Summer's Simple Pleasures: Reading as an Escape

Summer is officially here, and along with it come the joys that we in the northern climes can only enjoy in our small window of time.  Many of these joys begin in childhood, and a scent or a sound can bring fond memories rushing back in an instant.  The smell of sunblock and chlorine, the calliope music on an ice cream truck, the sound of lawn mowers buzzing long into the evening.  My favorite childhood memory, however, is curling up outside in the shade on an old quilt with a glass of Mom’s iced tea and escaping summer’s heat in the cool pages of a book.

The hunt for the perfect book was just the beginning of the adventure.  Climbing onto our bikes (with baskets on the front) and pedaling in the sticky summer air to the library, my sister and I would talk about the books we wanted to read next. Arriving red-cheeked and eager, the cool air and the overwhelming sound of “hush” enveloped us the minute we entered our local library.  Our arm loads of the books we had savored were relieved almost always by our most favorite librarian, Miss Jean Ann.  With her billowing crimson waves, silk blouses and constant smile, I was sure she was actually Glinda the Good Witch from “Wizard of Oz”.  “Hello, girls!   What adventures are we off to today?” she would ask in a voice that sparkled like sunshine on water.  We would eagerly wander through the stacks, filling our arms with more books than our baskets could surely hold.  I can’t remember what my sister’s choices were, but mine were almost always Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and a Judy Blume collection or two.  After we’d checked out, we waited for Story Time to begin. Even though we were a bit old for her target audience, we still loved to listen to Miss Jean Ann share her stories on her felt board.  It was magic watching the story come to life.  You see, Miss Jean Ann didn’t just tell stories during Story Time.  She made the books come to life before our very eyes. It was instant magic.

After Story Time, my sister and I would return to that sticky summer air to pedal our way back home, flying down the hills with the wind blowing in our hair…feet off the pedals…almost as if we were flying.  Out would come the quilt (it was a blue with a darker blue and white almost paisley pattern to my recollection), the glasses of iced tea, and the first book we could get our hands on.  Soon, we were off helping Nancy Drew and the gang solve the “Secret of the Old Clock”, or chanting along with Judy Blume’s Margaret probably just as hopeful as she that it would actually work (women of a certain age will know instantly of whom I speak) this time.

It is this magic of summer that I hopefully have passed on to my boys.  In today’s day and age with computer games, video games, 500 channels on the TV, iPods and all the other sort of electronic distractions, I want them to find a way to escape summer’s heat inside a book.  While they both enjoy their electronics, I am pretty proud of how much they read.  Here are some tips I have on how you can help turn your child into a life-long reader:

• Start reading to them from infancy.  An infant can’t follow a storyline, but they can understand the snuggling, the page turning, the soothing sound of your voice;
• Put books in their hands from early on.  Board books, cloth books, even books with paper pages.  Teach them how to handle a book “softly”, and keep plenty of scotch tape on hand;
• Visit the library often.  Learn who your Children’s Librarians are, and help your child develop a relationship with them.  Miss Jean Ann would often save new books as they came in for some of us; she knew we would love them and she wanted to foster our love of books.  That made us feel very special;
• Sign your child up for the library’s summer reading program.  They encourage reading, reading in different genres, and working toward a goal;
• Have your child “catch” you reading.  Children truly do learn what they live. What a gift to give them!
• Make sure you have books wherever you go.  I almost always have a book in my purse.  A wait at the doctor’s office, mechanic’s, or even the grocery line is much more pleasant and short when I have a book to escape into.  Do the same for your child.  Have a book ready in the car for them to read;
• Read with your child even as they get older.  My teenagers and I often read books together out loud.  Not only do they get to practice active listening, but they get to practice reading out loud, and discussing a book to discover hidden meanings, or life lessons;
• Give books as gifts.  Give bookstore gift cards and let them choose their own book.  Just get books into their hands;
• Limit electronic time.  Unless they’re reading on an e-reader, of course. Books can’t be read if your child is as buried into Star Wars video games or their iPod music as mine can get.  By setting aside time to read each day, you’re helping your child imagine, learn, and grow.