Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Reading, The Gift that Keeps on Giving in So Many Ways

baby looking at a book with an elephant picture

Reading is a gift, a renewable, ever changing, gift that covers all ages and stages of life.

There is no doubt that many of the writers here at Review This Reviews love to read!  You just need to take a quick look at all the Book Reviews to know that there are many readers with varied tastes in subjects to read about.  There are even some authors on our Review This Reviews pages too!

What I am most interested in sharing with you today is  some timely ideas to help youngsters become avid readers.  

Why?  Well it is well known that reading is the basic building block for a lifetime of learning.  No truer words were ever written, and it bears repeating!  


READING IS THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCK FOR A LIFETIME OF LEARNING!

What's the best way to start a child on this road to learning?

That's an easy one to answer!  There is no time like the present to begin a child on a path to explore and learn new things.  Children are magnets for learning and giving them the tools can't start too early.  One of the best gifts you can ever give any child, is books.  You night not expect that books would be a great Baby Shower Gift, but I'm here to tell you differently.  So many times the new parents are inundated with cute outfits, booties and all the paraphanalia needed for their babies.  Give them a gift that will stand out!  Books, Classic Books that will become favorites for their children as they years go by.  Books that can be read by the parents and grandparents.  Books that will fuel their creativity and at the same time become the basis for their language skills.

Here is a list of Classic Books that will be a great start to any child's library:
  1. The Tale of Peter Rabbit
  2. A Bear Called Paddington
  3. Little Golden Books
  4. The Velveteen Rabbit
  5. A Treasury of Curious George
  6. Elmo's Big Book of Friends
  7. My Favorite Berenstain Bears Collection
  8. Classic Storybook Fables
  9. On the Night You Were Born
  10. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The last two books on this list are "modern" classics.  The other 8 suggestions are stories that have been around since you were a child.  They are the "Classics" that really should be in every child's library.  They have withstood the test of time and are still found to be entertaining and full of great life lessons. 

How to keep your child entertained while reading:


Our goal as parents and grandparents is to keep our children motivated to enjoy the story we are telling them.  At the end of a long day, make time for reading.  Set the children's bed time for a half hour earlier than when you actually want them to close their eyes.  This time is set apart for reading!  Unless they are sick, make sure that you do this on a regular basis.  If not every day, then maybe 3 days a week.  Make the reading time not just a page turning experience, but be expressive in reading so that by your tone, they will know something exciting is going to happen.    Using the pictures in the story to keep our children's imaginations fueled will go a long way in them wanting you to turn more pages.  


book with pop-up drawings


What happens when they have a favorite book and they just don't want you to read another?


First of all don't worry, that is perfectly normal.  Certain books just have that quality that makes children want to hear the story again and again.  This is actually a great time to teach them to sight read certain words, because they already know the story off by heart.  Pointing to the words and showing them how the word sounds out, will help them to recognize that word in other stories too.  When our children would ask for the same story over and over and over again, we got creative in telling the story so that we would not be bored to tears.  I can remember one night in particular, when it was Dad's turn to read, he was so tired of reading story the way it was written, that he took the book and read it backwards.  Starting at the last page, he worked his way to the front and the children laughed and laughed so hard, that I needed to get up and see what in heaven's name was going on.  Well, needless to say from that point onwards, the children wanted the book read forwards and backwards.  Bedtime or reading time was just increased another 15 minutes to accommodate the extra reading.  What a great way to make them enjoy their stories in a whole new way.

Other Great Ways to Get Children Started on Reading!  


Reading starts with children grabbing a book and turning the pages.  As I said earlier, you can't start this habit too early.  So get your babies/children books that are make especially for them.  There are soft books made of fabric, that can be put into cribs or playpens.  They are usually filled with colorful pages and pictures.  Even babies love to turn pages that have something special on them.  Books with flaps that lift, tabs to pull and bits and pieces of sensory friendly fabrics are a must have for little hands.  Tactile fabrics, squeakers  or buttons that you can push are extras that little hands just love to play with.

soft cloth book


So much fun in a book for little hands and growing minds.

 For Parent's Who Love to Tell Stories


For Parent's who are natural story tellers, there are also some really great picture books that will help you tell stories and get your child to interact at the same time.  Our children loved the "Where's Waldo" books.  They would sit for long periods of time looking at all the different pictures and looking for Waldo, who, you knew, was hiding in the pages somewhere.  What made these fun and interactive was the places and situations that Waldo would find himself in.

Richard Scarry books are also great for young readers.  They can learn about trucks and trains, planes and places.  His wonderfully illustrated books make it easy for parents to tell the story and sometimes segue into stories of their own.  Your imagination and the help of these books will fuel your child's world and widen their perspectives on everyday things around them.

We are our children's first educators and we teach them by spending quality time with them in a number of activities.  Reading is one of the most important activities.  It's the start of a life long love of books, that will see your children expand their horizons and will help educate them too.

It all starts with ABC and it will take them anywhere their minds can imagine and more.  Avid readers are the start of a life long love of learning new things.  They will develop a critical mindset that will help them in their everyday lives as they grow and mature.  Reading will never ever go out of style or popularity either.  Books will remain part of their lives from now until they are reading to their children too!

Will your favorites as a child, become your children's favorites too?

It could happen, but they might also find a story that is their own favorite and that is okay too!  There isn't one book that is "better" than another.  Everyone needs to find their own favorites and expand from that point on!  Books will give your child more than a 30 second sound bite of information.  Let's encourage our children to make good choices in how they spend their leisure time by having some great books for them at all stages of their reading skills.











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11 comments:

  1. Books have always been a big part of our lives and our children's lives. This love of reading continues now with our grandchildren. Reading is truly a pleasure beyond words!

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    1. Oh the hours we spent with our children either on our laps or snuggled into our arms with a good book. Rainy days and holidays were so special and now we do it with our grandchildren too. Reading is truly a pleasure that is not given it's fair shake in our busy world.

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  2. There is nothing more important than nurturing a love for reading in children. Reading is my greatest joy and I'm sure the stories that were read to me when I was a baby and toddler had a lot to do with influencing the joy I experience to this day (when engaged with books). Thank you for featuring such a critical topic in today's review. And thank you for how you positively impact childrens' lives on a daily basis.

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    1. Oh you are so welcome, it is one of my joys as a grandparent to look for books that I know they will enjoy. Nuturing that love early in their lives will continue to bring them joy later! I know it works, I've seen the results....

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  3. Several of the recommended books you have listed above, were among my own children's favorites. Books have always been at the top of wishlists in our home. Sometimes, it is a newly released series. Other times it is the desire to have a leather bond copy of a beloved favorite. When we go on vacation, not only do we take books with us, but the local bookstore has always been our favorite shopping adventure. Books definitely make the best gifts!

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  4. I so agree with you Sylvestermouse. We had the "Classics" on our childrens' bookshelves from the time they were big enough to sit for a few minutes. Reading is a passion that grows just like our children grow. Once they have that passion, there is no stopping them.

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  5. I'm late getting started on making things for Christmas gifts, but seen a great idea today for the younger grandchildren--a book pillow.

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    1. Oh they will love that for sure Marsha! The young set could use nice soft pillow books I'm sure.

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  6. Checking your recommended books in that list, we had five of them. Reading was a huge part of my life with the kids when they were little. I miss that so much now. So glad we had that routine of reading like we did. It was the best part of the day, bedtime stories. Where does the time go. We've since given most of the books to schools. Many of those books were gifts too, with personal written notes inside from the givers. I often wonder where our family books end up with those messages inside. Maybe school libraries. So strange when I think of how time has passed. You've made me sentimental, in a good way :)

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    1. Indeed Barbara, I can relate. The time we have with our children when they are small is really a very short time indeed. Reading to them is one of the most important things that a parent can do with their little ones. Do it and there will be no regrets. It would be interesting to know where those beloved books have ended up. Hopefully many children have enjoyed them as well. Hugs to you my friend.

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  7. I'm incredibly lucky that my parents instilled a love of reading in me at a very early age. It's been a gift that has enriched my life ever since. Your wise and practical advice on how to help children develop a passion for reading from an early age is spot-on!

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