I have been reading to the little one since day one. Mostly Psalms and Proverbs in the beginning but in the last couple months we've been reading all kinds of books. Most of them are way above his level but we read them together anyway. When people asked during pregnancy what to buy for baby, books was always a good answer. I even had them on my registry. I received some questions of why I wanted books that he would not read for possibly 5 or 10 years and my answer was that I wanted to read them TO him, and it makes no difference to me if it's Dr. Seuss or Hardy Boys or the King James Version of the Bible. I just want to read to him. And the more I thought about it, the more books I have come up with that I want to buy him and the list keeps growing and I get SO excited. To read Frog and Toad (a childhood favorite) and the Monster at the End of This Book and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...man...SO FUN! I can't wait for him to enjoy these like I did and have and DO still enjoy them. And think of all the books he'll get to read as he gets older-Charlotte's Web and Choose Your Own Adventure books and all those fun pre-teen level books? And then one day he'll get to start reading *novels*...oh man. How awesome to read the Count of Monte Cristo for the first time. Or the Hunger Games trilogy or Catcher In the Rye...or a million other books!
It occurred to me that I do not remember books well. I have read a lot of books, and most of them I cannot tell you anything about (crazy and kind of scary LOL) but I remember how they made me feel. I think so very fondly (or NOT fondly hahaha) about books and really about reading in general and that is what makes me love it so much and want to share it with my child. There is just nothing like the feeling of being wrapped up in a good book. Staying up way past bedtime and getting lost in another world...hours and hours gone in a blink as you just hunger for the rest of the story...man this is making me want to go read a good book!
Baby is just now starting to interact with our books-touch them, really look at them and pay attention. It makes me so happy!! I hope that he will love reading as much as his dad and I do. God gives us such a gift to have language, and the ability to record that language and use that language for such wonderful experiences. A good book can be a journey, a friend, a mirror, a vision and so much more.
To read more about giving the love of books to your children, I highly recommend "Honey for a Child's Heart". Now go find a good book for yourself!! We have quickly come to love "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" at our house...:) What are some of your favorites??
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