One of my vivid memories from childhood is that of my Dad reading to the family. For parents to read books to their kids is nothing unusual in itself, but my Dad’s approach was perhaps a bit different for modern times. He didn’t read “kids’ books” and he didn’t do much to simplify the wording. Instead, he pretty much read the text verbatim and let the words work on us as they would. The titles favored historical subjects and classics of literature from the 18th and 19th centuries. I can recall several of the titles, covered sometime between when I was 3 and 8 years old:
- Tom Sawyer
- Gulliver’s Travels
- Treasure Island
- Gods, Graves, and Scholars (stories of famous archaeological discoveries)
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin
- I Married Adventure (autobiography)
- Pioneer Memories (a book published by my great grandfather)
- Swiss Family Robinson
- Around the World In Eighty Days
In some ways, my experience probably resembled that of many kids growing up in the 1800’s, when literature, read aloud, was a primary form of entertainment. And I perceived it that way: I don’t recall feeling bored, or getting lost and not knowing what was going on in the story. I found the books to be interesting and enjoyable. My dad read Uncle Tom’s Cabin when I was five years old; although I have not read the book since, I remember quite a few bits of it and how they affected me. I remember being inspired by the plucky slave-girl Topsy (perhaps a week after reading about her, my dad spanked me for some reason and I responded, “Aw, that was nothing!”). I perceived the cruelty of Simon Legree. And I felt moved to sadness and spiritual longing by Uncle Tom’s semi-martyrdom at the end of the book.
As I said, my dad didn’t simplify too much. Occasionally, he would explain a word or background concept, but most of the time the story just flowed without interruption, and it was up to me to catch and keep what, in retrospect, was quite a bit more than many adults might have expected.
We watched so little TV that my retention of things I watched was probably about as good as for the literature. But somehow I suspect, that if our TV had been going as much as it did at many of our neighbors’ houses, I would remember neither the programs nor the stories—the latter because I likely would have been bored, and paid less attention.
Fast-forward thirty years to when I had a baby girl. I had always known that when I had kids, I would read to them. I even compiled a list of likely titles. So, when my daughter was one month old, I sat down next to her blanket on the floor and began to read nursery rhymes. She listened. She seemed to like them, so I kept it up. I began with poetry and then began to work stories into the mix. When she was sixteen months old, she sat on my lap and listened as I read Bread and Jam for Frances from start to finish. She seemed to have an incredible appetite for books, and almost never wanted to stop. So we kept going…and going.
My wife and I later had two boys, and I read to them as well. They liked stories, but their tastes (and stamina) weren’t always in line with their sister. Sometimes I read to the group, sometimes one-on-one; sometimes we switched off, alternating stories and nights.
Over the course of time, a few ground rules emerged. Here, in a nutshell, is how I did reading:
- Read every night. (We were very consistent about this.)
- It’s got to be fun. (It’s great if the kids learn something from the stories; it’s great if it helps them to develop certain mental capacities…but the main intention behind my reading was never to further that purpose. When a former teacher suggested that I try to work a teaching component into the reading, I refused. I felt that adding a new agenda would tend to corrupt the kids’ experience.)
- It’s got to be fun for everyone, both the kids and me. (When my youngest son got burned out on Huckleberry Finn, we cut if off and went on to the next book. Similarly, when my boys wanted me to read a Pokemon book, I read it for one night and demurred the next; it just wasn’t working for me.)
- Adjustments to the reading schedule were never associated with rewards or punishments. (I have always felt that the fun of the story should be reward enough. And even if one of my kids was being a pill, I would still read to them if at all possible.)
- Openness: If I had planned to read with Kid A and Kid B asked to listen, I never refused. If Kid A had a problem with that, I would defend Kid B’s right to listen to the story.
- I was happy to repeat books that were popular. (I believe I made about four passes through all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books, reading them to Camille over the course of 6-7 years, and at least as many through the Penrod books.)
I have always read out loud with expression, but with daily repetition I polished this and experimented with new approaches. I started to read in different voices: male and female, with various accents, and so on. I probably won’t ever win a Tony award, but I tried to be consistent and my kids never complained. It was fun.
I started reading to my baby girl Camille in August of 2004. As I write this on June 3, 2018, I know that tonight I intend to read a chapter or two of Rendezvous With Rama to my boys. (Camille finally dropped out last year; I think thirteen years was pretty good.)
Here is a fairly complete list of all the “chapter books” we have read at least once, from cover to cover, over the years (PDF download version):
|
Death of King Arthur, The |
Ackroyd, Peter |
|
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy |
Adams, Douglas |
|
Life, the Universe, and Everything |
Adams, Douglas |
|
Mostly Harmless |
Adams, Douglas |
|
Restaurant at the end of the Universe |
Adams, Douglas |
|
So Long and Thanks for all the Fish |
Adams, Douglas |
|
Tales from Watership Down |
Adams, Richard |
|
Watership Down |
Adams, Richard |
|
Alfred Hitchcock’s Ghostly Gallery |
Arthur, Robert (editor) |
|
Jonathan Livingston Seagull |
Bach, Richard |
|
Little Princess, A |
Burnett, Frances Hodgson |
|
Secret Garden, The |
Burnett, Frances Hodgson |
|
Rendezvous With Rama |
Clarke, Arthur |
|
Mouse and the Motorcycle, The |
Cleary, Beverly |
|
Ribsy |
Cleary, Beverly |
|
R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH |
Conly, Jane Leslie |
|
Rasco and the Rats of NIMH |
Conly, Jane Leslie |
|
BFG, The |
Dahl, Roald |
|
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |
Dahl, Roald |
|
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator |
Dahl, Roald |
|
Danny, Champion of the World |
Dahl, Roald |
|
Fantastic Mr. Fox |
Dahl, Roald |
|
George’s Marvelous Medicine |
Dahl, Roald |
|
Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, The |
Dahl, Roald |
|
James and the Giant Peach |
Dahl, Roald |
|
Mathilda |
Dahl, Roald |
|
Witches, The |
Dahl, Roald |
|
Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More |
Dahl, Roald |
|
Christmas Carol, A |
Dickens, Charles |
|
David Copperfield |
Dickens, Charles |
|
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan |
|
His Last Bow |
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan |
|
Hound of the Baskervilles, The |
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan |
|
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes |
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan |
|
Return of Sherlock Holmes |
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan |
|
Sherlock Holmes Casebook |
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan |
|
Sign of Four, The |
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan |
|
Study in Scarlet, A |
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan |
|
Valley of Fear, The |
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan |
|
Child’s Book of Poems, A |
Fujikawa, Gyo |
|
Golden Book of Myths and Legends |
Golden Press |
|
Dinotopia |
Gurney, James |
|
Read-Aloud Poems for Young People |
Hale, Gloria (editor) |
|
George and the Unbreakable Code |
Hawking, Lucy & Stephen |
|
George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt |
Hawking, Lucy & Stephen |
|
George and the Big Bang |
Hawking, Lucy & Stephen |
|
All Creatures Great and Small |
Herriot, James |
|
All Things Bright and Beautiful |
Herriot, James |
|
All Things Wise and Wonderful |
Herriot, James |
|
Every Living Thing |
Herriot, James |
|
The Lord God Made Them All |
Herriot, James |
|
Tales of the Alhambra |
Irving, Washington |
|
Wrinkle In Time, A |
L’Engle, Madeleine |
|
Horse and His Boy, The |
Lewis, C.S. |
|
Last Battle, The |
Lewis, C.S. |
|
Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, The |
Lewis, C.S. |
|
Magician’s Nephew, The |
Lewis, C.S. |
|
Prince Caspian |
Lewis, C.S. |
|
Silver Chair, The |
Lewis, C.S. |
|
Voyage of the Dawn Treader |
Lewis, C.S. |
|
Pippi Longstocking |
Lindgren, Astrid |
|
The fairy ring, or, Elsie and Frances fool the world |
Losure, Mary |
|
House at Pooh Corner, The |
Milne, A.A. |
|
Winnie the Pooh |
Milne, A.A. |
|
Emily of New Moon |
Montgomery, L. M. |
|
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH |
O’Brien, Robert C. |
|
Animal Farm |
Orwell, George |
|
Chinese Fairy Tales |
Peter Pauper Press |
|
Japanese Fairy Tales |
Peter Pauper Press |
|
Rude Tales and Glorious |
Seare, Nicholas |
|
Treasure Island |
Stevenson, Robert Louis |
|
Dracula |
Stoker, Bram |
|
Penrod |
Tarkington, Booth |
|
Penrod and Sam |
Tarkington, Booth |
|
Penrod Jashber |
Tarkington, Booth |
|
Fellowship of the Ring |
Tolkien, J.R.R. |
|
Hobbit, The |
Tolkien, J.R.R. |
|
Return of the King |
Tolkien, J.R.R. |
|
Two Towers, The |
Tolkien, J.R.R. |
|
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn |
Twain, Mark |
|
Adventures of Tom Sawyer |
Twain, Mark |
|
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, A |
Twain, Mark |
|
Pudd’nhead Wilson |
Twain, Mark |
|
Tom Sawyer Abroad |
Twain, Mark |
|
Tom Sawyer, Detective |
Twain, Mark |
|
Various short stories |
Twain, Mark |
|
Charlotte’s Web |
White, E.B. |
|
Stuart Little |
White, E.B. |
|
Trumpet of the Swan, The |
White, E.B. |
|
Little House on the Prairie |
Wilder, Laura Ingalls |