Reading to a child is the best way to inspire them to read and it is a great way for you to spend time together. I have many fond memories of being read to when I was younger. A lot of my childhood memories are built on books my mom and dad and I read and loved; books that built the foundation of my reading today; books that I, in turn, love sharing with my own children.
I, like a lot of children, grew up on Dr. Seuss. His rhyming, crazy style with made up creatures and words is definitely a favoriite of mine. Fox in Socks is such a challenge to read but so fun to "nail" when reading with your children or out loud to a class. And The Cat in the Hat or Green Eggs and Ham....the list goes on. A coworker of mine reads Happy Birthday to You! every time her or her husband or children has a birthday. What a great tradition to have!
Another favorite of mine was Ferdinand the Bull. Do any of you remember the kindly bull who just wanted to sit and smell the flowers? I am sure many of you have other favorites in mind that are just sitting there waiting to be remembered. Lovely times when you sat in someone's lap and shared a story together...I remember the stories at bedtime, snuggling in before I fell asleep. This love of sharing a good story conitnues for me today.
What are your favorites from childhood? Was it a certain author or type of a book that you loved? Maybe it was just something unique about a particular story that sticks in your mind. Then again, maybe you remember the quiet times you had with your mom or dad or someone else important in your life and that is what is memorable about the stories you read. Perhaps you have forgotten about childhood stories and I have triggered some memories for you...Whatever your reading memories leave me a comment and share them with me...
My parents were both fanatical readers and read to us children. My dad would read The Adventures of Dr. Doolittle by H.Lofting and my mother read us Winnie The Pooh when we were really small. When I was a child growing up in Waterloo, our library only allowed children to check out 3 books at a time. This was a problem because I would inhale my books so quickly that my poor mother was driving me to the library every day for new ones. As a busy mother of 5, this was a bit of a problem.She finally asked the children's librarian( a Hush-Puppy wearing old grouch who, I think, really hated kids)if I could check out as many as I wanted. She never did tell me what she had to say to convince the librarian, but what ever it was it worked and I was in heaven and mom only had to take me once or twice a week! When I was a pre-teen I got hooked on the Nancy Drew series and couldn't wait to go with my grandmother to the book department at Black's to buy the next one!
ReplyDeleteMy mom read to us in the car so that we wouldn't drive her crazy with the amount of noise. We read the Superfudge series and of course all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books several times!
ReplyDelete