Mini has taken to reading like a house on fire, all of the sudden, nearly overnight. She has been sounding words out for months now, but — more or less on her sixth birthday, her prehensility with the written word bloomed. She beams at this achievement. “I can read chapter books,” she boasts. “I can read anything.” I’d never thought critically about how her — and every child’s — pre-literate years might have felt exclusionary. She is surrounded by symbols that do not carry; she is reliant on ciphers. Now, reading has unlocked both autonomy and belonging. It has been a joy to watch her internalize these gifts, attendant as they are with other rich bestowals: confidence, curiosity, determination.
Every morning, I open the door to the scene above. And every evening, I close the door on it. I can think of no better posture for a six year old. The vignette delights, reassures me.
Today, sharing some great finds for early readers.
01. BOOK CASE // 02. ALICE AND WONDERLAND // 03. MAGIC TREEHOUSE SET // 04. DORY FANTASMAGORY // 05. AMELIA BEDELIA SET // 06. LADYBUG BOOKMARKS // 07. THE SECRET GARDEN // 08. WHALE BOOKMARKS // 09. CAM JANSEN // 10. MY FATHER’S DRAGON // 11. PERSONALIZED LIBRARY TOTE // 12. ACRYLIC BOOK CART // 13. MAGNETIC BOOKMARKS // 14. BOOKPLATES
Mini’s favorite series at the moment are The Magic Treehouse books. She rents them weekly from her school library, and owns at list six. In this series, siblings Jackie and Annie find themselves transported to different adventures by way of a magical treehouse. They problem-solve, they explore, and they have each other’s backs. I love these sets because they are adventurous but grounded in siblinghood. These, along with a set of personalized bookmarks, are my new go-to gifts for early readers. Tuck them into a personalized library tote for extra bonus points, or bundle with bookplates.
A couple of other series we’re dabbling in:
Books I’m planning to read together (will need more of my reading support): My Father’s Dragon, The Secret Garden, and Alice and Wonderland.
One thing Mr. Magpie and I realized as we were buying mini all of these new books was that our son rarely gets “new books” of his own, except for on high holidays. He’s inherited most of his library from his elder sister, and they are in…”well-loved” condition. They are also, unfortunately, often still handled possessively by his elder sister, even when she knows she’s outgrown them. The subtext is: “These books belong to ME, but you can borrow them until I want them back.” So we decided we wanted to invest in some new literature just for him.
A few of the books I’m giving my son:
A SCARF FOR KEIKO BY ANN MALASPINA
WAITING BY KEVEN HENKES
SLEEP LIKE A TIGER BY MARY LOGUE
THEY ALL SAW A CAT BY BRENDAN WENZEL
OWL MOON BY JANE YOLEN
THE LITTLE ISLAND BY MARGARET WISE BROWN
THE LITTLE HOUSE BY VIRGINIA LEE BURTON
NEFFY AND THE FEATHERED DINOSAURS BY JOE LILLINGTON
MIKE MULLIGAN AND HIS STEAM SHOVEL BY VIRGINIA LEE BURTON
FREDERICK BY LEO LIONNI
We are also hoping to add some more furniture and storage to his room in the coming months. I’m specifically eyeing a book case like the one seen in the collage above. For even littler kids, I love a cubby system for books and toys — keeps everything at eye level, and the cubes means they are less likely to all slant/fall to one side/devolve into chaos. For even littler ones (board books for babies), this little storage solution is clever.
P.S. More books we love.
P.P.S. What a gift — to be raised as a child of books!
P.P.P.S. It reminds me of a favorite quote on growing up with lots of spare time on one’s hands to wander long corridors and empty attics.