Children and Reading

by Fran McNabb 

On a visit with our son’s family in Louisiana last month, I was able to read to my grandson’s first grade class. I was the “Mystery Reader,” someone who volunteers to come in to read for about fifteen minutes. 

I loved reading to these children. At one time in my life I was a senior English teacher. I’ve missed the classroom and the interaction with the students, but today I saw another side of education. These students weren’t seventeen-and-eighteen-year-old young adults. These were six-and-seven-year olds. What fun and how totally different.

Senior English consisted of analytical writing and British literature from the classics through the present day. Did these seniors get excited over what I was teaching? Maybe secretly some of them truly loved writing and reading the great authors, but mostly these students just wanted to get through the class so they could graduate.

 In this first grade class the children were excited from the moment I opened the book. I read from a Splat the Cat Halloween book. Most of them had read other Splat the Cat books so they knew what
to expect. Some of the children wanted to interject their own Halloween stories so we allowed them to share at the end of the session. Most told about what they'd be at Halloween.

 I loved, loved, loved seeing the excitement in these children’s eyes. It’s sad to think that with each year, most of them will lose their excitement of reading and learning. What happens in those years? As a realist I know as the children grow, their interests will change. Facing the future takes over the excitement of what to wear for Halloween.

Yes, I’m a realist, but that doesn’t keep me from wanting children and adults to love the idea of getting lost in a book and letting their imagination run wild. If they keep this love  and excitement of reading, they'll always be able to learn about the world around them. When a reader opens a book or turns on an e-reader, he or she will usually be exposed to something new. Even in the sweet romances I write, I hope my readers will learn something new—maybe they’ll learn about a new area of the world, maybe a new way of handling an emotion, or maybe realize there are other people in the world who face the same problems they do.

I hope these bright-eyed children who sat on the floor in their classroom  and listened to me read will hang onto that excitement for as long as possible. I know my son and his wife read to my grandson just about every night. The last time I was visiting he wanted to read to me. What a wonderful gift he is receiving, a gift that will travel with him throughout his life.

FRAN MCNABB is a retired English and journalism teacher who now spends her time writing, reading, painting, and spending time with her two grandsons. She writes sweet romances set on her beloved Gulf Coast and many times has included children in her books. Check her out at www.FranMcNabb.com or at mcnabbf@bellsouth.net