Children's Book Week

National Children's Book Week is May 12-18 this year.

I remember falling in love with books and reading at a very young age. I would stay up without my parents knowing just to finish a book or get to that last chapter. The bad thing about that was since my parents had no idea about what I was doing, I usually did not have a bright enough light on and ruined my eye sight at a young age, too. I began wearing glasses in the third grade and the eye doctor said I was straining my eyes from all the reading and from reading too close.

Nonetheless, my love for reading continued on until this day. I get excited just borrowing a new book from a friend or the library or buying a new one on my Kindle or local bookstore.

A person's love for reading can start at a young age, although, some people may not become bookworms until they are older. It is never too early to be introduced to books, however. Reading helps with writing and a person's vocabulary, as well, so I believe it is important for children to at least appreciate books and the impact they have.

This is the perfect time to nurture a child's love for reading. Here are some ideas parents, teachers, babysitters and other family members can do with children to celebrate Children's Book Week:

• Read every day - aim for one book a day with your child if they are young enough to still read short chapter or picture story books. If you have an older child, engage them in reading a couple chapters a day from a book you will both enjoy. It does not have to be just for this week but maybe a goal to read together all month.
• Visit the library and check out new books. Also, your local library may be having some events to celebrate Children's Book Week.
• Introduce your child to books you read as a kid and some of your favorite childhood authors.
• Read a new book everyday and participate in social media reading activities. Currently, for this month, I will be taking part in "Read a Day in May" through Instagram. It is easy as just taking a photo with the book my child reads everyday and post it with the hashtag: #ReadadayinMay.
• Research authors that your child enjoys reading from to learn more about them. Maybe have your child write to the author.
• Visit local bookstores. They may be holding events to celebrate this week, as well. Many bookstores have routine story times during the week and special events for young children monthly.
• Look up recommended book lists for your child's age to see what books are trending for them right now.
• Hold a book swap with other parents of the same age group as your child. There may also already be book swaps set up like through the library or book stores.
• Have a book party and invite other friends with their children. Make it a potluck, have story time, dress up like characters from the book. Consider an easy activity, games or crafts to do that relate to the book you want to showcase.
• Join a family book club or start your own. We just joined one at the beginning of this month. The book for May is "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." To find out more or to join, visit their site here.
• Have your child try to write their own chapter book or picture book. They can draw a cover to along with it. We did this project with my son's "Read and Rise" program through his school and it was a nice experience to share with him as a family.
• Create craft projects, games or activities to go along with a new book you read with your child or with his favorite story. My son's favorite book right now is one about Lego Star Wars so I printed out craft and activity projects that I found free on-line to do with him.

Here are some popular books from favorite children's authors (and my personal favorites):

• Dr. Seuss: "The Cat in the Hat," "Green Eggs and Ham," "Oh, The Places You'll Go."
• Roald Dahl: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." "James and the Giant Peach," "Matilda" and "The Witches."
• Eric Carle: "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"
• Lewis Carroll: "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
• Laura Numeroff: "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"
• L. Frank Baum: "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"
• Maurice Sendak: "Where the Wild Things Are"
• E.B. White: "Charlotte's Web"

If your child is looking for something aside from the classic and traditional children's books, here are some of the new popular children's books according to Barnes and Noble's site:

• "How to Train Your Dragon" by Cressida Cowell
• "Middle School: Ultimate Showdown" by James Patterson
• "The Pigeon Needs a Bath" by Mo Willems
• "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein

In 2015, Children's Book Week will run through May 4-10 and in 2016, it will be from May 2-8.

You can find more details about Children's Book Week at their website here.

• "Children's Book Week is the annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading."
• It began in 1919.
• Administered by Every Child a Reader, a literacy organization.
• An anchor sponsor is The Children's Book Council.
• "Children's Book Week originated in the belief that children's books and literacy are life-changers."
• Franklin K. Mathiews began promoting higher standards in children's books. He was the librarian of the Boy Scouts of America.
• The Book Council was established in 1944 and began administering Children's Book Week.
• Children's Book Week moved from November to May in 2008.
  

Reading to your young child everyday is rewarding, offering you quality time to spend with your child while doing something educational. When they start to take an interest in reading, let them read to you.

My son is now at the point where he has begun to learn how to read. He enjoys trying to read to us, make up his own stories or re-telling his version of the story. I do not expect him or my daughter to become bookworms like myself but I am happy to know he has an appreciation for books and takes an interest in reading.He knows that through reading, he can learn more and improve his vocabulary. He also loves finding new books to read and new favorite stories to discuss.

Reading time in our house is a special time that the kids look forward to and that we hope to hold onto for a long time. Our days are spent apart since there is work and school. The evenings are when we need to cherish our short time together and reading is one of the ways we do that. We are excited about Children's Book Week because it reminds us to embrace our love for reading and discover new children's books to read together.

Happy reading!

©BNadyn 2014