by Taye Foster Bradshaw

Created on: September 28, 2007

There is nothing more pleasurable to me than watching my little ones gaze with wonder at the pictures and words on the printed page! I've read to my children since they were baking-in-the-oven so it is natural for them to gravitate to the ink on paper. They have books in literally every room of their house and enjoy a trip to the local bookstore or library as much as I do. The little ones are 3 and 5 so they tend to like the bright colors and shorter stories. The 13 year-old has the attention span of a gnat so he reads what is assigned and does take to memoirs of other young teenagers. My 19 year old has had a lifetime to develop a love of books, as a U.S. Sailor, his favorite genre is still the suspense, CSI, mystery books. My eldest son, almost 21, is also an avid reader and is into suspense and drama. All five of my children have been surrounded by literature.

We stress reading and some of my favorite books and/or authors for children include:
1. The Very Hungry Spider by Eric Carle. This is the book I read to my daughters while I was pregnant with them. They would kick as the familiar story unfolded and once they were born, they would smile as I read it to them. This is one book in their collection that has seen a lot of wear-and-tear.

2. Goodnight Moon by (I forgot). Another classic to start a child with reading. This is a great baby gift and is also good for an early reader.

3. Hush Little Baby by Sylvia Long. I love the rendering of this familiar song in story form. My girls love this so much I even read it to them over the phone if I'm away from them at nighttime.

4. I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont. This book has great illustrations and is such an uplifting story for little ones. My daughter's kindergarten teacher has this one in her classroom library.

5. Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora. I love this story, so simple as you greet the day!

6. Happy to Be Nappy by bell hooks and Nappy Hair by Carolina Herron. Both these stories are great for mixed-race or African-American children or any curly-haired-child to learn through poetry to love the beautiful texture of their hair!

7. Pete's Chair or any other book by Ezra Jack Keats. He is just great and I love Pete's Chair for its simple story of a boy in the city becoming a big brother.

8. All of Us by Will Smith. This is a great love story that all kids can identify with, especially a father and a son.

9. If you Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff. This is a classic tale and even the spinoffs are great!

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