Teaching a Child to Love Reading

I love to read. I don't know why or when it started but I always remember have a book handy. I'd read while I was walking, riding, supposed to be sleeping, in school when I was supposed to be studying...all the time. A trip to the library was one of the first things I would do when I moved somewhere. 

Fortunately I passed my love of reading to my daughter, however she had a little trouble passing it to my granddaughter. She called me one day and asked how I sparked her interest in reading. Honestly, it took me a while to think about it then I remembered how special reading was for me and how special I made it for her. I read to her when she was little. Every birthday and holiday was an excuse to give her a book. 

Anyway, it worked for the granddaughter. She might not have the same love affair for books but her reading improved immensely...hmmm...sort of makes me feel wise. 

These books are in the Miss Eileen's Vintage shop. All are from the 1950's to the 1970's. All pre bar code. A great way to start a child appreciating a book, the real kind, of paper and ink. Reading to a child becomes snuggle time. Forty years after reading Snoopy and Charlie Brown books to my daughter I am surprised when she recites the book from memory. Nice legacy.

Follett's Beginning-to-Read Picture Dictionary, 1959

Hooray for Lassie, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Feathered Friends

Teeny, Teeny, Tiny Giraffe, The Gingerbread Man, The Three Wishes

Try Again, Sally!, Spotted Dotted Puppy, and Look! A Parade

Daniel's New Friend, Lancelot, and Jack and the Beanstalk

Post by Eileen Patterson.

Edgar Allan Poe

 

I love a good book. I have always enjoyed reading and need to read something, a book, a magazine, a blog, something with words. The best books are so luscious and delicious that each word is savored like a fine wine or a good steak. These books aren’t the quick reads, at least not for me. The books I savor the most are the classics written by Steinbeck, Sir Walter Scott, or Hemingway, to name a few. The books have the ability to carry me away to places I have never been, to see things I only dream about, and to have adventures I can only imagine.

The Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Vintage 1966 edition from Doubleday and Company.

 

Edgar Allan Poe is one of those great writers. He mastered the art of mystery and suspense.  His poetry and stories are so well written that the reader hangs on every word. His works have been described as genius and haunted. He was a true American master of the word.

I think of Poe, his difficult life (he was an alcoholic who died at the early age of 40 alone), and his wonderful words, every time I see a black bird. “Quote the Raven, Nevermore.”

The Magic of Books

Books have been my first love. They have got me through some of the hardest times of my life by giving me a place to escape and taught me to cook, sew, and be a better person. I am shocked and saddened when I hear people predict that books will someday be a thing of the past since Amazon and other online book sellers offer books online. Too busy? Listen to book. You can and I've tried it, but honestly, it's not the same. There is something truly summer-scrumptious about sitting on the front porch or on the beach with a book. The words are tasty morsels waiting to be devoured, each one special. A good story is the perfect escape from the everyday; it can take you across the globe and back in time. Often times, the story is so good that you become a part of it and saddened when it ends. I keep my favorite old books in my bookcase. Like old friends, I check on them every so often, keep them dusted, and glance through the pages that I know so well. Someone once told me their daughter was having a hard time reading. She didn't have any learning problems, she just hadn't discovered books yet. I told the woman to take her little girl to the library; make a special day of it and do that once a week or every other week. So simple a remedy that she hadn't even thought of it. Most local libraries have a section for children with a story time. The commercial book stores have them, too. Some even have coffee shops inside making the special treat easy to get. What a wonderful way to introduce someone to the magic of books!