When my firstborn Hannah was a baby I read to her a lot. I was very diligent with trying to get through at least 2 or 3 books every evening. It wasn’t easy, because like pretty much all babies she wasn’t really interested in sitting still and listening for long periods. So we favoured short, simple stories, and I read them at top speed. Over and over, until I had them memorized. Even years later I can recite those books from heart, word for word.
With Jacob I wasn’t so diligent, I admit it. This is the nature of parenting more than one child, you don’t try to pin them down and educate them so much when neither of you are particularly enjoying it. I would occasionally try to read to Jacob, but he far preferred to do other things, so I didn’t sweat it. Or, at least, that was the way it was until a month or so ago. Because a month or so ago? Jacob discovered books.
Jon reading to Jacob and Hannah
His first choice is Sandra Boynton’s Moo, Baa, La La La!, which he refers to as ‘Moo’. Or ‘da da ba ba awa!’ But really, I swear the kid says moo sometimes. He brings the book to you and sits on your lap very carefully to listen. When you’re done the story he takes it from you and hands it back, asking to start again. And again. And again.
Jacob’s throwing skills put to work on the kids books
As a second child, Jacob has even more people willing to read to him. Hannah, especially, enjoys reciting books from memory for him. (No, my 4-year-old cannot read.) This is possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen, my two kids cuddled up side by side enjoying a book together. It makes me very happy to see it. I also enjoy the liberties that Hannah takes with the story when she can’t remember the words.
Jacob stacking adult books in a booster seat
Jacob doesn’t just love to look at books, though. No, he views books as excellent playthings, as well. They are good for chewing, throwing and stacking, amongst other things. Our bookshelves are constantly de-populated at Jacob’s hand. Sometimes they’re flung indiscriminately, sometimes they’re placed in a very special location, and sometimes he hands them, one by one, to an adult.
What can I say? The kid just loves books, and consumes them any way he can. I like to think that this is a sign that he will be very scholarly one day. I guess only time will tell. In the meantime, I will just enjoy this stage, because reading? Is something I can do while sitting down, and I have precious little chance to do that with a preschooler and a toddler, let me tell you.
Books are treasures! Ana will actually sit by herself and "read" already– but like you I've hardly cracked a book for Maia. Poor little thing has to sit (squirm/writhe and complain actually) through 15 minutes of Curious George, followed by Arthur or some other long winded story. Maybe I should swap some of the board books out of Ana's room. . . she prefers the longer stories now anyway.
This is a subject close to my heart, since there are more books than anything else in my house. I worked for a couple of years in the kids’ books section at Chapters, and I got a discount, so my house was filled with childrens’ books before I even had any. Both Angus and Eve would threaten civil disobedience if deprived of their before-bed stories. Eve had a book upstairs and downstairs that she would chew on until it was almost unrecognizable (upstairs was Dr. Seuss’s Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. Can’t remember what the downstairs one was. I am not a great Mom for getting on the floor and playing Barbies and doing voices and deciding who’s mad at who and who has to go fetch the golden button as a punishment (although I do enjoy listening in). Reading with them I can do, happily.
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Books are always a big part of our house. I L-O-V-E them and would happily have rooms full of them. Victoria has her favorites and has a major hissy fit if we threaten “no books tonight” before bed (usually only used if she is stalling about something like brushing her teeth, going to the bathroom, etc before bed).
Amelia has begun a similar enjoyment of books as Jacob. She chews on them, throws them, pulls every single one off the bookshelf… and sometimes she actually wants to READ one!! I’m definitely looking forward to the time when books are a part of her bedtime routine as well.
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Heh… my 8 year old is an AVID reader, (especially of Garfield & Calvin and Hobbes, heh) and he STILL uses books as toys sometimes. Granted, he doesn’t chew on them (thank god), but he does set them up as ramps for his toy cars or stacks them as buildings along with his legos.
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Love to hear about your kids’ enjoyment of books. The image of Hannah reading to Jacob is too cute!
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I love that both my kids think books are toys. And they are. You can read them or throw, push, pile, knock them over.
Good luck with that.
My boys enjoy hearing stories, and OWNING books, but they have very little interest in reading. It breaks my heart….. sigh.
Yay, that is great that he discovered them on his own without force feeding. We did the same with our first – who does now (at 3) love books. I love the thought of your daughter filling in the gaps of the stories!
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We love Sandra Boynton too and just read Moo Baa Lalala tonight. The micro dude has started saying MOOOO and BAAAA when I pause dramatically in the story. Tonight he wouldn’t stop with the OOOIIIINKs.
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I was the same with my kids. My son was read to diligently everyday but with my daughter my focus was more on keeping the peace between the two of them. In the past month she’s started to really love books and will bring them to me to read over and over and over. Her bookshelf looks just like your picture. In fact it totally looks like your picture because it looks like we have all the same books!
Moo, Baa, La La La is a favorite in our family, too! To this day, if we say, “Three singing pigs say…” Jack will quickly respond with “Lalalaaaa!”
I think one of my very favorite ways to pass time with my boys it to work our way through a huge stack of books. If I make it sing-songy and exciting enough, my 6mo is usually willing to sit through most of the stories!
I love it that Jacob likes to do empty the shelves and do special things with the books. He sounds like a funny kid!