Fostering a Love of Reading

I began buying books for my first baby before I even had him. I had read somewhere that one of the keys to having children who love to read is to surround them with books. I bought books that I remembered loving as a child, I bought books that I read about in parenting magazines, I bought books that friends recommended, and I bought books that had beautiful pictures. I even bought books about science, thinking these would turn my children into little geniuses!

I started out with one shelf of books, but over the years our collection has grown. Because we have so many kids at so many levels of reading, our collections ranges from the Harry Potter series to picture books with no words. I wasn’t prepared for the books that my kids would love. When my oldest was two all he wanted us to read to him was a Bob’s Busy Saw (I still have that one memorized!), and when he was four we read Horton Hatches an Egg so many times that he could recite it from memory!

I have learned that I can buy all of my favorite books for my kids, but they’re going to like what they like. I want to expose my kids to great books and I want them to love reading more than they love Minecraft, so I have put together a list of a few of the best tips I have learned while trying to raise kids who love to read.

1. Keep books accessible. I keep the majority of our books on shelves that all of my kids can reach. We have a few special books that I have to get out for them, but mostly if they want a book, they go get it off the shelf.
2. Make reading comfortable. Keep pillows and comfy chairs close to the books, and make sure there is enough light. Kids aren’t going to want to spend time reading if they have to do it at the kitchen table!
3. Keep many levels of books. We have kids ranging from 10 to 9 months, so we have a big span of reading levels, but even if we didn’t, we’d still keep some picture books and some chapter books. My older kids still like to read books from when they were younger, and my little kids like to flip through big books even if they can’t read them.
4. Read together. My older kids are more than capable of reading on their own, but we still have books that we read aloud together as a family. My kids love to sit and listen, and it’s something we can all do together. A great resource for this is The Read Aloud Handbook.
5. Take your kids to the library. Books are expensive and the library is a great way to try before you buy. Get your kids their own library cards and let them pick out what they like. The library is a wonderful resource, and librarians love to talk about books! The library also offers a lot of community events; check out Inga’s post on the San Antonio Book Festival.
6. Be prepared to lose some books. I thinks it’s important to teach kids to treat books with respect and to be careful with them, but I also want them to want to read. I want my little kids to be familiar with books, and sometimes that means that pages get ripped or colored on, that’s why I keep special books off the kids’ shelf!
7. Don’t be afraid to censor. This may be a tricky topic, but I do limit some of the books my kids read. We have rules about when they’re ready to read Harry Potter books, and there are some books that I just won’t buy. I’m not a fan of rude children in books, so we say no to Eloise and Junie B. Jones. I’m also not a big fan of Captain Underpants or Diary of a Wimpy Kid. This is just me, but when there are endless amazing books, I want my kids to be reading the best ones. I know there’s something to be said for reading what your friends read, but I’m the mom, so that’s how it goes at my house!
8. Ask around. I have a lot friends with kids, and I love asking about their favorite kids books. I also love Ms. O Reads Books. This is a great website written by a San Antonio Elementary school librarian. She has been the best resource for me when I want to find a new book. She was the first to recommend Wonder. She’s an amazing resource and she’ll make you appreciate the amount of work your child’s librarian does for your child and their school.
9. Read what your kids read. This is an easy thing to do when you’re reading to your kids, but it’s even more important as your kids get older. There are some very grown up things in a lot of youth literature, and you want to be able to talk with your children and make sure they understand what they’re reading. Sometimes my son will ask about a book that his friends have read, so I’ll read it first. That’s how I knew to say no to The Hunger Games until my son was more ready. Reading what your kids read is also a great way to talk to your kids about what’s going on with them.
10. Let your kids see you read. I could tell my kids to read until I’m blue in the face, but they won’t believe it’s important unless they see me do it. If my kids only saw me on the computer or watching tv, then that’s what they would think is most important. My kids know I love to read, and I think that helps them love to read![hr]

How do you foster a love of reading at your house?  Do you have any books that have quickly become your child’s favorite ones?  Share in the comments below!