A true love for reading should be started early. We started with my oldest the first day she was brought home from the hospital. We read each day, knowing that her little brain would pick up the words, grammar, and many other important things. As she got older, she wanted books read to her several times a day. As our family grew, there were times it was really hard to sit down and read whenever she wanted, but we didn’t want to discourage her love for reading since that is where so much of her creativity came from. With many teachers in our family, she had a plethora of books with bright, colorful pictures. We encouraged her to tell us stories using those books, and when we couldn’t sit down with her, we encouraged her to make up stories for herself, her stuffed animals, or one of our pets.
Picture books or even books with words and big, colorful pictures that children can create stories from are a wonderful option for nurturing the love of reading. It is really fun to listen to the developmental stages children hit as they grow with these books. My almost three year old is between phases. Some days he looks through the books yelling out the pictures he knows the words for. ‘Cow! Red flower! Bee!’ Other days he creates stories. His stories are an amusing mix of babble and words that only he really understands. Meanwhile, my four year old will tell elaborate stories using those same pictures. The stories will vary each day as his mind stretches and grows with the creativity and imaginative exercise. We do still read to them, but the picture books help to encourage their desire to read books when there are other things calling for my attention.
There are many books that are perfect for young children to look through. I really like the Caldecott Medal winning books for my younger children. Books are judged on several factors, including the pictures having to be on a child’s level and easy to understand and relate to. My two year old’s favorite book never actually won a Caldecott Medal, but was a Caldecott Honor book. No, David! is a really fun book with plenty of things for us to point to and talk about, and instead of saying “No, David!” we like to substitute the name of the child we’re reading with, which adds an extra dimension of fun. Caldecott Medal books are meant for children up through the time they start reading on their own, but even my second grader still enjoys going back to look and let her imagination run wild!
The Caldecott Medal Winners 1985-2014:
1985 – Saint George and the Dragon
1986 – The Polar Express
1987 – Hey, Al
1988 – Owl Moon
1989 – Song and Dance Man (Dragonfly Books)
1990 – Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
1991 – Black and White
1992 – Tuesday
1993 – Mirette on the High Wire
1994 – Grandfather’s Journey
1995 – Smoky Night
1996 – Officer Buckle & Gloria (Caldecott Medal Book)
1997 – Golem
1998 – Rapunzel (Picture Puffin Books)
1999 – Snowflake Bentley
2000 – Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Caldecott Medal Book)
2001 – So You Want to Be President?
2002 – The Three Pigs
2003 – My Friend Rabbit
2004 – The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
2005 – Kitten’s First Full Moon
2006 – The Hello, Goodbye Window
2007 – Flotsam
2008 – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
2009 – The House in the Night
2010 – The Lion & the Mouse
2011 – A Sick Day for Amos McGee
2012 – A Ball for Daisy (Caldecott Medal – Winner Title(s))
2013 – This Is Not My Hat
2014 – Locomotive (Caldecott Medal Book)
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