I could go on and on about the importance of parents reading to their children; I’m pretty passionate about it. From the time our children were small, Brent set this as a priority…and with encouragement from his teacher-wife…he read some of the best books aloud to them. From easy readers, to award winning picture books and novels, to historical fiction, to beloved series…together as a family, we read so many books. We loved sharing books that made our children laugh…books that depicted perseverance and grit…and books that told of life from around the world. Mysteries, fairytales, biographies, and children’s poetry were shared.
And while I could share statistics regarding all of the benefits of “at-home” reading, the thing I remember most is simply being together and sharing the magic of a story. It was part of our nightly routine and something that offered peace, security, and comfort in a world that is often unkind, harsh, and brazen. It was a time for quiet togetherness. I hope our children remember it as fondly as we do!
Here are some of our favorites! (Note: Not all of these books have great literary quality…but we loved them nonetheless.)
- Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown
- Corduroy, by Don Freeman
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
- The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams and Florence Graham
- Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss
- The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg
- The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein
- The Bully Brothers Trick the Tooth Fairy, by Mike Thaler
- The American Girl Series, by various authors
- The Frog and Toad Books, by Arnold Lobel
- Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond
- Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein
- Charlotte’s Web, by EB White and Garth Williams
- Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- The Harry Potter Series, by JK Rowling
- Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry
- The Witches, by Roald Dahl
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson
In celebration of Read Across America Day, we spent some time in Jack’s kindergarten class. Brent read Mrs. Wishy Washy’s Farm to the children and then headed up a great game of invisible ball! (THEY LOVED THIS!) We then left each child with a little gift…a book of their own. We hope they enjoy learning a little more about farm animals in National Geographic’s Farm Animals (Level 1 Co-reader) book.