We can't help it--we just love children's books: the stories, the pictures, the photographs, the feel of a book in the hand, the turning of the pages, the anticipation of the first page and what will come next, and even the slight sadness when a great story is over. Add reading a great book aloud to a young child and magic is in the air as you make monsters come alive, trains bravely chug, and rabbits fall asleep by the light of the moon.
Reading a book out loud makes it your own. The very idea of reading to a child gives you permission to make creature sounds the like of which no one has ever heard before, to imitate accents, to act overly dramatic, and to behave like a kid again, if you wish. When you step outside yourself and become the characters, you get to be, do, and say things you might not otherwise, in just the right way, and at just the right time. You, the reader, decide how happy or sad or mad or crabby a character should be, and how much emphasis or drama to add to the story. In the end, you have created a unique treasure.
Imagine all the varied and wonderful versions that are created each time Max cries, "Let the wild rumpus begin!" in the classic WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak. Or how many different sounds Mary Anne, the faithful steam shovel, has made since MIKE MULLIGAN AND HIS STEAM SHOVEL by Virginia Lee Burton hit the book shelves in 1939.
Try this out loud, from the absolutely gross and wonderful new book, AWFUL OGRE'S AWFUL DAY: POEMS, by one of our best children's poets Jack Prelutsky:
When elves and gnomes encounter me,
They often shriek, "Grotesque!"
I bow with magnanimity
And murmur,"Statuesque!"
Even the youngest children, who may not understand each nuance or word meaning, will delight in the magnificent variety of sounds and emotions you emit. No two ogres will be the same--your rendition will be like a secret handshake that only you and your child know.
So, how should you read to kids? In your own way (whether quietly or dramatically), with passion, in comfort, and enjoying the pleasure that comes with it. When reading together is warm, contented, and fun, you and a child become closer, and young children start on the path of lifelong reading. Independent reading skills will follow later. For now, one of the greatest gifts that you can give a young child, as well as yourself, is a shared love of books and reading.
