Finding Joy In Reading

Do you remember the book that made you fall in love with reading?

For me, that love started when I was very young. Before I understood anything about reading levels, fluency, comprehension, or all the things I would eventually spend my career thinking about as an educator, I simply knew that I loved books.

One of the books I remember loving as a child was The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I loved sitting with a book, looking at the pictures, listening to the words, and imagining the story. Books gave me a chance to slow down, wonder, and let my imagination take over.

As I got older, the books changed, but my love for reading didn't. As a young adult, A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean became one of those books that stayed with me. I loved the writing and the way the story could transport me somewhere completely different. I could picture the setting and the characters and feel like I was right there with them. That is still one of my favorite things about reading.

I love getting completely immersed in a story. I want to picture the characters, imagine the setting, and become invested in what happens next. I love finding a book that I can't wait to get back to. And every once in a while, I find one that's so good that I actually slow myself down because I don't want it to end.

My most recent favorite is The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett. I listened to the audiobook, and the narration brought the characters to life in such a memorable way. I actually started taking breaks from listening because I wanted to stretch it out. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the characters or leave their world.

When I think about the books I've loved throughout my life—The Giving Tree, A River Runs Through It, and now The Calamity Club—they couldn't be more different. They represent different times in my life and different versions of me. But they have one important thing in common. They made me want to keep reading**. **That is the joy of reading I want children to experience.

As an educator and literacy coach, I know how important it is for children to develop strong foundational reading skills. They need to learn how sounds work, how letters represent those sounds, how to decode words, and eventually how to read with greater fluency and understanding. Those skills matter tremendously. But I also don't want us to lose sight of why we teach children to read. We want them to experience stories. We want them to wonder what happens next. To laugh at a character. To learn something they never knew. To picture a place they've never visited. To discover a book they don't want to put down. 

For some children, that joy comes naturally. For others, especially children who struggle with reading, books can begin to feel like work. Reading can become something they associate with mistakes, assessments, corrections, or frustration. That's why I believe we have to build strong readers while also protecting the joy that can come from books.

Let children choose books that interest them. Read aloud to them even when they're old enough to read independently. Listen to audiobooks together. Talk about the characters. Laugh at the funny parts. Ask what they think will happen next. Visit the library. And most importantly, let children see the adults in their lives reading simply because they enjoy it.

A child's independent reading level also doesn't have to determine the stories they get to experience. A child who is still learning to decode can listen to a rich, exciting story that is far beyond what they can currently read on their own. They can still imagine, wonder, laugh, predict, and fall in love with a story. Sometimes the book that helps create a lifelong reader isn't the one that teaches a particular skill. It's simply the book that makes them think: I want another story. I found that feeling as a young child, and all these years later, I'm still searching for the next book that will pull me in.

What was the book that made you fall in love with reading? Maybe it was a childhood favorite, a book you discovered as a teenager, or one you couldn't put down just last week. Share it with me. I'm always looking for my next great read. More importantly, let's help our children find theirs.

Dr. Kristina Cervantes

Support. Encourage. Empower. Every step of the way.

Elevate Literacy & Learning