Photo: mamamia05
Ahh, summer holiday. I remember the thrill of cycling down to the little bookshop in Söderköping in Sweden to spend the money that my parents gave me on the last day of term. Eager eyes searching among the selves for something new and exciting. The bookshop, the oldest in Sweden opened in 1815, had a special little room filled with children's book. How many selves? Well, to be fair, not that many but somehow that did not matter. The main thing was that I could choose and that there was a whole lazy summer ahead of me.
It is somehow ironic that Swedish oldest bookshop opened in Söderköping since most of my classmates were not at all interested in books.
So how did I end up becoming a book lover?
Are there any special strategies for engaging children in books. Can you give them any special tools so that they can just like me find their own books? How do you raise a child who does not need an adult to make sure that they read with delight?
I watched a TV programme the other day about children's journey towards becoming readers. The children were followed for a year. Certain scenes in that programme made me cry. Although most of the five-year olds did learn to read by the end of the year and they look very happy. Yet, their struggles and the focus on constantly testing the children made me wonder if any of these children ever really will love books.
I found a wonderful book by Donalyn Miller about Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits
An idea from the book is to make a wall filled with post-it notes, a window or a page on a blog with Wild Reading Graffiti Quotes. Share any lines that you love from a book that you are reading. Lines that are delicious and filled with beautiful words. Lines that are funny and silly. Or lines that made you stop reading and dream or think.
Children's books are an incredible blend of simplicity and life lessons. Warm and fuzzy on the outside but deeply fascinating and symbolic on the inside. That is why many quotes from children's book stay with as for life.
We wrote quotes on bookmarks and hang them up on an empty looking wall. We pounded some flowers to make the bookmarks a bit extra special. Go here for instruction.
Here is one of my favourite quotes. I love Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne.
"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together... there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart... I'll always be with you."
Have a wonderful book-filled summer!
