Our granddaughter is almost 3 years old, and when she was just 6 weeks I arrived at our son’s house to find him “reading” to his baby.
I sat, watched and remembered all the years ago when I had done exactly the same with him. He is an avid reader, and this grounding was the start of his love affair with books.
I have spent hours with our grown up grandsons and now am reading to ‘our’ little girl. Children love the sound of a voice, and I hope that by reading my voice is associated with learning and especially conveying my love to them.
Recently I read PJ Library’s Good Night, Laila Tov to Tehila. Together, we loved this delightful book. It is beautifully illustrated – bright, cheerful and easy to relate to the story. No sooner did I finish this book and she said, “Read it again!”
Although our granddaughter is not yet able to read, we like to encourage her to identify letters and their associated sounds. In the book Shh.. Shh... Shabbat, each sentence in the paragraph begins with the same letter and makes for easy recognition.
PJ Library books are educational, beautifully illustrated and cover so many Jewish traditions. Sometimes, young parents have so much to do that bedtime reading can be rushed. But grandparents treasure these moments – just me and my grandchild – giving us a chance to bond together.
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About Gwen
Gwen Horwitz lives in London and has 4 grandchildren she loves to read to regularly.
August 8, 2016