Some books we read and what it did for our family
I learned from my mother to make time to read to children. My favorite memories of my mother are when she read to us, and my picture of motherhood wasn’t complete without reading books aloud. I haven’t been good about early bedtimes, perfect nutrition, and many other things, but I have been good about reading aloud.
There are some books on our shelf that I could probably say from memory: The Muppet Babies Book of Shapes; The Pokey Little Puppy; The Cat in the Hat; One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. So few Caldecott and Newberry Award winners were among our favorites from early childhood! The Three Little Pigs, The Little Golden Book of Sounds, The Egg Book, and other simple stories were enough to keep our little people happy. Library trips would bring lavishly illustrated and poetically versed books to our home, but these weren’t the favorites of the very young. It was just Hop on Pop and The Three Little Kittens for us.
Reading calmed my children, gave us time to snuggle, and became part of the bedtime routine. One day in Texas I discovered that I could read to the children and think about other things at the same time. This time of mental escape when the kids were quiet and happy was a blessing. Although my mind sometimes wandered during the early years of Dr. Seuss books, I kept reading because my mother had done the same for me and I loved her for it.
Treasure Island, Johnny Tremain, The Hobbit, Tom Sawyer, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy are some of the books that I introduced to the kids at a young age. I noticed that my children have returned to these books on their own to enjoy them again. It doesn’t matter how old the children are, if it’s a good book, they’ll sit around and listen to me read it.
Some of my instinct to gather my children close around me is helped by good literature. I have grown closer to my children by giving 20 or 30 minutes at a time to read aloud. I’ve traveled through the stories with them and watched their wonder and laughter. As they grow older, I see that reading aloud is a good catalyst for conversation with kids who don’t feel like talking.
I hope each child carries a memory of me reading books aloud. I hope that when they think of me, they see me with a book not too far from reach. My personal reading has helped me in my parenting to be more informed, centered, and entertained. I’ve filled the house with books, ready for discovery and rediscovery. Having a house full of well-read books is one way that this quiet mother says, “I love you.”
When I asked the kids in 2015 which books they loved best from early childhood, this is the list they came up with:
A Bargain for Frances
Another Monster at the End of this Book
Are You My Mother?
Black Beauty
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
Chrysanthemum
Corduroy
Dinosaur Days
Fire, Fire!
Firetruck
Goodnight Moon
Guess How Much I Love You
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
I Can Dress Myself
Jessica
Little Golden Books (any of them)
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Muppet Babies Be Nice
Oh, the Places You’ll Go
Richard Scarry’s Busy Workers
Royal Diaries Series: Queen Elizabeth
Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch
Tell Me Again about the Night I Was Born
The Dot
The Hobbit
The Little Red Hen
The Lord of the Rings series
The Pea
The Quiltmaker’s Gift
The Raft
The Ugly Duckling
The Very Quiet Cricket
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