potter and Dumbledore! Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith are the magical wizards behind this fractured fairy tale masterpiece that tells the story of the 3 Little Pigs from the Big Bad Wolf's point of view. Not only are there vocab words a plenty, but this book is just awesome.
The subject heading in my library's catalog comes up "Office equipment and supplies - Fiction." That just seems ridiculous and magical all at the same time, but that's what makes this book cool! Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel tell the harrowing story of a red pen that falls into the trash. A rogue band of classroom supplies must come together as a team to pull off a daring rescue. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll be on the edge of your seat!
These are just some of the many, many books that are out there just waiting to be read and shared by you and your family. Some additional picture book authors that I lovingly suggest (in no particular order except for the first one because Litwin = LIBRARY GOD) are Eric Litwin, Bob Shea, Jane Yolen, Eric Carle, Kevin Henkes, Mo Willems, Adam Rubin & Daniel Salieri (Dragons Love Tacos anyone?), Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, Patricia Polacco, Drew Daywalt, and Chris Van Allsburg.
Time to get reading and make some memories!
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