10 Tips for Developing a Love for Literature

By Carrie Kerr

A child’s love for reading is a gift. It’s the key to freedom and a ticket to magical explorations only found within the pages of books. But creating a love for reading takes a deliberate effort from the home front. Here are 10 tips for helping your children run to the bookshelf in anticipation of their next great adventure.

1. Books, Books, Everywhere Books

There is a simple yet bold message we need to send to our children. Books are important! Deliberately bombard your family with various forms of literature. Place books, magazines, and pamphlets in every room, on every shelf, and in every corner. Your children will have no choice but to be lured into the wonderful world of reading. Here's a little secret for starting it off. Begin in the entryway. This may seem like an unconventional place to arrange books, however it makes sense. Your entryway gives people (most important, your children) the introduction to your home. Some people like to sweep off the welcome mat and put up a seasonal wreath, I suggest dusting off the shelves and displaying seasonal books. It makes my heart skip a beat when my child gets sidetracked with a book from the entryway. I feel as if I’ve caught a fish!

2. Reading is Natural

“If parents want to raise children who voluntarily choose to read, then they must show the importance of reading for pleasure by modeling reading themselves and by reading a variety of materials at home, including books and novels.” Children are most likely to follow your example, so your example should be to read often. Model reading as a natural part of your day. Use it to get information in the morning, to learn something new in the afternoon, and for pleasure in the evening. Set the example that reading takes priority. In fact, you may even choose to ignore your child because you're reading a book or magazine! Honestly, there are so many times we brush off our children; we're busy cooking, or we're busy on the phone, or we're busy on the computer. If you're going to ignore your child, make a point while doing it; the point being "I'm reading! This is important!" And when your child wants to later ignore you because she is reading, you can crack a little smile. I have a picture of my daughter from when she was about a year old. I was sitting on the couch reading a novel, and she was sitting next to me flipping the pages of another novel. Perfect. That same child is now ten years old and reads about 1,500 pages in books per week. She got the message. Books are a natural part of our life.

3. Books are Beautiful

Books are not just for reading; they are for admiring. Much effort goes into creating the cover of a book, and children's books especially have beautiful artwork. Rather than just shelving them with their spine showing, pick a few to showcase with the full face of the book revealed. Rotate the books in this way throughout the month. Forward-facing bookshelves are available in catalogs such as Pottery Barn Kids, or you can make your own from a simple wooden display shelf. You may choose to arrange books by theme or by a specific author. However you do it, your children will be quickly drawn to flipping through their colorful pages.

4. Books are Valuable

Because books are the secret to our freedom, because they feed our souls and pave our futures, they must be treated like gold. It will be every toddler's tendency to throw a book, or school child's temptation to shove a book in a bag, but this must always be treated as a great offense! Teach your child from the very beginning that books are a commodity to be cherished. Pages should be flipped with care. We use bookmarks and try not to break the spines. If a page is ripped, it is mourned and tended to delicately. We love and respect books. Always.