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Molly's reading
Aug. 21st, 2006 01:04 amMolly learned to read last December. She spent several months mostly reading picture books, and gravitating in particular to the Easy Readers, books with nice big print, simple words, etc. Ed and I had tried to teach her to sound things out, but when she started reading she mostly did it with word recognition. December was when she started picking up books independently, but even before then, she recognized some words; her preschool teacher told us in the fall that she'd learned to be careful with what she wrote where Molly could see, particularly the word "Molly," since Molly would immediately ask, "What are you writing about me?"
In April, when we traveled to Boston, Molly was reading chapter books, but prefered picture books. This was a problem, because she would go through an enormous pile of books each week, and there was no way we could bring that many with us to Boston. I picked up a bunch of paperback children's chapter books at Half Price and we took those along, instead. Molly made do.
By early summer, she had mostly switched to chapter books. She read all the American Girls books. She read the entire Junie B. Jones series. Most recently, she's been reading the Boxcar Children and Encyclopedia Brown (both of these are mystery series for young children). She's finishing the All of a Kind Family books, which I remember really fondly from my own childhood. Today, she asked me about a Nancy Drew novel I'd pulled out at some point, and I told her that she might enjoy it more in a couple of years; Nancy is eighteen, so I thought Molly might have trouble identifying with her. I came home from grocery shopping, and she had just finished the Nancy Drew book, and wanted to know if there were any more. As it happens, I had five more stashed upstairs, so for once, Molly got immediate literary gratification. (Note to self: to get Molly to read a book, tell her, "oh, you can read this if you want, but I don't think you're really old enough to understand it yet." Additional note: be sure to note that she can read it if she wants to, or she'll obediently stay away from it. For now.)
She has a favorite reading spot, which is the corner of the loveseat, next to the end table. We stashed a bunch of bookmarks in cups for her, because we'd call her to come to dinner, and she'd complain loudly that she didn't have a bookmark and expect us to find one for her. The bookmark cache has worked quite well to solve that problem, and as a bonus, it's now easy for me to find a bookmark when I need one.
Recommendations of favorite childhood books are welcome. I know I've complained about this before, but let me just note it again: it is startlingly difficult to find books at the right level for a young kid. Libraries have a YA section and a children's section. The children's section at the "young" end includes chapter books that feature the Berenstein Bears, Arthur, and Angelina Ballerina (interestingly, Molly hasn't shown much interest in these, despite liking Arthur and Angelina a lot as picture books; she tried an Angelina chapter book, and a couple of Arthur chapter books, but hasn't sought them out again). The same section includes books like Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, which is a historical novel about a black family in the American south. It's an excellent but extremely disturbing book, and includes the lynching of a child, one of the close friends of the protagonist. Roll of Thunder is shelved right next to All of a Kind Family, which is a heartwarming, upbeat book about a Jewish family living in the lower east side of NYC in the early 20th century.
This is why series books are so wildly successful: you can go to the library, pick up another dozen Boxcar Children books, and be set for the week. Some little kids (it's not just Molly) are voracious readers. Molly is the kind of reader I would be if I had no responsibilities and no access to the Internet. Or rather, Molly is the kind of reader I was back when I had no responsibilities and no Internet to distract me. Sadly, a lot of my favorite authors have vanished. Ruth Chew can be found only at the occasional rummage sale. Caddie Woodlawn is still available everywhere, but Brink's other books, like The Pink Motel, are long gone. (I found a copy of Baby Island at a used bookstore and gave it to Molly. She was riveted.)
In April, when we traveled to Boston, Molly was reading chapter books, but prefered picture books. This was a problem, because she would go through an enormous pile of books each week, and there was no way we could bring that many with us to Boston. I picked up a bunch of paperback children's chapter books at Half Price and we took those along, instead. Molly made do.
By early summer, she had mostly switched to chapter books. She read all the American Girls books. She read the entire Junie B. Jones series. Most recently, she's been reading the Boxcar Children and Encyclopedia Brown (both of these are mystery series for young children). She's finishing the All of a Kind Family books, which I remember really fondly from my own childhood. Today, she asked me about a Nancy Drew novel I'd pulled out at some point, and I told her that she might enjoy it more in a couple of years; Nancy is eighteen, so I thought Molly might have trouble identifying with her. I came home from grocery shopping, and she had just finished the Nancy Drew book, and wanted to know if there were any more. As it happens, I had five more stashed upstairs, so for once, Molly got immediate literary gratification. (Note to self: to get Molly to read a book, tell her, "oh, you can read this if you want, but I don't think you're really old enough to understand it yet." Additional note: be sure to note that she can read it if she wants to, or she'll obediently stay away from it. For now.)
She has a favorite reading spot, which is the corner of the loveseat, next to the end table. We stashed a bunch of bookmarks in cups for her, because we'd call her to come to dinner, and she'd complain loudly that she didn't have a bookmark and expect us to find one for her. The bookmark cache has worked quite well to solve that problem, and as a bonus, it's now easy for me to find a bookmark when I need one.
Recommendations of favorite childhood books are welcome. I know I've complained about this before, but let me just note it again: it is startlingly difficult to find books at the right level for a young kid. Libraries have a YA section and a children's section. The children's section at the "young" end includes chapter books that feature the Berenstein Bears, Arthur, and Angelina Ballerina (interestingly, Molly hasn't shown much interest in these, despite liking Arthur and Angelina a lot as picture books; she tried an Angelina chapter book, and a couple of Arthur chapter books, but hasn't sought them out again). The same section includes books like Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, which is a historical novel about a black family in the American south. It's an excellent but extremely disturbing book, and includes the lynching of a child, one of the close friends of the protagonist. Roll of Thunder is shelved right next to All of a Kind Family, which is a heartwarming, upbeat book about a Jewish family living in the lower east side of NYC in the early 20th century.
This is why series books are so wildly successful: you can go to the library, pick up another dozen Boxcar Children books, and be set for the week. Some little kids (it's not just Molly) are voracious readers. Molly is the kind of reader I would be if I had no responsibilities and no access to the Internet. Or rather, Molly is the kind of reader I was back when I had no responsibilities and no Internet to distract me. Sadly, a lot of my favorite authors have vanished. Ruth Chew can be found only at the occasional rummage sale. Caddie Woodlawn is still available everywhere, but Brink's other books, like The Pink Motel, are long gone. (I found a copy of Baby Island at a used bookstore and gave it to Molly. She was riveted.)
