In our house, we read. A lot. If you walk through our front door, you will see books casually laying – well- everywhere. We read for fun; we read for information; and we read for procrastination (that’s admittedly mostly me). We read on sick days, snow days, rainy days, and picnic days. If there is an excuse to read, we will find it.
Even while I wade through the guilt of so many other mom-fails, I’m relieved to know that my one guilty pleasures is actually a good habit to pass on to children. You can lose yourself in countless studies of just how important reading is for many aspects of child development, but here are the basics of why reading is just so darn good for kids:
- provides bonding time and teaches social skills (at any age)
- builds vocabulary used outside of normal language usage
- teaches empathy through characters and their conflicts
- encourages critical thinking skills
- shows the diversity of the world
- helps develop tools for focus and concentration
With National Read a Book Day today (Sept. 6), I plan to celebrate all of these awesome qualities… with a good book. Feel free to join me, and peruse the following list of what local parents are reading with their kids if you need reading suggestions:
Board Books
Pout Pout Fish – Deborah Diesen
Baby University Series – Chris Ferrie
Never Touch Series – Rosie Greening
Todd Parr Books
Cozy Classics – Jack Wang
Picture Books
The Berenstain Bears – Stan Berenstain
Pig the Pug Books – Aaron Blebey
Ladybug Girl Books – Jacky Davis
Llama Llama Books – Anna Dewdney
The Mischievians – William Joyce
Tikki Tikki Tembo – Arlene Mosel
Zen Shorts – Jon J. Muth
Mr. Putter and Tabby Books – Cynthia Rylant
Max and Ruby Books – Rosemary Wells
Elephant and Piggy Books – Mo Willems
Pigeon Books – Mo Willems
Harry the Dirty Dog – Gene Zion
Early Readers
Bob Books
Biscuit Books – Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Fancy Nancy Books – Jane O’Connor
Chapter Books
Fly Guy – Tedd Arnold (Ages 4-8)
Magic Tree House – Mary Pope Osborne (Ages 6-8)
Zoey & Sassafras – Asia Citro (Ages 6-10)
Weird School – Dan Guttman (Ages 6-10)
Captain Underpants – Dav Pilkey (Ages 8-10)
Little House Series – Laura Ingalls Wilder (Ages 8-12)
Who Is and What Is Series (Ages 8-12)
Goosebumps – Dan Guttman (Ages 8-12)
Encyclopedia Brown – Donald Sobel (Ages 8-12)
The Underland Chronicles – Suzanne Collins (Ages 8-12)
Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling (Ages 13+)
Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card (Y/A)
Graphic Novels and Comics
Narwal and Jelly – Ben Clanton (Ages 6-9)
Dogman – Dav Pilkey (Ages 7+)
Amulet – Kazu Kibuishi (Ages 8-12)
What favorites are on your bookshelf?