by Alicia Barnes of liciabobesha.com
My baby is a book monster, a connoisseur, an addict.
His first word in the morning is often “book” and normally followed by his first fit of the day when I only read one book instead of the 27 he wants before school. At school he can be barely bothered to say goodbye because he’s too busy crawling in someone’s lap, dragging a book behind him.
When we pick him up, he wants his books in the car. Then at home it’s books books books until bed when we have to hide any view of books else he’ll be almost asleep and see a book and jump up.
This book obsession didn’t just happen. It was cultivated.
Look at this chart:
Table excerpted from the Reading is Fundamental Multicultural Literacy Fact Sheet.
| Under the age of 6 | Children Living in Poverty | Children in Single Parent Households | Children 0–5 Read to Every Day | 4th Graders at or above Basic Reading Level | |
|
African American |
3.4 million |
34% |
65% |
39% |
48% |
|
Hispanic |
4.4 million |
28% |
38% |
28% |
49% |
|
Native American |
432, 000 |
27% |
50% |
N/A |
50% |
|
White |
13.5 million |
14% |
23% |
57% |
78% |
|
Asian |
941, 000 |
12% |
16% |
N/A |
80% |
Data Sources: U.S. Census Bureau/2010 Kids Count Data Book, Annie E. Casey Foundation; 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; NAEP 2009, U.S. Department of Education.
Are you seeing that? Only 39% of black families in these surveys were reading to their kids daily and 51% of black 4th graders are reading below basic level, “nearly 3 academic years behind their White peers” .
While we’re talking about numbers, did you know that since the 90s some states have been planning how many prison cells they need based on the number of 4th graders not reading at grade level? It’s not a one-to-one ratio, but it’s a scary indicator (A $5 Children’s Book vs. a $47, 000 Jail Cell — Choose One).
I was at an early childhood care and education conference last month where a speaker hit on this very point. We know that literacy is an invaluable skill to function in our society. We know that children’s brains are the most flexible in those very early years. We know that black kids are statistically the most likely to fall and stay behind in school and that things go downhill once they are flagged as poor learners. We don’t have to get bogged down by these numbers. Instead, we can use them to motivate us to enhance our homes with pre-literacy activities.
The number one thing any parent can do for future school success is to read aloud every single day. Reading every day seems like an ambitious goal, but these tips have worked magic in our house:
1. Start out with books without words.
From day one, have some picture books around. I use the term picture book loosely. A photo album counts as a picture book. Something with a cover and with pages you can flip. Babies love the motion of the moving pages. They love to hear you talk. They love looking at human faces. This sets them up for more complex books later.
Personal rec: The Indestructibles series. Illustrations are based on nursery rhymes and the pages are tear proof. It only takes a few moments to go through them, but you can spend as long as you want talking about the beautiful drawings. Babies love them. I buy them for every shower gift now.
2. Don’t just read books. Sing them.
Lots of babies respond to singing earlier than they respond to being read to. Choose books you can sing to lure them in.
Personal rec: Pete the Cat series. Written to be read and sung, this wonderful series combines catchy phrases and singable tunes. They’re infectious in a good way. My dad will request “That button song!” and he and Ennis get down. The songs are available for free mp3 download at the publisher website.
Also change which books you have in each room. If the books are there, you’re more likely to pick them up and read them.
Personal rec: The That’s Not My series. I like texture books like this because they’re books Ennis has gotten good at entertaining himself with in his car seat. Sometimes we hear him “reading” them to himself, but mostly he likes touching the pages. Plus they cover fun topics such as trucks, dinosaurs, ponies, lions, mermaids, and trucks.
4. Pick books that interest you.
If you’re more into them, then your child will be as well. If you read it dryly as if you’re bored, your child will be bored too. Use books that make you laugh and smile. If you have an emotional, positive response to the story, your reading of the story will be more meaningful.
Personal rec: Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee with illustrations by Kadir Nelson. I initially picked up this book because of the beautiful illustration of a black child on the cover. I brought it home because it was just fun to read. I didn’t grow up with many books featuring kids who looked like me, so I’m particularly mindful to keep a variety of faces, especially brown ones, in my child’s library.
5. Pick books that match your child’s interests.
If your child is into Elmo, pick up some Elmo books. If your child is into airplanes, find some books on planes. Play off what their current interests, and you’ll have an easier time getting them into a story.
Personal rec: Ennis is currently obsessed with spiders and leaves, so I went to the library and borrowed some books on spiders and leaves. He adored Leaves by David Ezra Stein. Honestly this book didn’t do it for me, but Ennis asked for it over and over again.
6. Borrow books from libraries and resource centers.
Now that cooler weather has arrived, it’s the perfect time to find the children’s room at your library or family resource center. A child that may not be interested in sitting still at home, might love joining storytime at the library. Checking out books is free and keeps you from getting burnt out on reading the same stories.
Personal rec: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert. I checked this one out as Ennis had recently become interested in letters and I had seen it on a lot of recommended lists for good reason. I dare you to read it without getting a little pep in your voice and wiggle in your chair.
7. Request books for baby showers and birthdays.
You can never have too many diapers or books. No shower gifts have been as consistently used as the books and the cloth diapers. This is a great time to get the more expensive hardback books!
Personal rec: Alphabeep by Debora Pearson, illustrated by Edward Miller. Ennis got this book for his first birthday and it quickly became his favorite. In the beginning he couldn’t sit all the way through it, but now he’ll sit through it as many times as you’ll read it. It’s helped him learn the names of different vehicles and the signs we see along the road. I would have never thought to buy it especially as long as it was for a one-year-old, but the illustrations are wonderful. It’s really taught Ennis his ABCs and made him more aware of the world around him.
8. Read on the potty.
When we bought our potty seat, we started keeping books in the bathroom. Babies might need some time to sit on the potty and work their way up to doing their business.
Personal rec: Ennis has gotten so used to hearing stories in the bathroom that sometimes he’ll fake having to go just to get more stories read. I just borrowed It’s Time to Pee by Mo Willems from our local resource center. Ennis loves to read it while he’s sitting on the potty. It talks about why, when, and how we use the potty. I’m crediting this book for the increase in pee pee on the potty.
9. Think beyond the cheap books.
Beautiful illustrations and well written words appeal to even the smallest babies. Look for quality when selecting books. While it may be tempting to stick to whatever’s at the dollar store, those books likely won’t engage your future reader as well as a well crafted but more expensive option.
Personal rec: Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton and illustrated by Valeria Petrone. Like the Pete the Cat books, I can and do recite this story even when the books not around. It’s just that much fun to read. Short, fun words, nice illustrations. My mom picked it up for Ennis because she knew he liked trucks. She didn’t know it was going to become one of our favorite books.
10. Set an example.
Children love to imitate us. If your child never sees you curled up with a book, where will he learn that books are important, enjoyable, and a part of daily life? Whether it’s graphic novels, romance, historical fiction, scifi, or nonfiction, find something you enjoy reading and model the behavior for your child. Just as they pick up the phone and pretend to talk like us, they’ll eventually pick up the book and read like us.
Personal rec: Join a book club. My book club encourages me to read things I never would and I get the reward of a social night out to discuss the book and eat snacks. Ennis has attended many book club meetings where he no doubt benefited from the ongoing conversations of adult readers. Your club doesn’t have to be large. Just talking about a book with a spouse, sibling, or parent encourages you to keep reading.
It’s been a lot of fun discovering and sharing stories with Ennis. Now that he’s almost two, he tells me which stories he wants to read, and more and more, he’s telling us what’s about to happen before we even turn the page. These preliteracy skills should help him stay interested in books and be ready to succeed in school.
What did you read to your children today? Do you read every day? How do you encourage literacy in your little ones?
Alicia has been known to add chia and flax seed meal to brownies, so she can eat them guilt free. Besides teaching her one-year-old son to use gentle hands with their two dogs, two rabbits, flock of chickens, and one foster cat for a friend serving in the Peace Corps, she mostly spends too much time on the internet.