Making a Mini Bibiliophile

Reading is a huge part of our lives in the Go Household. Helping Babs discover the joys of books was important to us, and a fun endeavor for all, as it simply entailed a lot of reading.

Reading on the side of a mountain in Mexico

Tips to Help Kids Learn to Love Reading

When kids love reading books (or being read to), they develop vocabulary and language skills that will grow and help them in school and all throughout their lives!

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go." — Dr. Seuss

1. Start Reading Together Early

"I feel the need of reading. It is a loss to a man not to have grown up among books." —Abraham Lincoln

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." — Emilie Buchwald

We read to Babs when she was only weeks old. She had no idea what was going on, but she heard our voices and was exposed to seeing books in Mommy and Daddy's hands almost from birth. Make it the norm early on.

2. Set the Example

Show them that Mom and Dad love reading too! Kids want to do everything you do!

A little light reading from mom & dad's library

3. Keep Books Within Kids' Reach

"Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks." — Dr. Seuss

When they're wee ones, this works best with board books, as grabbing hands will inevitably tear paper pages.

When Babs got a little older, she loved pulling books down from her shelf and paging through them.

Reading on the pot from a young age.

4. Rotate Books

NEW and DIFFERENT books are always way more exciting than the books she's seen a million times already. Here's where the LIBRARY comes in. We go every two weeks and get a dozen new books. She pages through them on her own first before we even start reading. It keeps her interest and keeps me from losing my mind after reading Dinotrux a thousand and seventeen times.

Get different kinds of books too. Princess stories are fun, but there are so many different books available. Books that teach colors, counting and letter recognition -- in a fun way! Get science books and books that teach about different kinds of animals. They're never as popular in the house as the princesses, but every little bit of exposure helps her learn. They're little sponges, soaking up everything you show them.

So make sure you're showing them the good stuff.