Eight Essentials – You’re Never Too Old to Read Young Again

Little Golden Book - InteriorI loved a recent post by Tom Burns on Yahoo’s The Good Dad Project about books every child should own. If you’re like me and your response to lists of what’s good/bad, best/worst, in/out, hot/not, is, “Who says?” then you will appreciate Burns’ list. It recommends no specific books but broad and self-defined categories that help parents give children a diverse reading experience – so much more evolved than letting someone we don’t know dictate what book will resonate with us or our children.

Children will certainly benefit from the types of books Burns suggests: board books, mythology, books you loved as a kid, books that suit their personality, poetry, non-fiction, books that are too old for them and brilliantly, blank books. As I read through his list I thought adults should use this list too!

When we mature as readers and settle on specific types of books we love, we sometimes forget the eclectic array of books that made us love to read. Burns’ list made me remember everything from the Golden Books my sisters and I read until we wore the covers down to the cardboard, to the blank composition books, my first journals, that would swell as I wrote down thoughts and feelings in prose that no one but me would ever read – thank goodness! These are great memories that I can make new again by just picking up a book.

Do you remember what books you loved in the 8 essential categories?

 

 

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