“There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.” — Jacqueline Kennedy

I didn’t know much about parenting before I had kids but I did know one thing. Reading aloud. I knew for sure it was the best way to raise a reader.

Read aloud to your kids.

Every day.

Decades of research show that reading aloud to children is the single best way to ensure that they start school ready to learn (ahead of their peers) and develop into a life-long reader.

Isn’t that amazing?

Because it’s not hard, it’s not costly (thank God for libraries!), and it’s not boring.

Reading is fun!

(I give you more tips for raising a reader and encouraging a reluctant reader in my new book, Book Love: Help Your Child Grow from Reluctant to Enthusiastic Reader. It’s on sale now! I hope you’ll check it out.)

What books should you read? Whatever your child likes! Trial and error will tell you. One of my children loved stories with real photographs of other children and anything with bright colors. The other loved all books, luckily for me.

Our favorite authors we recommend for your family to try are:

Byron Barton
Mo Willems
Jane Yolen
Jean Reidy
Eric Carle
Sandra Boynton
Karma Wilson
Barney Saltzberg
Karen Katz

Our favorite books usually were colorful, feely, and flappy. Here are some favorites:

Pat the Bunny (yes, ours is in tatters it was so well-loved)
Where is Baby’s Belly Button
That’s Not my Puppy (Usborne)
Peekaboo Kisses
Too Pickley
Spot Lift the Flap
Maisy Lift the Flap
The Going to Bed Book

What about you?

What are your favorite authors and stories to read to your kids?

“So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall.” — Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory