Evie's Desk: Reading Fun for EveryoneNovember 19, 2007 |
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 As any parent who has read to a young child knows, some of the most poignant moments of family bonding can occur over a good book. From Pat the Bunny to Thomas the Tank Engine, books offer a way for parents, grandparents, siblings and caregivers to take a child's imagination to another place - another world even - without having to leave the living room couch.First 5 LA's Read Early, Read Aloud campaign emphasizes that it's never too early to read to a child. Infants benefit from reading aloud because it exposes them to the sounds of human speech, "an important first step in helping them learn language," according to Reading Is Fundamental, one of First 5 LA's partners in the month-long child literacy campaign. Toddlers especially enjoy participatory books with songs, rhymes and other word-play, ' made all the more fun when adult readers use expression and act out character parts. Reading to a child offers something for everyone. One of the many great pleasures for adults is that they get to revisit and relive favorite stories for their childhood - sometimes with books that take a new approach to the story, like we see in "pop-up" books. Some of my favorite holiday gift purchases for kids are artist Robert Sabuda's beautifully designed pop-up versions of classics such as Cinderella, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I usually end up buying multiple copies of Sabuda's latest book, one for each of the children in my life, and one for me! For recommended reading list for young children, click here. And I hope you'll participate in our First 5 LA/Barnes & Noble Book Fair. To download the flier click here (pdf).
Evelyn V. Martinez
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