How to Read to a Child

First, you must love the book.  Because you will end up reading it dozens of times.

Maybe hundreds of times.

This means absolutely no Berenstain Bears books are allowed on our bookshelves.

When you start out with brand-new board books, 

you don't imagine you'll still be reading them twenty years down the road.

Your favorite books should be close at hand, and loosely organized.

This is the corner cupboard behind one of our big reading chairs.

I got attached to these books.

I kept them.

And now - surprise! - I have a little one

to read to again.

 

 

I can't wait to read this to him.

It's one of the funniest books we have.

Here is big sister "reading" to Malachi.  

I made her read Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

I think the baby liked it more than she did.

 

Flashback 12 years: Caleb, reading to his baby sister.

I like to read with lots of inflection.

Here is a short stack that stood the test of time.

Our first Frog and Toad anthology fell apart,

so Grandma bought us a new one.

Reading Runaway Bunny for the first time.

We didn't finish.
Malachi just wanted to eat the book.