Anyone who knows Amelia knows that in some ways she is undeniably mine. One of the things that I am thrilled to have passed on to her so far is her love of books. Even as a baby, Amelia would sit and look at books. They have always been her favorite toy and the love of pulling books off of the shelves quickly morphed into turning the pages, pointing at the pictures, begging to be read to, sitting for as long as we will read and now, “reading” to her sister by making up stories and naming letters.
On non-school days, Amelia struggles to take naps. So, on some of those days, when Adam and I don’t feel like fighting a battle or when we especially want to make sure she’s ready for an early bedtime, we let her have a “rest time” instead of a nap. This rest time consists of sitting in her bed with books. Since instituting the book option, it isn’t unheard of for Amelia to sit in her room, by herself, for an hour looking at books.
I knew it wasn’t a given for every child, but I don’t think I realized how unusual the intensity of Amelia’s love for books was until always-moving, can’t-turn-the-pages-fast-
Recently I’ve realized that Amelia is becoming more and more aware of the content of her books, even when we aren’t reading them. She has always had preferences and favorites. She has also always had a good imagination; she would engage in pretend play from an early age and loves to play in the “pretend play” center at school. Amelia will make-up stories and gives us all a role to play, complete with setting and dialogue. Like me, Amelia feels as though characters are real. The stories are real to her, in their own way.
So, I felt like it was time. It was time to step things up a notch. We’ve been reading longer and longer books. Some of our favorite books right now include Rosie Revere, Engineer, Strictly No Elephants, She Persisted, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, King Jack and the Dragon, Truck Stop, Otis and the Puppy, Farkle McBride, and Princesses Wear Pants, among many others. While Eleanor would be happy pretty much exclusively reading Peek-A-Who, Hi and Pat the Zoo, Amelia has a good rotation going.
This time, we tried our first chapter book. Amelia and I read together (and Adam helped) an adapted version of Heidi by Johanna Spyri. This also happens to be the first chapter book that was read to me as a child. We checked it out from the library and I wondered what her reaction would be to a book with so few pictures. Amelia ate it up. She begged for another chapter each time we would read. She could retell me the story and would ask questions about the characters at random times throughout the day.
It’s a sweet story and it made a definite impression on me as a child. I was surprised to find that I remembered most of the plot and all of the characters. I am so excited that we’ve started this. Obviously, Amelia is not ready to sit through To Kill a Mockingbird, Little Women or even A Wrinkle in Time, but we’ve opened a door. There’s an entire world out there of books that we can share, explore and devour together.
I know Amelia won’t always want me to read to her, but for now I adore it. Reading is one of my most favorite things; books have had a profound impact on my life and I hope that Amelia will be able to say the same thing. I believe that it won’t be the only interest we share; I’m not ruling out movies or travel or sports or anything else. But, for now, I’m thrilled that we have books. What recommendations do you have for a very young reader (and by reader, I mean listener) of chapter books?
