My kids are readers.

We have this 'issue' in our house.  Well, technically it's not an issue.  It's just what we do.  We read.  We read a lot.  Each of kids has their own, rather big, collection of books.  There are bookshelves in every room, including the playroom.  We have a reading issue.  :)

All this reading has led to some success for our family.  We recently found out that A has the highest reading score in the entire 2nd grade (at her school).  You should have seen her beam when her teacher told us about it.  Out of our three kids, she is the avid reader.  She loves Junie B. Jones, the Rainbow Magic Fairies and is really getting into the Magic Treehouse series of books.  Non-fiction is a big hit with her as well.  Right now she's reading about the American Revolution.  Books (and soccer) are her things.

Our little man is a great reader as well.  I'm especially happy for this.  He has been able to read since he was about 3 1/2 or 4, but he never really liked to do it.  He would rather have a book read to him than to read it himself.  Now, he's found a couple of book series that he really likes.  Bad Kitty is his new favorite followed closely by the George Brown series.  He loves both of these series because they are funny!  He reads some pages to us each night before bed and, I can't lie, I have laughed at more than I probably should have.  There is just something hilarious about a 6 year old reading about a 'super burp'.

Then there's CS.  She loves anything Barbie or Princess related.  Go figure right?  Although, she did get to do something super special recently.  A while back I wrote about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and what it meant to our family (read about that here).  Sadly, CS graduated out of the program last month when she turned 5.  She was sad that she wouldn't be getting any more books in the mail.  Then we got a call from our local community foundation.  They are the ones responsible for bringing the library to local kids.  Anyway, they were calling families who had kids that were just graduating out of the program.  We happened to be home and answered the phone.  Cool!

The foundation invited us to join them in celebrating the distribution of the 50,000 book to area children.  They ask if we would allow CS to be the honorary 50,000 book recipient.  Excited and humbled were what I was feeling.  The night of the event, CS turned on the charm.  They ask for her to come onto the stage and receive a few gifts.  One of which was the cutest books shelf with train bookends.  It is adorable (I still need to find a permanent place for it).  She also received autographed copies of two of our families favorite books (btw, I'm not just saying that, we actually LOVE these two books and I was elated when she was presented them).  LadyBug Girl and Bumblebee Boy by Jacky Davis and David Soman and Otis by Loren Long were the books she was given.  There were other gifts as well, like a bag to carry books to and from the library and a Shakespurr stuffed animal.  Shakespurr, a lion, is our local library's mascot.

The thing is, other than encourage and read to the kids, we haven't really been too strict on what they can and can't read.  We have allowed them to find their own way into the love of reading.  In my opinion, as long as they are reading, it doesn't matter if it's a comic book, classic, or a book about a super burp.  Reading is reading and reading is great!  Now, if I could just get those Kindles that A and I want......LOL.  Christmas is coming correct?

Do you encourage reading in your house?  How do you do so?

Why I love Dolly Parton.

Now, before you go thinking this is a homage to all things Dolly, it's not.  Well, maybe it is a little. 

You see, growing up I knew who Dolly was.  I lived with my grandmother growing up and she loved country music, so I knew Dolly on a musical level.  She's great!  To this day one of the few CD's to grace my van is Ultimate Dolly Parton.  Jolene is quite possibly one of my all time greatest songs, as is Coat of Many Colors.  Although that song is special to me because I had loads of hand sewn clothes growing up and was made fun of more often than not.  Don't worry, I'm not that scarred from it..ha!

Anyway, when we bought our house a few years ago one of the first places I took the kids was to the local library.  There I was greeted by the wonderful children's librarian who helped me get the kids set up with Mommy and Me reading times, etc.  Then she ask a question that was peculiar to me.  "Do you live in the "local" school district?"  I answered yes and her eyes lit up.  You see, about the same time we moved to our town, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library was just getting started. 

What is the Dolly Parton Imagination Library?  Well, to summerize it, Dolly started a foundation many years ago to make sure every child in her county in Tennessee would have books to help them gain a love of reading and help prepare them for Kindergarten.  Wow!  That alone goes straight to this bookworm's heart!  The best news is that over the years Dolly has extended her Imagination Library to the entire country and several other nations as well.  One of my favorite features is that within the age range required, ANY child can receive books.  Socioeconomics have nothing to do with a love of reading!

So, what did all of that mean to me?  Well, if you live in one of several school districts in our area, your child can receive books from the Imagination Library.  From birth until their 5th birthday my kids receive a new book each month.  They love it and we have quite a library!  I love that the first book each child receives is "The Little Engine That Could".  I remember this book from my childhood and love reading it to the kids.  They each have their favorite.  A loves "Pip and Squeak".  Ren adores "The Little Engine That Could" and "Otis".  CS loves the "Llama Llama" series of books and even claimed "Llama Llama Misses Mama" from Ren when he got it in the mail. 

Yes, I am so happy to be passing on the bookworm gene and to be honest I couldn't have done it without finding Dolly's Imagination Library.  The books we have received would have cost a fortune to go and purchase at the store!  I'm am so grateful and thankful to Dolly Parton for beginning her foundation and enriching children's lives and love of reading one book at a time! 

To see if Dolly's Imagination Library is in your town or area, click here or check your local library.  If not, please check out the site anyway and see how you can bring these wonderful books to your town!