Reading to Children

One of the great pleasures of parenthood (and for others with children in their lives) is reading to one's children. I remember when my daughter was small, I read to her for hours and hour...maybe hundreds or even thousands of hours over those first few years of her life. We started with the usual hard-paged books, and tactile books such as "Pat the Bunny." I loved reading her books that I myself had loved as a child, such as "Charlotte's Web" (which my mom would read to me, and I would cry, and then ask her to read it again...and again...and again...and cry each time! And I loved every minute of it!). My daughter and I enjoyed going to libraries and bookstores, especially for story hours, but also for browsing. I remember one children's bookstore that had replicated, full size, the scene of the book "Good Night, Moon" in a nook near the entry way -- furniture and all -- it was enchanting! Later we read the Ramona books, the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, the Anne of Green Gables books (all favorites of my own childhood as well), and many many more. Those hours reading together are some of my best memories of my daughter's childhood.