Between the Lines | How young children learn to enjoy reading

I was quick to stock our bookshelf at home with Frog and Toad, Ling and Ting, Mouse and Mole and other great character pairings in early chapter books, ready for when the children start to read independently.

Yet for all of her first year in primary school, my daughter preferred to have me read aloud from our picture book collection, although she occasionally read them on her own.

I had worried that chapter books, even the easy ones, were too intimidating for her, or that she simply didn’t enjoy reading. Such concerns turned out to be unwarranted: 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. 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 I spied my daughter reading Charlie, I’ve been bringing within view and easy reach all the chapter books including Ramona the Brave, The Great Brain, The Enchanted Wood, and The Real Thief.

I try not to let my love for books colour the choice of books for my children. Perhaps it is precisely due to this love that I am 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.