• Home
  • The Author
  • The Book
  • Excerpt
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Other Works
  • Order Now


Olivia’s Story
Home › Blog › Blog, My General Musings › Books, Grandchildren, and Why We Read to Them.
11 Sep

Books, Grandchildren, and Why We Read to Them.

David L Dahl Blog, My General Musings 0 0

grandfather-reading Grandmother reaches around, helping each grandchild scurry into the bed, in her lap lies a small orange book. Once sure everyone has settled, she smiles and slowly opens the book and begins to sing.

“No, no,  baby elephant,

No, no, you can’t go.

No, no,  you’re too little

wait until you grow.”

– Inez Hogan, About Nono, The Baby Elephant, (Read to Me) Hardcover, E.P. Dutton & Company, Inc. (1947)

Then she begins to read. Her style is animated, reflecting years as an elementary teacher. We listen intently; the story is a bit babyish for us big kids, but we don’t care – we have always loved this story.

On other occasions, the cousins sprawl on the sofa, fidgeting for position around Grandfather. Somehow the youngest ones always find a spot next to him and snuggle in. Once settled, he adjusts his glasses and opens a book. Grandfather reads in a quiet, hushed tone, a tone that demands your attention. It is a polished style, developed over decades as a classroom teacher. However, to the fourteen cousins, it doesn’t matter who reads the story, we just want to be close.

Half a century later, I can’t remember the names of the books, save for Nono Baby Elephant – but, it did come with a song.

A Christmas tradition was for Grandmother to tell us a story. But not just any story. It had to be Tommy and Rosie. Soon every grandchild had memorized the story, so woe to Grandmother should she make a mistake. If she did, it was quickly corrected. This tradition continued up until her death at age 99. I subsequently researched the origin of that story and published her version (Tommy and Rosie, available at Lulu.com or buggasbooks.com).onefishtwofish

Such moments with Grandfather and Grandmother, are among my earliest and strongest memories. Now to be fair, Mom and Dad also read to us – I especially remember Dad reading The Five Little Peppers And How They Grew. However, it was these special moments with my grandparents that sparked my love of reading and read I did. From the “new” Dr. Suess, through Tom Swift, to the classics,  reading was never a chore; it was special.

I cherished reading,  eager to share it with my children, although my job required me to attend numerous night meetings. To get to these meetings I traveled throughout southern Indiana, and soon learned the location of the bookstores in my client cities and towns. When I had free time, I would visit these shops to select a couple of new books for the kids. For years I carried a tattered list in my billfold – a list of the Nancy Drew’s my daughter owned. I kept the list to make sure I would never give her a duplicate. I am glad to report that these precious books now reside in her 3rd-grade classroom.  For my son, I kept an eye out for sports stories, especially those written by Matt Christopher.

What makes reading to our kids so important? It is not the books; each child has their favorite. No, it is something else. It is the comfort of a familiar routine, a quiet moment in their lives when Grandpa, or Grandma, or Bugga is giving them full attention. The children relax bathed in the closeness, the sense of belonging. That is why we read to them. Should they develop a love for reading along the way, that’s icing on the cake. Reading is such a simple thing to do; it takes less time than a stupid sit-com. After all, aren’t the kids worth the time?

Today, I treasure reading to my grandkids. I see that same spark in their eyes as they rearrange our stacks of books, searching for their favorite.  Many of those books are dog-eared, threadbare from use – thirty years ago they were my kid’s favorites.

“Big bad wolf,” two-year-old  Denali commands, dragging out a tattered and taped copy of the Three Little Pigs.

“Big bad wolf. Scare,” she pleads, plopping the book in my lap. Of course, by now I can recite the book from memory, but it wouldn’t be the same. No, I adjust my glasses as she snuggles closer . . .

“Once upon a time. . .”

 

David L Dahl.

Leave me a comment, follow me on Twitter @buggasbooks, or like me on Facebook.

Read more about Olivia’s Story here – https://www.buggasbooks.com/book/olivias-story/

Read about my other books here- https://www.buggasbooks.com/other-works/

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related


Books children's book Christmas education Grandchildren grandfather grandkids Grandmother Grandparents Day reading Relationships

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Recent Posts

  • Had a wonderful time discussing “Those Kids Deserve Water Too”
  • Those Kids Deserve Water Too
  • Coming soon – Those Kids Deserve Water Too
  • These Guys Still Make House Calls.
  • ♫ Give a Hoot – ♫

Recent Comments

  • Gabriel on These Guys Still Make House Calls.
  • AmyL on Why is That in Our Food?
  • Teresa Wilburn on At Least It Wasn’t A Dinosaur
  • ig on Tent Flaps and the Storm of the Century
  • Shari on A Thump In The Night

Archives

  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Blog
  • Book Reviews
  • My General Musings
  • Olivia's Story News and Events
  • Politics
  • The Patoka History Project


  • Home
  • The Author
  • The Book
  • Excerpt
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Other Works
  • Order Now

Copyright © 2019. David L. Dahl. All rights reserved.