PUBLISHED : Monday, 29 February, 2016, 10:00pm
UPDATED : Monday, 29 February, 2016, 10:00pm
How young children learn to enjoy reading
Nurturing a lifelong love of reading is more about the quality of books than the quantity
Our
bookshelf at home has been stocked with Frog
and Toad, Ling and Ting, Mouse and
Mole and other great character pairings that make up the world of early
chapter books for children who are starting to read independently. And yet, for
all of her first year in primary school, my daughter preferred to have me read
aloud from our picture book collection, whilst she occasionally read those same
picture books on her own. I had worried that chapter books, even the easy ones,
were too daunting or intimidating for her, or that she simply didn’t enjoy
reading. Such concerns turned out to be unwarranted when, halfway through grade
two, my daughter skipped the early readers, casually picked up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and
effortlessly read it on her own. And so I was once again reminded that the
reading journey does not have a specific route or time schedule; it is full of
wandering and detours, much like the journey through childhood.
Ever
since the day that I spied my daughter reading Charlie, I’ve been bringing within view and easy reach all the chapter
books that had been patiently waiting on the backshelves, including Ramona the Great, The Great Brain, The
Enchanted Wood, and The Real Thief.
I try not to let my madness for books colour my judgment when choosing books
for my children. Perhaps it is precisely due to my madness that I am always
careful to share books that are at the appropriate reading and developmental level;
I want to make sure that my children have the same opportunity, as I had, to
fall in love with the words and stories of these great works.
I
always imagine that the highlight of the family reading journey is when a child
is five years old. Around that age, he has greater comprehension than his
toddler years, and yet still loves to snuggle in your arms and giggle through
humour-filled picture books. After attending Diane Frankenstein’s book camp
last year, and then bearing witness to my own daughter’s independent reading,
it dawned on me that the fun really begins in a child’s primary school years.
Sharing ideas and hearing about my daughter’s thoughts about a book have
allowed me to gauge her emotional and moral development. It’s so exciting to
gain insight into her passions and her fears, and even her character, through our
conversations about books.
Nurturing
a lifelong love of reading and learning is more about quality of books rather
than the quantity of books. A child who speeds through books without reflecting
on or discussing them is like a tourist on a nine-cities-in-ten-days whirlwind
tour. Diane Frankenstein, a leading educational consultant in children’s
literature, provides the tools for parents and teachers to show a child “how to
love reading by helping him find great stories, and through questions that
jump-start conversations, show him how to mine a story for its treasures.”
Following
on the same analogy, such a child is like the traveller who spends time getting
to know a city by staying longer, meeting local folk and perhaps finding new
adventures on another visit. Like this ideal traveller, a child who has
conversations about what he’s reading and who re-reads favourite passages or
even an entire book, will return to his own life with fresh perspectives and a
deeper understanding of the world around him.
Although
I am not looking forward to my daughter’s teenage years, I am confident that being
more involved in her reading now, by continuing this habit of talking with her
and sharing ideas, will help our parent-child relationship a decade later.
Diane
Frankenstein will be back in Hong Kong to host workshops from March 8 through
March 12. Please visit www.bringmeabook.org.hk
for information and registration.
