The Magic Of A Book

Reading, reading, reading. That is what my 17-month-old swears by nowadays. This book, that book, all books! He literally smothers himself in the imaginary world his books have to offer him. Even though he doesn't precisely speak fluent English (he solely masters the baby blabber language for now!) or read, he manages to turn a story into hours of pure personal bliss.

"Da!", "Daaa?", "Daaaaa!?" are the sounds echoing between every colorful page of his books. With a finger pointed at every picture, drawing or illustration he comes across, he blabs away this one syllable word, all in the hopes of learning what each of those images mean. (For those of you out there who are not able to crack the baby gibberish code, "da" equals "that".) Through this amusing and enchanting process, he learns. Simple as that. Nothing more, nothing less. The beauty of learning.

Book lovers ourselves, my boyfriend and I have instigated the passion for books early on in B-boy's life. Even though the enthusiasm wasn't knocking at his door at the time, we kept reading to him. Kept building his library as well. Just when we started loosing hope in our son ever developing any tiny, possible interest in literature, there he was, sitting on the living room floor, flipping through the pages of his "My First Words" book! Jump for joy everyone! That book has collected so much mileage in such a short span of time that I had to tape it back to life twice!

Ask him where his books are, he will run to his book stash quietly sitting atop his dresser and get anxiously over-excited for the book you are about to pull out. Tell him "Let's go read a book!" and regardless of what he is occupied with, he will run to you and snuggle up on the warmth of your lap for story time! Beware! Bedtime is no exception! You're not off the hook unless you have leafed through the ever-so famous and timeless "Goodnight Moon". It is a true love story between my son and his "booa" (again with the baby blab! I am pretty sure you can guess this one... yes! Books!).

Books embody knowledge. They arouse the figments of imagination. They inspire talent. They heighten curiosity. They are magical, immortal. They can be contagious and highly addictive. Observing my little man with his manifold storybooks is a spectacle. Impressive. He never gets tired of them, nor gets enough of them. Anyone is an audience and he will read alongside whomever is on hand... even if that translates into a big stuffed cow or small cuddly frog!

Despite the avalanche of new technology tools like the internet, iPhone, etc., reading remains unbeatable for much of its various advantages. Indeed, many parents really want their children to love reading. And they can't be blamed for it! It has been proven that the more a child reads, the better his reading and writing skills will become. The benefits are enormous and palpable. In general, children who are passionate about reading stand out, do better in school with a good base of general knowledge. Not to mention that reading leads to the child's growth. Fear, solutions to various problems seen in the stories read, the child will adapt far better. Researchers have shown that reading is the best way to develop a child's imagination and creativity. It greatly increases his listening, vocabulary, concentration, sense of observation. In short, reading is crucial to his future development.

So go ahead, grab a book and jump into the fantastic story of a children's book with your little one... and see where the magic takes you.