“Please, don’t ever, Ever, EVER,” each ever growing increasingly more emphatic, “talk like that again. Not ever, Mom.” We put the book away, for 6 and a half years, and after holding and hugging my little duckling, I traded in the world of Hogwarts for the familiar words of Frog and Toad, thereby smoothing all his ruffled feathers.
Reading aloud to my children is one of my favorite past times. We haul blankets and pillows into the room and each of my children creates their own little nest from which to listen, to hear and imagine our books. It’s not always pretty. There is squabbling over the best spot, and the right story. They interrupt and rudely shush each other’s questions down, they poke or pinch or push physically and emotionally until someone loses their cool and they all get sent to bed. But in between those mild eruptions, we talk in made up voices, we giggle at descriptions and we enter worlds that are both delightfully familiar and frighteningly foreign.
We started reading together after trips to the library. Picture books turned into chapter books, and eventually to novels. My lap was their home for Guess How Much I Love You and Bread and Jam for Frances. As their interest evolved so did our books. There is a full stack of books we have started but never finished. Schedules changed or interest waned and in time they longed to gather around again, and we couldn’t find our place so we started on a new adventure. We have read classics, and current literature, everything from Anne of Green Gables to The Hobbit, Wonder and Arabian Nights, Narnia and The Princess Bride and the short stories of Patrick F. McManus. They loved them all.
So much of it has nothing to do with the book itself, but from what happens when we read it together. I could tell you all about the neurological effects, the polyvagal theory and how the brain engages in these activities, firing sequences of synapses that allow us to feel safe and secure while venturing into modes of fear, excitement and concern, but the long and short of it is really very simple. We are having a positive shared experience. We are bonding in our disgust for the antagonist, and our hopes for the heroes we have collectively come to love. Reading together strengthens our relationships, unless, of course, I speak like a basilisk.
Thanks, Kelly
Kelly is a special soul who embodies both intelligence and goodness. She also happens to be hilarious! Her 4 equally gifted children span from kindergarten to 8th grade. Not knowing we knew each other, our pediatrician had it in mind to pair up our babies, who were the chubbiest of ALL her patients. I can’t think of anything happier, except maybe hearing Kelly’s basilisk impression. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us!
tawnyember
I agree with everything Kelly said and loved it, of course. However, I will confess to being prejudiced, both in favor of my daughter and in the concept itself.
Years ago, as I taught English and literature in the middle school of a private school in California, I loved that the backbone of their classical reading curriculum was reading aloud together as a class every single day. That experience alone bonded us as a class. Vicariously, we had marvelous journeys and adventures. I still remember how moving it was at the end of “Last of the Mohicans” to see every class member, including my big eighth grade boys, wiping away tears as we read about those noble characters. Reading good books together can forge lifelong friendships.
Barbara, what a wonderful experience! I’m sure your students will never forget it. And I absolutely agree; reading good books together can unite friends and families in a powerful way. I’m so grateful you passed your love of literature to your children. They give me the best book recommendations!
Ahhhhh Kelly! What beautiful words to describe tender experiences of reading with your babies. She mentioned Bedtime For Frances and Frog and Toad as the books to return to- the safe books of comfort. These books were the books of our childhood read to us by loving parents and the ones I also read to my children and returned back to time and time again when moving on and up in the literary dept. was too big of a move for little minds to comprehend. I loved these moments with my children and looking forward to more of them with this new little baby girl!
How refreshing it was to use another community member’s experiences with reading! It was enjoyable. I taught a reading program at a junior high, and found that I learned most when I read with the kids about important people, places, and events. Those books were a revelation to the kids as well!
Marvelous! I love all you said. I Reading together is such a gift.
Beautiful Kelly! You sure capture d my attention with your story! Great to hear how reading is a bonding experience for you with your children. Give them all squeezes for me! I love you! ❤️