Saturday, November 17, 2012

How to encourage children to read and to love books

Ever since I can remember, I'm crazy about books. Often I hear the story of how, at the age of three, I used to sit, crossed my legs, took a picture book (holding it upside down) and then I would say, "Reading, reading .... and here's where the story ends!"

I seem to have managed to encourage this love with both of my girls. Maybe it's because I read a lot during pregnancy and used to lay the book on the belly :)))))

Here's how their reading corner looks like:




Originally it was a dice table, its top plate can be removed, and below there are two vessels. In the summer, we used it for water games, and over the winter it got completely new purpose.

I think The Little is definitely one of the youngest visitors of our great library, and currently she is most interested in throwing as many books as possible, off the shelves. Luckily she is so cute (objective Mom!) so the librarians still forgive her. Although there is one giving us significant looks.


Where and how to get affordable books

 

Once a year, at the Spring Fair, our library sells written-off books at a bargain price, which is a great source for supplying the home library, since they sell books in a really good condition. Purchasing second hand books is also possible on ebay and other similar sites. There is also a specialized book fair every year in November at my hometown, so I try not to miss it, since all the relevant publishers offer new books also at bargain prices.

The best picture books we have ever read

 

Here's a list of picture books that we've read and I recommend them to everyone, since they are educational and we had a lot of fun while reading them.
A few books for parents are also on this list, but since they are offering activities for children, they should definitely be a part of it.



Stan and Jan Berenstain: The Berenstain Bears 

Source: en.wikipedia.org


I know many of you must have heard of them before, or even read them in your childhood, since these books celebrate 50th anniversary, but to me they are something rather new, because they have not been translated into our mother tongue until recently.

Excellent, educational picture books that talk about real situations children cope with, titles say it all: Too much TV, Too much junk food, Messy room, Big Blooper and many more.

Highly, highly recommend!



Scaredy squirell

Excellent, high-quality picture books that talk about how we protect children too much, preventing them in exploring the world. Although published back in 2008, this is also something new for me (think I haven't seen it so far at the local library). My girls love it so much, it's very funny.

Source: kidscanpress.com




Who hasn't heard of Miffy? Simple shapes, vivid and memorable lyrics are a magnet for children, but also for mums and dads. The books are available in hard and soft covers, so that the smaller and bigger children can have fun with them.
At the age of two and a half years, my older daughter  already knew to recite most of lyrics from "Miffy is crying", which tells you enough about the simplicity of its verses.
I also like "Miffy and the new baby", since it's a great explanation and preparation for the older kids at the arrival of a new baby in the family.
There are many great cartoons with Miffy as well. 

Source:miffy.com


Excellent, educational picture book, aimed at children aged 2-4 describing the topics such as hand washing, potty training and combing, the skills which kids at this age are adopting, and this picture books certainly can help them in doing so, because they are written in a funny way and accompanied by simple illustrations. 


Source: harpercollins.co.uk


Unfortunately not all of the published titles are translated into our mother tongue, so my kids have read only "I want my potty" and  "I don't want to wash my hands". Looking forward in finding new titles in our language.


Christmas things to make and do

Mommy looks forward in reading it, since it has more than 80 (easy!) ideas and activities for the upcoming holidays. I have a feeling that you will be reading about the activities from this book very soon. :)

Source: IglooBooks.com



And finally - Read, read and just read .....!

See what I have pinned about book love .

NOTE: originally I have included more books in my Croatian post, but I couldn't find all of the books translated in English, so I've shortened the list.


P. S. Have you seen this great linky party?

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7 comments:

  1. Reading is sooooo important and I get so upset when people say their kids can't sit still long enough to hear books. You're doing it right- make a reading area and let them throw the books around and take them off the shelves and play with them. Forget about sitting to hear an entire story. It's all about exposure. My sister has a captive audience in my niece when she finishes every meal with a book, while my niece is still in the high chair. She is old enough now to pick the books and sometimes she gets mad that she can't hold the books herself, but that's part of the high chair book reading routine. OTherwise, she has a huge reading area and can do whatever she wants with the books which is mostly take every single one off the shelf and push them around. When she is in the living room, she always has a book in hand and even at one year was able to sit and go through the book and keep herself entertained for a few minutes. And she loves to look at magazines and catalogs over and over and over again and we all get so many free magazines in the mail, it's a great thing to give a kid. Especially the toy and family type magazines. Although I remember the first time she took off crawling/walking down the hall it was a Williams Sonoma catalog she had grabbed and tried to run off with!

    I too hear the story of how when I was 3 I could sit and "read" a book about a baby kangaroo and people thought I was reading because I knew when to turn the page. I probably had just memorized it but I sure to do love to read today, so who knows!

    Keep up the great book push!

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  2. This is a great post - thanks for linking me over to it! Excellent tips for getting affordable books, and a few of your favorites are new to me - I'll have to check them out!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! It's always a pleasure to recommend a good book.

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  3. Those books are all so adorable. I love the cover of I Want My Potty! My daugther would have loved that one as a little girl! Thanks for linking into the Kid Lit Blog Hop. Have a nice weekend! :)

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  4. I love your reading corner! And these are all such awesome books. The Berenstain Bears series is one of my all-time favorites!
    Thanks for sharing this with the Kid Lit Blog Hop!

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  5. It was a pleasure for a true bookaholic to participate in a blog hop like that, so different than the other hops or linky parties I've seen

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