December 30

Books, Reading, and Nostalgia

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am sprinting to finish my 100-book Goodreads challenge for 2018. Last night, I was perusing my home’s bookshelves looking for a particular book (which I still haven’t located). In the process, my eyes swept over the shelves that contain remnants of the scads of books I read to/with my children when they were young.

Which brought on a bout of nostalgia. I read to my children practically from birth, and am always aghast when I encounter new parents who proclaim they will start reading to their child when s/he starts talking. I’m never quite sure what the right reaction is. I don’t want to “lecture” people and get their backs up, and at the same time my heart cries for those babies who are missing out. As a May 2017 Psychology Today article reports, “[r]eading to babies as young as six months of age leads to stronger vocabularies and better early literacy skills four years later…” In my mind, six months of age is still a late start!

[r]eading to babies as young as six months of age leads to stronger vocabularies and better early literacy skills four years later

My older son was a book lover from an early age. As I scanned our bookshelves, memories flooded back of sitting snuggled together reading book after book, him totally wrapt, begging for more. Shortly after revisiting this time in my life, I read Anna’s post on the Meditative Pace of ReadingHer musings relate to adult reading, particularly longform fiction. Knowing she has a newborn at home, I invite her to also start considering all those delightful stories she can share with her child!

Some that were favorites in my house:

Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson
Everything Dr Seuss
Everything Eric Carle
The Giving Tree (and his poetry books!), by Shel Silverstein
Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown
Harry the Dirty Dog, by Gene Zion
Mr Gumpy’s Outing, by John Burningham
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
The Water Hole, by Graeme Base
Where the Wild Things Are (and many others!), by Maurice Sendak
White Rabbit’s Colors, by Alan Baker

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Posted December 30, 2018 by inspirepassion in category #DigiWriMo, clmooc

About the Author

I am a process-focused leader who uses collaboration, authenticity, and mentoring as key skills to inspire passion among learners of all ages. Aggregate eclectic professional experiences have honed my ability to coach others in designing and implementing courses of study using inquiry-/project-based learning (PBL).

4 thoughts on “Books, Reading, and Nostalgia

  1. Anna

    Thanks for the list! There are three brand new titles that I need to check out. So, thanks for the links as well! Santa Claus brought books for everyone this Christmas…all books to read with each other. I think that will need to become a tradition. So, in being reminded of this, I’ve also started to read my book selections to him when he is feeding or dozing off and we’re there rocking. It’s helping me get my reading in too!

    Reply
  2. inspirepassion (Post author)

    Yes, it’s been well established that having print materials in the home, and a habit of reading has a significant impact on students’ school success. Historically, the divide between “read-to” and “not-read-to” has been socio-economically based, but I agree with you that in recent times there has been the additional impact of digital devices. They become entertainment systems so parents don’t have to interact with their kids. 🙁

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  3. dogtrax

    We read read read to our boys non-stop, all the time, piles of books everywhere, and visits to the library were a regular outing… but as a teacher, I can see the effects of this not happening enough in many homes (and maybe made worse by digital devices). I knew and read many of the list you have but a few I wasn’t all that familiar with. Which is cool. Thanks.
    Kevin

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