moominmuppet

A lot of what originally started this whole project was a set of conversations Chad and I had about my history with reading, and what turned me into a voracious reader. We've been talking about it in the context of Kidlet, and how to encourage that kind of joy in reading in him. I think I had a pretty ideal childhood in terms of reading development, so I figured I'd write out how that worked for me, in case it's useful for ideas for others. Again, not a parent, not a teacher, not an education specialist. Just a former kid who loves books.

First of all, credit where credit is due:

1. Mom and Dad
2. Holly Township Library
3. Used Book Stores
4. My brothers

Reading aloud together is important to me. Really important to me. So important that one of my first tattoos is actually a reference to family story time (it's the Dawn Treader, since I have such strong memories of Mom reading the Narnia series to us). So important that I couldn't entirely give it up when I left for college, and my freshman year roommate got fairy tales every so often. I still occasionally read aloud to friends, family, and lovers for the pure joy of it. Incidentally, this has also led to the development of skills that have been helpful in my life, like clear diction, and confidence speaking in public. Although I can't sing to save my life, I get praised for my speaking voice on a regular basis. I was layreader in church when I was a teen (I even had to get special approval because I was so young, but I was soooo proud to be able to pronounce all those old testament names and read so clearly!) I've often been the announcer or reader for other meetings, events, etc. In other words, I'm a fan, and think encouraging "family reading time" is really important.

As I've mentioned before, I have two younger siblings, 4 1/2 and 11 years younger than me. This helped naturally extend "family story time" such that I don't remember a time that I was living at home during which reading aloud wasn't a family activity. I don't know if we could've successfully extended it quite as long if I were an only child, but I do think it's very worthwhile to continue reading together long after children are able to read on their own. Also, getting to be "Big Sister" and read to my little brothers (and help them learn to read) made me feel all proud, and helped me learn the joys of sharing books from the other side of things. Family reading time happened every evening, or every few evenings, and we'd all pile onto the bed together, and Mom would read to us. As we got older, we'd take turns reading, too. The material would vary, and often include shorter picture books and poetry, but was very often a chapter or two of a longer book each evening. This is how I first heard C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, Mary Norton, E. Nesbit, and a multitude of others. Reading time is absolutely one of my most powerful and treasured childhood memories.

Reading together also allowed me to enjoy more complex stories before I was necessarily quite ready to read them on my own, which helped keep me from getting bored with the material that was "in my range". This wasn't a problem for all that long, but I think it's a crucial point for kids deciding whether reading on their own is a good use of their time, and especially for kids who are struggling with reading on their own. I honestly don't have a good sense of age-appropriateness, and have to check listings on that regularly, because my reading level progressed very quickly (I was testing at grade 12+ in 5th or 6th grade), and my parents never limited my access to books. Instead, they took a general approach of being aware of what I was reading, and available if I had questions or confusions (which was a part of their overall parenting approach regarding access to information).

And on that note, I think asking kids about what they're reading is a generally great idea. Not just to make sure they're not running into things that are problematic, but more centrally in order to bond with them over the process of reading, and reinforce the idea that books are cool and full of neat stuff worth sharing. "What's it about?" "What do you like about it?" "Who's your favorite character?" "Why?" -- those are just useful opportunities for conversation!

I started into adult SF/F when I was about 10, and although I occasionally ran into concepts that were more mature than I was capable of processing, it wasn't really a big deal. Stuff that's too "adult" for kids is often just generally uninteresting to them, in my experience. It was really important and meaningful to me that Mom and Dad explicitly signed off on me having an "all access" library card, and not just a "juvenile lit" card, but as much as I felt a frisson of thrill about it, I just wasn't interested in reading things that made me too uncomfortable or confused (or bored). On the other hand, I don't think it's likely that a kid who's reading adult-level books can continue to be convinced that sex is a thing that doesn't exist in the world, but if you're looking for those kinds of hyper-protectionist recs, I'm really, really the wrong person.

Access. I don't know exactly how old I was when I got my first library card, but I was probably somewhere between 3 and 5 years old. It may seem like a minor thing, and easier to check things out on the parent's card, but it really made me feel all grown up, and that's a good association for almost any little kid. Also, we spent a lot of time at the Library. A whole lot. It was really a second home to me (especially because Dad was on the library board). Feeling "at home" in the library is really good and important for encouraging reading, imo. And it was the children's librarians who really continued to encourage me (never underestimate the value of a summer reading competition with little rubber eraser prizes!)

Also, I loved and love used bookstores. Any bookstore is awesome, but there's something extra exciting about exploring a used bookstore and finding weird little treasures for ridiculously low (and affordable on kids allowances) prices. Library booksales are also amazing experiences for a kid with a pocketful of change.

Also, I think it really helped that a lot of the people in my life talked about books like they were worth something. They shared about things they were reading and enjoying, they talked about books they'd read that I might like, they gave me books as presents. We had treasured family books from Mom and Grandma's childhood that were treated as heirlooms. I lived in a house with books in every single room. It was crystal clear that books were valuable and important. More than anything, I absorbed that from them every single day.

And if I were to go into all the myriad ways I've found that true over the years, I'd be here another eight hours writing hymns to the power of the written word to comfort, to challenge, to excite, and to change one's life.

My parents have given me an unbelievable amount in life. My joy in reading is one of the gifts I treasure most from them.