The beginning: a gift and a curse.

Before the reviews start, perhaps you would like to know when and how I started reading to my child.  When is too young?  What do young babies do with books?  How do you decide what to buy?

First, I was enormously fortunate to receive several large boxes of baby books from a friend.  I didn't ask, she just brought them over.  I had registered for a ton of books, but only received a dozen or so, but with this bequest, I was suddenly in need of a bookshelf for the baby.   I really thought that the bookshelf would go unnoticed for a year or so, and unread for even longer.  I was so wrong.

But my curse in the early days was solitude.  I didn't have family in the area, my friends are workaholics, and my husband was working and in school full-time.  I had read over and over again in my "preparing for baby" books how important it was to talk to your baby, but I found it so hard to do!  I couldn't just tell her about how I was doing the dishes or what color beige the sofa was, it felt forced and boring.  Instead, I would read to her.  And then talk to her about what we read.   It really helped and she learned quickly to enjoy books, enjoy reading with me, and we forged a culture of books in our home.

I am starting this blog when she is 15 months old, young enough that I still remember the early days and old enough that I can see how her preferences are developing. I'll try to use easy to search tags, so you can search things quickly when looking for suggestions.  Or hopefully you'll check in often to discuss books, authors, illustrators, and your own tips, suggestions, or questions for us.

And like many parents, I have really enjoyed reading favorites from my own childhood to my child.  I hope readers will feel comfortable commenting on books, even if you are reading for yourself and not for a child.  But also, I know parents are not the only ones that support reading in children, so think of this blog as inclusive to aunts and uncles, cousins, friends-of-the-family, and others that want to get involved in supporting the reading habits of the children in their lives.  Bravo to you all!