Illustration of "Brianna's Book Stop" by Jeffrey Duckworth / Book Cover for WHERE DO DIGGERS SLEEP AT NIGHT? (on the bookmobile) by Christian Slade

Monday, July 8, 2013

"Read it again, Mommy!" (and why it's important... even when it drives me a bit crazy! :o) )


Happy Keep Reading Fun Day! Before I forget, please remember to read this interview with Chieu Anh Urban and enter for a chance to win a copy of her newest book!  That will certainly help keep reading fun!


My son's latest favorite book to say,
"Read it again, Mommy!"
Also thanks so much to illustrator and writer, Dani Duck, for her lovely review of Brianna's Book Stop on her own wonderful blog!

And now on to today's "keep reading fun day" topic... "Read it again, Mommy!"

Have you ever heard these words? I have. Many times.

And, while they bring joy to my heart. I also have to admit that they can also drive me a bit...


crazy!

They bring joy to my heart because they mean that I am raising children who love books. Hooray!!!

They drive me a bit crazy because...  Eek! Do I really have to read that same book ONE MORE TIME?

Today I want to talk about why, yes, I do! I really do!

There are so many benefits to repeated readings. Especially for young ones like my little guy.

With every repeated reading, he is learning that favorite books tell the same wonderful story again and again and again (and again :o) ).

He is learning how wonderful and comforting a favorite book can be.

And, as we read the same book again and again, he is sometimes even learning to read a favorite book for himself.

"I read it myself," he tells me proudly.  And he does.

He picks up his latest favorite, Baby Dance by Ann Taylor and Marjorie van Heerden, and he begins to sing it to me, just like I have been singing it to to him. He carefully turns the pages just like I do when I read to him.

And when I finish it he says, "I read it again!"  And again and again and again!  Hooray!

Do (or did) your kids like repeated readings?  Which books were their all-time favorites?

8 comments:

  1. My kids are in college and we still recite favorite passages to each other. Those favorites last forever.

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  2. That's awesome, J.A.! What a wonderful sneak peak into the future!

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  3. That is super! I love it when kids declare proudly "I can read" That is such a BIG reward! I love to read to DD many times over too. We always find something new and interesting to discuss in the same story.
    Thanks for sharing this post!
    -Reshama
    www.stackingbooks.com

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    1. So glad you enjoyed the post Reshama! It is so very wonderful to hear my son proudly proclaim those words!

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  4. Yay, sounds like you're doing it right! =)

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    1. Thanks so much, Leandra! There are so many challenges in parenting! It is always nice to feel like I'm doing something right. :o)

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  5. It's that very read-it-again thing that made me think hard before I purchased a PB when my kids were young, because I knew I'd be reading it many (many) many times in a row, and liking it myself was a must.
    I think about this when I write PB texts. There should be plenty in them that will serve the read-aloud adults, as well as the kids, because they are part of the audience.

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  6. Awesome insights, Mirka! I completely agree about thinking carefully about what picture books to purchase. We must all enjoy reading them many, many times! And I try to put that same re-readability standard into the picture books I write. (With WHERE DO DIGGERS SLEEP AT NIGHT?, I actually got to experience that for myself... since my youngest requested it for his nightly read aloud every night for months. :o) )

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