Building a Garden for Bookworms to Thrive

I've always been a bookworm, reading in the tub, on the subway, even while walking on the street. Curling up on a couch under a soft blanket with a great book has always been my idea of a perfect afternoon.

I always assumed that my children would share this love of books. Never doubted that we would one day pass dog-eared paperbacks around, clutching them to our chests before letting them go with a heartfelt "You're going to love it!" like my sisters and I do today.

I did everything the parenting books suggested to foster a love of reading. I read to my children before they could sit up, heard their first belly laughs when I made silly voices speed reading Green Eggs and Ham. But when kindergarten rolled around, and my oldest began confidently sounding out words, the magic of reading did not catch ahold of her.

Reading on her own was just a chore, and the words she painstakingly unlocked were nothing like the ones I read aloud to her. She ran away from the kitchen table as soon as she'd read the page we'd compromised on, without an ounce of curiosity for whether Bob would eventually pet the cat, or other possible developments of her early reader. I pushed, I cajoled, I bribed... but nothing worked. She hated reading.

Having tried everything else, I finally gave up. I stopped forcing reading down her throat. Stopped buying her beginner reader books and leaving them as disappointing presents on her pillow. Stopped making her sound out the words push or exit in restaurants. I went back to reading chapter books aloud at bedtime and left everything else alone.

And then slowly, on her own time, she found the magic on her own. At school, with the help of impartial, experienced librarians, she found titles that interested her. She loves books about fairies, about dogs, and most of all about schoolgirls with annoying brothers. Now halfway through second grade, my daughter can often be found with her nose buried in a book. And every night after her goodnight kiss, she begs to be allowed to read one more chapter.

Now my second child is in kindergarten, and my third is not far behind. Both are following in their big sister's footsteps, learning how to make sense of the jumble of letters on the page. And although they're attacking the task with more gusto, I've learned my lesson. I'm sitting back and letting them lead the way. I've created the right garden for bookworms to thrive, with lots of books all around, and lots of quiet time to read together. Whether they choose to blossom into one is up to them.

March is America Reads Month. This post was inspired by the Yahoo! Mother Board.