Storytime with Dad
- 2021-09-17
Well, it’s Spring in the Southern Hemisphere. Or is it? The cold-snap has me doubting, but the blossoms are reassuring!
But the season doesn’t matter when it comes to books and stories. They transport you to any world and place and time you can imagine.
Do you remember what it was like for you as a child? Becoming engrossed in a story that you could read over and over again? Devouring the pictures and details and imagining what it would be like to BE that princess, or firefighter, or king, or knight, or…? That you could soar above the clouds and were little enough to sleep on a lily pad? I remember.
For me, I have so many favourite stories, but there are a few that really stand out. One of my favourite picture books as a little person, was Eloise, by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight.
But the book that I have the best memories of, is A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
It wasn’t just the classic tale, it wasn’t just the excitement and anticipation for the next illustrated plate, but it was the experience of my Dad reading it to my brother and me.
Storytime was his job, and he did it so well!
A Little Princess is the book I most clearly recall him reading to us. We’d just moved to South Africa and had moved into our new house. We didn’t have any furniture, but every night, the three of us would sit on the carpeted dining room floor - I think because the lighting was really good in there. We sat with our backs against the wall, cuddled up beside my wonderfully kind, expressive father, who read to us in his lovely, soothing, English accent. He’d read a chapter, and then, despite our protests, the book was closed until the following evening, and we were hustled to bed to dream about what would happen next.
It was so special, and I’ve never forgotten just how happy that hour or so was. That wonderful nostalgia remains with me still. Storytime was magical, and I treasure those memories.
Reading to your child not only fosters a love of literature, but it is quality time for you to be together. Quietly enjoying one another’s company, and slowing things down as you prepare them for bed. A bedtime routine is so important for little people, and a book before light’s out is a wonderful inclusion that they will look forward to.
The benefits of reading stretch far beyond enriching their language development. To mention just a few, it’s a bonding time for you both. It gives your child a sense of security, it calms them down, it allows them to familiarize themselves with their feelings, and assists them with expressing themselves and developing empathy.
I don’t remember a time when books haven’t been a part of my life. The love affair began young, and persists! Give your child the same gift my Dad gave me. Read to them! You won’t be sorry!
The Fuzz-Fuzz, of course, is a book that certainly belongs among the others on their library shelf!
And now I have the urge to settle down with a cup of tea, my dogs, and fall into another world between the pages of a different book.
(And, I think I might even pop over to my parent’s house oneday soon, and have my 89-year old Dad read to me again!)
Keep reading & imagining!
Love,
Jennifer
Xoxo