Raising Readers: 8 Tips for Reading to Babies & Young Children

Dear 3 Boys,

One of my fondest memories of my own childhood is being read to by my mother, especially on the nights where she was home from work - and I loved when she would read my favorite books that had probably already been read to me dozens of times before.  And because mommy spent a number of years as an English Language Arts middle school teacher, I have a true love for reading that I hope to inspire among all of you boys.  I was definitely the mom who read to you while in the womb, and have made sure you each have your own public library cards since you were infants.  I hope there's always a book you'll remember with mommy that puts a smile on your face when you remember the days I read aloud to you.

xo,
Mommy

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Let's face it - all the present day research out there shows us that children who are read aloud to before the age of 5 for a few minutes a day are showing gains in development and school readiness. There's one important reason to start reading to your children earlier, but above that reading to my kids has always made me feel even closer to them.  I can't even begin to express to you the feelings of pride that overwhelm me when my children reach for and bring me a book over a toy when we are home.

In this post, I hope to share some tips that I have found make reading an enjoyable experience for my boys with all of you.  This is simply what's worked for us.  As a middle school English teacher, I have to say I was especially surprised by the students who would tell me in the 7th grade that it was their first time reading an actual novel from start to finish in my classroom with me or that there was one text they actually liked reading or talked about at home with their parents that school year.  Early on in my teaching career, there were always the books that I saw my students carrying (like the Captain Underpants series) that irked me, but I quickly came to realize that kids want and need to have fun while their reading.  It scared me tremendously when I first learned about the statistics around children reading below grade level by the end of the 3rd grade and the correlation it has to these kids being 4 times more likely to not graduate high school.  Every child deserves to find a book or an author or a poem that they love and will remember as an adult.

Below are some tips that I am sharing with all my other fellow mamas out there who hope to start a little reading spark among their aspiring bookworms, followed by a list of our family's absolute favorite children's books and authors.

Adam & Matthew at a few months old always know they can reach for books in their big brother's room

Tip #1:  Find books that have a sort of fun tune or sounds to them that your children can hear when you read aloud to them.  These are the kinds that you can sing to them, or stress certain words as you read aloud that can bring some rhythm to the story, or make sounds to.  When I became a mom, I was stunned by all the effort I would put into making the funny sound effects or animal noises while reading to my son (though my husband always did a better job).  Some great examples of this that my boys love hearing aloud are the Llama Llama Red Pajama books by Anna Dewdney, Five Little Monkeys (or other nursery rhymes), or Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

Tip #2:  Let the kids control the reading and interact with books the way they want to.  I know that we want to get through the story when we read to our kids, get them to notice the pictures, etc.  The best advice I ever got from a dad I knew who absolutely loved reading to his daughters was simply to let THEM turn the pages, skip the pages, and even bite the pages! LOL!  Your child may be trying to tell you something about a book when they are doing something like skipping through all the pages you're trying to read them to get to one that they really like, either because of a picture or the words on the page or way that you say them.  And when all they are trying to do is chomp on or open and close every flap on the pop-up book you have, just let them - that's their way of learning how to interact with books.

Matthew "reading" one of our favs, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

Tip #3:  Make books available everywhere in your child's daily life to really encourage reading.  I always try to plant a few books in the every day places I know my kids will be, so that there's always one available (even if it's gotten a little extra love and looks beat up).  Leave a few books in the car or in the stroller, always have one in your diaper bag.  You can easily pass them a book when waiting on line at the grocery store or in a car ride.  I usually always have even a floating waterproof baby bath book around in the bathroom.  I'm not trying to encourage anyone to force reading onto their young ones, especially with their short attention spans, but rather, make an effort to have books be an option for them.

Tip #4:  Make books accessible to your little ones, placing them in areas where little bodies and hands can actually reach for them.  Pinterest boards are an addicting obsession of mine, and I can't forget the incredible pin I found of the toddler friendly book shelves I ounce found that were made out of super inexpensive white rain gutters, nailed very close to the floor for a small child to reach for books.  For a while, my kids just enjoyed watching every book fall onto the floor from those shelves, but now they understand the purpose and even help put those books back onto the shelves.  Even having a small basket in a floor spot with a few books can suffice (just enough so that they aren't destroying every book you own).

The Pinterest-inspired book shelves Daddy built when David went into his own room

Tip #5:  Offer your kids a wide variety of the kinds of books they are reading.  Get a few of the pop-up flap books, some board books (small enough to fit in baby hands and large enough to be bigger than them), try using audio books or looking up books on YouTube, find some in other languages (we have a bunch of fairy tales in Albanian now that my kids can follow along with because they know the English version).  Also, don't forget to use books to expose kids to new experiences and people who look like them and those who don't - I try to get my kids books about different holidays, kids with different skin colors or backgrounds, ones with characters from their favorite shows or with their name.  Books have been key in helping me get my oldest son ready to be a big brother, start preschool, know what to expect at the dentist office, etc.

David & Captain Underpants...the smile says it all!

Tip #6:  Develop your own reading routines.  This is a fairly basic idea, but make a habit out of reading a certain time of day.  It doesn't necessarily need to be right before bed - it can be after breakfast, or after a bath, etc.  Just set a usual time where you can commit to reading to your little one and have a usual spot in your home for reading, whether it be in bed, on their high chair, or on the living room rug.

Tip #7:  Involve everyone in reading and for book recommendations!  Anyone can read to your child - I always ask my older son to read to his younger brothers as best he can using the pictures (they all enjoy it).  I also get my best book recommendations from other mom friends, family members and especially, my children's teachers (preschool or nursery school), and I cannot forget my fellow teacher friends.  Your local librarian in the children's section will have great reading options to give you too - sometimes they even print a list of books by age to refer parents to.  Also, pay attention to what books you see other young children reading that you can share with your own child.

Tip #8:  Take advantage of your local library.  The New York Public Library is a hidden gem for us.  Many branches offer baby/toddler classes on a weekly basis, arts and crafts for the older kids, and we've even done reading to a therapy dog once - all free programs (just ask at your local library or look online at their website).  Our local library is a great place to go to when it's brutally cold outdoors in the winter, and proves just as worthwhile on those hot summer days when you need to cool down in the AC - it's also a wonderful place to make new friends from the community.  More recently, my preschooler loves using the desktop computers for a few minutes at our local library and got his first experience with ABC Mouse there (he's still learning how to use the 'mouse').

Baby David at our Local Library

The Dedaj Trio at our Local Library

DEDAJ TRIO'S LIST OF FAVORITE BOOKS & AUTHORS:

• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
• 5 Little Monkeys by Eileen Christelow
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr & John Archambault
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
• Pete the Cat series
• Amelia Bedelia series
• Mercer Mayer series
• Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
• Patricia Polacco books
• Todd Parr books
• Eric Carle books
• Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
• Baby Einstein board books
• Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
• No, David! by David Shannon
• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
• Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss
• Goodnight, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
• The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

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