Wednesday, June 5, 2019

5 Bookish Things I'm Loving Right Now

I decided that I needed to start a monthly ish post about book related things that I'm currently loving, because every now and then I have an itty bitty thing I want to share but not worthy of a full post.  So ta da! Here we go!

1,

I picked up this book from Amazon after it was shared in a group I'm in.  This is written by a 10 year old girl, her mom, and her grandma.  It is a great diverse girl centric book.  I love that "Don't Call Me Tomboy," is the repeating refrain.  I was always referred to as a tomboy growing up, but let's be real.  I was a girl who liked what I liked but to some people that meant that I liked "boy things".  I have so many issues with "girly girls" and "tomboys."  It's just divisive language to separate women.  Like and be what you want.  Always.  You can pick up the book on amazon

2.  

This lovely bookmark that I got for a birthday present! I about died laughing when I was using this on a 500 page book while laying in bed! It definitely was a workout!

3. This article on Feminist Fairytales found on Book Riot.  Of the books mentioned I've read The Three Ninja Pigs and Lon Po Po and I too, would recommend them! I am interested in checking out the Prince and Knight.

As a kid, I didn't really like fairy tales and as an adult I think it was because so many of them made the girl helpless and the boy the hero.  I can be my own hero, thank you very much! I don't need no stinkin' boys! :) I'm excited to add some more diverse fairy tales and other books to our bookshelves as I get new younger board books for the youngest child.  

4. The Huffington Post shared an article on the 17 LGBTQ Friendly Books to Read to Your Kid in Honor of Pride Month.    The article shares books for young readers that include diverse characters some are nonbinary, gender nonconforming, and teach about different types of families.

One book that I want to check out is Donovan's Big Day, which is a picture book about a young boy who is excited to be a ring bear in a wedding ---- his two moms!

Another one is George by Alex Gino which says it is about a girl named Melissa who the world sees as a boy named George.  



5.  I read an article by PBS entitled, "Why Reading Aloud to Kids Helps Them Thrive".  I've been reading aloud to my kiddo since she was born.  Obviously, anyone whose had a baby knows they don't pay attention to things for long, but that didn't stop us from reading books.  I'd hold her in my lap and read.  I'd sit on the floor next to her while she was playing and read from books.  I'd point out pictures.  I'd read my own books around her.  And she started her life with tons of books from loved ones.  This next child has fewer board books than the first one does because I donated, passed on to little free libraries or they are my moms.  Or some sadly had to get thrown away because of a few too many teeth marks.  The point? Reading to babies is not perfect.  It's just important!!

This paragraph stood out to me from the article...

"Reading aloud to kids has clear cognitive benefits. For example, brain scans show that hearing stories strengthens the part of the brain associated with visual imagery, story comprehension, and word meaning. One study found that kindergarten children who were read to at least three times a week had a “significantly greater phonemic awareness than did children who were read to less often.” And the landmark Becoming a Nation of Readers report from 1985 concluded that “the single most important activity for building knowledge for their eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.”

We still do read alouds.  Sometimes my daughter and I read a book together and take turns reading.  Sometimes we just snuggle up in my bed with a pile of picture books and I read to her.  Or we attempt to do a daily family read aloud as we go through the Little House series.  As she's gotten more confident in her reading, she wants more and more of the control of reading aloud.  Even though for the most part she'd prefer to read to herself.

One thing I want to stress is that we do not normally do books before bed.  I know most people do.  We read earlier in the day.  When we do the family read alouds that is sometimes right before bed, but it happens in the living room, and sometimes she still has to do her night time routine.  Sometimes we do it in the morning.  But books just aren't a part of our bed time routine and we manage to read all the time.  So do not feel bad if you don't have time at the end of the day.  Heck, my kid reads for over 20 minutes every day in the car, plus whatever she wants to read.  Just make the books accessible!

What are some bookish things that you are loving right now?




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