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Footnotes > The joys of reading to kids

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message 1: by Idit (new)

Idit | 1028 comments My 7 year old and me have finished reading Winnie the Pooh and all the poems that were in that book and enjoyed it so very much.
It's that exciting time to choose the next book.
My plan was mythology, but she had a plan of her own. She chose three books and asked me to rate them from most desirable (10) for how much I want it to be the next book.
I gave some random book 6, Charlotte's Web 9, and Roald Dahl's Witches at 10.
She had them at 7, 9 and 10 in the same order.
We have started Witches few years ago and it was too scary for her, but she felt that she is big enough now.

We started the book, and you can just feel how intently she listens. and then... after 2 chapters, she suddenly said - I'm actually not big enough. Maybe when I'm 10. Can you start reading Charlotte's Web instead? I can't go to sleep before I hear something less scary to wash the scary feeling"
I just love reading to them


message 2: by KateNZ (new)

KateNZ | 4104 comments Story time with kids is the absolute best! I read so many things to my boys. The longest was Lord of the Rings, which they both adored (I think they were 10 and 7 - the younger one was completely obsessed). The Narnia books and 101 Dalmatians were great hits. Lots of Roald Dahl (we had a multi voice tape of The Witches and we all knew it off by heart but it’s *so* scary!) Badjelly the Witch was a perennial favourite too.

And now the older boy has his tiny daughter to read to, so he gets to enjoy it from the other side!


message 3: by Holly R W (new)

Holly R W  | 3141 comments Both of you are bringing back happy memories to me. Thanks!


message 4: by Idit (new)

Idit | 1028 comments KateNZ wrote: "Story time with kids is the absolute best! I read so many things to my boys. The longest was Lord of the Rings, which they both adored (I think they were 10 and 7 - the younger one was completely o..."

I can't imagine my girls having their own girls to read to.
Must be amazing

With her older sister I read so many - the harry potters series and nevermore, lion the witch and the wardrobe, charlie & chocolate factory, Coraline...
With my littler one it's been lots of shorter books till lately. But she has been LOVING the poems scattered in our edition of Winnie the Pooh (between chapters there are different poems of AA Milne) and of course Pooh's songs (and Eeyore's)


message 5: by Joanne (new)

Joanne (joabroda1) | 12645 comments The years I spent reading to my daughter were the absolute best! I loved all the books mentioned here, and so did she. I now have a picture of her in my head-laying next to me on the couch, twirling her hair, listening intently. Thank you for the happy Friday memory and smile!


message 6: by Amy (new)

Amy | 12953 comments Well you guys know this is a daily enterprise for me. My nine year old is leaving for Camp for seven weeks next Sunday, so we have just a few series to finish before he goes, and then a full fledged lineup for 4th grade. Finished the Zombie Zone (so A to Z and Baseball mysteries are now complete.) Have two more in the Horrible Harry Series, and the final one (Horrible Harry Says Goodbye - (I think I will cry) ) comes out in fall. Have two more in the third grade detectives, and we certainly can't carry that one over. New Lineup ahead. Love this.


message 7: by annapi (new)

annapi | 5505 comments I made sure I read them my favorite books, and they loved when I used different voices for different characters. I still remember when they burst into tears when a favorite character died in the Prydain series, and how teary-eyed and awed they were at the end of the Narnia series.


message 8: by Book Concierge (new)

Book Concierge (tessabookconcierge) | 8442 comments I don't remember my parents reading to me ... though I'm sure they did. I DO remember them telling me bed time stories. My Daddy was especially good at doing various voices.

But I could read when I was very young (My mother claimed I could read when I was 3) ... and I remember reading to myself a LOT. And also sometimes reading aloud to my brother who was three years younger than me. Lots and Lots of Golden Books as well as several series we had of fairy tales and "read aloud stories."

I also read aloud to my youngest brother, who was born just a week before my 14th birthday. By then it was Dr Seuss which I read over and over and over (and faster and faster, per my brother's demands).


message 9: by Barbara M (new)

Barbara M (barbara-m) | 2601 comments I don't recall my parents reading to me but they encouraged my reading very much. I loved reading to my kids and one of my sons has three children that he and his wife read to a lot. When my grands were younger (they are now 18, 17, and 10) I read to them at least once a week when we were apart (they live in Colo and I'm in FL) and a lot more when we were visiting. I read to my boys right up to their early teens. I personally believe you can start reading to your kids well before they can talk with board and picture books.

I was a very vocal advocate of reading to children and was even asked to do a seminar for parents about reading aloud to kids when I was working on my Bachelors degree in education.


message 10: by annapi (new)

annapi | 5505 comments I don't recall my parents reading to me much, except for a few vague memories of my mom reading Winnie-the-Pooh and Dr. Seuss. She says I started reading at 2, and from a very early age I started reading on my own.

The earliest chapter books I can recall reading on my own were The Wizard of Oz and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Then I remember devouring Nancy Drew books at age 7 in second grade. Somewhere around there is a vague recollection of reading The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.


message 11: by Holly R W (new)

Holly R W  | 3141 comments Barbara wrote: "I don't recall my parents reading to me but they encouraged my reading very much. I loved reading to my kids and one of my sons has three children that he and his wife read to a lot. When my grands..."

This is a great discussion! I am now enjoying reading cardboard picture books to two young babies in our growing extended family. These are my new nephews.

Also, we have a book program in the hospital where I work. Mothers are given books for their children to keep during pediatrician appointments. For some of our kids, these are the only books they have at home. Moms are encouraged to read to their kids.


message 12: by Joanne (new)

Joanne (joabroda1) | 12645 comments Holly R W wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I don't recall my parents reading to me but they encouraged my reading very much. I loved reading to my kids and one of my sons has three children that he and his wife read to a lot..."

I love that program your hospital has! What a great idea.


message 13: by Holly R W (new)

Holly R W  | 3141 comments Thanks, Joanne. There are so many positives to moms reading to kids, as we all know. It's not just the exposure to books. Moms and kids get to snuggle together, talk and enjoy being with each other.


message 14: by Barbara M (new)

Barbara M (barbara-m) | 2601 comments Holly R W wrote: "Thanks, Joanne. There are so many positives to moms reading to kids, as we all know. It's not just the exposure to books. Moms and kids get to snuggle together, talk and enjoy being with each other."

Perfect!


message 15: by Karin (new)

Karin | 9250 comments I remember my dad reading Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, The Wizard of Oz and one other Oz book (we had two book sets of each of those), but I don't remember my mother reading to me, which is sad because she started reading to me when I was about 18 months old. I didn't read early as I didn't pay any attention to the words on the pages until I went to grade 1, but once I started reading, I took off like a shot and started doing all of my own reading.

My parents did voices for characters, and so did I with my kids. My kids and I have fond memories of various books together--with my three the long books worked best with one child at a time. My son, however, primarily remembers my husband reading every single solitary Hardy Boys book to him in the main series starting from the very beginning. My husband doesn't do voices, but they had running jokes he would make before they started (he called Frank and Joe hot dog and a cup of copy, for example). But this is because he was older than when I was reading to him.

I have read three of the Little House books FOUR times out loud, most of the rest of the books THREE times (my son got tired of girl protagonists after Farmer Boy when he reached a certain age), and a couple of the books only to my eldest. Why more times than I have children? Easy. My younger daughter couldn't remember anything I read to her when she was 5, and as soon as we finished the series she wanted me to start it all over again. I took a year off and then read it all to her again even though she could have read it herself by then.

But I read Little Women to my eldest--the middle one wasn't so patient with that type of novel.

There are to many books I read aloud to mention, like it is with so many of you.

The Read-Aloud Handbook was helpful even though I already read to my kids.


message 16: by Theresa (new)

Theresa | 15664 comments I read Winnie to my youngest sister...and reading before bed was a ritual I followed with every kid I ever babysat for (in college, one of my many parttime jobs was babysitting).

Thamks for tbe memory!


message 17: by Booknblues (new)

Booknblues | 12150 comments I read to kids every single day it is part of my profession. I get so much joy from it and the kids do to. I love it when they are really turned on to a book.

I have so many favorites but I truly love when they like really old books and I can tell them, this book is older than Teacher Fran. My kindergarten teacher read this to me.

Angus Lost is one of those books and it still surprises me that kids love it so much when it is clearly old-fashioned.


message 18: by Tracy (new)

Tracy (tstan) | 1261 comments We read to the kids starting in the womb, so they loved being read to, much more than they enjoyed the actual reading on their own. Now, though, as adults, they are reading a lot more.

My Dad taught me to read by running his finger under the word as he was reading to me. So I was independently reading at about three. And have loved it since. There were two things my parents didn’t refuse us as kids: music and books. And my sister, brother and I all love both. My grandparents and crazy aunt also made sure there were books every birthday and Christmas- leading to a family of readers.


message 19: by Susie (new)

Susie I adore reading to my sons. It’s my favourite time of the day.


message 20: by Joy D (new)

Joy D | 10191 comments Some of my fondest memories revolve around reading to my son when he was a child. I bought lots of books for him and before he went to bed, he picked out what he wanted me to read to him. At one point I had to limit him to 10 books because he would keep choosing more! What a great time in life.


message 21: by Idit (new)

Idit | 1028 comments annapi wrote: "I made sure I read them my favorite books, and they loved when I used different voices for different characters. I still remember when they burst into tears when a favorite character died in the Pr..."

How sweet!
My little one has a lot of criticism for my voices.
The voice I did for the father in Charlotte's Web, she said - higher, higher, until she was happy with the pitch. She is curbing my creativity lol


message 22: by Idit (new)

Idit | 1028 comments Book Concierge wrote: "I don't remember my parents reading to me ... though I'm sure they did. I DO remember them telling me bed time stories. My Daddy was especially good at doing various voices.

But I could read when ..."


BC, bedtime stories are the best! I wish I was good at inventing stories on the go. I managed once, and it was beautiful and I was so so proud, and my girl loved it. But my brain doesn't work that way. I never redid it.

My mum used to read to us a lot, and then we had tape cassettes of Mr Man series and some hebrew version of rumplestiltskin
But my most wonderful memory is of my uncle, who for a year or two stayed at our house once a week (for studies in a distant city) and serialized stories for me - there were adventures in pyramids, and bigfoot... I was so excited.

And my grandma had wonderful and funny family stories (and some russian fairy tales) that she used to tell, and we knew them so well that if she changed even one word, we'd protest


message 23: by Idit (new)

Idit | 1028 comments Holly R W wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I don't recall my parents reading to me but they encouraged my reading very much. I loved reading to my kids and one of my sons has three children that he and his wife read to a lot..."

That's a very cool program!
You can see how reading is encouraged these days. Schools in Australia so many reading special activities and celebrations, and authors come visit, and libraries get funds again


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