I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving yesterday! In the shopping frenzy on this Black Friday I would like to remind everyone that books make fantastic gifts. Yes, paper books. There are so many to choose from that you will surely find a perfect match for the little one in your life if you take the time to look.

I’m a firm believer in the idea of Emergent Literacy.  This is concerned with the earliest phases of the development of literacy starting from the child’s birth and continuing through the conventional reading and writing processes.  In other words, it is NEVER too early to start reading to your baby.

Adaptability is such an important factor when choosing a story. The most will come out of a book if the story is one that can grow with the child.  To this day The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is a favorite of mine. Certainly is a story that grows with you.  When I first got this book, I was too young to fully comprehend the story’s message. But that didn’t stop me from looking at the pictures, naming the things I saw, and making up my own story.  Then as I got older I began to appreciate the characters and their relationships.

You also need to find a book with a subject that will interest the child. No one wants to read about something they don’t like. They will be turned off to reading if all they talk about to everyone is basketball and someone gives them a story about football. Makes no sense.

A huge thank you is in order to my family who constantly read to me and with me when I was growing up.  I was always so excited to receive new books for Christmas or my birthday.  Providing an environment filled with books is, in my opinion, one of the best things you can do to foster healthy development. Instilling a love of reading in young children will definitely put them on the path to a love of learning for the rest of their lives.  And you can’t put a price on that.

I would like to finish off with a quote that one of my professors shared with us. I found it to be a powerful one.

“The potential to achieve some level of literacy is present in every child, and the development of that potential depends almost entirely on the opportunities provided within the child’s supportive environment.”

– Koppenhaver et al 1991

 

What was your favorite childhood book? Was there a specific reason you liked it so much? Share in the comments section!