A Post About Reading to Kids that Especially Brightened My Day

Today my long-time blogging friend Julie Danielson had a post published on the Horn Book Family Reading Blog (a blog well worth following). The title and sub-titles of the post are an entertaining experiment in the power of "clickbait" (“Her Kid Held Up a Book. You’ll Never Guess What This Mother Did Next”), but the post itself discusses three excellent reasons to read to your children:

1. Because "there are consistently well-crafted, compelling books being published, and they are a joy to read on many levels."
2. Because reading aloud to your kids brings you closer, and opens up opportunities for conversation (often much better conversations than "that whole Tell-Me-About-Your-Day thing").
3. Because "Research shows time and time again that the more a child is read to at home or at school, the better his or her test scores are." [Jules notes, as I feel, that this is a wonderful side effect, more than a reason to read aloud to your kids.] 

I certainly agree with Jules about these reasons, and consider them all important. One of the greatest benefits to me from my blog, one that I didn't anticipate when I started it, is that I am exposed to so many wonderful books that I can share with my daughter (born 4+ years after I launched the blog). I would also add, to Jules' suggestions for finding great titles (including a wonderful linked list of picture book recommendations), that parents check out the Cybils Awards shortlists, a great source of recommendations for kid-friendly, well-written titles. 

I am also certainly finding that reading books together brings my daughter and me (and my daughter and my husband) closer together. Yesterday we spent the drive home from karate discussing just what it was that happened at the climax of the first Harry Potter book, and why Quirrel might have wished to help Voldemort return. The West Meadows Detectives series (which she would like to see more of) has inspired discussion about kids who have learning differences, and how they cope in schools. Other books have led to discussions about being loyal to friends, being independent, etc. My husband has read my daughter a couple of his favorite books from childhood, and I know she loves thinking about young Daddy reading the same books. And so on, examples of this books-bring-closeness for me are countless. 

As to the third reason, I can't really speak for my daughter yet (she luckily has not really had test scores). But I've long believed that it was my love of reading that helped me (though test scores) get into my dream college. 

As you can see, this post on the Horn Book blog would have been right up my alley, regardless. But what particularly made it brighten my day was that Jules was kind enough to recommend my blog to parents looking for book ideas and literacy information. So if you are here from the Horn Book Family Reading blog, welcome! And if not, I do recommend that you hop on over and read “Her Kid Held Up a Book. You’ll Never Guess What This Mother Did Next” by Julie Danielson. You won't be disappointed. 

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