I love children’s books. I love books, art books, novels, fact books, biographies, poetry books, encyclopedias, and dictionaries. There is nothing so delicious as a book. It transports one to an imaginary world rich with infinite possibility.
I think it is so important for children to be read to, to have books available to them on a regular basis. One childhood memory I have is of having a set of encyclopedias and a set of fairy tale books. I don’t remember when I started reading, but as an imaginative child I was transported into the story. I was Thumbelina living on a table, I was Cinderella waiting for the prince, I continue to be a voracious reader.
I especially think poetry is important for young children to be exposed to. As an educator I try to incorporate reading to children in every experience I can.
When my sons were little I read to them every night. I often fell asleep reading to them.
If as educators, our goal is to develop literate children, reading to children has to be important. Children build their vocabularies, their thinking processes, their ability to tell stories and understand the world around them from being read to. From seeing the adults around them value books.
Every teacher I know has a favorite author or style of books he or she likes. I like books that rhyme and are funny. Also books that have problem-solving between the characters. Right now my favorites are also books where a weaker animal outsmarts the cunning animal, like pigs and foxes. Like My Lucky Day and Piggie Pie. Also I love, love fairy tales where the heroine is a girl. All of these speak to a change in the status quo of storytelling where the prince always rescues the girl. The prince doesn’t always come in real life, what to do then? My all time favorites are the Princess and the Pizza, Tasty Baby Belly Buttons, The Seven Chinese Sisters and Pirate Girl.
These types of stories speak to the differences and diversity of the world we live in now, which is becoming more and more a global village.
One elementary school aged favorite is a book called Shakespeare Stories. When my son was in 4th or 5th grade, we read the stories of Shakespeare, the Tempest, 12th Night, the Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, and Othello. Another favorite was the BFG by Roald Dahl. We would often discuss the stories and laugh about the development of the characters, which character we liked the most, what would happen if the story had gone in a different direction. It was fun and exhilarating to begin having conversations that had an analytical quality to them.
Reading with a child is about taking time valuing relationship with the child and bonding. Reading to a group of children and then having a discussion about the book and hearing the different points of view is one of my favorite things about teaching. I remember reading Elmer to a group of 4 and 5 year olds and having a conversation about being different. All initiated by a child making a connection and sparking her peers to think as well.
One book I will love for all life is Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. I began reading this when my guys were little. And now that we are in a different part of the continuum, (them being young men now) it feels tender and bittersweet. It is a book about a mother and her new baby.
Books are a great part of the journey of life - reading to children, being read to by an child with emergent reading, in the moment joy connection and love.
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| My son - continuing his literacy development 12/2010 |
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