One of the unexpected joys of having a child is the excitement of knowing that you will get to share a world of literature with him. As a fanatical reader myself, I was struck the other day by the sudden excitement of getting to read all sorts of fun books with my son.
Naturally, I immediately started thinking about going to Barnes and Noble to pick out some books to read to and with him. The above four are what I came away with. All of these can be read at any age.
I think Brown Bear, Brown Bear is great (and it’s a classic) so that was an easy choice. I shouldn’t have to say that he’s obviously going to have a lot of bear related things…this is just the beginning.
Bad Dog, Marley was an obvious choice for me because he will be raised around dogs and Marley and Me is one of my favorites of all time. Bad Dog, Marley is all about the trouble Marley gets into as a young lab and has bright illustrations and a great story.
The Very Dizzy Dinosaur is sort of a random choice here. I am a big time dinosaur guy (my major when I got to Baylor was Museum Studies with an interest in paleontology…but I switched to History/English Lit) so I was on the lookout for a good quality dinosaur book. I wanted it to be educational as well as fun. As I walked by the bargain section, I noticed The Very Dizzy Dinosaur. It is seriously awesome! Big, bright, beautiful, pop-ups on each page and as a bonus the story uses the actual dinosaur names (Pteranodon, for example). I know he’s going to love this one.
Finally, as a man who loves pirates (the fictional kind, not the gun toting Somali kind), How I Became a Pirate is a perfect book for me to read with my son. This is probably my favorite out of the four I bought. The illustrations are detailed, bright, and big. The actual story is interesting and easy to read. It also offers an opportunity to use voices when reading it, making it more interactive and more fun to read. I’m excited about this one.
One of the things I try to keep in mind when thinking about reading to my kids is that I need to be actively engaged the whole time we are sharing those moments. If I’m excited about a story or happy to read something, they will be too. I also have to keep in mind that we aren’t fenced in by only “Children’s Books.” Reading any story, so long as it is appropriate, is a great thing; not everything has to have big, colorful pictures.
What a blessing it is from God that I have been put in the situation to have the opportunity to read to our child. Not everyone is as fortunate, so it’s important to take advantage of this oft overlooked blessing. I can’t wait to read to our son!!
