Drop Everything And Read

I am of the generation that had the pleasure of reading Harry Potter before the movies existed. We had the illustrations on the cover, and that was it. I can still see Harry, Ron, Hermione, and every other character in my mind, the way I originally imagined them.

The same goes for James of James and the Giant Peach, Aslan and Lucy and Turkish delight from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Nancy in the Nancy Drew series. By now, you may have gleaned that this is a blog post about reading, and you would be right.

I am an avid reader and believer in the importance of reading for the development of young minds. Nevermind that I am a writer, I was a reader first and will be a reader long after I lose the ability to write. I will read to and with my children as long as I can.

It goes without saying that our world is overwrought with entertainment. Television, video games, the internet and everything that comes with it – that list is short but robust. The screen of your choice will show you whatever you want to see, whenever you want to see it. This is amazing. This, at times, can be beautiful.

“Too much of a good thing,” I hear my parents in the back of my head.

Screens will raise your children if you are not careful.

I’ll slow down for a moment. I am not of the opinion that kids should never see a movie, or play a round of Mario Kart. I am a gamer myself, and a lover of movies.

I am of the opinion that not enough kids are learning to love to read. Reading is a way to soothe their thinking minds and activate their imaginations; a quiet form of entertainment more enchanted than anything a screen has to offer. Reading is a weapon against numbness. Books will nurture your children, transport them to their own inner worlds, and introduce them to people they need to meet.

C.S. Lewis said it perfectly:

“Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage."

Reading books does something for young minds that other types of media cannot: it envelopes them, slows them down, and engages them.

Reading tends your child’s inner world.

I started reading to my daughter when she was born. Now, as a one-year-old, it’s one of her favorite things to do. She eagerly turns the pages, points to characters, and traces textures. I also read with my eleven-year-old, who likes to pretend she doesn’t like it but looks forward to it every evening.

I know the strain of long days. I know parenting is hard, and exhausting, and that screens are easier and faster. I understand why parents have failed to require their children to read.

What is easy is not necessarily good, and what is difficult is not necessarily bad.

Read to your kids. Do it often, do it unapologetically. Make different voices for the characters, act things out, talk about the situations characters find themselves in. When your children sigh or roll their eyes at the idea of reading, resist the urge to appease them. They need it, and truthfully, they enjoy it. They just don’t understand the delight of delayed gratification yet.

The books that first opened the door to my daughter’s inner world this year are listed below.

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.

Where’s Baby’s Belly Button? by Karen Katz

See, Touch, Feel ABC’s by Priddy Books

Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang

Each of these is magic to my baby, and I know yours will enjoy them. This list will change and grow as our family changes and grows.

Joy Realm is proud to be an advocate for reading, and we will be talking about books often. You don’t need a perfect routine or a reading chart. You just need a little time and the ability to slow down with your kids. Doing this will give them space for wonder, imagination, and growth.

Happy reading.