Reading Books with the Girls

Raina always has loved books. She enjoys cuddling with an adult, snuggling under a blanket, and reading stories. We have pictures of Raina at 4 months with relatively long children's picture books, so Raina has been a fan of books for a long time. Her independent reading is developing and she brought home a library book yesterday that she could read all by herself! She has read it to all of us multiple times now, and she's intensely proud of herself. I remember re-reading the same book over and over again as a child, and just marveling at the magic of understanding words. Raina is on the brink of the same discovery, and it's wonderful to watch and experience second-hand.

Lola, on the other hand, has not been a fan of books. Lola has concentrated so much on gross motor development -- sitting up, now crawling, now walking! -- that slowing down to cozy up with a parent never appealed to her. Our Parents as Teacher coach assured us that made Lola "normal" and that Raina was "exceptional," but it really was no comfort. I actually started to worry that Lola would never show an interest in books.

But recently, Lola turned a corner and she's become a book enthusiast. If she sees Raina sitting with an adult and a book, she crawls/walks over to be part of the action. She'll also say "buh," grab one of her books, and deposit it in reach of a parent. She also has clear preferences of what she wants. If we select the wrong book, she shakes her head no and then goes and retrieves the correct book. After we've read it a few times, she'll place it on the table, grab another book, and start the process again.

Last night, I read with Raina for 30 minutes (until her bath) and then read with Lola for 30 minutes (until her bedtime). This is such a huge switch from before, because she didn't have the patience to look even at one small board picture book. I'm so overjoyed and relieved that Lola is expressing a real interest in books.

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